John McElligott, managing director of eBay Ireland, shares his insights on how to sell online and achieve e-commerce success.

The e-commerce phenomenon has been gradually building up pace among Irish business users, eager to reach out to a global marketplace. While e-commerce has caught the attention of many casual traders in Ireland, there is a huge opportunity for the Irish small to medium-sized enterprise market to really grow using e-commerce.

Whereas some people build their business organically through their own websites, others have very definite aspirations for the web as a sales channel through the use of third-party sites.

If a business is interested in the e-commerce model, it is important to realise that it’s just like doing business elsewhere. Developing a business over the internet requires the same business planning as starting any other business. You must research the market, assess the competition and have an attractive product to sell. You will need to set up an online store, design your website and devise a secure payment method for your customers.

It’s also integral for a business to act like a buyer and to carry out research as if it were a buyer, as people need to determine if they would buy from themselves. It’s a transparent marketplace so it is very easy to see what the competition is doing and you’ve got to make sure that you’re doing well against it.

Solo entrepreneurs who are starting a business are finding e-commerce an attractive sales avenue. As the costs of getting started are so low, it is possible to try out different things, offering a depth of flexibility. Online you can experiment and test the waters to find out what’s going to work for you. Businesses should be careful, however, about offering customer service and must give people the level of service they expect. If you’re going to provide a returns policy, be clear about it. Irish consumer law applies to online trading as it does to all trading.

While many businesses use e-commerce as part of a multi-sales channel, some Irish retailers I have spoken to say that over 90pc of what they sell is via eBay. We have an ‘OnRamp’ service where we give businesses an expert consultation if they’re looking to start online commerce.

Web Sales: How to Do it

1. Open an Account
Determine whether you are going to set up your own website or sell through a site such as eBay.

2. Prepare your Item
Research similar items for sale and get ideas about presentation and about the price you can ask for.

3. Listing your Item
Concentrate on format, duration of listing, pictures, description of the product and use of keywords to grab the reader’s attention. Your description needs to provide the buyer with all the information they need.

4. Pricing, Payment and Postage
If listing an item using the auction style format, consider starting the bidding at a low price. Choose a secure payment option. Include all postage and packaging.

5. Sell in Volume
Automate, improve and streamline highvolume sales. Manage listings, sales, feedback and customer emails in bulk.

6. Managing/Completing a Sale
Contact the buyer to arrange delivery and payment details. Only post the item once you have received payment.

Case Study: Dr-Computer-Biz
Patrick McCormack had been selling computers for a long time before setting up on eBay a year ago and his decision to take on the e-commerce model has been proving very successful.

In May, McCormack won eBay seller of the year for his online business, Dr-Computer-Biz, which he operates from his home in Omeath, Co Louth. Central to his business is selling laptops and computers, but McCormack is now diversifying into selling complementary products such as MP3 players, digital cameras and laptop accessories. He says it was easy to get started, as he had been buying and selling items on eBay beforehand, but that preliminary research was vital. “It needs a good bit of research to work out your margins and to check out your competition,” he says.

Currently, eBay is his sole sales medium with McCormack affirming that the market is so huge that you can reach out to a vast pool of customers without the burden of major advertising costs.

Dr-Computer-Biz’s main customer base is in Ireland and the UK — 95pc of his products are exported to the UK, with the remainder being sold here. McCormack says initially it was a challenge to find the right distribution partners, but he settled with UPS in the UK and Fastway Couriers in Ireland. He has also started to target other European countries. A solo entrepreneur at present, McCormack hopes to take on employees in the coming months. He believes that eBay holds opportunities for those who can find a niche within a market. “It’s not really a big risk. With eBay you can develop your own strategy and take it from there.”

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