Online Seller Sales Cardiff May 15th at Cardiff Digital

Cardiff Digital,

Cardiff County Hall

Thursday, 15th May2014

6:30pm

www.OnlineSellerWales.com

About OSW• Aim to equip sellers with bite-size learning which

can be implemented immediately.

• Our topics include anything everything related with online selling; from eBay, Amazon, Rakuten Play to SEO, Email Marketing and Google Shopping Ads.

• If you feel the need for one of our events in your area please get in touch

07518839629 or to ps@onlinesellerwales.com

PRABHAT SHAH

@day2dayeBay

Topics / Speakers

Topic: CROSS BORDER TRADE

Sorry Q & A only at the end

Presentation to be Emailed

Speakers: 25 Minutes Each

An eBay Seller’s Guide to Cassini Search

Dan BurnhamHead of Account Management

WHAT IS CASSINI?

• eBay’s new(ish) search engine built to replace Voyager which was 10 years old.

• 3 years in development.

• Development led by Hugh Williams – previously of Microsoft’s Bing.

• Biggest change to eBay search since 2008 – Time ending soonest to Best Match

• Now released globally on all eBay sites.

WHAT IS BEST MATCH?

Introduced in 2008, Best Match is eBay’s algorithm that

determines the order in which products are displayed in

search results.

Voyager Best Match was focused on conversion rates.

Products that sold most, relative to the number of times

they were viewed, rose to the top.

Conversion rate =

Cassini considers many more parameters than Voyager.

ImpressionsSales

>80% of eBay users enter a

search query to find

products.

SEARCH: MENS SHIRTS

Step 2: Search Results

1

3

5

1

2 Description checkbox

3 Premium Listing

6

4 Price reduction

Item Specifics5

7

6

8

Category filter

Default search order

2

4

7

8

~3.3 million results

Listing type filter

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

50% drop in sales Cassini search engine!

eBay VP Hugh

Williams resigns

eBay’s new Cassini

search engine causes

consternation

amongst sellers

eBay’s new search

engine Cassini--Epic fail.

EBAY’S GOALS FOR CASSINI?

Trust.

Shoppers should see listings that they

can trust, from sellers that are likely

to serve them well and to generate

return business for eBay and eBay

sellers.

EBAY’S GOALS FOR CASSINI?

Relevance.

Shoppers should quickly see the results

that they intend to see and/or want to

see, rather than having to dig through

results that don't matter to them.

EBAY’S GOALS FOR CASSINI?

Value.

Shoppers should always find that items

in their eBay search results represent a

good overall value.

EBAY’S GOALS FOR CASSINI?

Convenience.

Shoppers shouldn't have to work harder

than is necessary for a pleasant and

positive transaction, from the initial

search all the way through to

fulfilment.

TRUST

TRUST: PREMIUM SERVICE

PowerSeller:•Registered as a business for at least 90 days

•Positive Feedback of 98% or higher

•Minimum sales of £1,000 per 12 months (UK and IE)

•At least 4.6 average across all 4 detailed seller ratings (DSRs)

•Less than 1% of transactions with low (1s or 2s) on Item as Described DSR

•Less than 2% on Communication, Dispatch time and P&P cost DSRs

•Less than 1% of transactions result in opened eBay and PayPal Buyer

Protection cases and less 0.3% of transactions result in closed cases without

seller resolution

Premium Service:•A minimum returns period of 14 calendar days

•1-day or same-day dispatch.

•An express delivery option – offering delivery within 1 day.

•A free domestic delivery option.

TRUST: PREMIUM SERVICE

From August a new ‘Defect rate’ will be reflected in your evaluation cycle.

*This isn't a new measurement

TRUST: PREMIUM SERVICE

What is a Defect?

•DSRs of 1, 2 or 3 for item as described

•DSRs of 1 for dispatch time

•Negative or Neutral Feedback

•Returns for item not as described

•Transaction cancelled due to lack of stock

•eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Buyer Protection cases

for item not as described or item not received*

* If an eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Buyer Protection case opened for an item not as described or not received is resolved in your favour, this won’t count as a defect.

TRUST: PREMIUM SERVICE

Premium Service listings drive Impressions

Premium Service listings drive Clicks

Premium Service listings drive Conversions

Bad feedback now has an instant effect on all search placement

Best Practice:•Respond to all negative feedback to try and get it removed.

•Respond promptly to all buyer enquiries and deal with them quickly

and efficiently.

•Deal with all eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Buyer Protection

cases promptly.

Listings that meet the

new Premium Service

listing requirements

on average receive

85% more visibility than

listings that don’t*

* Based on an eBay study of listings carried out between January and June 2013.

RELEVANCE

RELEVANCE: TITLES

Titles drive impressions

Titles drive clicks

Best Practice

• Use all 80 characters using relevant keywords like brand

name, size, colour, fabric, condition etc.

• Avoid the over-use of capitals and using words like

‘unusual’ or ‘L@@K’ and symbols such as ‘£’ or ‘%’.

• Make sure titles are coherent and not just a random set

of keywords.

RELEVANCE: DESCRIPTIONS

Descriptions drive impressions

Descriptions drive conversions

Best Practice

• Keep your descriptions simple. Avoid lots of code and

strip out aspects such as your policies, cross-selling

promotions, advertisements and widgets.

• Do include a complete description of your item. Don’t

repeat information already captured elsewhere.

• Don’t include Flash or other code. It makes the pages

slow and can compromise the display - particularly on

mobile devices.

In tests, modifying an html

styled listing to include a

short description at the

top, resulted in a

29% increase in

impressions.

RELEVANCE: IMAGES

Images drive impressions

Images drive conversions

Best Practice

• Use high quality images 1600 pixels on the longest side

to make the most of zoom and enlarge.

• Use a plain background and don’t add text, logos,

borders or overlaid images to your pictures*.

• Include detailed pictures taken from different angles

and close-ups.

*Based on an eBay.com study (July 2012) that reviewed 6.8 million listings which resulted in 4.5% more sales over this period. **Watermarks can be used for copyright purposes.

An eBay study showed on

average that sellers who

list with 2 pictures are

7% more likely to sell and are

3% more likely to sell with

each additional picture

added to a listing*.

RELEVANCE: CATEGORIES & ITEM SPECIFICS

Well mapped attributes drive impressions

Well mapped attributes drive clicks

Well mapped attributes drive conversions

Best Practice

• Make sure you select the correct category to help make

it easier for buyers to find your item.

• Make sure you include the recommended item specifics.

• Use the recommended values for Item Specifics not your

own.

eBay state that

33% of all purchases made on

their platform are now

‘touched’ by mobile as

part of the shopper

journey.

RELEVANCE: LISTING DURATION

Some sellers state that Cassini responds well to changes.

Best Practice

• Don’t use Good ‘til Cancelled.

• Try ending and relisting items.

Sellers have reported an

uplift in traffic of up to

49% from simply revising old

listings.

VALUE

VALUE: PRICE

Price drive conversions

Best Practice

• Use features like the Seller Marketing Engine and Strike

Through Pricing to draw attention to an item’s value.

• Consider both an item’s price and the shipping costs.

80% of listings over £15 in the

top 30 results for “Mens

Shirts” were Premium

Service listings.

VALUE: SUBTITLES

Subtitles drive clicks

Best Practice

• Should call out additional sales information such as

money off, free shipping etc.

• Don’t repeat information from the title.

*Based on an eBay.com study (July 2012) that reviewed 6.8 million listings which resulted in 4.5% more sales over this period. **Watermarks can be used for copyright purposes.

In tests, adding a subtitle

to an existing listing

showed an increase in

page views of

26%

CONVENIENCE

CONVENIENCE: SHIPPING

Fast delivery drives clicks

Fast delivery drives conversions

Fast & Free

Lets buyers know when a specific listing offers free postage and

will likely arrive within 3 business days.

• Icon visible in search results pages.

• Buyers look at the total price.

Click & Collect

Buyers can have items shipped to an Argos store for collection.

• Currently guaranteed by eBay against poor delivery DSRs.

• Sellers see an average of a 17% uplift in sales.

*Based on test on ebay.co.uk Feb-Mar 2013, in which 40% of buyers were exposed to listings with the FAST & FREE logo.

Converting listings to FAST

& FREE increases listing

conversion by an average

3% with some sellers seeing

an increase in sales of up

to 14%*

CONVENIENCE: RETURNS

Buyers are more comfortable shopping with sellers who offer

returns and, from June 2014 a returns period of a minimum 14

days is required.

Best Practice

• State your returns policy clearly.

• Offer a returns period of more than 14 days.

• Ensure you are familiar with Returns and the Law.

• Be familiar with eBay’s Structured Returns & Managed

Returns policies.

63% of online shoppers check a

seller’s returns policy

before even considering a

purchase.*

*2013 UPS survey

1. Compete on price where possible

and draw attention to any savings.

2. Watch your Conversion rate and

relist/revise where possible.

3. Strive for Premium listings

wherever possible.

SUMMARY

THANK YOU

Who’s talking?

International Sales

Deepak Goyal

Let’s talk

Currencies Direct | All rights reserved 2014 ©2

TOP TIP: If you source products from overseas………

E-tailingLet’s talk

$100

1.50

GBP/USDExchange rate

£66.67

Purchase price

Cost price in GBP

1.54 £64.93

Cost price reduced by

2.6%!

Currencies Direct | All rights reserved 2014 ©3

E-tailingLet’s talk

TOP TIP

Ensure you achieve the best exchange rate for overseas stock purchases to lower your input

costs

……..Don’t use your retail bank!

Currencies Direct | All rights reserved 2014 ©4

E-tailingLet’s talk

You might specify payments to go to

your GBP bank account in your Seller Central

module

Amazon Currency

Converter for Sellers (ACCS)

will charge a hidden 4%!

TOP TIP: If you sell or plan to sell on Amazon international sites………….

Currencies Direct | All rights reserved 2014 ©5

E-tailingLet’s talk

Use a EUR collection account instead

Avoid Amazon’s exchange rate and save at least 2%

TOP TIP: If you sell or plan to sell on Amazon international sites………….

Currencies Direct | All rights reserved 2014 ©6

E-tailingLet’s talk

TOP TIP

If you sell on Amazon overseas markets, use a €collection account to collect your funds

……..Don’t use Amazon to pay your Euros into your GBP account!

Currencies Direct | All rights reserved 2014 ©7

Thank you for listening….Let’s talk.

www.currenciesdirect.com/etailers

Click to edit Master subtitle style

28th June – Bristol SATURDAY, Bright Pearl Office, New Bond HouseBond Street, BS2 9AG

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