These days almost everyone is shopping online, or at the very least doing online research before making a purchase. eCommerce is becoming a part of our national fabric, and retailers need to be ready to roll with the changes. Now you may say, “Wait, I’m not a retailer. I’m in the pawn business.” But think about it—I’m sure that you’ve noticed a shift in the amount of items you’re selling in your shop.
According to IBISWorld Reports, 55% of all pawn shop revenue in 2017 was generated from merchandise sales. We’ve been following the eCommerce trend for years at PawnMaster/Data Age, so this statistic doesn’t surprise us. We want our customers to be able to extend their reach as far as possible, and our e-foro integrated listing tool gives them this ability. e-foro is a powerful tool on its own, but you need to have an understanding on how to best prepare your listings for each marketplace in order to maximize your earning potential.
eBay
In order to maximize your reach on eBay, you need to optimize your listings. e-foro comes loaded with pre-formatted templates to help you prepare your listing to make the biggest impact when your post goes live. Try not to leave sections blank when you’re preparing your listing, eBay uses the information you provide to manage your listing. The more complete and better the information, the higher in searches your listing will appear. eBay has created a Listing Best Practices overview that you can use to further understand how they use the data you provide.
PHOTOS, PHOTOS, PHOTOS. You need to add at least one photo to your listing, but you always want to aim to add a minimum of six photos of the item you’re listing. Photos give your buyers a comprehensive look at your item, and give you the ability to feature any nicks, scratches, or dings. It’s best to list out any irregularities the item may show right in your description, rather than trying to back pedal once the seller receives the item.
Storefront
If you’re using Storefront to list items online, the first thing you need to do is to get a Shop Now button linked to your shopping page onto your store’s website. Our clients at 23rd Street Pawn did this in a very clever way; when you visit their site, you’re greeted with a landing page that gives you the option to go to their Storefront site or their eBay listing. It’s a great way to get their online items directly in front of people. Think about it this way; there are over a billion websites out there. If potential customers don’t know you have an online eCommerce page, they are not going to find it. Print out business cards with your Storefront URL on them and hand them out after every transaction. Print your eCommerce address on the bottom of your receipts. There’s more to marketing an online shopping page than just uploading items and waiting for it to be found, you need to be aggressive to get the ball rolling.
With the added ability to post items to your Facebook Business Page, you’re now turning your social media account into yet another eCommerce platform. If you don’t have a Facebook Business Page, you need to get one. Having a Facebook Business Page helps up your web presence without costing you anything, and acts as a digital billboard for you to announce sales, specials, and items you want to sell. Although you can’t process payments through Facebook, you’re guaranteed to get someone into your shop if they want to buy the item you have advertised. The Buy/Sell/Swap community is alive and well on Facebook, and having the ability to post up items you have for sale is a great way to promote your shop to people in your area.
GunBroker
Because firearms are highly regulated, listing on GunBroker is standardized and formatted so that firearms can be quickly and easily accounted for. Although standardized, you’re still given the opportunity to add up to 10 images of the firearm you’re listing to your post. Take clear, sharp photos with good detail to really make your post stand out.
e-foro is a powerful listing tool to help you move your inventory, but you need to make sure that you’re doing your part by promoting the channels you have your items on. Marketing your shop extends past promoting your brick-and-mortar business when it comes to eCommerce, you have to effectively market yourself online as well. If this all sounds like stuff you’re already doing in shop, keep up the great work! If you have any questions on what you could be doing to better promote your online sales, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] and I’ll help you come up with some ideas. As always, if you need a refresher on using e-foro, we have product specialists here who can help you out with that, too. Until the next time, happy listing!
