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The Future Of The Small Ecommerce Seller
Volumes have been written regarding the future of e-commerce as it relates to the “little guy”. The explosion of the internet has made millionaires and even billionaires out of dot com entreprenuers. Men and women that had a dream, and the drive to develop and execute ideas. Establishing their businesses in garages, basements, living rooms and kitchens around the world, the one thing these people have in common is that most of them started out as a one or two person operation.
One of the most frequent questions I field in my ecommerce courses is ” Can the small seller still get in and make money on the internet or is it too late?” The answer in my mind is a resounding YES, however this answer comes with caveats.
The route that many of us “old timers” took back in the late 90’s and early in the new century has become much more crowded and even gridlocked as we have moved into the new century and beyond. Back in the day as the popular saying goes, there was very little competition. The number of available venues could literally be counted on one hand. Sites such as eBay (and a FEW others) allowed the Mom & Pop sellers to market to the world and build a worldwide business. As we moved into the new century, established businesses began to take notice of the internet and the trememdous opportunities it offered to commerce.
The small sellers began facing tremendous competition as traditional Brick and Mortar (B/M) businesses started to realize the internet was not a fad, but a viable and yes necessary marketplace.
Today the Mom & Pop, as well as small and medium sellers face tremendous competition from the corporate world. To be successful, the “little Guys” must be competitive in all aspects of ecommerce marketing. From price to shipping to service and selection, the small seller needs to do it better than the corporate competition.
eBay is changing direction from the small seller to corporate accounts. Yes eBay can still be used as an integral part of marketing, but certainly should not be the only venue or channel used. Amazon.com offers a great marketing channel for larger businesses with quantity of merchandise but does not really fit those with low quantity numbers or the onsey twosey seller. Overstock.com is offering a similar service but again is more focused towards quantity sellers.
Many new marketing channels are now working hard to attract disenchanted small ebay sellers who have been disadvantaged by the eBay search changes or don’t fit into the Amazon.com type model. In order to begin a new business on the internet, sellers will have to do their research. They need to know their product, the demand for the product, and the best venues from which to market from. Knowledge is power, and having the knowledge to make an intelligent decision on how best to market your items will provide the small seller the best opportunity to succeed.
Does eBay Scare You? Remember Preston Tucker?
Over the past 18 months sitting behind our microphone, one thing has become glaringly evident. eBay has intimidated the marketplace, from users to software developers to many of the media, keeping them on a tight leash to discourage not only the voicing of discontent, but to hamper the growth of competition.
Now, before you laugh or snicker, do you remember Preston Tucker, the visionary and entrepeneur of the auto industry of the 40’s? He was responsbile for the development of many things we see today in the vehicles we operate. However, due in large part to the intimidation of the “Big 3″ automakers with suppliers and the power they wielded in government, Tucker went belly up.
This is the exact same situation going on today with eBay. We have talked with several software developers, service providers and even media that are intimidated by eBay. We have been told by potential advertisers they will not advertise on our program because we frequently do not support eBay in totallity. We have been told by media or experts we have asked to be on our show that they don’t want to talk about eBay if it is not in a complimentary way. As the tagline of our radio program states, “Objective, Informative and INDEPENDENT” and we intend to stay that way! One company told us “our product is totally an eBay focused product and if your program says anything bad about eBay we don’t want to advertise on your program”. Now before you say it, this is not “sour grapes” on our part. I will not accept any advertiser that attempts to censor our program. Certainly businesses have the right to advertise where they want and I do not hold that against them. In the case of the company I referred to above, I do honor their honesty. Many potential advertisers would rather tell us they have an interest in advertising with us, then never return our calls or emails. I would much rather they be honest and just say no.
eBay promotes itself as a venue, an open marketplace, yet eBay censors it’s users on the discussion boards, and has been hampering users from promoting their own websites, and now outright banning ANY attempt by users to do this.
One has to wonder why software developers have not made products that will work across multiple channels other than eBay. Certainly several ecommerce solution providers such as ChannelAdvisor, Kyozou, Infopia and others offer the capability of multi-channel service. However the VAST majority of software products available to online auction sellers are not made to work on sites other than eBay. Most of these product providers will tell you it is because the other sites do not have the traffic or traction to warrant the development. I believe there is some truth to that. I also believe that because these companies have placed all of their resources into eBay they (the product developers) can not afford for eBay to loose traction. I also believe that eBay would stop being so “nice” to these developers if the companies worked to make their product multi-channel friendly. This theory has been proven several times in eBay’s history. Most recently the Craigslist mess, but going back to the Auction Assistant software days. During the big crash of 1998 of the eBay site, many users of the Auction Assistant auction software begged John Slocum the developer of the product to create a product that would work on other sites such as Yahoo (at that time) and others. eBay saw the handwriting on the wall and thought “how can we prevent Auction Assistant from doing this?” The answer was simple,,, buy them out, which they did.
I do realize that this situation is somewhat of a Catch-22. I also know that as eBay becomes more the “Big Box” store of the internet, the small and casual sellers will find other venues from which to sell their product. The first developers that step up to the plate and make selling management software that will work on other venues will be ahead of the curve as eBay looses these smaller sellers.
I return to the title of this blog. Does eBay scare you? My answer is no. I use eBay for what it is, a FANTASTIC advertising tool to attract buyers, then harvest MY CUSTOMERS information after the sale to market and direct them to the other venues I sell from.
It’s working….
Hey guys it’s awhile since I last had a Post seems to get busy here. Well the equipment is back from the maker and working. hurray, wow hooo….Thanks to or freind Paul for keeping us up and running… It’s been busy getting ready for eBaylive, scheduling new guests for you to listen to live from Chigco. Hey ….did we tell you we’re going to do 2 -2hour shows from ebayLive, one in the morning and one in the afternoon I’ll be posting a list of the guests so you can mark your calenders soon…..
Summer is here….
Looks like summer is here and boy what a season, everything is growing and getting green. I know that alot of you out there will be going on vactions, weekend trips, etc.
So take this as a reminder from Sparky and the ebay & Beyond gang, list your auctions so that they end when your home, not on the road so that you’ll be able to take care of your customer with emails, invoices, shipping in a timely maner.
Customer service is what will help build your business better than most anything else.
Keep your buyers happy and they will return time and time again.
What Did You Learn From the OLA Rummage Sale?
You Know this blog is supposed to be about my side of the mic, so I hope I can tell my side and not bore you to much.
The OLA Rummage Sale has come to an end. Some wonder what has the OLA Rummage Sale done for me! From my point of view a lot.
I will admit I’m not a seller and don’t claim to be one, so many may just blow this off, I hope not.
The biggest winner from the auction was the person or persons who participate in the first place.
They came and stumbled trying to list on a new platform for them, and it seemed there was just a ton of help for them when they fell down and just couldn’t seem to get it right. Wow to me that’s a plus..Getting to know each other.
Then there’s the new buyers that came or did I miss that someone sold something?
New people, and what do you do when you find something good ? You get what you can, then tell another person and so forth. Don’t you think they told others of the bargains on OLA? More exposure thats a plus.
I think some of OLA’s staff came to know all of us a little better and how strong we are…. and will be there as they have been to pick us up when we stumble.
Remember if I’m right this place is going to get big. Kinda nice to know the folks that run the place when you need to talk to them. Or even have someone to talk with.
When things are small and time is not to busy, lets build on what we have learned, not on what we don’t have.
Have you subscribed to the RSS feed yet?
You know I’m a little slow when it comes to computers as I have told some of you in the past, so this won’t come as a total suprise.
But if you have’nt subscribed to the RSS feed or the subscribe window and sign up on our web site www.basicstobusiness.com you need to look into this feature on your computer. It makes it a lot easier to find out when there is new material for you to hear from ebay & beyond Basics to business.
I know there are many who all ready know how this works and use it regulary, but I think there are some like myself that are just learning, so look at this, find a freind to explain this better.
Tomorrow is Saturday Time For ebay&Beyond at 10amET
Hello Guys and Gals,
This is the early warning system anounnceing that tomorrow is Saturday and time again for ebay&Beyond Basics to Business Radio program heard on www.basicstobusiness.com at 10amET-Noon. We will talk to callmemomo about the final days of the OLA’s Rummage Sale, Etsy.com ,Scott Pooler and so much more, so please come join in on the toll free number or the free chat this Saturday morning at www.basicstobusiness.comThanks for your support,
Sparky
eBayLive As We Know It Takes A Break In 2009
What has been rumored for months (eBay & Beyond had unofficial confirmation about a month ago) has finally been confirmed by Lorrie Norrington today in a post on the eBay Announcement Board.
Ms. Norrington states in the release that “In 2009 we are focusing our energy on smaller venues to facilitate more face-to-face interactions with our customers and community. While I can’t yet name all of the places we’ll be visiting in 2009, I can say that we intend to spend more quality time with more of you in 2009 than we have in recent memory.”
While this has been rumored for some time, and logically it makes sense from a business point of view, many loyal eBayLive attendees will certainly be disappointed. One rumor we have heard is that there may be several smaller events placed strategically around the country (world) to allow easier access by more users.
Though past eBayLive events have attracted as many as 10,000 community members this number is just a fraction of the total active registered users which according to eBay is above 80,000,000 worldwide.
We will be broadcasting live a total of 12 hours from this years eBayLive in Chicago, so if you can’t attend, you can hear all the latest news right here on www.basicstobusiness.com.
eBay Strike Begins, Onlineauction.com Rummage Sale Features Over 6300 Items
While some unhappy sellers on the site have begun the second round of the boycott, again eBay says that the boycotters actions will not change the course the site has set. While I personally do not think that a boycott is the answer, certainly those participating are unhappy and looking for other venues to market their products. 
To that end, Onlineauction.com sellers have organized wht they are calling the “RUMMAGE SALE” which began on the same day, May 1st, as the eBay Boycott. The rummage sale is being conducted by the sellers to gain exposure to the Onlineauction.com site. I checked this morning while writing this and there are over 6300 items in the rummage sale category which the site set up just for this event. All items in the rummage sale start at $0.99 and are in auction format. To recognize and assist the sellers in their endeavor, Onlineauction.com has purchased and donated 2 new Dell laptop computers and placed them into the Rummage Sale. All proceeds from these items (the laptops) will be donated to St. Judes Hospital.
In full disclosure, Onlineauction.com is an advertiser on our radio program ebay & Beyond: Basics to Business, however that is certainly not the reason I am posting this. I am posting this to point out that all business owners, Brick and Mortar or virtual, must make the correct decision for their business. Like I said, I don’t believe the eBay boycott will be effective. What I do believe is that if a marketing channel does not fit your business model, then you as a business owner need to make the decision to either change your business or make a change.
And that’s my Final Value of the day.
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