January 2009
Table of Contents
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Featured Article: Preparing for Change in 2009 |
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Marketplace Spotlight: 2009 Preview: Challenges |
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Member Q&A: Using eBay's "About Me" Page to Increase Sales |
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Supplier Information: New Suppliers Added to the Doba Product Catalog |
Featured Article: Preparing for Change in 2009
By Jake Sabey, Education Specialist - Doba
Happy New Year, and congratulations on the many types of success you experienced with your business. I hope the busy holiday retail season and entire 2008 year helped create a successful, profitable, and learning experience overall. You can now take a deep breath and relax,...but don't get too comfortable, you have a whole new year to get ready for!
We are only in the first half... of the first month... of a new year, and the "To-Do" list for online retailers looks as long as Santa's naughty or nice list. 2008 brought a lot of changes for online retailers which found some unprepared, forced to make some quick and unexpected changes of their own. With 2009 ahead of us, it is extremely important to prepare for anything and everything that the online retail market may show face,...it is important to prepare for change.
What do you as a business need to consider entering a new year? As Jeff Knight discusses in this month's Marketplace Spotlight: "2009 Preview," make sure to consider the challenges decreased consumer spending and increased price sensitivity.
Here are some more articles to help you analyze, prepare, and transition your business in 2009:
- "Looking Back to Move Forward"
- "Managing Small Business Expansion with a System"
- "Marketing on MySpace and other social networking sites"
- "Giving Away the Store, Part I: Competing on Price Alone"
Start preparing now before the challenges and changes skip knocking on the door, and knock the door down instead. May the force be with you in 2009!
About the Author:
Jake Sabey is an eBay Certified Consultant and an Education Specialist for Doba. Jake's educational strategies and methodologies help online retailers meet and exceed their business-related goals. Prior to working for Doba, Jake was a team leader, supervisor, and trainer for Toys R Us, Sinclair Oil, SBC, and AT&T.
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Marketplace Spotlight: 2009 Preview: Challenges
By Jeff Knight, Vice President of Marketplace - Doba
Retailers are going to face challenges in 2009 concerning decreased consumer spending and increased price sensitivity on goods. Increased price sensitivity and tighter budgets inevitably leads to a more competitive landscape between retailers. That said, on the positive side, competition is not necessarily a bad situation and I would argue that smaller, more flexible retailers should welcome the opportunity to compete.
First, smaller retailers enjoy an advantage of speed. Typically, large retailers are very slow to react to market changes and have difficulty introducing new products quickly. It is a simple matter of scale – between the number of people and resources it takes to make a simple process happen is much greater then with the nimble retailer. The analogy works whether you examine a large traditional or online retailer. Online retailers who ‘touch’ products that are sold to their consumers face the exact same time constraints that you do – they just have a lot more complexity and friction within their organization to work through. Large online retailers who take a marketplace approach, profit off your hard work and their ability to adjust quickly is in direct relation to the depth and abilities of their marketplace retailers, i.e. you.
The other huge advantage is in your cost of operations and general overhead. Simply, it cost less to operate a small operation then a large multi-state one. When it comes to margin and which products a retailer can afford to resell – the large retailer has difficulty operating on skimpier margins – especially if they have to warehouse the products. Be careful – while smaller retailer can operate in a ‘ad hoc’ manner on slimmer margins; one of the pitfalls in scaling a business is not having sound processes/practices in place nor adding enough margin to account for inevitable growth in overhead (e.g. employees, returns, technology, equipment, etc). I, however, tend to like the odds of the scrappier upstart who learns to bootstrap and get by - and learn to scale or adjust to change as it happens. Economic downturns are great opportunities for new upstarts to emerge and grow – take advantage of the 2009 trends by being mindful of your advantages over the competition.
Tradeshows
For Merchandisers and Buyers, December ends our Christmas season and January brings the start of tradeshow season. In edition to some of the standard shows we attend, the Marketplace staff is attending shows and is looking at products and suppliers who cater to the off-price and liquidation markets in 2009. One of the largest of the shows is the ASD/AMD show. We will have an expanded presence at the show this year and look forward to meeting many of you. If you are going to be there, please make sure and contact us before the show as we love to meet retailers using the Doba platform.
For more information on ASD/AMD, please visit: http://www.asdamd.com
For those of you who hold inventory as well as drop-ship – especially if you sell on off-price marketplaces – ASD/AMD is a must to attend.
Final Thoughts
I would be remiss to not congratulate our very own, 13-0 Utah Utes on a great showing at the 2009 Sugar Bowl. While I try to avoid sports metaphors; I can’t help but to look at the Utah Utes victory over Alabama Crimson Tide through the same analogies I presented above. Utah was hungrier, faster and ultimately better equipped to adjust to environment changes then their opponent. According to ESPN and Las Vegas odds makers, 91% of analysts and viewers saw Utah as a 14-point underdog against the tradition ridden, talent deep, nationally recognized Alabama program. In the end, Utah gave Alabama their worst loss (there was only 1 previously) of the year at 31-17 final score. While no one in their right mind, would turn their back on having the advantages of the larger program – you can never discount the scrappiness of the underdog and you can’t let tradition put blinders on your current thinking.
Thank you all again for a great 2008 and we look forward to servicing you in 2009!
About the Author:
As the Vice President of Marketplace, Jeff Knight is responsible for all aspects of the merchandising strategy, supplier acquisition, and vertical category management and fulfillment operations of Doba's marketplace. Prior to Doba, Jeff was Director of Merchandising for Overstock.com where he developed the growth and management of the Computer and Home Office category. Jeff's background includes merchandising and technology leadership roles at DealDeal.com and BCI International. He earned Bachelor and Masters of Arts degrees in Communication from the University of Wyoming.
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Member Q&A: Using eBay's "About Me" Page to Increase Sales
By Kay Russon - Doba
For this month’s Member Q&A, I will be discussing how to use eBay's "About Me" page to communicate to customers and increase sales.
Let’s say that two businesses, let's call them Business A and Business B, open in your home town both selling the same line of products. But, Business A's products are a little more expensive. However, you personally know more about Business A than you do about the 'other guy'. Who are you going to buy from? More than likely, you would pay the extra amount and go with Business A because a you will go with what feels more comfortable to you. After all, customers don't just buy a product, they buy an experience; and they will go with what is more comfortable and has less risk.
It is the same on eBay. The more you know about the seller, what their goals are, why they are selling the products they are, the more you are willing to buy from them than from someone you don’t know.
eBay's "About Me" Page
The eBay "About Me" page (a free and powerful resource) gives you an opportunity to let your potential buyers know who you are, why you are in business, and what you hope to do. In researching for this article, I looked at a lot of "About Me" pages on eBay. I saw pictures of businesses, family pictures, and even pictures of a favorite pet (which is great if you are selling pet supplies).
You do not have to reveal any personal information is you don’t wish, but you can tell your prospective buyers your goals, your interests or hobbies, how long you have been selling, and what you are trying to do with your business. Include pictures where appropriate. You may also list a link to your own website if you have one. This can also increase your sales.
The "About Me" page can be as important as your seller rating, communicating who you are and what kind of business you represent. It creates confidence and trust between you and your buyers. They feel they know you at least a little.
You may wish to look at some About Me pages on eBay for additional ideas. Just look for the red and blue "me" icon next to any eBay seller id.
Ready to start?
Increase your customer's trust and business sales by sharing the personal (as personal as you want) side of your business. Follow this link to set up your "About Me" page: http://pages.ebay.com/help/account/about-me.html
We Want to Hear from You! Want to see your question featured in the eNewsletter Member Q&A? Well we want to hear from you! Please email education@doba.com if you have any non-account related questions or topics you would like us to write about. If you have questions concerning your Doba account, such as billing, product or order questions, please search our knowledgebase site content or contact our Customer Support.
About the Author:
Kay “Papa” Russon is an eBay Certified Consultant, Customer Service Team Lead, and technical liaison for Doba. His knowledge, experience, and expertise assist retailers daily in running a successful online business. Before Doba, Kay was a team leader, supervisor, trainer and manager for World Support, Digital Equipment Corp., Digital Remote, SBC, AT&T, Macromedia, Sun Microsystems, and Motorola and served in the Army National Guard.
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Supplier Information: New Suppliers Added to the Doba Product Catalog
Starting an online business is relatively easy. Making it a success takes hard work and the right mix of products. To help you achieve your business-related goals, we recently added new wholesale suppliers and manufacturer to the Doba Catalog:
Mozart - Speakal brings to the US Speakers for the whole family, with quality that speaks fashion. Cute just got Powerful!
Campridge - Good Dog Coffee Micro Roasters, a small family owned business, is the leading coffee retailer, coffee roaster and brand of custom-roasted specialty coffees from Puerto Rico and Bolivia. Our philosophy is simple: We love coffee just as we love our dogs! We never store roasted coffee. All our coffees are roasted AFTER you order it. This way we ensure total freshness. It simply doesn't get any fresher!
Buchanan - 21st Century Organics manufactures a carefully-targeted, well-developed, extremely effective line of life-improving health supplements that assist with critical areas like sleep, muscle relaxation & stress relief, energy, mood, diet, sex, skin, and general health.
Candy - The Candy Florist Delivers Edible Cookie Bouquets, Candy Bouquets, Chocolate Roses, Edible Arrangements.
Nimbus - When you shop Nimbus, you'll find a broad selection of designer pieces including vessel sinks, faucets, showers, vanities, and other bathroom accessories. Kraus Incorporated its distinguished style with superior functionality and affordability, while maintaining highest standards of quality in its vast product line.