How To Upsell Your eBay Auction Bidders

By Marjory Howes
Posted Thursday, December 9, 2004

How to effectively cross-promote items in your eBay Auctions to boost sales. Includes simple how-to instructions for eBay sellers.

Now tell the truth- You sprung for that candy bar near the checkout line last time you went grocery shopping right? My kids are experts at getting me on the impulse buys. As an eBay seller, you have the perfect opportunity to offer your buyers a little something extra just before they pay-- an extra goodie to go along with their winnings. I'm often surprised at how few sellers take the time to do this, even though we see it all the time in brick and mortar stores.

You might be thinking, "that would be great, but I bet setting it all up would take forever and be too complicated." Before you stop reading, I PROMISE that you can set up cross promotion in just a few minutes, and I PROMISE that it's a no-brainer. Deal? Okay, great. Let's get to it.

Real quick, just so we are clear on WHY you should take the few painless minutes to cross-promote.

First, you are already shipping customers something. . . why not combine shipping and make more money for your effort? Second, recognize that you have already targeted your market. Once you know a person likes Mickey Mouse, it's easy to see that person might want another Mickey Mouse widget.

My favorite thing to offer customers is a second item at a reduced price, and shipped for free with their winnings. For example, if you are selling collectibles offer your bidders items from the same artist at 15% off and shipped at no additional charge. Once you know which items are likely to interest your audience, it literally takes just 5 minutes to cross-promote them using eBay's tools.

Look into the "Merchandising Relationships" options of your eBay Store to see how to set this up. Basically, what the Merchandising Relationship does is displays photos and links to up to 3 related store items, and you get to choose which items are cross promoted. When I tried this out, I was surprised at how simple it was. It took me less than 5 minutes to setup cross-promotion for my most popular items. Example: Buyers who get my dolphin necklace are shown the matching earrings and the gift certificate listing before they checkout. I also advertise my "Turbo-Charge your eBay Store" book in all my listings.

It's a nice shortcut to do a little advertising, and I'd recommend it to anyone who has a few moments to set it up. When you decide to get serious about up selling, pick up a copy of my "Turbo-Charge" book. With my methods, you can advertise ALL of your items in each auction or store item you run instead of just 3. As far as I can tell, eBay's merchandising relationships only show up after a person places a bid, but my way advertises ALL your items to EVERYONE who looks at your auction. (c) 2002 Marjory Howes

About the Author
Marjory Howes is an eBay PowerSeller and author of "Turbo-Charge Your Auction Store: eBay Sellers' Guide to saving 90% on listing fees." Her e-Book and free e-Zine help eBay sellers boost profits and enjoy higher success in online auctions. Subscribe for free at (www.auctioncashmachines.com)