Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Ebay Selling with cooperation
I had a friend who recently told me that he used to sell a particular brand of umbrella on Ebay, and he was the only person selling that particular brand of umbrella. He was selling them for about £15.
One day he got a phone call from someone who wanted to make a bulk purchase of his umbrellas. So they met, and my friend handed over the umbrellas and charged this man £7 each. He asked the buyer where he was going to sell the umbrellas, and he said on a market stall. My friend did not want any competition selling on Ebay.
The next day, the umbrella buyer was selling the umbrellas on Ebay at a cheaper price than my friend. So my friend then decided to strike back by selling them at £7 - the price he had sold them to the man. So that got him back for trying to undercut him in the first place.
I pointed out to my friend that rather than seeing this other seller as competition, he could have been his supplier and also acted as a dropshipper for him. There was no reason why they couldn't have both listed the umbrellas at the same price, maybe in different categories and with different finishing times for auctions, or in different shops. After all, this man was effectively making money for them by selling their product.
By thinking cooperation and partnership instead of competition to be beaten, both parties may have had a much more profitable outcome.
One day he got a phone call from someone who wanted to make a bulk purchase of his umbrellas. So they met, and my friend handed over the umbrellas and charged this man £7 each. He asked the buyer where he was going to sell the umbrellas, and he said on a market stall. My friend did not want any competition selling on Ebay.
The next day, the umbrella buyer was selling the umbrellas on Ebay at a cheaper price than my friend. So my friend then decided to strike back by selling them at £7 - the price he had sold them to the man. So that got him back for trying to undercut him in the first place.
I pointed out to my friend that rather than seeing this other seller as competition, he could have been his supplier and also acted as a dropshipper for him. There was no reason why they couldn't have both listed the umbrellas at the same price, maybe in different categories and with different finishing times for auctions, or in different shops. After all, this man was effectively making money for them by selling their product.
By thinking cooperation and partnership instead of competition to be beaten, both parties may have had a much more profitable outcome.
