Here at Autofixa, one of the most common questions we’re asked by automotive brands when we present our managed marketplace solution is, “but why should I be selling on eBay”? It’s a valid question – and there’s lots of reasons why!
Here’s five reasons you should be selling on the channel:
1. eBay’s Parts & Accessories category records over 3.0m unique visitors per week – that’s an incredible volume of customers already looking for you! If you’re not on eBay and they can’t find you, there’s a chance they’ll find your competitor instead.
2. eBay has instant buyer trust and confidence. Customers feel safe buying from eBay because they know in the unlikely circumstance they need support, eBay is there to help. Rather than trying to build that trust by selling on your own website, why not tap into the reputation eBay has already built over two decades?
3. Using eBay’s massive catalogue of automotive parts, you can manually search for and select your car parts you wish to list, and eBay will quickly populate part fitment information. If you have hundreds or even thousands of auto parts to sell online, Autofixa Solutions can make bulk upload and fitment matching easy with our technology and relationship with eBay.
4. Every marketplace has fees, but eBay takes a lower percentage than Amazon. Amazon charges 12% in the automotive category, while eBay charges just 6-10%, depending on your account type. For the reach, trust, and technology they offer, its exceptional value.
5. Autofixa Solutions can do it all for you! That’s right. From product listing, to optimisation and customer service, we can unlock a lucrative new revenue stream for you without you having to do any of the heavy lifting or hire additional resource. We’d do all the selling, all you’d have to do is ship the item, otherwise, our trusted partners can even handle shipment and returns on your behalf.
You’re in safe hands, leading brands like BMW UK, Vertu Motors plc, MicksGarage.com trust us to manage their eBay store presence, and we’ve sold over £250 million on marketplaces for automotive brands.
So, you understand the potential of the marketplace. But how can you ensure success?
1. To help buyers and sellers of auto parts find each other, eBay offers the Parts Compatibility tool. Matching your part products to eBay’s massive catalog helps to ensure your potential customers can find your product easily. This technology is one of the biggest advantages selling on eBay as opposed to generic marketplaces, and is surely a large contributor to their rapid sector growth.
Sellers who have hundreds or thousands of items for sale should consider by using a solution like Autofixa Solutions to save time and avoid having to make entries manually.
2. Optimise your product listing copy by using the right keywords. At the very least, you should include your product identifier/SKU in your listing, which many automotive part buyers rely on to quickly find the part they need to replace. Going further though, generally it’s best to include as much detail as you can in your title and description. Every keyword you can add helps you stand a better chance at being found by customers searching for that keyword.
Autofixa’s team are experts at trading and managing marketplace stores for automotive brands. Having sold £250m in automotive parts on marketplaces, we can deploy best practice from years’ of experience, to make search your competitive advantage.
3. Add a photo! This gives buyers an accurate depiction of what they are purchasing and help them feel confident to buy, meaning your conversion rate and sales will benefit. Remember, it doesn’t have to a professionally-taken shot, but having some visual representation of your product is far greater than having no image at all.
These 3 tips are the crucial foundations on which you can build marketplace success. There are plenty more ways to grow and win over your competition, but we’d always recommend covering these fundamentals before you get into the higher-level tactics, like customising your storefront, using shipping to get higher visibility in search, refreshing your store and referring to best practices when uploading your inventory.
Looking for some expert help?
If you’re looking to have the experts handle your store for you and deploy all our best practices and insights, our team are here to help! We manage the eBay store for brands like Vertu Motors plc, BMW UK and MINI, MicksGarage.com and others.