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Outranking Ebay Listings, is it easy?

by Benjam1n
23 replies
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I've just posted this in the main section of the site, didn't know we now had an e-commerce section so reposted in here too since there will hopefully be a few experts lurking!

Anway, quick question - I've found a product which is quickly beomcing very popular in the UK but the majoirty of sellers are not tech savvy and so have chosen to list on ebay rather than create an e-commerce website.

Lets say that this item was (a random example) cauliflowers - how easy would an e-commerce store optimised for selling "cauliflowers" outrank an ebay "cauliflower" listing?

The reason I ask is because all the top results are ebay listings and my train of thought is, If I can put together a good site with optimised descriptions etc, throw up some videos on youtube and get a few mentions around the web, would it be enough to outrank the ebay listings (which are just listings individual sellers).

Thanks in advance for any help!
#easy #ebay #listings #outranking
  • Profile picture of the author NickSway
    That's a terrific plan. I have outranked eBay items a countless number of times. What you've described is good start to do so. eBay listings are ever changing. The web pages expire a certain number of days after the listing ends. While they rank fairly quickly because it's eBay, their rank really doesn't hold a lot of weight when going up against solid competition.
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  • Profile picture of the author Benjam1n
    Awesome Nick, thanks for the reply! Going to get started on this asap.

    My plan is

    1) Get a good domain (there's some awesome ones as it's a brand new trend)
    2) Buy a nice e-commerce template from themeforest
    3) Get images of the product up, underpricing all competitors
    4) Create some slideshow videos for youtube
    5) Maybe pay for the SEO services of one of the warriors for some google juice

    I then don't have to purchase/create any stock until I actually have orders and its all cost me less than £100.
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  • Profile picture of the author TownMarketing
    It sounds like you have a solid plan. If you have a winning price point, which it seems like you do, I would build an e-commerce site AND post your product on Ebay. The more ways to your product the better. You can even put a link in your Ebay listing to your e-commerce site for inbound links from a reputable domain as well. Why not have 2 great ranking URLs that show up on the first page of Google when someone searches for cauliflowers!
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    • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
      Originally Posted by TownMarketing View Post

      It sounds like you have a solid plan. If you have a winning price point, which it seems like you do, I would build an e-commerce site AND post your product on Ebay. The more ways to your product the better. You can even put a link in your Ebay listing to your e-commerce site for inbound links from a reputable domain as well. Why not have 2 great ranking URLs that show up on the first page of Google when someone searches for cauliflowers!
      You need to FIND your pricepoint, though.

      This is found in the completed listings. ...

      There is a difference between FOR SALE and SOLD.


      Too many common mistakes people make with the two and people tend to keep relisting item wondering 'why didn't my item sell!?@#!#? '

      This CAN be predicted and FOUND even before you list an item!
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      • Profile picture of the author Benjam1n
        Thanks for the info AuctionDE, I will definitely put it to use but I am talking about outranking ebay listings on google with a totally seperate e-commerce site, not actually within ebay itself.
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        • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
          Originally Posted by Benjam1n View Post

          Thanks for the info AuctionDE, I will definitely put it to use but I am talking about outranking ebay listings on google with a totally seperate e-commerce site, not actually within ebay itself.
          Same thing, though.

          Because if you have an eBay store - and the items are good til cancelled - they'll be indexed in Google.

          Oh, and make sure to PING your eBay listings!

          (Use pingler.com)

          Get indexed faster.

          Subscribe to an eBay store when you have 32 listings - because then, mathematically it's then cheaper to have a store then to maintain 30 non-store listings.
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    • Profile picture of the author pavv
      Originally Posted by TownMarketing View Post

      .....I would build an e-commerce site AND post your product on Ebay. The more ways to your product the better.....
      Second this. A friends ecommerce business ranks between 1-3 for a highly searched and competitive keyword, yet sells twice as much through ebay!! It obviously varies with each product/niche (the barrier to entry is very high for this product - therefor he can sell at a bargain price with large margin) but it just proves sometimes Google isn't always the best. Ebay is full of hungry buyers.
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      • Profile picture of the author Benjam1n
        Originally Posted by pavv View Post

        Second this. A friends ecommerce business ranks between 1-3 for a highly searched and competitive keyword, yet sells twice as much through ebay!! It obviously varies with each product/niche (the barrier to entry is very high for this product - therefor he can sell at a bargain price with large margin) but it just proves sometimes Google isn't always the best. Ebay is full of hungry buyers.
        Hi Pavv, does your friend market his products for the same price on his ecommerce store and ebay?

        Thanks for the reply!
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        • Profile picture of the author sparrow
          Hi

          this is a little off but still in the theme of ebay listings

          I haven't done anything with ebay lately and wondering if they still allow you to be an affiliate by creating an eCommerce site with their listings

          if anyone could point me to examples it would be appreciated

          I am working on a project and need to look how ebay affiliates are listing these days

          thanks
          Ed
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          • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
            Originally Posted by sparrow View Post

            Hi

            this is a little off but still in the theme of ebay listings

            I haven't done anything with ebay lately and wondering if they still allow you to be an affiliate by creating an eCommerce site with their listings

            if anyone could point me to examples it would be appreciated

            I am working on a project and need to look how ebay affiliates are listing these days

            thanks
            Ed
            You can, but the affiliate network is terrible.

            In fact, about a year ago they came out with a horrible rule (short-lived) that said you can 'only be an affiliate for your OWN products!

            They do have a 90 day cookie, which is nice.

            But, they also decreased the commission.... Since the margins can be low anyway (unless you're selling and calculating profit BEFORE you sell --which no one, unfortunately, knows how to do) people steer clear from this model and eBay discourages it.

            Especially if you're doing PPC to the eBay-affiliate listings.

            I'd discourage it.

            Sell your own items and make a LOT more!
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        • Profile picture of the author pavv
          Originally Posted by Benjam1n View Post

          Hi Pavv, does your friend market his products for the same price on his ecommerce store and ebay?

          Thanks for the reply!
          Yep same price!
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          • Profile picture of the author huskieswin
            Probably simple but stupid question to some of you vet im'ers but I is a scared to do it without asking.

            I just put a listing up on ebay yesterday. Am I allowed by ebay, and or advised by you guys and gals, to link directly to a more expanded sort of product review page/bloggy page?

            As in among the ebay listing text, put in a sentence like "if you'd like to read even more, click here" sort of thing?

            Again, is that allowed under their policy and advised to do so by you guys?

            Please don't laugh at me people. I barely try to even create backlinks but when I do I don't want it to hurt me.

            Thanks in advance, you rock.
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  • Profile picture of the author Benjam1n
    Hi TM, thanks for taking the time to reply. Awesome tip which I will definitely be doing.

    There is an exact match domain available, with all the google penalties etc, is it worth getting an exact match Will I be penalised for it??
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  • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
    Take a look at the top-ranked eBay listings.

    You'll notice a few things about them (particularly the buy-it-nows)

    You'll notice that they are good-til-cancelled listings, they are multiple quantity listings, and they are there in perpetuity. (Type in 'blender' in eBay, click on the first 3 buy it nows and you'll see the same thing)

    One thing you DON'T see is how many watchers they have....

    Another thing that would HELP these listings is if they had a 'best offer' button on them.

    They don't have to accept the offer, but by virtue of receiving the offer, they rank higher - because eBay interprets these actions as 'hey - people are 'acting' on this listing - so I'm going to rank it higher!'

    This is also why you see auctions with multiple bids rank higher....

    You can seriously out-rank any top-rated seller by following simple rules of eBay....

    (And also directing traffic by creating optimized titles)

    eBay dupes many people by convincing them you need 'multiple categories' and 'upgrades in subtitles' and 'picture galleries'.

    It's all bogus.

    Kinda funny watching my competition try to outsmart 'me' when all they need to do is 'outsmart' buyers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
    Hey man,

    Good question, but you cannot link to an outside page on an eBay listing.

    There is one place you CAN link though, and it is out 'about me' page.

    Come by more often! You'll learn a TON!

    -Auction Debt Eliminator-
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    • Profile picture of the author huskieswin
      Yeah, I just kind of got into what I would best describe as dropshipping. Still trying to figure out as much as I can. I guess I'd be somewhere in between dropshipping and affiliate marketing.

      Whichever it is, I'm not making very much money yet.

      So you're saying that on the ebay 'about me' page I can have like a link to my home page or product listings? Which would be better to link to? I have more of a blog style website rather than an ecommerce site.
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  • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
    A clarifying question -

    When you say 'product listings' are these links for products on an outside website? Or are these for your eBay listings?

    Because when you have an eBay storefront, you have links to your products from your storefront.
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    • Profile picture of the author huskieswin
      Okay quick rundown -

      Got into affiliate marketing about 18 months ago, knew absolutely nothing, not even how to build a link, wordpress was foreign to me. I made a few mistakes with my 1st couple sites and eventually focused on one. It is a blog style website that has content in addition to product pages where customers can buy a product. Some of these items I own so I'll also have a personal review page (martial arts - the gis.)

      I got to looking into how those guys could sell their gis for so cheap and found out about wholesaling. I got my business license, applied to a wholesaler and here I am.

      For the gis I can get, I have a page dedicated just to that gi. The problem is I barely get any traffic and have sold a minimal amount. But then I got to wondering about ebay less than a week ago. I mean I didn't even have an account so I still know nothing about ebay.

      I mean if I can get people to bid on these gis through ebay as well I might generate more revenue from that rather than having to worry about driving traffic to my site.

      So I listed 2 items to experiment with on ebay Saturday being as how I had never listed anything or bought anything off of ebay. As I read around I saw their linking policy but wanted clarification from you guys. I have now created an about me page with a link to my site home page as well as my twitter account. But I was wondering if in a specific product listing for say martial arts uniform 'x' on ebay, in that description section can I link to that specific martial arts uniform product page 'x'?

      Long story, lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
    Okay - that makes sense.

    Here's the rule-of-thumb.

    You cannot, under any circumstance promote off eBay sales.

    And eBay wants eBayers to stay on eBay. In fact, YOU want eBayers to stay on eBay to make the sale!

    And, as an eBayer, once you MAKE the sale, that is now YOUR customer. Save their info! Their name, email, etc. Because now you're LIST BUILDING.

    Any future sales and traffic can now be targeted to your SITE.

    So after making a ton of sales of these products on eBay, you can then retarget them in the future for promotions on your website.

    I hope that helps. Keep the links off the listings themselves.

    -Auction Debt Eliminator-
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    • Profile picture of the author huskieswin
      Originally Posted by Auctiondebteliminator View Post

      Okay - that makes sense.

      Here's the rule-of-thumb.

      You cannot, under any circumstance promote off eBay sales.

      And eBay wants eBayers to stay on eBay. In fact, YOU want eBayers to stay on eBay to make the sale!

      And, as an eBayer, once you MAKE the sale, that is now YOUR customer. Save their info! Their name, email, etc. Because now you're LIST BUILDING.

      Any future sales and traffic can now be targeted to your SITE.

      So after making a ton of sales of these products on eBay, you can then retarget them in the future for promotions on your website.

      I hope that helps. Keep the links off the listings themselves.

      -Auction Debt Eliminator-
      Excellent, concise advice man. I appreciate it. Exactly the answer I was looking for.
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      • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
        Originally Posted by huskieswin View Post

        Excellent, concise advice man. I appreciate it. Exactly the answer I was looking for.

        Anytime, of course.

        Let's just say, I've been doing this a while. For a concise thread on how to utilize eBay listings for promotional use take a look here:

        http://www.warriorforum.com/building...marketing.html
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        • Profile picture of the author huskieswin
          Thank you for the help and the link. I checked out the ebay book in your sig, downloaded it, read it, and applied it starting Tuesday to 2 new listings.

          What you laid out in that book was very helpful and seems to be an excellent, common sense strategy that a person could miss. Especially one just starting out.

          And one thing you have in your book that is very similar to what my Dad used to say but not in a good way.

          I used to collect baseball cards growing up. I'm 40 now and have over 20,000 still. My Dad used to get upset at how much time/money I'd spend on cards. I'd say "but Dad, they're worth $x!" He'd always reply with "they're only worth what someone will pay for them."

          This kind of hammers home one of your rules about the pricing. Thanks again for the help man. So now I have 3 listings up, I created an about me page linking back to my site and twitter accounts, and I created an ebay webstore.

          We shall see.
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          • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
            Originally Posted by huskieswin View Post

            Thank you for the help and the link. I checked out the ebay book in your sig, downloaded it, read it, and applied it starting Tuesday to 2 new listings.

            What you laid out in that book was very helpful and seems to be an excellent, common sense strategy that a person could miss. Especially one just starting out.

            And one thing you have in your book that is very similar to what my Dad used to say but not in a good way.

            I used to collect baseball cards growing up. I'm 40 now and have over 20,000 still. My Dad used to get upset at how much time/money I'd spend on cards. I'd say "but Dad, they're worth !" He'd always reply with "they're only worth what someone will pay for them."

            This kind of hammers home one of your rules about the pricing. Thanks again for the help man. So now I have 3 listings up, I created an about me page linking back to my site and twitter accounts, and I created an ebay webstore.

            We shall see.

            Your dad has some very wise words!

            The funny thing is, though, a lot of times people think that LOWERING that price will increase their turnover...

            I've never understood that.

            Why, if someone would purchase something for, say, 100 dollars would you want to sell it for 80 dollars because you think it increases turnover?

            eBay's default search criterion isn't 'price plus shipping lowest first' - it's 'best match'.

            So, if you RANK higher, selling at the 'price someone's willing to pay for it', then you'll sell it juuuuuust fine.

            I let everyone else sell for lower margins, at the SAME rate I sell for.

            So long as I'm ranking higher than them - that's why I HAVE my 3 rules of eBay (as you've read them)

            They're to RANK you higher than your competition.

            Thanks again for the plug! I look forward to hearing of your progress!

            -Auction Debt Eliminator-
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