The Important eBay Question

Elizabeth B Tucker asked this important question about how I handle my mailing list with eBay customers: 

One question, two actually....1) Do you automatically add the person who bought your work to your email list? and 2) Do you send out a notice to your list every time you put something up on Ebay, or just let the "public" find you?

Thank you for bringing it up, Elizabeth, because Ebay has a very stringent policy against marketing to their members outside of the eBay system. If you do so, they consider it spamming, and you risk being banned from the site.

Here is how I manage my mailing lists with regard to my eBay clients:

I use an excel worksheet with a code that tells me they bought through eBay.

I do not initiate any contact outside of the purchase communications.  If they email me then I consider that a permission to add my email signature with website information in my communications back, but I do not ask them to visit my site.  What I do is include the bio/vita in the shipment so they have the artist contact information with the painting.  I think you have to be very careful that you do not violate - or appear to violate - eBay's rules against trying to complete an eBay-initiated sales transaction outside the system as a means of cheating them out of their commissions. 

I do not email eBay customers when I post a new auction - I think this would definately fall under the "spam" definition that eBay is so adamantly against. What I DO use is the same tag lines in my listings: Paintings From the Oregon Outback or Sue Smith, to make it easier for clients to identify my items.  Many of the repeat purchases came from items listed on the same day or over several days spaced close together. In one case, a previous eBay client emailed about a painting she saw on an expired auction and I put it back up on eBay with a Buy Now, emailed her, and she was able to purchase it immediately. I think there is also a way for clients to "bookmark" you as a "favorite seller" and check in to see what you have available.

If I had started an "auction-type" blog (which I haven't) then all updates would go out to those who had subscribed (opt-in), with links to the auction site.  I think this is the best approach to avoid being listed as a "spammer."

I do send out Christmas Cards to my eBay clients with a "thank you for supporting my art" message.

I do send occasional postcard mailings where there is an announcement/accomplishment that might reinforce their decision to  have purchased my art and generate interest in looking at my website and signing up for my newsletter.

I do try to respect their privacy and do not consider them in the same "marketing category" as those who have opted-in for my mailings, so my marketing efforts are far more passive with these customers.

While I don't think that eBay "owns" your clients anymore than a gallery "owns" the clients, I treat the relationship in much the same way, respecting the boundaries and obligations while still promoting my art, opening the door for subsequent "permissions-based" marketing as the client desires.

Please add any comments or experiences to help clarify what can often be a gray area in marketing.

 

 

 

Ancient Wisdom:Emerging Artist is officially launched today through my eCommerce page.  The book will soon be available on Amazon, and they are in the process of converting the files for the Kindle. 

Here is an excerpt from the section titled Know Your Market:

"While your marketing efforts may not address all three goals at once, it is essential that your message addresses the prospect's point of view: what's in it for me?

Go back to your journal and pull together thoughts and words that resonate emotionally.  If you have testimonials from buyers all the better: having someone else describe why they responded to your work is a strong motivator for others considering a purchase."

This is the perfect book for you if you feel "stuck" or "discouraged", no matter what your age or experience. 

Art is life...create on purpose...step into your dream

 

 

 

Comments

[sue]

Joyce - just keep experimenting with starting bid amounts and days and times. And don't feel bad, I once "paid" someone to take a painting off my hands - by the time I finished paying for the shipping, the eBay and Paypal fees, I was in the hole before I even started calculating the cost of the canvas and paint. I guess that was better than storing the painting in the closet.

[Joyce Wycoff]

My first eBay experiment was probably a little aggressive ... I put 5 pieces on starting at .01 as Jack White recommended. The bidding got up to $1.25 so I had to have a friend get involved to keep from giving the art away. I think I'll start next time with 1 piece and see if that works any better.

I intend to "hang in there!" Thanks again.

[sue]

William, I have better luck with eBay for my work because of the auction approach - where Etsy seems to be very passive unless you are promoting it all the time. I'm interested in hearing success stories about Etsy, though.

[william]

Very good post. I was thinking of selling stuff on Etsy, but have decided I can be a little bit more agressive on ebay. Im going to swallow my pride and list at $.99.

[sue smith]

Hang in there, Joyce. In my experience, it took quite a few of "your item did not sell" emails before I started getting the "congratulations your item sold!" emails. Experiment with different ending days and times - Monday seems to be good because of all those people back at work who surf eBay instead of doing other stuff...or so I've heard...

[Joyce Wycoff]

Sue ... thanks ... this is helpful info. At your suggestion (and Jack White's), I've just initiated my first eBay experiment. It's off to a shaky start so we'll see.