People are coming up of new ways to sell their goods. A lot of transactions nowadays are now done through online social media. People all around the globe are setting up their own online businesses and started to sell their products online. Over the year, selling items and services online had become more common. Learning how to sell items online can be sometimes scary since every transaction and communication is done virtually, which means you don’t actually see who you’re talking to. This shift of selling online instead of setting up physical stores became more popular when the pandemic started. Since people are prohibited and discouraged to have in-person arrangements and social distancing are strictly implemented, sellers found a way to still sell their good despite being at home. Social media became the primary channel for selling goods and due to the high population of the world wide web, selling online proved itself to be the best way to sell your stuff and products since you would be given the opportunity to reach a wider audience from different places. If you are one of the aspirants that want to sell their products online then you’re in the right place. Here are some tips on how to effectively sell a product online.
How to Effectively Sell Online
Selling online may look easy since all you have to do is acquire a smartphone, create an account on social media marketplaces and then post the stuff that you wish to sell. Well, it is easy to post your products but to effectively sell them and make sure that they’re being seen by a lot of people is a whole other story. Read along as we discuss easy tips on how you can effectively sell your items online.
- Find the right platform
Since you are trying to sell something, the first thing that you should look for is the perfect website or platform to sell your goods effectively. Some people who are looking to sell second-hand items or other services prefer to use Facebook Marketplace because it can reach a wider audience and your post has a higher possibility to appear on people’s timelines. The good thing about Facebook Marketplace is that it is the best platform for sellers who wishes to sell items anytime they want and can opt out whenever they want as well. It is the perfect platform for just selling items that aren’t products of a business. If you wish to sell a product for your business then consider setting up a Shopee or Lazada store where you would be given resources and a platform to sell your goods continuously. Some small business owners also set up their own digital store through Instagram since the feed layout of Instagram can showcase the photos of your products really well. You can also invest on having your own website which is good for a growing business.
- Assess your items
If you wish to sell an item that you don’t use anymore but don’t want it to be wasted, then the first thing that you should do is to assess the item that you’re going to sell. Normally, the item that you’re selling should be in good condition and still usable. People would only buy your item if they’re guaranteed that what they’re trying to acquire is in decent condition. Listing unusable or damaged items for sale wouldn’t only make it near impossible to be sold but people or moderators might also report your account and can get you banned from posting items for sale again.
In able to know if you’re item is still decent to be sold then try using it yourself first. If it’s an appliance or something that uses electricity, you can try plugging it in first and see if it still working. If you’re selling furniture or clothes, look for damages and signs of being worn out. If there’s any minor damages but unnoticeable in the first look, make sure to mention it on your post so that the buyer knows what to expect and decrease the chances of having misunderstandings.
- List your item honestly
An important tip in selling stuff online is by being honest with what you are selling. Describe your items well and describe them as they are. Refrain from using flowery or false descriptions just so you can sell your item. By giving misleading descriptions to your items will result to your customer being unsatisfied and your account can get flagged and the buyer might post their disappointment from your service publicly. This will decrease your chances of selling another item in the future again.
Tell everything that your buyer needs to know. For example, if you’re selling clothes, make sure to include if they’re “new” or “branded with tags.” Include if you’re item was used and how often they were used. Being honest with your post will make sure that buyers and moderators will mark your account as trustworthy which will be beneficial if you wish to list another item for sale again.
- Have a decent price
A part of assessing the things that you’re about to list for sale is giving them the right prices. Refrain from overpricing your items as people would easily find a cheaper alternative and give your item no mind after. Price your products depending on the value. Of course, when listing items, we tend to add a little more to the price to gain profit. If you’ve been selling and buying stuff online, you must know that a part of trade culture is haggling. People will try to haggle your items and that is okay. Just keep in mind that the final price should not result in you having negative profit. If an item doesn’t really sell, then that’s when you can decide to drop the price lower.
- Make your products presentable
In order to make whatever you are selling appealing when posted online, make sure to take high quality photos of them. Make sure that the product you are selling can be seen clearly from the photos that you have provided so that buyers can take a good look before buying. The colors should be accurate so avoid using filters. Make sure to give size references on products that requires size charts or size comparisons to avoid returns and misunderstandings. Providing high quality photos also gives an impression to your buyers that the thing that they are looking at is also something of high quality. With this strategy, people would see your items as something they would be interested in buying. If it’s possible, use natural lighting and add some designs and flare. The key to this is being creative. If you really want to make it beautiful and high quality looking, you can look for references or ideas on Pinterest and try to add your own style to it. Also, try to add more than one or two photos, capture every angle necessary for your product to assure your possible buyers that the thing they are buying is as great as what you are saying the description box.
- Shipping! Shipping! Shipping!
One of the most important things to consider on how to effectively sell online and having a small business is knowing how your product will reach your buyer. There are a lot of delivery service providers out there that you can partner with to ship your products. If you’re going to make a digital store, make sure to set a partnership with one or two delivery service providers so that everything that you will send off will arrive consistently. Choose a service that you know you can trust. Before shipping your products, the thing that you should also focus on is the packaging. Packaging is important and making it as creative as your photos can attract a whole lot of customers. Since people are looking for something, they can post online, having a cool packaging is a must. Besides being beautiful, your packaging must also be secured. Since your product doesn’t go directly to the hands of your buyer after being sold, making sure that your product won’t arrive to them damaged should be one of your priorities. The outer packaging should be sealed properly to avoid, damages, tears, and dents.
- Ship your items punctually
One of the best ways to gain the trust of your buyers is to ship your items in a timely fashion. Everybody hates when something arrives late than what was promised. Make sure to have a proper communication with your buyer if you think that the shipping of the product might get delayed. Be sure to say a valid reason and give a sincere apology when it happens. But most of the time, try to send your items off at the right time so you won’t have to deal with any problems in the future. The time of arrival if your products to the doorstep of your buyers, believe it or not, is a huge factor on your store reviews. So, if you don’t want to have one-star reviews then ship your products on time.
- Answer any questions asked
As much as you put everything in the description box and in the photos that you have provided, people would still have questions to ask, and that is okay. The buyers would make sure that they know what they are buying so always be polite in answering every question that they might ask. Avoid answering questions after long periods of time because your possible buyers might have found something similar already and bought from another seller. If you really want to know how to effectively sell a product then from the start, you must know that being a seller is not just something that you can do on your spare time, but also a responsibility. Being polite and being active with answering questions will build a good rapport between you and your customers.
- Beware of scams
With online selling, it is impossible for a seller to not cross paths with scammers. Scammers are everywhere and a good seller must know how to protect their product against them. The buyers will do anything to know that their money is being spent to trustworthy buyers so as a seller you must also be aware that you are not being scammed by people. A good seller knows how to spot a scammer even online. Make sure that you’d receive the payment or half of the payment before you send the product to the buyer. The payment method should always be secured and confidential to protect the identity and personal information of the seller and the buyer. Being vigilant from lurking scammers makes sure that you and your products are always protected and you don’t have to deal with profit loss.
- Promote your products
Lastly, the final and most effective tip to effectively sell your product online is to promote them properly and actively. If you really want your items to sell then make sure that your posts or your products are actually having the right exposure and are being seen by people. Don’t just cram everything into a single post or listing. If you’re selling different products, create separate posts so that your buyers wouldn’t be confused with every item description. Make sure that in posting your product you are also promoting your page and other items so that people would be encouraged to buy more and visit your page more. As one thing leads to another, high traffic on your page can trick the algorithm into showing your products more and more to people’s timelines. This strategy can also make people realize that you have more to offer and recommend them to their family or friends.
Have a schedule when posting your products. This schedule will be based on your observation on when is the right time that people are active on social media. With this, you know that at the time that they open their apps, your posts would be the first one to pop up on their feed. Being active and having a good promotional strategy is good just be careful to avoid overdoing it as continuous posts of the same products can appear annoying to someone. Don’t occupy half of your possible buyer’s page, just make it decent so your page won’t lose followers or get blocked by people or worse, gets marked for spam!
Buying items online is the trend now, and browsing these items isn’t limited to just clothes or gadgets. With the help of the ever-evolving technology, you can now browse properties online! Just like in the Bria Homes website, you can look for affordable house and lot and condominium properties by location or by property type! Imagine finding the house and lot of your dreams online? Everything is easier and smoother.
And that’s it! Ten sure fire ways to boost your knowledge on how to effectively sell online. These are just the basics but are still the most important to know. If you know what to do from the start, then you won’t have any problems with anything in the future. Good luck and happy selling!
Written by R.M
