Establish Your Credibility with Your Ebay About Me Page
The "About Me' page is probably one of the more overlooked marketing tools Ebay offers. While it may not receive near the traffic your actual auction pages receive, it remains an excellent free opportunity to establish your credibility as a seller and promote your off Ebay website. Keep in mind that people who actually do visit this page are generally looking for information about the seller, and finding a blank or poorly written page can mean loss of potential bids.
There are several strategies that can be used on your About Me page to establish yourself as a credible seller. While it is generally a good idea to include a bit of each of them, it is also important to emphasize your strong points. Keep sentences short and to the point. Ebay buyers are usually in a hurry and are looking for easy to find information.
Offer your customers a short personal biography. Who you are, where you are from, and your interests in what you are selling. Let them know of any professional organizations, advanced degrees, or other items which establish you as knowledgeable in your field.
Follow with business history. How long you have been selling on Ebay, outside business ventures related to what you sell, or your collectible interests in what you are selling. For example you may mention your flea market business, your retail store, or the fact that you are president of a coin collecting club. The object here is to establish yourself in your buyers mind as a legitimate seller with a strong knowledge of your products. This may also be the area where you want to mention your website. Ebay allows one link to your personal website. Take advantage of the opportunity to build further credibility and even gain a bit of site traffic. Be sure to first read Ebay's policies on outside links.
Consider adding a FAQ to your page. Try to anticipate your buyers questions and answer them in advance with a Frequently Asked Questions section. They will appreciate the convenience of not having to email you.
Add your terms and conditions. This should be a mirror of the information offered on your item pages. Anything different will tend to confuse your buyer.
Also include a short list of your current feedback and items for sale. This can be configured automatically through Ebay's page builder. You may, of course, omit one or both of these items if your feedback is questionable or you only occasionally have items listed.
These are merely suggestions, not all of which will apply to every seller. It is helpful to place yourself in your buyers shoes and ask yourself what information would make you comfortable in buying from this particular seller. Obviously, a seller of rare antiques will have a far different approach to the About Me page than a flea market vendor. Again, it becomes a question of what information a buyer may require to establish your credibility with them.
The final decision you must make in planning your About Me page is whether to use Ebay's preformatted page builder or to write your own HTML page. While either can produce acceptable results, a custom designed page will offer much leeway in layout and design. A nice professional touch is to compose your About Me page using the same logo and color scheme as your website.
Author: R Heavner
Author Bio:
The author is a net writer and publisher, the webmaster of www.auction-lynx.com Internet Auction Resource Directory which lists several hundred online auction sites, and is the owner of several ecommerce sites.
