5 Market Research Tools for EBay Sellers
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Market research provides important data to anyone who sells goods online. And it can help eBay sellers determine what products will have the most likely chance of selling at the best price during any period of time.
Some online sellers might just set a price to sell an item based only on cost and then set a 'Buy it Now' price. But using market research -- instead of guesswork -- lets you determine key criteria such as the best day of the week to list, the best time, the optimal starting price for bids or the best Buy it Now price for selling different items on eBay.
Most market research services provide recommendations based on historical selling data. By studying real sales data you can make better listing choices with the goal of not just making a profit -- but making the most profit possible for any eBay listing. Market research shows you which factors and which eBay listing options will increase your chance to sell.
The following five market research tools offer different reports and use different algorithms to sift through eBay data to provide the details eBay sellers need to improve the likelihood of selling on eBay. As an added bonus, many eBay tool providers offer a free trial; you can try the service and see results before making a financial investment.
HammerTap is an eBay research tool designed to help eBay sellers make more sales, more often. The service, which consists of the research tool and webinars, provides you with facts based on real eBay historical data. It can help you choose key factors like the best end day for your auction to start and the most profitable start price to use.
The market research tool also provides insight to the main keywords and phrases buyers search with. HammerTap also recommends which image features you should use to get the most attention in eBay search results.
HammerTap Pricing: The HammerTap service is available for $24.95 per month (currently discounted to $19.95 per month). A free 10-day trial is offered, however you need a credit card to access the free trial.
Another big name in eBay market research is TeraPeak. Terapeak offers eBay sellers a selection of tools including a product research report, a trend report that shows sales performance of a search over a 90-day period, a Top Sellers tool to see ranked eBay sellers who have listed within your search and a title builder to help you generate keywords. It also lets you browse for relevant closed listings.
The main tool in TeraPeak's line of eBay research tools is Product Research. This tool helps sellers mine closed eBay listings to find key statistics about an item and its sales history. This data is what lets you build the best listing possible for maximum sales and profitability.
TeraPeak Pricing: TeraPeak offers several subscription plans with different options and levels of features in each. The Basic Plan starts at $9.95 per month but offers limited seller reports. Other plans include Advantage at $24.95 per month, and Motor Parts and Accessories at $34.95 per month. All plans are available at a discounted rate when purchased on a yearly subscription basis.
Vendio offers an ecommerce platform in addition to several eBay Research tools including auction-management software. Vendio claims its eBay market-research tools sort through millions of closed eBay items every day to provide intelligent and customizable selling recommendations.
The tool provides sellers with details on the hottest-selling products on eBay and also details items you should avoid. Reports can help you to better choose keywords and category, and it tells you the best days of the week and times of day to list items. The Research's Top Sellers feature also lets you know who else is selling similar items and what listing strategies they use.
Vendio Pricing: Vendio offers its eBay Research Tools for a subscription price of $20 per month. The website also states that the first 2 months of the service is free to new sign-ups.
SaleHoo, an online wholesale directory and community, offers online sellers (including eBay sellers) the SaleHoo Research Labs. The Research Labs provides details on products getting "buzz" online. Using the Research Labs reports you can determine which items to sell online and which ones aren't selling well in the current online market. The tool also shows key factors such as the best time of day to sell, average online selling prices, sell-through rates and more.
SaleHoo Pricing: SaleHoo membership provides access to the company's supplier directory, member forums, Smart Seller Training material and SaleHoo Research Labs. Membership costs $67 per year.
EBay Pulse is an eBay website that sellers can use to see a "snapshot" of current trends, popular searches, highest-priced items and more. While at first glance eBay Pulse seems more like a diversion than a selling tool, you can learn more about what's hot and currently selling on the auction website.
The eBay Pulse site lets you choose any eBay category to see only the information for that category, or you can choose to see information for all of eBay. EBay Pulse doesn’t provide any in-depth market research reports, but it is a quick and easy way to see current selling trends.
eBay Pulse Pricing: eBay Pulse is a free online tool from eBay.
Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.
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