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Last Post 7/11/2009 18:56 by: lily-was-here
Replies: 20
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competitivecomputers
Posts: 7

How do I promote/advertise my product?

7/11/2009 09:00
Ok I'm in need of some serious tips on promoting my product. I know it's a good product that sells. For example out of 45 page views it's had 2 sales so far. (Item: 170400012286)

The problem is that it's only had 45 page views and it's probably been up for sale for two weeks now at least. There has to be a way to get page views up without spending too much on advertising but i don't know how. I looked into the pay per click option but I don't think it was worth it.

I bought an eBay store just to sell the product so that's one cose but i don't know how to get greater exposure.
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kannaman25
Posts: 616
(1 of 20)

7/11/2009 09:24
Hi CC, It may be just me, i Don't know, but personally I do not like how you have listed all the products you sell down the middle of the page, awful lot of scrolling...I presume these are items you sell? 45 Page views and 2 sales, I don't know if that's successful or not!! You say you opened a store for your items. I think you should have tested the waters for your products before opening a store, as there are a lot of fees associated with a store. More posters that have stores will be able to tell you more...:)
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putney32
Posts: 10,830
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7/11/2009 09:56
cc...you have WAAAAAY too much stuff on your page, anyone looking would get confused and not be sure what they were bidding on and click the back button.

also, you are paying Store fees for the month and only have ONE ITEM in the store? why? for the money you are paying you could have just listed one auction and one buy it now, and saved.


cut all the stuff on your page that is NOT connected to the actual auction. also remember a HUGE % of ebay buyers are country dwellers, with slow, dial up connections, not everyone lives in the city with all the choces we city dwellers have for ISP etc....

your auctions would be v. slow loading for the majority of users I think.
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competitivecomputers
Posts: 7
(3 of 20)

7/11/2009 10:01
o hay,

I'll have a look into the site layout. I guess it's a little better than plain or coloured text on a white background but you're right I can do better. There was a side bar added when I purchased the store "store categories" that wasn't there before that's made the page longer and skinnier i'll have to try and get rid of it. I must have overlooked it when i did the changeover.

I think the amount of page views per sale seems good because it's not a cheap product and very esoteric. It's mainly for professionals and power users so i understand it's not for everyone. Maybe eBay isn't the right place for it, I don't know.

It's funny you say that because actually I did do a test run on the same product if you see my sales feedback you'll notice it. Actually the test run seemed to sell faster when i didn't have a store than when i've got one now. I've done my calculations and the fees get paid for i'm not concerned about that.

I mainly got the store because I can set it and forget it. Less maintenance, I can leave the product up there and just worry about printing labels and mailing it off.
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phorum_junkie*
Posts: 11,631
(4 of 20)

7/11/2009 10:35
I think the more hits you get on your item the bigger the chance you get your collar felt by the boys in blue.

You are actively advertising software that allows someone to hack into a system!!!!!!!!

I would have thought that was as illegal as using it.

Your listing is carp. If you want to put details of each product have them right across the page so they don't take a week to read scrolling down.

Paying store fees for one product with only a multiple of 10 or less is never going to be economical.

The only way to find out if your product is worth listing on ebay is to list it as an auction several times and see what average price it will sell for, after that it may be worth listing with store fees but I doubt what you save in listing fees will cover the extra FVF and store fees.
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hug_chi
Posts: 4
(5 of 20)

7/11/2009 10:53
The question of how to drive traffic to a store is complex and I don't think it is an exact science. I for one certainly do not have all the answers but seeing you asked for comments on you particular store here is my 2 cents worth.

I don't think there is anything wrong with your layout, in fact I think it is great, the customers you are targeting want information

I would remove the word 'hack' from your headline, imo this is not a device for hackers, it is however a great device for enthusiasts

I think your decision to open a store with few products is not correct, store items do not get the same exposure

So if this was my store, I would make one small change to the headline and close the store and go back to general listings.....just a thought!
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competitivecomputers
Posts: 7
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7/11/2009 11:20
Wow thanks for your great reply. It's difficult to find help from people who actually understand my product.

Maybe you're right about the word "hack". (as seen above) it's obvious the average person has no idea what hacking/security testing really is and how standard and important it is for an organisation or power user. Unfortunately people think of some hollywood image of some kid taking billions of dollars out of banks when rounding off the 0.001 cents off in transactions.

The main reason why I use the word is if I do get kids seeing it advertised they'll think it's 'cool' and buy one thinking it'll let them get their friends facebook account or something stupid like that.

For those who mentioned before, as I said I've already done my testing and the numbers add up. I was selling it before whilst using the "make an offer" function with most people opting to pay my nominated price or $5 less. It's not worth my while to sell it any cheaper.

I don't understand when you say "store items do not get the same exposure" do they get less exposure than standard items on BIN or auction?

for whoever mentioned about changing my site for people in the country, the only thing that takes time to load is the youtube video and thats only if you press play. The standard picture on my site is 32KB, if you're on a connection that can't load pictures that size at a decent speed then you're probably not very into computers anyway.
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phorum_junkie*
Posts: 11,631
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7/11/2009 11:44
The main reason why I use the word is if I do get kids seeing it advertised they'll think it's 'cool' and buy one thinking it'll let them get their friends facebook account or something stupid like that.

Which is exactly why I said you could get a visit from some unwelcome cops, you specifically advertise it as a tool for hacking which is illegal. The title in no way explains that you mean security checking and not acting illegally.

If you are tempting kids to buy it by implying they will be able to hack into other's accounts then that is totally dishonest too.

If it sells well as a BIN with best offer why not just list that way?
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competitivecomputers
Posts: 7
(8 of 20)

7/11/2009 12:38
ok so i fixed the side panel, thanks again kannaman25 for pointing that out, don't worry i'm sure you'll get better at design too.

Not all hacking is illegal. One of the operating systems there is for wireless security testing "white hat" hacking. It's still called hacking. If i'm asked questions I can simply point in the direction of Wikipedia.

There's no implication anywhere in the add saying that my product will get you into someone else's account. So i don't think i'm being dishonest, it's simply playing on peoples assumptions/ignorance/inability to read. The item does exactly as it describes.

I didn't feel i'd be approached by such as tribunal about something I didn't even ask.


Back on track, how can I better promote this product? Should I use any of those extra features like "featured" or something? They seem expensive, more expensive than having a store, have people tried them before?

I only used "best offer" as a testing procedure. I know what people will pay now. All i'm trying to is increase exposure. I figured it was expensive to be listing it for 10 days at a time anyway because i've got it sitting in 2 catagories. Also the time I spend playing with it was another factor. Is there a way to track where people have clicked from so i can find out if i need to only list in one category?
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foxette-in-sox
Posts: 14,897
(9 of 20)

7/11/2009 12:59
So i don't think i'm being dishonest, it's simply playing on peoples assumptions/ignorance/inability to read

You've just stated on a public forum that you're morally reprehensible IMO:|
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sq.tsai
Posts: 137
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7/11/2009 13:07
Lol. What a seller.. Hacking has a bad connotation! OP you'll never know if someone would read it wrongly and decides to report your listing or something!
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competitivecomputers
Posts: 7
(11 of 20)

7/11/2009 13:51
You've just stated on a public forum that you're morally reprehensible IMO:|


this is again aside from the point, but again, for the professionals out there they'll understand what the product is and does. I shouldn't be held responsible for peoples ignorance and pop culture understanding of something far more broad and complex. It does "hack" for wireless security testing, but it doesn't "hack" user accounts, Facebook, Banks or whatever other magical uses your average pleb might dream up. All that rubbish can be done on your average Windows machine. I've had zero complaints from any of my customers, thank god they've been IT professionals and enthusiasts so far.

This is getting boring. Back on topic, what the post was originally about:

how can I better promote this product? Should I use any of those extra features like "featured" or something? They seem expensive, more expensive than having a store, have people tried them before?

I only used "best offer" as a testing procedure. I know what people will pay now. All i'm trying to is increase exposure. I figured it was expensive to be listing it for 10 days at a time anyway because i've got it sitting in 2 catagories. Also the time I spend playing with it was another factor. Is there a way to track where people have clicked from so i can find out if i need to only list in one category?
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kannaman25
Posts: 616
(12 of 20)

7/11/2009 13:58
ok so i fixed the side panel, thanks again kannaman25 for pointing that out, don't worry i'm sure you'll get better at design too.

kannaman25 wrote:
Hi CC, It may be just me, i Don't know, but personally I do not like how you have listed all the products you sell down the middle of the page, awful lot of scrolling

CC, If you read my post, i did not say a word about your side panel. You asked for opinions of your site, and I simply said I didn't like the Design down the middle? This was IMO, maybe I forgot to put that in..Just something for you to consider that is all. And your reply here:
ok so i fixed the side panel, thanks again kannaman25 for pointing that out, don't worry i'm sure you'll get better at design too.


I have never had a problem with selling with the way my auctions are laid out..."Straight to the point, description, please ask questions, postage etc." I do not have 1 neg, so maybe i am doing something right:)
All I started with was all my IMO which is what you asked for. If you don't like the help here or someone says something you don't want to hear, don't bother coming in!!!?:|
I think my design is perfect for the products I sell, and there are a few, check my feedback:^O
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phorum_junkie*
Posts: 11,631
(13 of 20)

7/11/2009 14:05
Foxy summed it up beautifully....as she always does!
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kannaman25
Posts: 616
(14 of 20)

7/11/2009 14:07
If it is getting boring, you know where the door is..you are very rude:O Especially when you come here and ask for peoples opinions/advice and all they have done is tried to help you with some great advice ?:|.....Good Luck with your store....
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