How to to Start Your Own Ecommerce Website and Take Your eBay Customers With You

eBay can be a great source of income, and it can also be a great source for harvesting clientele to refer to your own website. When you sell products on your own website, you can charge less for products and services than you charge on eBay since you won’t have to pay eBay related fees. Learn how to branch out and start your own ecommerce site and take your previous eBay customers with you.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. First, find a website where you can build an ecommerce site that has an integrated shopping cart and offers a Payapal payment option. eBay buyers are used to the Paypal payment system and already have a Paypal account. See the resources section below for ecommerce web hosting sites.

2. Once your site is built and loaded with products, you will need customers to buy your products. Your Paypal account is a great place to start. You can download your Paypal history (back several years), which includes your customers email address and the products they purchased. Save this information in an Excel spreadsheet.

3. Create a flyer or other promotional material regarding your new ecommerce website. Include this material in all of your eBay orders, directing customers to your own website.

4. Change your eBay automated emails for item won, payment received, and shipping information. Although these templates do not allow any HTML script or a direct link to your site, you can still notify your customers of your own website where they can buy your products off eBay.

5. Update your eBay About Me page. You can add the URL for your own website on your About Me page. Remember, the eBay About Me page is the only place where you can include a non-eBay url.

6. Create an email campaign using the addresses you downloaded from Paypal. Your email campaign could say something like this: Thank you for your recent eBay purchase. We are excited to announce our new website that offers the same great products we offer on eBay. Without eBay fees to affect product pricing, we are able to offer customers lower prices.

7. Get on Twitter. Set up a Twitter account with the name of your ecommerce website. Follow those in your target market. For example, if you are selling baby products, follow sites like mom blogs, baby stores, and stay at home moms.

8. See the resources section below for more information on marketing your eBay store.

Tips & Warnings

• eBay does not allow links to personal websites in any place other than the About Me page.
• Shop around for ecommerce web hosting. Be mindful of fees and be sure to price shop.

Resources

• Build and Host a Website for $19.95 a Month
• eBay Store Review
• eBay Seller Facebook Group

[velosity]

on 8/8/2009 Great information to have. Thanks!

[kaseysviewblog]

on 7/17/2009 Very helpful information!

[auntieemscorner]

on 6/30/2009 As usual, you're full of great information! Thank you!