We had an enquiry today from Tamebay reader Dean who asked what he had to do to get on the eBay Deals. He’s asked eBay and apart from being told “sellers must have a good seller rating and high sales” eBay were a bit vague in their reply, so Dean asked us what he had to do to get on the eBay deals program
The good news is that eBay tell us that will be sourced from the community of small businesses selling through its online marketplace. eBay are using one of the busiest shopping weeks of the year give a profile UK small businesses, listing their products in their Daily Deals offering alongside big name brands like Zavvi, Dyson and Argos.
Top products including Apple Macbooks, Windows laptops, Xbox consoles and smartphones have all been sourced in partnership with small businesses from across the UK.
What does this mean for sellers? Why isn’t Dean getting in on the action? We don’t have a specific reply, but eBay have shared some data on one particular seller, Laptopoutletdirect, a laptop and computer sales business based in Woodford.
were primarily a bricks and mortar business until the eBay acquisition team approached them to trade online. Since then, 98% of business is run online and they have further plans to expand. Last year, partnering with eBay, they sold over 10,000 Windows Linx 7 tablets over two days during the Black Friday trading period.
Managing Director of Laptopoutletdirect, Manu Hussain said: “Black Friday is our busiest day of the year and lots of work is done behind the scenes to make sure we’ve got genuine offers and low prices for customers – particularly on products for gifting ahead of Christmas. It’s actually a chance to build value with new customers. Black Friday gives you the opportunity to interact with customers who will look towards you in the future”.
I know what many readers are probably thinking, Laptopoutletdirect isn’t a small company, however they are an SME, just probably somewhat larger than a lot of our businesses. 10,000 tablets is a pretty impressive deal and it does go to show why many small businesses might find it difficult to get their products included on the eBay deals.
Whilst consumer electronics is a natural fit for Black Friday, eBay do need deals which have scale. There’s very little point eBay sending out an email promoting a deal from a seller with stock of maybe 100 products as the likelihood is that could be sold out before buyers read and click the link from the email.
Tanya Lawler, Vice President, eBay UK, told us “We’re giving an even higher profile to our seller community during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. Over nine million UK shoppers are expected to visit us on Black Friday alone – and we’ve put small businesses front and centre with that audience“.
We know it’s going to come as a disappointment to many small businesses but the truth is that eBay has grown so big and is such a powerhouse of selling, that deals on eBay today have to have exponentially bigger inventory levels than in the past. Whilst every seller would love to have their products on the deals, small businesses need to be realistic as to whether they have the depth of stock and the manpower to actually ship the deals when they come in.
In its 20th year, eBay UK are predicting that 25 gifts will be purchased each second through the marketplace on Black Friday. Over nine million bargain-hunting Brits will head to the site within 24 hours, with two thirds shopping through a mobile device.
Naturally not every one of the estimated 2.16 million sales on eBay expected to land on Friday this week will be on eBay deals. Buyers will be searching the site and all sellers are likely to see an increase in sales. Make sure you’re ready for the sales and check out Tamebay’s 7 Black Friday Tips to make sure that you’re ready to maximise the opportunity
6 Responses
I know I should but I cant bring myself to do it, I don’t really want to clear stock before Christmas. Even the stuff that has not sold has a chance of selling for more in the run up.
Call me old fashioned but going to wait until boxnig day/the new year.
I’m not getting involved either. In fact, the shop is on holiday mode (not blocking purchases ;)) and we’re all having a long weekend!
Sales have been pretty strong anyway, well on the days that eBay works.
Life is too short sometimes 🙂
“Black Friday gives you the opportunity to interact with customers who will look towards you in the future”.”
Interesting, I thought it was buyers on the lookout forth best deal and next time try will just o with who else has the best deal.
Thy will remember that they got the deal from eBay or from amazon but will they remember and be loyal to the individual seller? I think not.
It’s ironic, the bigger this deal weekend has got the more big stores have withdrawn, it’s because the figures and bottom line don’t lie.
Woolworths were one of the first to heavy discount toys in the un up to Xmas, remember them?!