It’s probably one of the biggest problems when you sell online…

How are you going to stand out from the crowd?

How can you hope to compete with thousands of rival sellers, big businesses and overseas discounters who sell the same thing as you…and often for much cheaper?

This is going to be the big topic of conversation on a webinar I am planning for next Tuesday at 8pm.

If you would like to find out how to…

  1. Stand out in a crowded market with your own offering
  2. Charge higher prices without reducing sales volume
  3. Get more publicity, more product awareness and higher rankings for your listings

…then please put your name down for the free webinar on Tuesday evening.

You can register by clicking here

For today…as a little taster…I’d like to talk about five top tips for becoming an eBay Top Rate Seller and the many advantages once you get there!

The glorious benefits of being a top seller

You know, becoming an eBay Top Rated Seller is probably the single most important thing you should aim for as an online seller – if nothing else then just in order to reap the benefits.

And there are so many benefits to be had that really will change your online business for the better that it’s well worth pushing for this.

There’s no doubt about it that some prospective buyers on eBay often do decide whether to make their purchase from you, or from another seller, based on the reputation that you have.

So, in other words, they will look at your feedback, your DSR’s (Detailed Seller Ratings) and they will look to see if you are a top rated seller too.

And you can see why, after all it’s only possible to become a top rated seller if you have an excellent level of customer service reflected in your high feedback scores and so buyers are reassured that you offer great service. As such, that top rated seller badge is likely to increase your sales.

At this point I must state that you may be doing perfectly well without TRS status – there are plenty of sellers without this status who are doing a roaring trade – it’s just that with the status come benefits and advantages – and we all like those!

So, consider how some of these benefits could really help you to maximise your earning potential on eBay:

1. As a top rated seller your listings will be given higher priority in search results if you offer a ‘premium service’. This means that of two items that are absolutely identical listed by a top rated seller and a standard seller, the item listed by the top rated seller will potentially appear above the other in a search made by prospective buyers.

2. The top rated seller badge will appear on each and every one of your listings, letting buyers know that you can be trusted with their money.

3. It can be difficult to get through to the customer service team at eBay should you ever have an issue that needs resolving, however this does become easier for top rated sellers who are granted priority access to the eBay customer service team.

4. You can actually keep your profits high as a top rated seller as you will receivea discount on your final value fees of 10%.

How to get there

So now that you know why you should strive to become a top rated seller on eBay it is time to think about how you should actually go about getting there.

Here are my very own five top tips to help you to achieve this aim:

Tip 1 – Sell more. The top rated seller badge isn’t granted to just any old seller clearing out the clutter in their lofts; you must be selling goods regularly to make yourself eligible. The official figures from eBay state that you must have a minimum of £1,000 in sales during the last 12 month period. That’s not as much as it sounds – it averages out at sales of just £2.73 per day!

Tip 2 – Create great and honest listings. Attractive, informative and honest listings have many benefits. For one they increase your chances of making sales as customers will be able to find out all of the information that they need from your description. By creating a completely honest description about your goods you also decrease the likelihood of buyer protection cases being lodged against you. This is important as sellers with too many of these cases are excluded from being classed as top rated.

Tip 3 – Post quickly. You wouldn’t think that postage would have too much bearing on you as a top rated seller, but shipping orders quickly will make customers feel more valued. This is likely to lead to better feedback scores for you! In an ideal world it would be perfect to post your items on the same day that a buyer makes their payment but obviously this isn’t always possible or practical. Always remember that, for small items, you may be able to pay for postage online and pop the item in a post-box rather than visiting the post office.

Tip 4 – Make customer service your priority. Without the support of your customers you will find it impossible to become a top rated seller. eBay insist on Powerseller status with a feedback score of 98% or higher, meaning you really must address the needs of your buyers. Respond quickly to any queries, package items appropriately so that they don’t arrive broken and always be courteous, friendly and professional in any contact with your clientele. You may find that other little touches such as adding a handwritten note thanking the buyer for their purchase can also improve your feedback score. Anything that makes the customer feel valued is a good thing!

Tip 5 – Be patient! It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You can have the best intentions of becoming a top rated seller but it is important to remember that it will take time. For one thing you must have been an active member of eBay for 90 days before you are eligible to become top rated, and within this period you may find it difficult to reach the required level of sales and feedback.

Don’t panic if you aren’t a top rated seller yet though, just keep ensuring that your customer service is up to scratch, that you dispatch items quickly and that you continue to sell and you will be making progress.

Start putting some changes into action that will see you safely on the way to earning your top rated seller status and benefit from the advantages.

And don’t forget to put your name down for the webinar on Tuesday (at 8pm).

You can register here