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eBay Trading Assistants
For a few years I was an eBay Trading Assistant
(TA)- someone who sells items for others on a consignment
basis. Whether you're seeking a TA to sell your items or want
to be a TA, much of this info may be of interest to you.
How to work with a Trading Assistant...
Potential clients of a Trading Assistant should
also be aware of how to work with a Trading Assistant. Please
see this eBay guide if you're a potential client of an eBay
TA.
So you want to be a Trading Assistant...
I often participate on eBay's TA discussion board. Many questions
are asked over and over. And, because I'm opinionated and
an experienced TA, I figured I should have my comments in
one area - thus, this page.
What a TA does for clients...
* Photographs or Scans of item(s)
* Host items' photos on our website
* Write complete descriptions (and do research, if needed)
* Host a web page about the clients item (for select items)
* Submit eBay auction listing and track sale
* Correspond with prospective buyers
* Financial transactions with buyers
* Package & Ship
* Follow-up with buyers
* Pay and report transactions to client
So, you want to be a TA...
First, get a good amount of experience selling your own stuff
- collectibles you have around your home & nifty items
you picked up at the flea market. And, buy some stuff from
your fellow eBayers to get an idea how sales are handled from
the customer point of view and to build up your feedback.
Of course, to be a registered eBay TA, you must meet the requirements.
Am I a real business?
ABSOLUTELY! Full-time TAs probably work more hours than friends
who have "real jobs" do. They're entrepreneurs!
They have systems in place to take photos, do research, write
descriptions, do accounting, package and ship, etc. They treat
clients and buyers with kindness and professionalism. They
collect sales tax when they must. They are licensed as governments
require. They don't have time to watch the neighbor's kid
just because they're home - they're at their home office and
work is what they do in their REAL JOB!
How do you find clients?
As with most businesses, finding clients is crucial to your
success. You may first approach friends and family who have
items they'd like sold - ONLY IF you and they can maintain
a professional relationship (ie: get paid for your time, have
a contract).
When I first started TAing, I made up some business cards
& brochures about what services I'd provide and my fees.
My partner and I went to many businesses (cold calls) which
we thought might have the types of items we could sell on
eBay - collectibles, antiques, electronic equipment. Out of
the 18 businesses we visited on our first "run",
we acquired 7 new clients. We got a couple clients by talking
up our business to friends and associates. Our biggest client
(thankfully) overheard me telling someone about our biggest
eBay success to that point and she tracked me down. (I told
EVERYONE what I did...or at least told someone loud enough
so eavesdroppers would follow me out the door and ask for
a card.)
I did a press release when something occurred which I felt
may be of interest to the local media - we were 3 for 3 on
press release success - all 3 brought us new clients.
AND, of course, I was listed on eBay's TA directory. Your
TA listing should be comprehensive and very professional -
I suspect I was the most successful TA in Tucson because our
directory listing was more professional than others'. (Okay,
I'm cocky, too - but that helps exude confidence to potential
clients!<G>)
I did not do any newspaper or flyer advertising thus far,
but I know many TAs who've done so with varying rates of success.
Contract...
Having a contract with your clients protects both of you
and contributes to your professional appearance. There are
probably as many contracts as there are TAs, so you'll have
to modify yours to fit your business. A copy of my contract
is here. Sure, my contract was
quite lengthy, but I wanted all bases covered in my business
dealings.
Fees...
How much should you charge? First, consider how long it takes
you to do each of the necessary tasks related to listing an
item and know how much you want to make per hour. Do you want
to charge your client for the eBay and any paypal fees in
addition to your own fees or will you include them in your
fees? (I found it's less confusing for the client and less
nit-picking work for me to include those fees in my own.)
Should you charge a setup/listing fee regardless of the item's
possible sale? Should you have a flat rate or graduated ones?
The fees I used to charge clients are here.
On occasion, I had a client with many items which I've been
certain will sell on eBay. I charged them a flat commission
rate with no setup fee. I also listed a home under eBay's
real estate ad format. For that, I charged a flat fee based
on the amount of time I estimated it would take me to shoot
& optimize photos, write up the description, create web
pages on my site and deal with all the email.
Keeping track...
Again, there are probably as many ways to keep track of your
eBay clients, sales and buyers as there are TAs. I used BTPro
(eBay's Blackthorne Pro) to create and upload my auctions
to eBay, to track auction activity and to email high-bidders.
I handle all my consignment tracking and reports in BTPro.
(See this
ebay workshop I presented on using BTPro for consignments.
An auction management program, such as BTPro, will save you
much time over using a listing program or eBay's Sell It Yourself
(SIY) form, sending emails one-by-one and other activities.
(I have a BTPro Quick Start Guide here.)
Internal Forms...
We had a form we created to use when we picked up items from
a client. We made 2 copies of such forms - one for us, one
for the client. Our old "consignment log" looked
like this:
Granted, there's not enough room on the above form for details
about the items. So, we have a description form which includes
spaces for all the details about each item.
Advertising/Marketing Materials...
A business card is a must! Have many with you always - and
give 'em out to anyone who shows the slightest interest. Someone
who received a card from you 6 months ago may still call.
A brochure outlining your services and fees can be given
to or mailed to prospective clients. It's worth your time
and money to produce very professional-looking marketing materials
- potential clients will judge the "book" of your
business by the "cover" of your materials.
A flyer should also be professional, even if you're only
going to post it in your local library - you want clients
who want to deal with a real business, not a fly-by-night
operation.
eBay provides some marketing materials you may use if you're
a registered TA.
Another important marketing hint: Create your own brand.
Get a professionally-designed logo and put it on your listings.
Have a consistent look to your auctions. The color & design
theme on this page is repeated on all our eBay listings and
this website.
Get press...
You've sold a deck of cards for a client for $2500? Heck,
that's news! Figure out the angle that'll appeal to a reporter
and send him a brief press release about it. Imagine a pyramid
outline for your press release. Most important feature 1st,
a bit of detail, then a bit more. If I were to write up such
a press release about that, it would look something like this:
Press Release
Deck of Cards Sold on EBay for $2500!
Tucson eBay seller, GOing1nceLLC, sold a 100-year old deck
of cards on eBay for a local client for $2500. The Boman deck
of cards features hand-colored images of Swedish royalty.
According to the eBay buyer, a Norwegian cards collector,
a Boman deck has not been offered for sale anywhere in over
27 years. Several bidders from around the world contacted
GOing1nceLLC throughout the auction.
GOing1nceLLC, eBay Trading Assistant, started the bidding
at $19.99. Neither they nor their client suspected they had
such a collectible deck of cards. GOing1nceLLC (going1nce.com)
has been in business for 2 years, selling items for local
individuals and businesses on eBay. Sally Milo of GOing1nceLLC
managed the eBay auctions for Arizona Stamp & Coin
since 1999.
-30-
Sally Milo may be reached at Sales@GOing1nce.com or at 520-555-5555.
You want to tantalize the reporter and give him just enough
info to use the text as is, but provide your contact info
in case he wants more details.
Okay, you didn't sell a $2500 deck of cards? Did you just
open a drop-off location? Got a new client who wants you to
sell the estate of her celebrity relative? Nope? You know
eBay really well? At least drop the reporter an exciting-sounding
release about what you know - offer to be the reporter's expert
when he wants some eBay info. Find your angle and MILK IT!
Photos & scans...
We shoot photos of all items that aren't flat & small
enough to fit on the scanner. I made up a 30"x30"x30"
table-top photo studio out of pvc pipe with white fabric on
5 sides to diffuse lights.
After shooting the photos, I open them up in Photoshop &
create a montage of all images of one item into one larger
jpg. I adjust color and brightness as needed. I also put our
logo on the jpg.
We host our photos on our website. eBay's picture service
limits you to a certain size and just doesn't provide as good
quality as you can do by yourself. For a few bucks a month,
you can use a photo hosting service which will give you enough
space for a couple thousand images. PictureStorage.net and
Pair.com are two good, inexpensive picture hosts to consider
using. Of course, if you have a website (definitely a plus!), host the photos there.
Research...
When we got a new-to-us item to list, we considered our research
time a benefit to us for similar items we may have in the
future. Most items don't require much research, but if, for
example, a client asks you to sell a 100-year-old bisque head
doll, your chance of selling it are greater when you can provide
the details bidders will want. We do online research for most
items, but in the case of a bisque-head doll, we asked our
client to wait for us to get a book to research it thoroughly
before we put it on eBay.
Not only did we research many individual items for info about
the particular details of items, but we look at past eBay
sales of similar items. On eBay's completed auctions, we discover
the price range items sold (or didn't) sell for. We especially
look at why item X sold for 3 times what it's twin, item X1,
did not sell for. Look at the listing categories, title, description,
photos, seller's feedback rating. Often, you'll find a bit
of info about the item which will guide you to further item
history info online. Many times, because of our research of
just the eBay details, we received the highest price among
like items. On occasion, we posted to one of the eBay boards
related to an item we have to list. Other eBayers often will
provide info or at least point you in the direction of info.
Of course, it wasn't worth our time to research everything
beyond doing a cursory look at closed eBay auctions. But -
if a client has 4 dozen Marklin toy trains, you'll want to
see what the market is and how you should price each one.
Descriptions...
We try to be as descriptive as possible on items we list.
Brand names, hallmarks, age of item, materials, measurements
are necessary. Condition is a must. If you don't know, for
example, about pottery, do a bit of research to educate yourself
on the terms. Then, in your description, write something like
"I'm not very knowledgeable about pottery, so my following
description of this piece's condition is as picky as I can
get: there's a pinhead-sized black spot on the rim (I believe
it's referred to as a flea-bite), a 1/8" chip on the
handle and what looks like crackling on the surface. Please
email me with specific questions." We've found our un-educated
descriptions of condition such as this do mean something to
people who are knowledgeable.
Have fun with your descriptions! "We don't think it'll
hurt the value because some guy named Joe wrote on the cover"
is one line we put in about a Joe Dimaggio-signed Life Magazine.
About a stamp book, I wrote "Unfortunately, I'm not a
stamp collector, so much of what is in this book is indecipherable
to me. BUT - if you want to read about coil packets, departmental
issues, imperforates and more, this may be of interest to
you!" I've had to veto a few of my partner's more irreverant
words, as bidders don't care to read about our political views
and just won't appreciate his sarcasm. (His puns usually stay
in.) Folksiness is something I've enjoyed when I read auction
listings, and that's just the way I am. I believe our buyers
like to know they're dealing with a real person.
Proofread!!! Check your spelling and grammar. To those who
care about such things, nothing says "careless seller"
as obviously as butchering the language. Your keywords, especially,
will not be easily found if they're spelled wrong - except
by savvy bidders who know they can find good deals by looking
for mis-spellings.
Terms of service(TOS)...
A clear description of your policies can protect you and
inform your bidders. You may want to state this in your description
on each auction listing. Describe payments you accept, your
return policy, any shipping policy you may have and other
info you'd like your bidders to know. Do NOT say "We
don't do this. You shouldn't do so and so. We penalize for
xyz." A positive spin on these things will make you appear
easier to deal with than a bunch of "NOs". (You
can see my TOS on all of my listings which you can find thru
this page.)
You want to open a drop-off location?
If you're not already listing dozens of items a week out
of your home office(s), I don't think you're ready to do dozens
or hundreds out of a store front. By running many, many auctions
a month in your cramped little space, you'll learn to pare
back your systems and activities to save you the time you'll
be needing when you're in a storefront.
Get all your systems, work-flow, procedures in place before
you do TAing full-time. Have a client contract, define your fees clearly, know
how items will be photographed and have a somewhat-professional
space to take photos and then a good photo-editing program
to make your pix look as good as possible. Have all your boxes,
bubble wrap, peanuts, etc. ready for getting items out the
door. Have a supply of USPS or other forms needed for shipping.
Have shelving to hold items and have a system in place so
you can easily find item X when needed. Know just what your
costs really are - not just rent and utilities, but eBay &
paypal fees, supplies, your software management program's
monthly cost, the kid you pay to do such-and-such.
Another good business "must do": Create a comprehensive
business plan. Even if you don't need one for prospective
investors, it'll sure assist you in planning well and will
remind you of all you need to do to get up and running and
stay running. Do a google.com search on "business plan".
There are many free outlines on the web to guide you.
Keeping track...
Sure, you could keep hard-copy records and enter every bit
of info onto paper ledgers, but why??? There are many software
options - produced by eBay & 3rd-party vendors - to use
online or on your own computer. I use eBay's Blackthorne Pro
and recommend it highly! I can quickly print out a log out
of Blackthorne for client items I've received (an electronic
version of the sample above), can do a quick search for client
items currently running on eBay or for any particular period
& can print out a report of transactions with fees to
give to clients with their payment. |
