subject: How To Increase Your Profits On Ebay By Up-selling And Cross-selling [print this page] It's a well-known marketing fact that people are likely to buy MORE when they've JUST bought something - when they are in a buying mood! For example, if someone has just bought a brand new set of golf clubs and is feeling excited and pleased, when do you think they are most likely to buy a new golf glove, or golf umbrella, or golf shoes, or golf bag or golf trolley? Subject to affordability, they will want to buy everything there and then.
Or, to continue the golf analogy, if someone has just had their first golf lesson, assuming that the coach was good and they enjoyed it, when will they want their next lesson? Next week, next month or next year? They will want it next week. The coach should book next week's lesson at the end of the first lesson whilst they are still feeling good about the experience. In fact, the coach should "strike while the iron's hot" and book 10 consecutive weekly lessons after the first lesson - perhaps by offering a discount for booking 10 lessons.
So you should always try to UP-SELL or CROSS-SELL when someone buys something from you on eBay. To maximize results, the up-sell or cross-sell should cost LESS than the original item they bought.
Fastfood burger chains are masters of the UP-SELL ("Would you like to go large"). An example of an up-sell that you could use on eBay is "buy one, get another one half price". You can also consider bundling different items together as a package to sell more on eBay. That is why fastfood burger chains offer "Value Meals" or "Happy Meals", whereby it is cheaper to buy a burger, fries and drink together than as separate items. This encourages customers to spend more because buying all three together represents better VALUE than just buying the burger and fries without a coke.
Fastfood burger chains are also masters of the CROSS-SELL ("Would you like fries with that?") So if you operate in a niche market, as I recommend you do, you will have a range of products relevant to that niche. So when someone buys one of your products on eBay you can easily cross-sell any of your other products because your whole product range will be of interest to your customers.
You can offer an up-sell, or try to cross-sell another product, EVERY time that you communicate with someone who buys from you on eBay: in your confirmation email; your "item despatched" email; in a covering letter sent with the item; in a follow up email/letter, etc. This may seem pushy but it isn't if you do it subtly, e.g. "We have found that many of our customers who have bought (name of item) have also found (name of another product that you sell) useful".
By offering an item as an up-sell and/or a cross-sell that COMPLEMENTS what they have already bought, you are doing the customer a favour because the complementary item will enhance their enjoyment of what they originally bought from you on eBay.
If you don't have any other products that you can cross-sell or up-sell - you can sell other people's products as a Joint Venture or as an affiliate!
