April 2008 Archives

The vzaar team is back in the office after two days at ChannelAdvisor’s superb Catalyst event. Hundreds of online sellers, service providers and others gathered with ChannelAdvisor staff to talk about selling more and examine the trends that are fuelling the continued growth of ecommerce. It was great fun meeting and chatting with dozens of online sellers about video and how it can invigorate eBay sales.

What did we learn? Well, lots. There isn’t much cause for doom and gloom just yet. Ecommerce spending in Europe, America and Asia is still set to grow every year for the next 5 years, even if other aspects of the economy are shrinking or slowing down. That said, more and more traditional High Street retailers are beginning to fully understand how they can exploit ecommerce more effectively so there is likely to be greater competition.

eBay remains a critical online channel for many, if not most sellers, and much attention was given over to getting eBay to work really hard for you. The changes to feedback and fees were much discussed and sellers are still digesting the enormous raft of changes that eBay has announced. (Oh and eBay UK’s MD, Mark Lewis told attendees to expect more). Contrary to press coverage predicting a strike on May 1, the people I spoke to were pleased with the changes, said business was generally very good and they expected to expand their eBay operations this year.

But eBay isn’t the only kid on the block anymore. Google and Amazon are attracting buyers and sellers. Amazon, in particular, is enjoying phenomenal growth and it’s a vital channel for many merchants already. Scot Wingo, Channel Advisor’s CEO also primed sellers for big changes this side of the Atlantic from Google in and from Google Product Search in particular.

It’s obvious that sellers looking to increase their sales need a variety of channels. Be it eBay, their own website, Google, Amazon, comparison shopping sites or more specialised marketplaces such as play.com. And the choice available is greater than before. It is remarkable to note, especially in these times of economic uncertainty, that there was no doubt from attendees that if they put the time and effort in that they could grow their businesses and profitability.

And last, but not least, if you didn’t have time to stop by the vzaar stand at Catalyst: don’t worry! Drop us a line and we’ll get in touch: http://www.vzaar.com/contact

Hello there,

I'm Jamie and one of the newer folk here at vzaar. Since joining from eBay I've been focusing on working with PowerSellers to better understand how we can build a product that meets the needs of the selling community and then how to best market that. As a result we've taken a hammer to the vzaar piggy bank and signed up for a place at Catalyst 2008. But what exactly is Catalyst I hear you cry?

Well, between April 21st and 22nd, Channel Advisor are hosting their annual ecommerce shin dig called Catalyst in London and it promises to be quite an occasion.

The two-day event brings together retailers from across the UK to discuss their success stories and learn about upcoming industry trends that will help boost their online businesses and naturally we wanted to be there to share our story and fly the vzaar flag nice and high for all to see. If you are serious about selling on eBay and thinking about expanding the number of channels through which you sell then this really is the type of event you should be attending. There are guest speakers from eBay, Google, Play.com and Red Letter Days to name just a few and my friends at Channel Advisor HQ tell me that there are still a few places left if you wish to register.

If you currently use Channel Advisor to manage your inventory but are new to vzaar then don't be shy, come and say hello. I promise not to throw my arms around you in front of all the other delegates but will be only too happy to explain to you how easy it is to incorporate our video player into your current listing templates. Alternatively if you are already a vzaar convert then great, the first drink is on me!

Of all the changes that eBay have unveiled in the last few months (and make no mistake, we’ve seen the biggest slew of significant developments in the marketplace’s history) those that affect feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) are the ones that impact sellers the most. Those little orange stars can now determine the prominence of your wares in search results and, critically for PowerSellers, they also influence whether or not you get final value fee discounts.

Like it or loathe it, every eBay seller needs to keep an eye on their DSRs and, where necessary, concentrate on improving them. There’s plenty of sage advice out there from Scot Wingo and Tamebay, to name but two. We reckon that video has a part to play. Here are some ideas about how you can use vzaar in your eBay listings to help keep your DSRs high.

Describing your Items
There are marks for describing your items accurately. So it’s more important than ever to be full, frank and honest. There’s no better way of giving buyers a complete idea of what you’re selling than with video. Explain the item, expose the flaws and elaborate the details with sound and vision.

Talk Shipping
Are you concerned that your buyers don’t understand your P&P terms? Consider including a video in all your listings to manage expectations. You can produce one video that’s good across all your listings so getting the message across needed take you much time.

Communication Counts
You want 5 star communications, so don’t forget that different folks like different strokes. Some people will happily read reams of text, others will barely read a word and rely on your images. Others will respond favourably to the immediacy of video. It may not immediately appeal to you. But think of the buyers who will love it and reward you for taking the trouble.

Not only, but also.
Video isn’t meant to replace anything you offer already. It’s about taking a ‘belts and braces’ approach to ensure you are giving yourself every change to get the best DSRs. Adding a video to your eBay listings can be part of your efforts to be a five star eBay seller.