Chapter 24

Your eBay brand

Earlier in part IV I mentioned the four Ps of retail. The fourth one is promotion. On eBay, promotion takes various forms, beginning with your eBay brand.

Brand consistency

It’s vitally important that everything you do on eBay is presented with a consistent, memorable brand. Your brand should be clearly identifiable in the following items:

• Your eBay user ID. Choose an ID that is associated with the kinds of products you sell. If you started on eBay with a personal ID that could not be considered a business brand, change your ID before you begin selling as a business. If you have an existing business name outside of eBay, it may already be taken as an eBay user ID (user names are global). If this is the case, try an extension at the end of your business name, such as abcgardens_australia or abcgardens_online, to make your eBay ID unique.

• Your eBay store name and design. There is more information on this later, in chapter 27.

• Your listing title. The words you choose should include your brand and a tone that is consistent with your brand’s personality. Words like ‘bargain’ are okay if that’s the image you want to present, but phrases outlining services such as ’90-day returns’ and ‘3-year warranty’ suggest a more professional operation.

• Your item descriptions. Clear and consistent branding and design should reflect your brand image.

• Your email address.

• Your PayPal and/or Paymate address.

• Your bank account ...

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