Ebay sales taking off, but I’m getting burnt out! Need tips on maximizing productivity and minimizing time.
My ebay business is doing really well, but I’m going crazy with all of the work it entails. I just moved to a new city so I don’t really know anyone that can help me out, so I’m having to do all of the work myself (I’m actually able to do this full-time).
Emailing customers back is a time-consuming chore! Is there a way I can reduce the amount of time to respond to people? Right now, I developed a basic HTML webpage that has form letters I can use or slightly modify.
Any advice on making things more efficient? I’m getting really frazzled and it’s basically consuming my whole life right now so any tips would help!
Thanks!
Are you using SMP (Selling Manager Pro)? You can edit and automate many email templates and other functions, eg – when you mark an item as ‘Payment Received’ or ‘Item Posted’ you can set SMP to email the buyer automatically. Leave positive feedback automatically when same is received. Automate listing times.
Answering questions from buyers is a bit tricky as each question is unique and requires a tailor-made response. But you could add a list of FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) which might cut down a bit.
Think about what you’re listing and selling. Without knowing what you sell, it’s a bit of general advice, but concentrate on the items that are the most popular and return the most profit. Have a look at your sales reports in your Ebay subscriptions and see what is selling the best. Also look at the days and time of day that you get the most sales, then tailor your listings to those days and times to maximise your sales.
Consider using third party software such as Blackthorne – they have good listing templates, you can schedule it to upload listings without having to pay Ebay a scheduled listing fee for each listing, and they have email templates and heaps of other features. It costs per month, but you may find it well worth it.
I’m an Ebay powerseller and online retailer and it consumes my whole life too!
check around the neighbor hood for a few teenagers that want or need a part time job.
References :
I did it for about six years myself ontop of being a manager for two different well know ebay drop retail locations. There really isn’t any short cuts. It is very very time consuming.
The only thing that I did to help reduce my time online was to make sure my stock was either the same item or I had high quantiy of each items so instead of selling 5,000 different items your only sell 1,000 listings but all the same items. Less leg work on descriptions since your photos and your descriptions would all be the same. If the items are all the same you can have everything pre packed and you’ll just have to throw a shipping label on it.
References :
Welcome to the world of running your own business! You cannot afford to cut corners, or you will be less competitive, but what to do? Form letters work. Keyboard shortcuts help. It is much quicker to maneuver through a document or to copy and paste with keyboard shortcuts than the mouse, once you are proficient. But really, without a close look at your organization, it would be hard to be specific about where you can be more efficient.
Good luck. Sounds like you keep your plate full. Just be careful not to pile so much on that the stuff you like best falls off.
References :
Are you using SMP (Selling Manager Pro)? You can edit and automate many email templates and other functions, eg – when you mark an item as ‘Payment Received’ or ‘Item Posted’ you can set SMP to email the buyer automatically. Leave positive feedback automatically when same is received. Automate listing times.
Answering questions from buyers is a bit tricky as each question is unique and requires a tailor-made response. But you could add a list of FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) which might cut down a bit.
Think about what you’re listing and selling. Without knowing what you sell, it’s a bit of general advice, but concentrate on the items that are the most popular and return the most profit. Have a look at your sales reports in your Ebay subscriptions and see what is selling the best. Also look at the days and time of day that you get the most sales, then tailor your listings to those days and times to maximise your sales.
Consider using third party software such as Blackthorne – they have good listing templates, you can schedule it to upload listings without having to pay Ebay a scheduled listing fee for each listing, and they have email templates and heaps of other features. It costs per month, but you may find it well worth it.
I’m an Ebay powerseller and online retailer and it consumes my whole life too!
References :
http://www.thebookshelfofoz.com.au