AuctionCut

Skip McGrath has published several books on eBay, and operates Skip McGrath’s Auction Seller’s Resource - The Website for Professional Auction Sellers. Skips been a PowerSeller since 1999, currently serves as contributing editor to eBay Radio and he is the only informational seller permitted to showcase his product at eBay Live.

1) How did you get started on eBay yourself?

Skip McGrath: We used to own a small antique shop in the Hudson Valley of New York. When we closed the shop and moved out to the Seattle area, we sold off the large pieces and boxed up all the small things. A few years later (1998) my son was playing around on eBay buying comic books. I tried selling some books and a few small things and they sold really well --actually at prices higher on some things than we used to get in the shop. So we unpacked all the stuff and started selling it. I then moved on to selling books, we went to antique marts and auctions and then started going to wholesale trade shows and merchandise marts and found new merchandise to sell.

I became a PowerSeller after about four or five months and built the business from there. In 2000 my wife quit her job as a travel agent to work on this full time and then I quit my job a few years later to join her. Within three months of my wife working full time at home we doubled the income she used to make at the travel agency. Today our income is substantially more than what I used to make in the corporate world.

2) What is the best single thing you can do, to ensure you succeed on eBay when selling?

Skip McGrath: This is a business where it is really important to learn the basics. I see experienced sellers making basic mistakes every day that if fixed could really improve their sales and profits. By basics I mean learning to take good photos, write appealing keyword-rich titles, convincing descriptions, fair and friendly payment, shipping and return policies and then learning how to communicate with customers in a businesslike yet personal way. Doing this last item well is probably the biggest thing a seller can do to build an excellent feedback rating.

3) On our AuctionCUT forum there is a lot of discussion about who should leave feedback first, a buyer or a seller. Where do you stand on the issue and why?

Skip McGrath: Our policy is to leave feedback as soon as a person pays for something. I refer to withholding feedback until someone leaves you feedback as "wimp feedback." If you are totally honest about your product descriptions, pack and ship items carefully and quickly, charge a fair price for shipping and communicate with the buyer and let them know you will stand behind your transaction and fix any problems, you don't have anything to fear from feedback. You might get the occasional undeserved feedback from some wing nut, but over time you will develop a good reputation.

4) Is it possible for sellers to still make money from Dropshippers, and would you recommend they try this concept?

Skip McGrath: About 50% of our business is from suppliers who drop ship for us. The key is finding a good supplier and I have yet to find reliable well-priced goods from ANY membership dropship warehouse company. The key is to work directly with a manufacturer or master distributor. For example, I sell my published eBay books on eBay and through my website and they are fulfilled by Ingram Books, the largest book distributor in the US. Our handmade steel wood-burning firepits are shipped to our customers directly from the manufacturer.

When it comes to finding drop ship suppliers I use primarily two methods. WorldWide Brand's OneSource and I attend wholesale trade shows. WorldWide Brands is somewhat expensive --but it is a one-time cost and they can link you to some very good sources.

(If you use the link http://www.worldwidebrands.com/skip they do provide a $20 discount for my readers).

My other method is wholesale trade shows. We go to two or three trade shows a year and I never fail to find new products and can often find suppliers who will dropship. With the exception of books, which I mentioned above, in general dropship goods are either large in size or very expensive. These two traits make an item appropriate for drop shipping because many retailers do not have the space to store large items, or the funds to stock large amount of expensive items. There is no incentive for a manufacturer to dropship a small $20 item --why would they bother when most resellers have no problem buying them a dozen or more at a time.

5) What is the best hidden feature on eBay in your opinion?

Skip McGrath: Although not really hidden, the Second Chance Offer (SCO) is not well known by sellers. SCO allows you to send underbidders an offer to buy at their last bid price. For example, I am one of the larger dealers in Starbucks Collectibles on eBay. Let's say I have four identical Bearista Bears. I want at least $30 for a given bear and the winning bidder bids $35 and the next bidder who just lost out bid $32. Both of those prices are above my minimum, so the underbidder gets a second chance offer to buy a bear at the price he or she bid of $32. When a buyer takes the SCO, eBay will charge you the final value fee on the $32, but you do not pay listing, photo hosting or special optional feature fees.

To learn how SCO works, click on the eBay HELP tab at the top of any eBay page and when the page opens, type second chance offer into the search bar.

6) Any other advice you wish to share with AuctionCUT readers, regarding getting the most out of eBay?

Skip McGrath: I am a big fan of niche marketing. I think too many sellers want to sell the latest or hottest product. The problem is that the hottest products have lots of competitors that drive the price down and you can't source them at really good prices unless you buy in very large volumes.

Finding a specialized niche that doesn't attract the big boys is the way to make higher and more reliable profits. Also people like to buy from sellers who specialize. Lastly when looking for a niche look for something that interests you and that you enjoy. Getting paid to do something you like is far more rewarding than constantly bouncing around selling anything you can make money on.

People are often sitting on a great niche and don't know it. A gentleman called me one day and said "Skip, I am going crazy. I just don't know what to sell." I asked him what his hobbies and interests were. He said he had been involved with Amateur (Ham) Radio for years. I asked if he realized that vintage Ham Radio equipment was a huge seller on eBay. He said he didn't realize it and that he had tons of old radio stuff in his garage and had lots of friends who did also. He emailed me about a month or so later and said that in just 3 weeks he had sold over $7000 worth of Ham Radio gear and in addition to selling vintage equipment he was now talking to distributors who could supply new gear.

If your readers want to know more about niche marketing, I wrote a book a few months ago called Ten Little Known, Highly Profitable eBay Niche Businesses. The link is: http://www.skipmcgrath.com/products/Niche-Markets.shtml

that was a really good interview! thanks for sharing.

Skip McGrath wrote:Our policy is to leave feedback as soon as a person pays for something. I refer to withholding feedback until someone leaves you feedback as "wimp feedback." If you are totally honest about your product descriptions, pack and ship items carefully and quickly, charge a fair price for shipping and communicate with the buyer and let them know you will stand behind your transaction and fix any problems, you don't have anything to fear from feedback. You might get the occasional undeserved feedback from some wing nut, but over time you will develop a good reputation.

Up until earlier this year, I always left feedback upon receipt of cleared payment, as I too was 100% comfortable with my own seller performance, but I then had a few run-ins with naive or malicious buyers who were trigger happy with feedback. I realise it may be "wimpish" but an undeserved negative or neutral can now affect my income. I am 100% in control of my listing accuracy, despatch times, costs etc, but the one thing out of my control is the buyer.

The Seller Performance Policy now classes a neutral as a "negative trading experience", therefore a neutral for slow postage (something that a few people have suffered in the last few days during the Royal Mail strike action) could result in a temporary suspension for me. This Buyer left two hugely unjust negative feedbacks for sellers, but have subsequently been mutually withdrawn.

Personally I feel the feedback system has too many inherent flaws to be used as an effective stick to beat sellers with. eBay are quick to claim that feedback is a matter for buyers and sellers to deal wiith, and they will not intervene in disputes, but they have an automated bot in place to suspend sellers based on a raw feedback score.

However, besides the above, some very good comments made and points raised. I was late to catch on with the SCO facility. This came into it's own when I started to regularly list a high cost, but relatively low value featured auction. One sale and 2 SCOs would easily cover the extra insertion fees from having a featured listing.

Another good interview Mark!