23 Tips to Boost eBay Sales on Cyber Monday (and Black Friday)

Last year Cyber Monday was the biggest online spending day in history. What should we expect this year? Online sales during Cyber Monday are predicted to exceed 2013 sales by 20% according to the IBM Consumer Benchmark report. The report also revealed spending has increased year over year since 2005.

How are you planning to optimize your eBay and Amazon stores for the two biggest shopping days of the year? Tis the season for eBayers to get rid of old inventory, move into the black, or test out products for 2015.

How To Profit On Cyber Monday & Black Friday

1. Be Even More Competitive With Prices

   Black Friday/Cyber Monday visitors have expectations, and that’s to save a lot of money i.e. 50%. If you’ve been sitting on old inventory, knock it down to 75% and get rid of it before the year is over. Shoppers will be searching for deals, and 25% off is nothing to write home about.

2. Start Promotions In Septemeber

   Make a flyer, postcard, sticker or anything that you can insert or add to packages going out weeks before Black Friday. Don’t ship another package without a note about your sale. If you want to back track on a few packages, send them a message on eBay as a follow up.

3. Set eBay Auctions for Sunday Night (Cyber Sunday)

   Website traffic starts to spike the day before Cyber Monday when people are browsing deals, comparison shopping and revving up to buy. In 2012, eBay had the strongest sales on Cyber Sunday. Not only is Sunday the best day to end auctions, apparently it’s better then Cyber Monday too. To increase the chance of sale, set auctions to end the Sunday before Cyber Monday.

4. Partner With Complimentary eBay Stores

   Combine forces with other eBay sellers who are active online and social media. Look for sellers with a social media presence similar or larger than yours. Help each other get in front of a new audience and build an alliance that doesn’t have to end after Black Friday.

5. Tap Into Your Existing Email List

   You need to get your Cyber Monday/Black Friday deal in front of as many eye balls as possible, right? What’s better then your existing customer email list? Take time writing the headline, because it’s all about the open rate. Be specific, let them know you’ve got savings to share. Just make sure your Black Friday deal is juicy enough to motivate customers, and get them excited to spread the word about your eBay store.

6. Expand Customer Support

   To intersect any questions, concerns or obligations, add a live chat widget to your website. On Black Friday & Cyber Monday people are actively shopping, not just casually browsing. If they can’t find the answer right away, they’re moving on to your competitor’s store. Olark is free for solo entrepreneurs and takes 5 minutes to setup.

Now…

Here’s a round up of the best tips, tricks, & stats for maximizing sales on Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) with a link to each blog post. Bookmark this page and make your way through each blog post for maximum benefit. You’ll be a better marketer and have a ton of ideas to promote your eBay store.

These tips are for the entire holiday season, not just Cyber Monday & Black Friday. Finish this year strong!

7. How To Sell More Before, During and After Black Friday

   “The name of the game is social media. Take advantage of the Black Friday buying blitz by making your deals shareable on the social web.”

8. 7 Last Minute Tips to Improve Black Friday Results

   “Implement cross-sell and up-sell merchandising rules – make it easy for visitors to find and buy things that make a great companion to their initial product selection.”

9. Online Seller Tips on Preparing for Black Friday

   “These days, consumers expect free shipping with a minimum purchase because so many online retailers offer it. “Differentiate yourself by offering free shipping with no minimum purchase, or free expedited shipping, or free shipping to a second address.”

10. Avoid Blackout on Black Friday and Cyber Monday [Infographic]

    “58% of customers will not use a company’s site again after experiencing site errors”

11. Breaking Down Black Friday & Cyber Monday on eBay

    “One of the more interesting stats to note is that Prairie Grove, Arkansas, with a population of just 2,540, bought more items on eBay than any other U.S. ZIP code on Cyber Monday.”

12. Cyber Monday Selling Tips

    “Make sure you leverage email marketing, and not just using your email own lists, but pay to take advantage of others’ lists if they have a relevant audience”

    “Promote a killer deal on CyberMonday.com, a website run by Shop.org that highlights special Cyber Monday deals from online retailers”

13. Customers go for useful and exciting stuff.

    “Daily posts with new hot offers are what stimulate customer’s interest. Throw in an additional offer across social networks that can grant either extra discount or a gift.”

14. 4 Tips to increase your Black Friday sales

    “Facebook Savings Tab – For Facebook, publish an offer with an exclusive deal they can grab to their phone to redeem on Black Friday.”

15. 3 Must-Dos for the E-Commerce Web Team Before Black Friday

    “Monitor Your Site – The nightmare of any e-commerce store owner is to come back to work on Monday, only to discover their site has been down all weekend. Don’t let this happen to you, make sure you’ve setup a website monitoring tool.”

16. The Ultimate eCommerce Guide to Boosting Your Black Friday Sales

    “It’s better to be specific about your promotion. You can:
    – Offer a big discount off a single product. This works well if you need to shift a lot of stock, or if there’s one product that’s the flagship of your brand.
    – Put a specific category or product line on offer, e.g. 20% off tablets, or baby clothes, etc.”

17. 5 tips for Ecommerce sites for the start of the online Christmas shopping season: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

    “Put yourself in your customer’s shoes – You know your site inside out because you have been working with it for years. A brand new customer doesn’t. Put yourself in their shoes, or run a focus group. Viewing your site from a different perspective is vital in understanding areas for improvement, and most importantly knowing if your festive promotions are easily accessed and understood. The simplest thing like adding a bigger button or coloured call to action can improve conversion rates significantly.”

18. Tips to Prepare Your Ecommerce Website for Black Friday 2013

    “Have a Shipping Game Plan – Whether you’re using FedEx, UPS, or another carrier, have a conversation about your strategy for this holiday season, including the availability of special arrangements for late pickup and guarantees on delivery time. Determine the latest order date on which you can guarantee delivery before Christmas, and make it clear to shoppers.”

19. 4 eCommerce tips to get the most out of Black Friday

    “Emphasize crowd-free convenience – Message directly to those shoppers balking at the prospect of Black Friday lines by stressing the convenience and ease of online shopping. [MarketLive’s 2011 Consumer Shopping Survey](http://www.marketlive-blog.com/2011/10/27/262/ “Services”) found that “saving time” resonated with 77% of consumers as a motivator for shopping online — second only to “saving money” at 79%. “Avoid the crowds at the mall” was another top incentive, chosen by 73% of consumers.”

20. 38 Ways Ecommerce Sites can Grab the Upcoming Holidays by the Horns

    “Set up a marketing campaign aimed at existing customers – as research shows they are most likely to buy. Sweeten the pot with some insiders-only deals, and those customers will be sure to tell others about your promotion.”

21. Forget Black Friday, Is Your eCommerce Store Ready for Thanksgiving?

    “The good news for online retailers is that a large portion of holiday bargain hunters aren’t going to venture out until it’s officially Black Friday. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to shop.

    According to[ a study by Placed](http://www.placed.com/resources/white-papers/holiday-shopper-profile-2013), 46% of shoppers will spend part of Thanksgiving shopping online.”

22. 7 Last Minute Tips for Your Best Holiday Season

    “Watch the Competition – Contingency plans should be in place to make sure you hit your desired targets. If, for example, your competitors are offering a free shipping deal that you believe is driving down your sales, consider adding additional promotions to compete.”

23. 40 Tips to Rock Cyber Monday & Everyday Online Sales

    “Know Your Audience – Decide the top 1-3 primary audiences you would like to market the Cyber Monday offer to. Do your research on the audience to determine what communication methods will best reach them. Included in your research should also be what social media platforms will work best to drive traffic to your website and/or provide the specific offer. ”

Want to share your strategies?

What are your Cyber Monday tips for getting more sales on the biggest eCommerce day? Send a tweet to @SureDone or share in the comments so we can keep the list growing!