Using eBay Market Research
Thousands of sellers are selling countless number of items on eBay. New eBay sellers may not find the going easy and are often overwhelmed with all the choices they have to make like what to sell, what to charge, how to list an item. If the percentage of unsold goods is high, it can be risky and mean a waste of time and money. To decrease the risk, sellers could use research tools to study the market to find out what’s hot and what’s not.
EBay sells details of every sale they make to various companies which in turn compile this data and create tools to spot trends and patterns. This empowers the sellers and may give them an edge over the competition.
The Hot List
The first task in your market research should be a look at The Hot list which is compiled across all categories that are showing strong growth and shows the popularity of items. You can use eBay Market Research user guide to understand the various terms in the research data. Hotness is usually determined by the ratio of bid growth to listing growth. If the amount of bids is growing faster than the amount of listings then there is demand for that product.
Spotting Trends
Market research should include spotting trends because not all products sell throughout the year. Some products like warm clothes are seasonal with sales picking up during winter and dropping in summer. But sometimes market data reveals surprising trends: A particular colour of a product maybe selling more than another one. Celebrity endorsements could boost sales. Your sales reports are the basic research about your business.
Competition
The next step is to understand what your competition is doing and how well they are doing. Market research tools allow you to find out how many items were sold and how long they took to sell. If there is too much supply and not much demand, you should consider finding other products to sell. Study your competition to find out how they have listed their products to achieve high sales.
Keyword Search
Going through popular keyword searches will give you an idea of how to list your product. Market research has proved that optional listing characteristics brought the best prices for a particular product. For example the Ipod Nano is the most popular listing title and the Ipod 20 GB has the most successful sell-through rate. Sellers listing ‘Ipod Nano’ are not as successful as those listing ‘Ipod 20 GB’. Find out how features like bold, highlight, gift icon, gallery, etc. affect the final prices. You want to take all this into account when deciding how to list your own items.
Seller Profile
The seller profile can be used to research the distribution of sales for different items. If you notice that the sales of a particular product are dominated by just a few merchants, you should tread with caution because they obviously know what they are doing and are well established in the market.
Sell-Through Rate
The Sell-Through Rate is the percentage of total listings that end in a sale. This measurement can be invaluable in helping you decide the product you would like to sell. You may notice that the sell-through rate for a particular product is higher during a certain period and not so much during the rest of the year. For example if you searched for “Irish Drinking” in the category T-Shirts & Tank Tops around St-Patrick’s Day you see a much higher sell-through rate than when compared to other months. This shows that many items on eBay have seasonal trends and this can increase their demand periodically. If you know what items have a higher success rate on eBay, you will have a better idea of what you should offer. Also use various selling tools to boost sales.
Selling price
Market research shows you the average price people are getting for an item. With experience, you will start recognizing the value of various products, and what it will fetch if sold on eBay. You should not get caught with a product that you can’t make a profit on.
The Buyer
Market research gives you the demographics like genders, ages, and geographical regions about the buyer. You should plan your marketing strategy and change your listing terminology accordingly.
Market research is fundamental for a successful business and should empower your purchasing decision. The more you understand the trends the more you make money on eBay.