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Seems
easy, right? When listing an auction you simply select the most
appropriate and obvious category for your item. But savvy
sellers know that there can be more finesse involved when
deciding upon a particular category. Read on for some helpful
hints that can improve your auction sales and expand your
potential audience.
Calling
All Categories
Obviously you don't want to confuse bidders by listing your
items in inappropriate categories. Certainly there are right and
wrong categories. That being said, by choosing an alternate and
less obvious category for your item you can open up your auction
to a whole new audience. For example, booksellers sometimes will
avoid listing in the mammoth book categories and instead list
according to the book's subject matter--books on computers might
be listed in the computers or software section, and so on. As
one seller pointed out in a Message Center thread, ''You can
snag someone interested in the subject, who just didn't know
they needed a book!''
Just take a little time to consider
other categories and who your target audience is and which
category pages they're likely to browse. A little creativity and
innovation can lead to more hits, more bids, and more profits.
Remember that some categories are so
large that your item might get lost in the shuffle. Try listing
in a smaller yet still appropriate category. Also, if you're
selling more than one item or similar items, conduct a little
market research by listing items in different categories. Then
sit back and see which category is the most successful. If it
turns out that one category is doing particularly well, then
consider updating your other in-progress auction or auctions by
changing the item's category.
Relist
It
When sellers relist their auctions, they usually make a few
changes (lowering the price, altering the description or title,
etc.) to try to turn around an unsuccessful auction. Another
common tactic is switching categories.
Here's a good example (taken from the
AW Message Center) that illustrates the benefits of not limiting
yourself to one category. A seller started selling her dragon
and fantasy sculptures in the most obvious category: sculptures.
But after receiving no bids, the seller thought about her target
audience. By doing so, she realized that in her local area such
sculptures usually do well in comic book/gaming stores. So she
switched categories and listed her sculptures in the
role-playing games category. And voilą: bids and sales.
''By changing my category,'' said the seller, ''I not only hit
people who may be looking for that type of thing, but it's a
smaller category and I also get the 'impulse' buyers.''
What
If I'm Not Sure?
There are times when sellers, especially new sellers, might not
be sure about which categories to choose for their items. In
those cases, it's best to do a search for the same item or
similar items and find out where other sellers have listed their
items. If your search results show listings in more than one
category, determine which category is soliciting the most bids
for that particular item: There's your category of choice.
Back to Auction tips &
tactics
by Vendio Services
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