eBay Stores Case Studies:

Before you plan your eBay Store, read the following case studies to get your creativity flowing. Then return to the "Quickstart" eBay Store Planning Sheet.

 

Case Study #1

Cathy Clothes Seller

Store Title:  DesignerDiva

Store URL:  http://stores.ebay.com/DesignerDiva

 About Cathy: Cathy loves wearing the latest styles and knows where to find great deals on the season’s hot label jeans, tops and accessories. 

Cathy also has a friend in town who sells used clothing that is in good condition.  Cathy decides she will shop the department store sales and pick up new hot label items to sell, as well as listing her friend’s used clothing for a consignment fee. 

With an eBay store, Cathy can run the used clothing for just 3cents per month! 

 Cathy’s Plan: To use her hot label items to bring in traffic, then drive that traffic to her eBay store where the used items will be listed as well.  Cathy knows that her hot labels will sell for big money—perhaps those buyers would be interested in adding a few used items to their purchase and enjoy a combined shipping discount. 

Cathy also realizes that for every auction she runs, there can be only one winner (unless of course she finds multiple items that are exactly the same and runs a dutch auction) 

That means the majority of people who were interested in her item go away empty handed.  What if-   just what if Cathy had something to offer every person who looked at her auction that they could all win?  Something that was in constant supply that all her visitors would be interested in having?  Something like an eBook!

EBook idea: “The Designer Diva’s Guide To What’s In Style This Season” (links to fashion websites, recommended magazines, clothing reviews, dressing for your body type, favorite outlet stores, coupon codes, etc)

 

Cathy writes her e-book, (or finds another good one she can get resale rights to) and puts it in her eBay store.  She places a graphic for it in each of her auctions and starts making sales to people who did, and didn’t win her auctions!

 

Cathy could also offer her e-book as a free bonus to shoppers who buy 3 or more items from her store. 

Case Study #2

Max the Movie & Music Seller

Store Title: Play It Max

Store URL:  http://stores.ebay.com/PlayItMax

 About Max: Max is the ultimate movie & music buff.  His specialty on eBay is selling dvds and music cds as well as movie and band memorabilia. 

He has arrangements with the local CD exchange shop and the movie theatre manager to get some pretty great stuff for his auctions. Max gets his inventory from offering cash for cds and movies in the local paper, and from visiting pawn shops. 

Max’s Plan:  To start saving 90% on his listing fees by opening an eBay store to go along with his auctions.  He will sell Scratch Repair Kits (bought in bulk at wholesale prices), portable DVD players, and a downloadable computer program that movie lovers can use to organize their collection. These items he will run in his eBay store for 3 cents per month.   

EBook Idea: Max also came across an eBook that tells how to get autographed photos from famous people.  His customers will love this one, and he can get resell rights! Another great item for the eBay store.

 

  Max picks out his best selling items to run at auction, and places a graphic for his movie software & scratch repair kits in every auction he runs. Every auction also invites visitors to come to his eBay store for combined shipping on more great titles.

 

Now,  Max is running fewer auctions, drawing visitors to his eBay store, making money on digital items that don’t need shipped & making money on the Skip Repair Kits that are in constant supply.  He still sells DVDs and CDS that need listed and shipped with every sale, but his new eBay store is helping him make more money with the same traffic he already had.

 

Case Study #3

 

Larry’s Financial Planning

Store Title:Smart Money Shop

Store URL:

http://stores.ebay.com/SmartMoneyShop

 

 About Larry: Larry hates packing and shipping--  He’s an intellectual type who runs a financial and business consulting service. 

Larry has written a few guide books to help people start home businesses, protect their assets, manage rental property, and more. All of these are saved as computer files, and his winners simply download the information after they send payment. Larry also writes a bi-weekly Smart Money Newsletter but when he runs an auction for a subscription to his newsletter, it gets under 10 hits and rarely a buyer.

Larry’s Plan:  To reduce his listing fees by making his guides available in his eBay store.  Larry lists his downloadable guides in his eBay store as fixed price listings with starting quantities of 100 or more.  Then, he runs a regular auction for the same guide but in the auction, there is only 1 available to buy and there is no buy it now. 

In his auction, he tells customers they don’t have to wait for the auction to end!  They can buy the guide and download it today in his eBay store.

 

This way, his auction is running for a week or more and is constantly sending a stream of buyers into his store to buy the item now.  Larry can also include a free trial subscription to his newsletter to anyone who purchases a guide through his eBay store and build his email list.    

These case studies should give you some ideas of how you can use popular products in auctions to draw buyers to your eBay store. See how eBooks and digital products can greatly increase your profits?

Click Here to go to the Quickstart eBay Planning Sheet and plan your own eBay Store!

 

These case studies are provided compliments of Marjory Howes as a companion to the guide "Turbo-Charge Your Auction Store." for more information, please visit www.AuctionCashMachines.com

Disclaimer: The characters and business plans in these case studies are not real (at least to my knowledge). They are for demonstrative purposes only, and any similarities to actual sellers are strictly coincidental.