I Can Predict the Future (with Auction Research): Part 2

I Can Predict the Future (with Auction Research)
Part 2

By Jen Cano, Certified eBay Consultant and Senior Editor for HammerTap

Boost Your Chances of Selling
It’s great to know what’s likely to sell and which products are performing the best. But that’s only a starting point. Research will also tell you what to do to boost your chances of selling.

For example, you might have the most fabulous auction with the most incredible offer, but if buyers don’t find your auction, no one’s going to buy it. Use auction research to find out which category had the highest success rate for your product. Also, use the research to find out which keywords resulted in sales the most often.

And when you’re confident bidders will find your auction, find out details such as which auction type to use, which day and time to close your auction, and which features to invest in (such as bold or gallery).

Increase Your Profits on Each Sale
You can also use the data to find out how to make the most money on each auction.

For example, in DeepAnalysis, if I compare the starting prices to the sales prices, I can determine how much the starting price affected the closing price. After using research tools for the past couple of years, I’ve discovered that it’s not necessarily true that starting at a low price will initiate a bidding frenzy. On the contrary, most of the time I’ve found that as the starting price rises, so does the selling price.

Notice that I said most of the time this is true. Sometimes it’s not. And the only way to know is either through trial and error or with research software.

Is Research Software Right for You?
No matter whether you sell many different types of products on eBay or if you only sell one, you can benefit from eBay research.

The research will save you both time and money. You’ll no longer have to use trial and error to figure out the best category to list your product in or the best price to start it. You’ll consult the data and make an educated decision.

When I attended eBay LIVE! with the HammerTap team in June, I can’t tell you the number of PowerSellers that were shocked to find out that, according to the statistics, the day they thought was the best day to close wasn’t. They were even more surprised to find that auctions sold on another day of the week had a higher sales price.

Like I said, I can predict the future. And so can you.
Find Out More about Auction Research
If you’d like to know more about auction research, visit us at http://www.hammertap.com or join our DeepAnalysis mailing list to receive our weekly educational newsletter. You can also download a PDF version of our Seller’s Guide: An Introduction to the Power of Auction Research (viewable with the Adobe Acrobat Reader).

About the Author
Jennifer Cano is a certified eBay consultant and Senior Editor for Bright Builders, the makers of HammerTap. She is also an editor for eBay Radio.

© Bright Builders, 2006.

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