Selling on eBay

When I worked at Nordstrom there was a particularly glib vendor rep who visited us every 3-4 months. This person had all sorts of ideas. "Have you ever thought about somehow placing a chocolate on the pillow of a loyal customer?" When we'd explain the obvious reasons why the idea was a non-starter, there was a consistent response ... "I'm not saying you should implement my exact idea, I'm saying it's important to take risks and implement ideas that put the customer at the heart of the customer journey".

Correct ... those sentences did not happen. But sentences very similar to those DID happen. The process was exhausting.

When you aren't accountable for the consequences of ideas, it's easy to come up with ideas ... "we're just spitballing here".

Which brings me to eBay.

Every single vendor employee should be required to sell at least one item on eBay.

Why?

The vendor employee will be met with the heavy and crippling constraints of actually having to implement selling tactics.

• You have to know the condition of your used item in comparison to all other used items that you don't know the condition of.
• You have to know an appropriate price for your used item, given the condition of your item.
• You have to know if you should offer free shipping or have the customer pay for shipping.
• You have to know when to mark down your item when it doesn't sell.
• You have to know if you need to "promote" your item via paid clicks on eBay.
• You have to take insightful images of your item that teach the customer your item is worth purchasing.
• You have to write compelling copy.
• You have to deal with a less-than-ideal e-commerce platform that you cannot change.
• When the item sells, you have to make the post-purchase experience pleasant for the person buying your item. For instance, I leave handwritten notes inside my packages and I communicate with the buyer regarding the timing of leaving the item with USPS.

This process is practical, insightful, and is the exact opposite of "leave a chocolate on the pillow of your customer".

Simply put, the vendor employee will learn all about e-commerce, and be better equipped to offer practical advice.

This applies to any employee at any company, to be honest. Your IT professional would be well served to have to deal with less-than-perfect eBay software. Your VP of Operations would think twice about labeling the merchandising team as "idiots" if the VP had to sell something in the real world.

There's nothing like a little bit of practical experience to help change your perspective when it comes to selling stuff.