Long term I always recommend dropshipping from your own website rather than auction and classified websites, mainly because of profit margins. However using auction sites is a great way to build up a customer database and get used to running an online business. eBay is the website of choice for the majority of dropshippers due to the amount of shoppers on eBay, here are 5 really simple ways to increase your conversions (auction listing visitors becoming buyers).

1. Have at least 1 image, and it must be top quality. You must have at least 1 image of your product, this goes without saying. The higher the quality of the image the better, and also the larger the better, this allows potential customers to see the product clearly. If the photo provided by your dropshipper isn’t very good you should buy the product and take your own photos (use a bedsheet to create blank background for photos). Taking your own photos can also give you a competitive edge.

2. Make your sales copy well laid out and clearly show each section. Using graphic headers for different sections is a great way to lay out your listing. Sections may include ‘Product Description’, ‘Delivery’, ‘Returns’, ‘Guarantees’, ‘Previous Customer Feedback’, ‘Payments’. You can create these graphics with free software like Serif PhotoPlus.

3. Offer a wide range of payment options. Always offer paypal, but try and offer as many others as possible. It may be annoying taking cheques to the bank, but it is another transaction for the cashbook and another customer in the database who may buy again!

4. Tell the customer why to buy with you. The visitor doesn’t want to know about you personally, they want to know how you can help them and they need to trust you if they are going to buy. So if your postage is ‘1st class recorded’ and dispatched next day then clearly state it! Clearly state your ‘100% refund if unhappy’ promise and also clearly show your positive feedback.

5. Pay attention to the little things. Pay close to attention to the small things and it will remove your listings rough edges and give you a professional listing. Spelling mistakes, bad grammar, ugly font, bad quality graphics and no information on returns all make your listing/business look unprofessional and the visitor will soon be clicking the ‘back’ button to see what others are selling.

These aren’t the sort of tips you need to test and monitor to see if they are having an effect, if you have hundreds of listings running at any one time they WILL increase sales (unless there is something categorically wrong like a bad product/ridiculous price).

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