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Digg it UP - Artist Marketing - Selling Your Art on Ebay
Andy Martin and I were discussing some of the companies with which we strive to emulate. It all started with a couple of trips to a few well-known business models that train employees to treat the customer like a king or queen. You may be familiar with Starbucks, Nordstrom’s, The Ritz Carlton, and FedEx. Each of these fine companies operates a business model that puts the focus on the customer. Why do consumers pay the inflated prices at these places? Why pay $3.89 for a cup of coffee? Or $120 for a tie that elsewhere costs $110? How about $225 a night stay at A Ritz Carlton vs. $175 at a Marriott down the street? The answer is simple: consumers will pay for the overall experience and satisfaction at each of these businesses
If you don’t maintain your own website, or even if you do, you may want to consider opening an ebay store. It’s relatively inexpensive, with basic stores starting at $15.95/month, you can list as many items as you like in the store. List
Do you have 5, 10, or 20 years of sales experience? Or do you have 1 year of sales experience 5, 10, or 20 times? Many salespeople never advance beyond ancient outdated sales lines like "If I do this for you, will you give me the order?" Or "What do I have to do to get your business?" Lines like these are why salespeople have a reputation near lawyers in our society. Everyone learns lines like these in sales at some time or another. Often it comes from a senior salesperson who is described as "aggressive" or as "a closer". Because this guy brings in a lot of business, other's think that they should model his every habit. People say that you would sell more if you acted like this person. Yet se
As a venue for selling Art, ebay is a much debated issue. Some artists say that ebay devalues an artist’s work and that one should never sell their work on ebay. This is certainly a valid opinion -- a large percentage of ebay buyers are looking for bargains. That being said, here is another way to look at it: selling work on ebay to obtain exposure and advertising of one’s work, along with making sales. Let’s face it, there is no way to get around the fact that MILLIONS of people visit ebay everyday with the express intent of SHOPPING. It is unlikely that any other online site for marketing artwork will generate that volume of traffic.
A few years ago, before many artists entered the ebay marketplace, competition was light and making money on ebay a bit easier. Presently, ebay has grown to the point where jumping in and making a living selling your art exclusively on ebay would be challenging at best. If you can approach ebay as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy, as opposed to “putting all of your eggs in one basket,” the ebay experience can be quite valuable.
As far as selling prices go, yes, often times ebay prices are below other markets. If this bothers you, stop now -- ebay may be a waste of your time. However, if you don’t mind having some pieces sell for less than average, the ebay experience can simply mean well spent Advertising Dollars in addition to income. And what about those customers who paid full price for your work? Business is business. Your response, should they ask, can be that you dedicate a limited number of pieces to auction for advertising purposes. (Countless artists have donated their work to fundraisers, with zero input on the final selling price.) If you are going to “protect” the value of your work, you have to market it...
The actual “how to” of listing items on ebay is quite simple, though time consuming. There is no need for a “how to lesson” here, as every aspect of the ebay selling process is explained through onsite links to additional information. Any questions you have about fees, guidleines, etc. can be found right on ebay with a little patience.
The “philosophy” of the approach is up to you. I will suggest some guidelines for making ebay part of your over all marketing plan:
If you already have your own website, or plan to start one, great. Ebay can be used as a method for getting people to your main site. While you can’t advertise your website on an auction page, you can mention your site in the “About Me” section of your Seller Preferences. Also, you can mention your site in correspondence email to anyone who contacts you through ebay or wins one of your listed items. Ebay is quite particular about Sellers advertising other websites (ebay would of course prefer that all business transact through them!) so make sure to exercise care and only respond to those who contact you first. (See the ebay User Agreement for details.)
If you don’t maintain your own website, or even if you do, you may want to consider opening an ebay store. It’s relatively inexpensive, with basic stores starting at $15.95/month, you can list as many items as you like in the store. Listi
The following 7 sales skills are what I have found to be the most important skills for professional salespeople. Get good at these, and you'll be able to make a lot of money no matter how the economy is doing. Sales Skill #1: Qualifying Fast to Avoid Wasting Sales Time Do you chase after your prospects until they tell you yes or no? Do you ever tell your prospects "No", as in "No, I am not going to sell to you"? There are many things in selling that you do not and will not be able to control. The one thing that you do have control over is your time and how you choose to use it. To qualify fast you must have a set of criteria describing who you will and will not sell to. You want to sell to the p
A few years ago, before many artists entered the ebay marketplace, competition was light and making money on ebay a bit easier. Presently, ebay has grown to the point where jumping in and making a living selling your art exclusively on ebay would be challenging at best. If you can approach ebay as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy, as opposed to “putting all of your eggs in one basket,” the ebay experience can be quite valuable.
As far as selling prices go, yes, often times ebay prices are below other markets. If this bothers you, stop now -- ebay may be a waste of your time. However, if you don’t mind having some pieces sell for less than average, the ebay experience can simply mean well spent Advertising Dollars in addition to income. And what about those customers who paid full price for your work? Business is business. Your response, should they ask, can be that you dedicate a limited number of pieces to auction for advertising purposes. (Countless artists have donated their work to fundraisers, with zero input on the final selling price.) If you are going to “protect” the value of your work, you have to market it...
The actual “how to” of listing items on ebay is quite simple, though time consuming. There is no need for a “how to lesson” here, as every aspect of the ebay selling process is explained through onsite links to additional information. Any questions you have about fees, guidleines, etc. can be found right on ebay with a little patience.
The “philosophy” of the approach is up to you. I will suggest some guidelines for making ebay part of your over all marketing plan:
If you already have your own website, or plan to start one, great. Ebay can be used as a method for getting people to your main site. While you can’t advertise your website on an auction page, you can mention your site in the “About Me” section of your Seller Preferences. Also, you can mention your site in correspondence email to anyone who contacts you through ebay or wins one of your listed items. Ebay is quite particular about Sellers advertising other websites (ebay would of course prefer that all business transact through them!) so make sure to exercise care and only respond to those who contact you first. (See the ebay User Agreement for details.)
If you don’t maintain your own website, or even if you do, you may want to consider opening an ebay store. It’s relatively inexpensive, with basic stores starting at $15.95/month, you can list as many items as you like in the store. List
Planning and conducting a successful corporate conference is an enormous and important task. Huge sums of money are usually invested. Huge amounts of time, too!Here are twelve quick tips to help make your big event an even bigger success.1. Use BIG, CLEAR names on nametags.Use a bold, sans-serif typeface with the largest possible letter size. Nametags should be easy to read from at least 12 feet (3 meters) away. The whole purpose of a nametag is to make it easy for people to meet, mingle and say ‘Hello!’ No sense giving out nametags that require your conference participants to squint and stare.2. Keep participants hot by keeping the room cool.Keep your conference room temperature set toward
As far as selling prices go, yes, often times ebay prices are below other markets. If this bothers you, stop now -- ebay may be a waste of your time. However, if you don’t mind having some pieces sell for less than average, the ebay experience can simply mean well spent Advertising Dollars in addition to income. And what about those customers who paid full price for your work? Business is business. Your response, should they ask, can be that you dedicate a limited number of pieces to auction for advertising purposes. (Countless artists have donated their work to fundraisers, with zero input on the final selling price.) If you are going to “protect” the value of your work, you have to market it...
The actual “how to” of listing items on ebay is quite simple, though time consuming. There is no need for a “how to lesson” here, as every aspect of the ebay selling process is explained through onsite links to additional information. Any questions you have about fees, guidleines, etc. can be found right on ebay with a little patience.
The “philosophy” of the approach is up to you. I will suggest some guidelines for making ebay part of your over all marketing plan:
If you already have your own website, or plan to start one, great. Ebay can be used as a method for getting people to your main site. While you can’t advertise your website on an auction page, you can mention your site in the “About Me” section of your Seller Preferences. Also, you can mention your site in correspondence email to anyone who contacts you through ebay or wins one of your listed items. Ebay is quite particular about Sellers advertising other websites (ebay would of course prefer that all business transact through them!) so make sure to exercise care and only respond to those who contact you first. (See the ebay User Agreement for details.)
If you don’t maintain your own website, or even if you do, you may want to consider opening an ebay store. It’s relatively inexpensive, with basic stores starting at $15.95/month, you can list as many items as you like in the store. List
Getting involved in the online business world is a relative simple process. Whether you just want to make some spare income or become the next Internet business mogul, you have to start somewhere. It is best to start with the basics and work your way up from there. The goal of this informative article is to allow you, the reader, to start an online business quickly.Step One: LegalitiesDepending on where you live in the world, you may need to obtain legal documentation such as a business license. It is best to consult a local attorney. However, not everyone can afford such an expense. If this is you, look for local small business groups. By calling around, you should be able to find out what will
The actual “how to” of listing items on ebay is quite simple, though time consuming. There is no need for a “how to lesson” here, as every aspect of the ebay selling process is explained through onsite links to additional information. Any questions you have about fees, guidleines, etc. can be found right on ebay with a little patience.
The “philosophy” of the approach is up to you. I will suggest some guidelines for making ebay part of your over all marketing plan:
If you already have your own website, or plan to start one, great. Ebay can be used as a method for getting people to your main site. While you can’t advertise your website on an auction page, you can mention your site in the “About Me” section of your Seller Preferences. Also, you can mention your site in correspondence email to anyone who contacts you through ebay or wins one of your listed items. Ebay is quite particular about Sellers advertising other websites (ebay would of course prefer that all business transact through them!) so make sure to exercise care and only respond to those who contact you first. (See the ebay User Agreement for details.)
If you don’t maintain your own website, or even if you do, you may want to consider opening an ebay store. It’s relatively inexpensive, with basic stores starting at $15.95/month, you can list as many items as you like in the store. List
Nurses with an interest for both emergency room trauma and courtroom drama may want to pursue a nursing degree in legal nurse consulting. Legal nurse consultants use their healthcare know-how in conjunction with an interest in the legal system to have a rewarding career in this combined profession.Legal nurse consultants are commonly called by defense attorneys and prosecutors for their forensic or pharmacological familiarity to help determine difficult criminal or civil cases. More commonly, legal nurse consultants consult with attorneys and others in the legal field on medical malpractice, personal injury, workers' compensation and other healthcare-related cases. These legal specialists are responsible for interview
If you don’t maintain your own website, or even if you do, you may want to consider opening an ebay store. It’s relatively inexpensive, with basic stores starting at $15.95/month, you can list as many items as you like in the store. Listing fees for store items are far less than listing fees for auction items. Of course, there is a catch -- only auction items show up at the top of a search when folks go looking for items to buy. So, your store items will seldom be found by the average shopper. However, you can advertise your store on your ebay auction pages. So one approach is to continually keep several items up for auction, and loudly declare that you have many more available in your ebay store (active links to your store help!) Also, you will find that after items have been in your store for a period of time, they may be indexed on Google and Froogle! Given the intense competition for site ranking on Google, an ebay store is a great way to get your work out there to be seen.
It probably goes without saying that you will need to post a picture of your artwork, and that image quality is very important. Try to avoid sitting your painting or sculpture on the sofa and just snapping a picture. Well displayed and well lit images will help a great deal. Also, you will need to consider how you plan to ship the item before listing it. Ebay will require you to enter shipping options and pricing that you plan to offer to the winning bidder. You will also need to decide if you are willing to ship internationally or to US-only destinations.
A final note on listing your items, whether at auction or in an ebay store: remember to chose quality KEYWORDS! This is most important in the Title line of your item. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes. Few people are probably looking for “Look at this very pretty view of flowers in a vase.” A much better title, littered with popular search words, might be: “Floral Painting, Still Life, Art Print, Limited Edition.” Ebay provides a list of popular “Keywords” to assist in your homework.
One great way to prepare yourself for entering the ebay market is to BUY something on ebay! In this case, try buying a piece of art. This will give you experience from the Shoppers perspective on searching, bidding and winning an item. You can use your likes and dislikes of your experience to create a plan all your own!
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