eBay is a place where buyers and sellers meet online and make transactions. As an eBay seller, being part of the community means not just selling your own stuff but being a customer as well. In this article, let’s talk about how buyers can affect your reputation as a seller and how purchasing on eBay can boost your sales.

Customer Feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings
People who look for things to buy on eBay often base their choices on the seller’s ratings. All buyers are encouraged to participate by giving feedback about the seller’s products and quality of service. Aside from posting comments, buyers provide anonymous ratings based on several criteria. This is known as the eBay Detailed Seller Ratings or DSR.  Buyers will be giving their personal ratings by considering the following questions:

• Did the item meet your expectations and was it as described in the auction listing?

• Did the seller email you after the auction, or did you have to contact them? What was their general communication with you like?

• How long did it take for your item to arrive?

• Were the shipping and handling charges fair?

• How did you react to the way the item was packed for shipping?

• Were you pleased with the overall level of customer service?

To get a good or an excellent score, a seller must ensure 100% customer satisfaction. It’s very important that the items you sell meet the expectations of your buyer. False expectations or misleading ads can be avoided by providing a detailed and accurate description in your listing. Don’t skip the most important details about the item, especially if it has minor flaws or defects.

You should also make sure that order will be delivered on time and that the item will arrive in good condition.  To avoid getting inaccurate ratings, it is best to get in touch with your buyer not only before the sale but after the sale has been made. Ask your buyer if they received the item on time and if they have any concerns at all about the transaction. By doing so, you can try to make arrangements before your customer puts out a negative feedback or a bad rating which can badly hurt your credibility as a seller.

It’s Your Turn to Rate Other Sellers
Knowing what it’s like to choose products and what it’s like to deal with a seller will give you a better understanding on what buyers go through. In response, you can improve your own services based on what you observed and experienced.
Yes, eBay sellers are encouraged to participate in the buying transactions. In fact, the PowerSellers of ebay are known to show full support to their fellow eBay sellers by making purchases from them time and again.

What is niche marketing? Niche marketing is focusing your marketing strategies to a specific group of people.  Finding a niche means knowing what this particular market wants.

Businesses that focus on niche marketing provide unique products or services that are especially made for that particular group of people.  These products or services are generally not offered by larger corporations in the same field. 

Benefits of Niche Marketing

If you’re running a small drop shipping business, it will be difficult to compete with large corporations in the industry that offers the same products and services that you do.  This is especially true if your competitors are big names in the market and has been around for many years.  They have already established a solid reputation than can be very hard to overtake especially if your company has just started.  However, this does not mean that your business will fail.

As a small business, you need to have a focus, a target market or a niche.  How can you do that?  Of course, you need to find your niche market or your potential market.  Who are these people?  You cannot be marketing your products or service to the general public.  You need to know who has the most potential to buy your products and services.  Finding out your niche is the first step in niche marketing.

Understanding Your Niche Market

After you have defined your niche market, you need to conduct a study about what your target market wants that is not yet in the market.  Or think about what unique product or service can you offer this group?

For example, if your competitor is a leading manufacturer for the whole state, your niche market may prefer to buy locally at a lesser price.  Also if your competitor is selling products in a limited choice of colors or varieties, perhaps you can offer more choices on the products you sell.

It is important to carefully examine your options.  Conduct your own survey and ask questions. Don’t forget to observe how survey participants view your competitors.  More importantly, take into account the location of your prospective niche market.

Take note of the results of these surveys.  Use graphical representations if possible.  Based on these results, you can find ideas on how you can provide the appropriate product or service to your niche market.  Make sure that you concentrate on the specific needs of a specific group of people.

Aside from studying your niche market, don’t forget to pay attention to your own strengths.  Ask from your existing customers what they particularly like about your product or your service.  Encourage them to give their honest opinion about your business.  Also, get their point of view or suggestion about how you can improve your services.

If it’s not possible to create your own unique product, you can still provide a service that is distinctively your own.  Moreover, be aware of your strong points and make sure that you maintain the outstanding quality of the products and services you offer.  Lastly, if you think you’ve found the right niche market, it’s best to conduct an initial trial selling period using the new product or service you will offer.