As promised -- given my recent experiences on eBay, both the good, the bad, and the ugly, I am providing my top 5 list of ways to make eBay a better place. I have been on eBay since December 1995 when I started trading Baseball Cards, seeing a lot of changes take place on the site.
However, this Christmas holiday shopped season in particular has been a nasty one for both buyers and sellers alike on eBay – perhaps like never seen before. All one needs to do is to look at a number of auctions for the Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) and Nintendo Wii to see large quantities of Non-Paying Bidders, Shill Bidding, & Fraudulent sellers. The criminal community has found a way to really game the eBay system and now is time to stop it!
So, below you will find my “Top 5” ways that eBay can improve their systems to protect bother buyers and sellers in their auction marketplace.
1. Require Stronger User Validation. It is too easy to get an eBay account. They should require some sort of physical address, phone number, or other sort of verification that the person is who they say they are.
2. Require “authorization” of funds when bidding. A huge problem right now are people with zero or low feedback posting fake bids without an intention to actually make good on their purchase. By requiring a credit card authorization in the amount of their bid placed (whether or not they choose to pay via that method) is an option that may sellers would like to see as a requirement to insure the bidder “intends” to purchase the item rather than leaving the seller stranded with seller fees, frustration and lost time. This would also help prevent shill bidding as eBay could detect accounts using same name / credit card information to boost auction prices.
3. Create a more comprehensive scoring methodology. The current scoring system has become an outdated joke. Between 1-cent auctions, feedback rings, and other ways to “game” eBay’s feedback system – the system does not work anymore. However, it is not beyond repair. All eBay needs to do is come up with a score scheme that will incorporate important factors that contribute to the “authenticity and integrity” of the buyer and seller such as the dollar value of transactions, time it takes someone to pay, time to ship, and frequency of feedback left. That is just to name a few that could contribute to understanding more about the seller you purchase from.
4. Stop 1-cent ($.01) auctions. These are the biggest fraud on eBay right now. If you do a Google search, you will find hundreds of web pages that tell you how you can increase your feedback score in hours using 1-cent auctions. Their only purpose is to artificially increase feedback scores that give buyers/sellers unwarranted trust in a seller’s history and behavior.
5. Real, monetary penalties for failure to pay, ship, etc. If someone does not pay for an auction, charge then for the listing fees that the seller paid. Also, put a penalty of $5, $10, etc. that is partially paid to the seller and to eBay. This would put some real teeth into the non-paying bidder (NPB) policy.
These are some pretty simple ways that eBay could really improve on their already largely monopolistic website that they offer. While it may discourage a few people in signing up and using the service, the benefits to the entire community and with user retention would far outweigh that cost. I cannot tell you how many people have emailed me to say that they would not be using eBay after their experiences this holiday season.
Do you have other ideas? I would love to hear them. Next, you will be hearing from me on the Top 5 Ways to fix PayPal!
Showing posts with label internet marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet marketing. Show all posts
Friday, December 22, 2006
20Hot Ways To Make More Money From Your
20 Ways To Make More Money From Your
Customers
by Henrik Boyander
1. Insert a brochure for another product in the first
product package your customer buys from you.
2. Sell a basic product and tell people for a little
more money they can receive the deluxe edition.
3. Give your customers a free subscription to your
e-zine and include back end products in each issue.
4. Charge people extra money to get the reproduction
rights.
5. Send your customers greeting cards at holidays
with your back end product offer included.
6. Offer your customers a discount if they buy more
than one of the same product.
7. Include a back end product offer on your online
“thank you” page.
8. Give people a huge discount to your subscription
product if they subscribe for a longer period of time.
9. Send your customer a free surprise gift with your
back end product offer included.
10. Give your customers a discount if they buy over
a certain number of any products.
11. Publish a back end product offer inside any of
the information products you sell.
12. Group your products together in package deals
to make more profit form each sale.
13. Include a back end product offer inside your
“customer’s only” online club.
14. Join someone else’s affiliate program and use it
as an upsell or back end product.
15. Follow-up with your customers to see if they’re
happy and offer them another product.
16. Offer people a free sample of your product and
tell them they will get a discount if they order now.
17. Send your customers a “thank you” e-mail with
a back end offer attached.
18. Offer your customers add-on products like gift
wrapping, batteries, imprinting, etc.
19. Allow your customers the option of signing up
to your “future product offers list”.
20. Explain to people that for extra money, they can
extend the guarantee or warranty of the product.
Customers
by Henrik Boyander
1. Insert a brochure for another product in the first
product package your customer buys from you.
2. Sell a basic product and tell people for a little
more money they can receive the deluxe edition.
3. Give your customers a free subscription to your
e-zine and include back end products in each issue.
4. Charge people extra money to get the reproduction
rights.
5. Send your customers greeting cards at holidays
with your back end product offer included.
6. Offer your customers a discount if they buy more
than one of the same product.
7. Include a back end product offer on your online
“thank you” page.
8. Give people a huge discount to your subscription
product if they subscribe for a longer period of time.
9. Send your customer a free surprise gift with your
back end product offer included.
10. Give your customers a discount if they buy over
a certain number of any products.
11. Publish a back end product offer inside any of
the information products you sell.
12. Group your products together in package deals
to make more profit form each sale.
13. Include a back end product offer inside your
“customer’s only” online club.
14. Join someone else’s affiliate program and use it
as an upsell or back end product.
15. Follow-up with your customers to see if they’re
happy and offer them another product.
16. Offer people a free sample of your product and
tell them they will get a discount if they order now.
17. Send your customers a “thank you” e-mail with
a back end offer attached.
18. Offer your customers add-on products like gift
wrapping, batteries, imprinting, etc.
19. Allow your customers the option of signing up
to your “future product offers list”.
20. Explain to people that for extra money, they can
extend the guarantee or warranty of the product.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Copywriting to promote yourself 5 ways
Monica, a very competent businesswoman, was explaining her new website.
“The headline will be my slogan,” she said confidently. “You know: the part that goes, ‘More impact when you speak, every time.’”
Ouch! Definitely not the way to go.
Naturally I’ve disguised the details but Monica’s not unusual. You’ve got at least 5 ways to brag – all different.
(1) Your slogan usually appears near your logo on your website, on your business card and (often) in your elevator speech.
Your slogan should reflect the benefits you offer your clients, not your own uniqueness. I once saw a slogan on a truck, “We know everything about lumber.” My response: “So…why should I care?”
Better: “We use wood to make your home look beautiful.”
Ali Brown’s “Boost business with your own ezine” does the job.
So does Michael Port’s, “The guy to call when you’re tired of thinking small.”
I’ve used “Promotion with professionalism” and, “If your website isn’t making money while you sleep, we need to talk.” My current career slogan: “From career breakdown to career breakthrough.”
(2) Resource box statement. When you send out articles to promote your business, you need a short signature block – 5 to 7 lines – to conclude your article. You’ll need a brief sentence summarizing your uniqueness, such as: “Mary Jones helps high-earning professionals lose their credit card debt and gain financial security in six months or less.”
Some professionals opt for a simpler version: “Bob Smith helped over 200 authors publicize their books to increase sales” or even, “Jane Doe has been helping corporate executives manage their careers since 1992.”
I recommend a sentence rather than a phrase because resource boxes get chopped when your article gets published.
The expert here is of course Alexandria Brown the Ezine Queen.
(3) Irresistible freebie.
To motivate website visitors to sign up for your ezine, ecourse or podcast, you need a gift they can’t wait to download. Go for broke with this one: if it feels over the top to you, it’s probably just right for your readers.
Typical titles refer to a number of critical or essential tips. “Secrets” sounds corny but it still works. I’ve had considerable success with “7 best-kept secrets of client attracting copy.” Others might be “How to avoid the 5 deadly mistakes made by career changers.”
Tip: I encourage my copy clients to begin a website copywriting project with the freebie. It’s a good way to get in touch with your clients’ pain.
(4) Headline.
Your home page needs a killer headline that motivates readers to keep reading. We could spend a whole article on this topic – in fact, whole books have been written about headlines.
Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero wrote: "Copywriting: The Secret Weapon Your Competitors Hope You Never Figure Out How to Use!" Learn more!
(5) Elevator speech.
Designing an elevator speech resembles creating copy for your website: you focus on the target and demonstrate your benefits. A new book on elevator speeches that’s worth a look. The author lives here in Seattle and I’ve heard her speak:
Give Your Elevator Speech A Lift
I don’t recommend trying to economize on promotion by using the same concept for all 5 bragging opportunities, although you’ll find this formula applied successfully to packaged goods marketing. Purina Pet Foods has a wonderful trademarked slogan, “Your Pet, Our PassionTM.” They use it on everything from their website to ads. We’re different.
Autor: Cathy Goodwin
http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com
“The headline will be my slogan,” she said confidently. “You know: the part that goes, ‘More impact when you speak, every time.’”
Ouch! Definitely not the way to go.
Naturally I’ve disguised the details but Monica’s not unusual. You’ve got at least 5 ways to brag – all different.
(1) Your slogan usually appears near your logo on your website, on your business card and (often) in your elevator speech.
Your slogan should reflect the benefits you offer your clients, not your own uniqueness. I once saw a slogan on a truck, “We know everything about lumber.” My response: “So…why should I care?”
Better: “We use wood to make your home look beautiful.”
Ali Brown’s “Boost business with your own ezine” does the job.
So does Michael Port’s, “The guy to call when you’re tired of thinking small.”
I’ve used “Promotion with professionalism” and, “If your website isn’t making money while you sleep, we need to talk.” My current career slogan: “From career breakdown to career breakthrough.”
(2) Resource box statement. When you send out articles to promote your business, you need a short signature block – 5 to 7 lines – to conclude your article. You’ll need a brief sentence summarizing your uniqueness, such as: “Mary Jones helps high-earning professionals lose their credit card debt and gain financial security in six months or less.”
Some professionals opt for a simpler version: “Bob Smith helped over 200 authors publicize their books to increase sales” or even, “Jane Doe has been helping corporate executives manage their careers since 1992.”
I recommend a sentence rather than a phrase because resource boxes get chopped when your article gets published.
The expert here is of course Alexandria Brown the Ezine Queen.
(3) Irresistible freebie.
To motivate website visitors to sign up for your ezine, ecourse or podcast, you need a gift they can’t wait to download. Go for broke with this one: if it feels over the top to you, it’s probably just right for your readers.
Typical titles refer to a number of critical or essential tips. “Secrets” sounds corny but it still works. I’ve had considerable success with “7 best-kept secrets of client attracting copy.” Others might be “How to avoid the 5 deadly mistakes made by career changers.”
Tip: I encourage my copy clients to begin a website copywriting project with the freebie. It’s a good way to get in touch with your clients’ pain.
(4) Headline.
Your home page needs a killer headline that motivates readers to keep reading. We could spend a whole article on this topic – in fact, whole books have been written about headlines.
Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero wrote: "Copywriting: The Secret Weapon Your Competitors Hope You Never Figure Out How to Use!" Learn more!
(5) Elevator speech.
Designing an elevator speech resembles creating copy for your website: you focus on the target and demonstrate your benefits. A new book on elevator speeches that’s worth a look. The author lives here in Seattle and I’ve heard her speak:
Give Your Elevator Speech A Lift
I don’t recommend trying to economize on promotion by using the same concept for all 5 bragging opportunities, although you’ll find this formula applied successfully to packaged goods marketing. Purina Pet Foods has a wonderful trademarked slogan, “Your Pet, Our PassionTM.” They use it on everything from their website to ads. We’re different.
Autor: Cathy Goodwin
http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com
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