Jen and Amy from HammerTap hosted a webinar this evening to give an insight on how to avoid a price war. This is of particular interest with eBay UK moving to Best Match where promoting the “best deals” often equates to “lowest price”. The webinar looked at ways to make your products stand out and appeal to buyers which, with Recent Sales search advantage, should help you to the top of Best Match results.
All things being equal the lowest price will win the price war, so the only effective way that sellers can make themselves stand out is to differentiate themselves from the competition.
HammerTap suggested four ways to take yourself out of competition with other sellers and differentiate your products:
- Change the product itself, make your product different to the competitions. This could be as simple as branding the packaging.
- Market to a new audience, e.g. Instead of selling a Wii to gamers, market it as a fitness product with the Wii Fit
- Add on value, e.g. Make your laptops stand out buy adding on a free laptop case or add a memory card with a PDA
- Bulk – Buyers will often want to purchase larger quantities, experiment with different quantities on a single listing.
Non-price competition is usually more profitable than selling for a lower price and avoids a price war. If you can make your product stand out from the crowd you can still attract buyers whilst retaining healthy margins.
23 Responses
hate to say this
but this blog is becoming a little bias
a post or two with some info and news about other than those that are connected, or advertise here might be nice
It would, but it’s a bit chicken and egg – those that know us let us know what’s going on. Those that don’t, don’t…. but if you hear some news that is worth sharing please let us know 🙂
we have been around ebay for years .we dont need to split the atom .or find a cure for cancer. webinars, conference, and seminars, are all a bit high falluting and anorak,
we need every day solutions that help solve every day problems
such as these people [we are nothing at all to do with them other than being impressed and happy]
https://www.integrated-label.co.uk/
#1 I advertise on here norf. I could do a webinar if you want? chuck a couple of dolly birds in a whirly get them to chat about antiques if you want? 🙂
there are enough chattering women about without encouraging them to chat
😆
this is the funnist bit of news I have seen for a while over on the UK powersellers board
https://forums.ebay.co.uk/thread.jspa?threadID=1100200199&tstart=0&mod=1223542753058
😆 Thats hysterical.
All joking aside, the 4 points made are good one’s, given me a couple of ideas to trial.
#5 I was talking to Rik earlier this morning – he’s such a wind up and it’s hilarious that he even caught Richard the pink out 😀
North has a good point Chris.
The topic I suggested that Tamebay covered the other day, did not get past the radar.
It was the subject of the Chinese listing Antiques on Ebay, when they are not allowed to export anything older than 1911.
So in other words, all the antique chinese items on Ebay that are shipped from mainland China, are either fake or being illegally exported and should not be on there.
This would have benefited Ebay, buyers and sellers.
A wonderful topic to discuss.
As it would have pre-empted Ebay to tackle this issue and bought it into the public domain.
As it is, James the pink is actioning this as I type and Ebay are checking out the validity and laws in China.
Now if this goes through, it will remove at a stroke the whole of the fake Chinese porcelain items from the Antiques category.
Yet, when presented, Tamebay would not touch the story.
That is a shame in my opinion.
If Tamebay just becomes a vocal ground for those that are in a clique, then it loses its validity and usefullness.
Respectfully,
Mark
whirly the 4 points are good ones but there not exactly insider secrets
#9 Hey Mark, I haven’t forgotten that one, as I said at the time I’m building on it for a wider post than just antiques – should be done by the weekend 😉
#10 You calling me thick? 😆
#11
Excellent Chris.
I apologise for my pre-emptive criticism.
Mark
a post on Antiques
well thats me stumped then
12
not at all 😆
any one who can sell baths to the great unwashed is a genius
#15 😆
I had a suite on last night ending, a buyer with 56 feedback made me an offer £120 for a £799 bath, I declined no point haggling with someone like that….guy came back with offer of £135 and emailed me to ask if he was getting warm yet 😆
Hello BBL.
maybe he just needed a TAP ON THE HEAD
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
😆
Today a guy emailed me and said ” I bought a whirlpool from someone else today on eBay, can you guarantee that your bath panel will fit that bath and if so can you confirm that you will pay to have it returned to you if I am not happy with it?”
Hello BBL.
North, I owe you a pint. However I am a little annoyed that you did not recommend the label people earlier 😉
We recently had some bespoke A4 invoices with peel off labels made and they come to a whopping 8p each. Just looked at that site and they can do it for less than 3p
That should save me between £1000 – £1300 a year!!
Cheers for the link.
@ # 18
Yeah I get that one a lot except for the items I sell. Everywhere on the internet says what I sell works in their location but they still want that guarantee that it will work for them. Typically I refuse to give that guarantee. Not because I don’t stand behind my product but because if there is any problem even as simple as the buyer not knowing how to use it then they will suddenly expect me to take it back at my cost. I don’t block them though.
those label folk do a label and software for SMP that saves us so much trouble and time
it even has a neat little trick of letting you know which items you have processed in SMP so those that have paid while you were printing dont get missed
#20 Have ordered some trial labels to give it a spin 🙂
stock label 4 is the business it even gives you a peel off first line of address & postcode to bung in the record book