posted on December 23, 2005 05:28:34 AM new
I have been selling on Ebay for over 3 years and currently am using Vendio services. I don't have a Vendio store. What are the advantages? If it increases sales, I'm in, but I don't understand how that works. I would appreciate any help! Thanks so much! Jana
posted on December 23, 2005 05:58:30 AM new
Jana - I have been thinking about this too. I wouldn't close my ebay store but would hope to attract buyers to Vendio store through upsell at Vendio checkout. The FVF is only 1% so IF you can get the buyers, it would be a great resource. The drawback is that you would have to use Vendio checkout (I think) for it to work. Have they gotten the "bugs" out yet?
I would be interested in hearing from other users how successful Vendio store has been? Do you have "tricks" for attracting buyers you would like to share?
Can you easily move inventory between Vendio Store and ebay and vice versa?
-------------------------------------
posted on December 23, 2005 06:07:05 AM new
That's exactly what I want to know too. I don't want to close my Ebay store just am trying to INCREASE sales! Thanks for responding and hoping others will let use know! Thanks!
posted on December 28, 2005 05:45:36 AM new
I have had my store for a long time and would recommend it.
First, you need to make sure you get traffic. That takes about 5 or 6 months (as I learned when I changed my id here at vendio and all of the old links on the search engines were wrong). Since I have been here a long time and have detailed oriented listings, I get pretty good placement when someone searchs for something specific.
Second, you need to make sure your store is your gallery in your ebay listings. I don't know for sure because we dont have site statistics here at VD but I think ebay drives traffic to my store (and vice versa).
Third, use VD checkout, which I do. Although it is just an option for my customers, it does allow them to see the cross promotions that I entered when creating the item.
Finally, here is this year's trend in sales:
Ebay and Ebay store sale: 38%
Vendio Store sale: 62%
I actually did not know this until you asked the question. Some of those VD sales are combined with an ebay sale, but it still pretty strong evidence that a VD store is worth it, at least for me.
It doesn't hurt that I also accept credit cards and get designers and collectors coming in and buying 40 or 50 ads at a time. Some of these individuals really boost the VD sales.
posted on December 28, 2005 05:57:34 AM new
That is so helpful, Beth. Thank you! I think I will do it! Is the process of opening the store very tricky, and will many things need to be changed? I presume, I'll know as I do it.
Thanks so much!
Jana
posted on December 28, 2005 06:49:58 AM new
Wow Beth - that is VERY impressive! Do you put only NEW (never listed elsewhere) inventory in your Vendio store or do you put unsolds from ebay auctions? I assume that you can't have items listed in both places. Is it easy to move inventory around from ebay to Vendio and vice versa?
-------------------------------------
posted on December 28, 2005 07:27:04 AM new
Beth - I checked out your ebay listings and saw your link to the "Auction Gallery" (and the "approved by ebay" note). Did you get ebay to approve the link and WHAT A GOOD IDEA!! The link goes to your "gallery" of ebay listings but it's one short click from displaying ALL of your items in the Vendio store
-------------------------------------
posted on December 28, 2005 08:23:27 AM new
I had my vendio store before my ebay store. Neglus, you encouraged me to do the ebay store and I began by moving ads from my vd store. It is not fast by any means for me because I have to edit each inventory item to add the necessary ebay stuff. It might be easier if you use SMIE. I don't know as I have never figured out if SMIE is for folks like me that have 9000 unique items.
By the way, all the items you have in inventory are displayed in your store if you have a quantity of 1 or more. So listing to the VD store if VERY simple. If you have multiple quantities of an item, you can even add them to your store while you create an ebay item (the option is at the bottom)
So, I had about 9000 items in my store and then opened the ebay store. Tody, I go through a stack of listings and categorized them as: ebay, ebay store, vendio store. I usually charge more in my VD store because those people usually come off the internet. According to ebay, I sent about 1000 hits from my VD homepage to my ebay home page (good for that referral credit!)
As for setting up the store. There is a wizard that actually walks you through it. Then you have two options. You can list items just like an ebay item. You can add items through inventory and create profiles.
I used to use the desktop version of sales mgr pro for VD store items, but the insurance is messed up on that right now.
As for the link, someone reported me to ebay as that link not being appropriate. Ebay ruled that it was within the one click rule so I added that verbage for my competitors (or whoever) it was that reported me.
Any more questions, just let me know. I also have a shop on ioffer for more recent ads and lower priced ads. Kind of allows you to niche market. And to put items where they are the most cost effective.
posted on December 28, 2005 08:57:00 AM new
WoW~ I just tried taking one of my unsold ebay items to place in my Vendio store. I located it in "post sale">"unsold". I pretended like I was going to relist it and then edited it to include a quantity of "1" in my Vendio store. I then scheduled the item to launch at a date far out in the future and voila - there it was in my Vendio store without changing a thing! WAY easy! I really have to think up a business plan now! Thanks Beth!
-------------------------------------
posted on December 28, 2005 09:23:49 AM new
Hello,
Note that you don't even have to schedule the item.
Once your on that 'edit' page in the relist process, set your quantity/price/category for the Vendio storefront, then click to 'save' the changes.
At that point you can just quit out of the relist process completely and the item will already be in your storefront.
This will also place an unscheduled copy of this item in your pending section, which you can delete as needed without any effect on the item now in your inventory/storefront.
posted on December 28, 2005 09:39:32 AM new
Christopher - how about putting it back in ebay (say for FLD and the like) is there an easy way to do that?
-------------------------------------
posted on December 28, 2005 09:43:07 AM new
Hello neglus,
On the Inventory Edition it's very easy as you could simply submit the quantity one that you have into eBay and that would remove the item from the store during the duration of the listing.
On the SMME version it is a little different. You now have an item in inventory with a quantity one at the storefront. In order to take this single item from your store and place it into the eBay marketplace again, you would first need to edit the item to lower the 'quantity available to the storefront' down to zero, which will then make this quantity available to move to the eBay marketplace (which you would do via this master copy now in inventory.)
posted on December 28, 2005 06:07:22 PM new
Hi Beth,
It is a completely different interface than SMME so it is up to you if you would like to try it. It doesn't cost any extra. It is inventory-based as it is meant for customers who use a lot of the same item. The store item management is different but I don't doubt that you would like it...just takes getting used to...
posted on December 28, 2005 11:46:03 PM new
Beth Sounds like your Vendio store is doing very well. 63% of your sales is very impresive. By the way, both store's look very nice
One dumb question though. If I open a Vendio Store in addition to my ebay store how do I create the link in the ebay listing's that sends customers to the vendio store? I think I know the answer but want to make sure. Thanks Mike.
posted on December 29, 2005 04:01:35 AM new
There are several ways to do so.
First, you could do a visit my gallery like I have.
Second, there is an option on the create a store page to include a store banner (ebay appropriate) on each listing.
Third, if you use Vendio gallery then that acts as your store promo.
You can also have a promo to your store when someone enlarges a picture on your ebay page.
As soon as you open your store, your ebay items will be listed in it.
Beth
www.vintageads4u.com
posted on December 29, 2005 07:03:14 AM new
Christopher (or Beth) - I put one item in the Vendio store as a test - that part was easy. I see it in Inventory too (that could get kind of messy with thousands in Inventory but I see there is search). I changed the store quantity to zero but I don't see how you move it to ebay - the Inventory view does not have a "Launch" button and saving it does not put it in "Pending". How do I move it?
-------------------------------------
posted on December 29, 2005 10:31:15 AM new
Hello neglus,
When you are in inventory and not editing an item, there is a 'launch' button at the top of the list with the other menu options. Select the item in question and click this 'launch' button to submit the item to eBay.
posted on December 29, 2005 03:59:39 PM new
You can create catagories in your inventory if you want to and profiles.
I'd like to see your store when you are done, you do good work. Very impressed with your ebay store.
Beth
www.vintageads4u.com
posted on January 4, 2006 10:46:29 PM new
Thoughts on SMIE:
SMIE is set up to make all kinds of bulk editing changes very easy, and with everything accessible at a glance all on one page when you do it. Although that is ideal for multiples of identical items, the concept of "inventory based" is much more versatile than that.
An "inventory item" can be defined any way you want that works for you. For instance, there is nothing that prevents an inventory item definition based on layout features (all pics on the left), or based on custom gallery coding changes (like which ebay categories of pics are featured), or based on different html graphic designs (your ad with red colors you sell cars with versus a blue template you use to sell something else), or anything else that suits your needs for the first tier of definition (because there are still 2 more tiers of definition to specify the item's content). That cannot be done in SMME because there is only one tier of definition available.
A red widget in SMME can only be a single unique red widget. But in SMIE, if you only have one red widget to sell as a unique item that item can be defined as a layout X inventory item (for instance), subdivision: widget (tier 2), subdivision: red widget (tier 3). Or similarly, if you have more than one identical red widget to sell it could be defined a layout X inventory item, subdivision: red widgets (tier 2), subdivision: specific unique red widget (tier 3). All that is required is that the final tier of definition for an item if there is more than one tier be specific to a unique single item sold, but which tier that occurs in or how you define the tiers is completely up to you.
To use SMIE like SMME just forget the tiers of definition and create each unique item as an inventory item--you don't have to have multiples of an item to use SMIE. But even if all your items are unique items, there is always something in common among bunches of them--subgroups based on fixed shipping, calculated shipping, how you like the pics laid out, whether or not you plan to relist, future store items, store items that you intend to be future auction items--something can group them into repetitive categories. In that sense inventory item definitions can serve much like mini-profiles and add the flexibility of bulk editing features SMIE offers compared to SMME.
In transition from SMME to SMIE, for safety be sure all your defaults are set as single launch only per item at the beginning so if there is a problem it is like SMME--only one of each item to fix. When you have experimented with the definition tiers for items and things are working well for you in launching single items as unique items, then it's time to sell 500 identical inventory copies if you are ready. The same buttons that create an amazing time saving bulk edit on 500 items just as easily can create 500 instant identical mistakes--easy to correct in SMIE, not easy to fix on ebay.
