The majority of businesses exist to make a profit; this is especially true in the world of ecommerce and specifically eBay. Consequently, one of the main questions sellers want to know is, how can l increase my eBay profits?
My selling experience to date has given me some food for thought and l’ve come up with a few areas you can examine and increase your eBay profits.
1. Reduce postage costs
As a relative newcomer to selling on eBay, l was surprised to see a large number of online merchants are able to offers free shipping when currently Royal Mail charge £2.80 for a small parcel second class.
Recorded delivery of an item first class (my current default postage method) is £4.30 which takes a chunk of my potential profits but gives me the protection that my item will be delivered. On top of that, there are sellers fees and Paypal commission.
Can the item be sent as a large letter?
Large letters can only weigh 100g and be 35cm x 25cm in size. This could significantly boost profits with the difference between a large letter and a small letter being £2.07.
Reducing excess packaging such as bubble wrap, can help you send more large letters than you may have previously sent as small parcels.
2. Get a better deal from your suppliers
Are you securing the best price for your products from your supplier(s)? It’s worth using your negotiation skills (see, this article from The Sales Hunter with 10 tips to help you hone your skills) to see if there are any discount options available with your supplier.
Also, do some research to ensure this supplier is the best one for your business.
Often suppliers will want to retain customers and may offer discounts if you’ve been a customer for a certain period of time. Another way to get items cheaper is by buying in bulk. This increase in quantity, may help you get a better margin on your products.
If you’ve got more stock to sell, you want to look at other ways you can sell it. If you currently only sell on eBay, perhaps you can start to sell through the Amazon marketplace.
If you’re selling on eBay and Amazon already, perhaps you can look at setting up your own webstore and promoting this through social media.
Word of caution, opening an online store is not for everyone especially if you’re not very internet saavy (see more in this article from eCommerce Fuel).
3. Increase your prices
This is perhaps the most risky way to increase profits depending on the price sensitivity of your products and levels of competition.
How are you pricing your products in comparison to your competitors? Research your products through eBay’s Cassini search engine and jot down the prices of similar products.
If you’re the cheapest by some margin, trial increasing the price of some products and seeing what affect it has on sales. If sales remain the same, then you’ve found an easy way to increase your profit margins. Of course, eBay doesn’t have repricing software like Amazon since much of what is sold still isn’t based on a catalogue of inventory, but you can still experiment with pricing strategies.
Conclusion
That’s my look at ways you can increase your eBay profits.
In summary, always check you’re using the most efficient postal method for you whether that be Royal Mail or a competitor such as My Hermes (other courier services are available). Examine your packaging and ensure it is appropriate.
Check with your suppliers and see if you can get a discount—if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Research the price of your products and ensure you’re priced both competitively and profitably. Experiment with increasing your prices and see what affect in has on sales.
Over the next few blogs, l’ll be looking into eBay’s Global Shipping Programme and how to sell on the Amazon marketplace. Third party sales on Amazon in 2014 accounted for more than two billion items worldwide so there’s huge potential to increase profits and sales for sellers.
