What’s a V.I.D? It’s a Very Important Date and here’s a massive incentive for you to take note and get selling online!
It’s my birthday today and yes that is definitely a V.I.D!
But my birthday is not the V.I.D I want to talk about in this issue.
Because today there are only 36 shopping days left until ‘C’ day and guaranteed Christmas delivery!
And it’s around this time of year that a great phenomenon happens.
This phenomenon is definitely linked to the fact that in the next 10 days or so, everyone receives what is usually their final pay packet before Christmas – and that means it’s one big mad dash to spend our hard-earned coffers on Christmas presents for our loved ones!
Of course, some of us don’t even want to consider getting involved in that mad rush as we don’t particularly like traipsing from shop to shop, queuing for what seems like hours for the must have, and probably already sold out, gadget of the year and arriving back home twelve hours later uber-stressed, dishevelled, shadows of our former selves and begging for a large glass of red.
No, some of us prefer to do our Christmas shopping in a rather more civilized manner, from the comfort of our homes, perhaps lounging in front of a roaring fire, as the dog lies asleep on the rug and classical music calmly plays in the background….
Ok, that may be a bit over the top, but you get the idea! Yes, some of us simply like to take advantage of the relative ease of shopping online.
We always think that we have absolutely tons of time to get organised, until suddenly it’s snuck up on us again, even though last Christmas we vowed to be much more organised, and then we realise that we haven’t actually even made a list of gifts yet and perhaps we ought to stop thinking about it and actually do it.
Over the next few weeks billions of pounds will be spent by millions of people
online as pretty much everyone starts thinking about gifts, food, drink, decorations, new outfits, cards and parties. And that’s why this piece of information is very important….
‘Cyber Monday’ is coming!
But first things first! Before ‘Cyber Monday’ can happen, we have to have ‘Black Friday’. I know, I know it probably seems like you’ve stumbled into some kind of Sci-Fi forum, so let me explain.
What is ‘Black Friday?’
Black Friday actually originates from the United States and is now a very popular yearly retail promotion by online retailers. It always falls on the day following Thanksgiving Day in the US, which is traditionally the start of the Christmas shopping season and is a day when retailers offer huge discounts for limited periods only.
This year’s Black Friday falls on 24th November with deals on Amazon, for example, running from as early as today right through to the 26th November.
So, firstly there’s a good chance that you can snap up some bargains yourself during the coming days – either as Christmas gifts for friends and family, or just to indulge yourself.
Secondly there’s a fantastic opportunity here for you to find and flip products for profit. Simply purchase via a Black Friday deal on Amazon for example and then relist on eBay at a higher price!
Ok, so what is ‘Cyber Monday?’
‘Cyber Monday’ is a marketing term for the Monday immediately following ‘Black Friday’, so this year ‘Cyber Monday’ falls on Monday 27th November – which is why this is a V.I.D!
It was actually created by companies in order to persuade people to shop online and was first heard of back in 2005 when shop.org issued a press release entitled “Cyber Monday Quickly Becoming One of the Biggest Online Shopping Days of the Year”. And…it stuck!
Now, as an online seller myself, I am well aware of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and I have to say that in my experience it is always around this date that sales do start to pick up considerably.
There is always a specific day when everyone has a huge panic and realises that the big day is fast approaching and not one present has been purchased.
This is precisely when internet sales rocket, websites crash under the strain of visitors and you might find that the very thing you are looking for has suddenly sold out, even though there were 27 in stock yesterday!
And that’s why this day is known as ‘Cyber Monday’ or alternatively I have also heard it referred to as ‘Manic Monday’.
You need to act fast to get in on the online action NOW
So, as Monday 27th November is just 10 days away, you absolutely, definitely must get cracking if you want your products to be visible online on what is predicted to be one of the busiest shopping days of 2017 (along with ‘Super Sunday’ which follows just 6 days later on December 3rd!)
With this in mind, I want to give you some tips for maximising your Christmas sales online so that you can get your products listed right now – either on eBay, Amazon or on your own website and grab some of those buyers that will be heading in your direction in a few days time. Besides, if nothing else, this could be the incentive you need to take action
How to Maximise your Christmas Sales
- Wherever you are selling, double check your keywords and make sure they are absolutely relevant to your product. If buyers can’t find your items either through an eBay search or a search engine search like Google, then you won’t make any sales.
- Make sure you appeal to ALL potential customers. Use eBay’s auction listings for bargain hunters and Buy It Now’s for those who are in a rush and haven’t the time to wait for an auction to end.
- Use Amazon to mop up those customers who are loyal to one site only and use your own website if you want to offer an extra service such as ‘Gift Wrapping’.
- Add a few lines to the description of your items hinting that your product is the ‘perfect gift’. This can be implemented for most products with a bit of creativity and will subconsciously play on your potential buyers’ minds making them more likely to purchase.
- Remember to keep your stock up to date. If you are selling on eBay top up the number of items available on your Buy It Now listings.
- Consider adding a ‘Best Offer’ option to your eBay Buy It Now listings, then automate the Accept/Decline Offer’ option to remain competitive and to pick up those extra sales from people who don’t want to pay the full price.
- If you have an eBay shop, use ‘Markdown Manager’ to offer seasonal discounts or limited offers to buyers.
- Buyers adore fast dispatch and shipping so consider offering a fast Special Delivery service as an option to buyers.
- Make sure you answer questions from potential buyers promptly – this could be the difference between a sale and a ‘no sale’ especially on the run up to Christmas when there is plenty of choice for buyers.
So, if you haven’t listed anything online yet then this could be the incentive you need to get started and if you are already up and running then take these points in to account to ensure you get the most out of the festive season – especially Cyber Monday and Super Sunday!
I intend to have a great weekend and I hope you do too. I’ll be back next week – a little older!