EBay seller Kasey Baxter, known as “Weaim2pleez” on eBay first started his online auction career in the late 1990s by selling items for other people. Baxter said he started helping relatives and friends list on eBay and ran the business on consignment —that is he would net a fee when he sold items on the auction site for other people.
Over time Baxter started selling his own product and quit the consignment business. He started out selling knives and over the years expanded his product catalog to include children’s clothes, dinnerware, sports and holiday merchandise.
Thinking back over his years of selling on eBay, Baxter said that he has held PowerSeller status for more than eight years, and that eBay has served his need to work-from-home. “I have a lot of health issues to deal with, having been born with cystic fibrosis, and being able to work from home selling on eBay has really helped me.”
Baxter recalled that back in 2004 after having a double lung transplant he started feeling better and was able to start doing more in terms of selling on eBay. Since that time he has drastically upped his products and sales on the auction site.
DSR: No Problem for This Power Seller
One of the things that many eBay sellers have gripes about is the high Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR) standard that sellers need to meet or exceed to sell on the list (see DSR 4.3 Tips, Tactics and Seller POV).
It was surprising to hear that Baxter not only embraces this often-hated seller regulation, but says he uses it to his advantage. By keeping his DSR high, around 4.9, it gets Weaim2pleez out in the top of related eBay search results.
According to Baxter, as a seller he is able to influence his own DSR ranking. He says that he always e-mails buyers at each step (e.g. a thank you note for payment and a notice when the item is shipped), plus when he sends out an item he includes a note card that simply states he would appreciate a five-star rating and encourages the buyer to contact him if they have any problems. This gives Baxter the opportunity to work with the buyer before they leave feedback that is less than near-perfect.
These actions, along with shipping immediately, addressing all buyer concerns, and also leaving a buyer feedback as soon as he receives payment—rather than waiting for their feedback first—is what Baxter feels has helped him to keep such a high DSR on the eBay site.
Setting Up an Off-eBay Retail Shop
Baxter says his Weaim2pleez eBay Store does nearly $13,000 in monthly sales but increased eBay fees have prompted him to try running his own retail store. Just recently Baxter launched his first off-eBay retail store, the Weaim2pleez Knife Shop.
The reasons for trying an off-eBay store were mainly due to increasing eBay fees. Baxter said, “I’m running close to $2,000 a month in eBay fees and I found that I could set-up a CoreCommerce shop with cart, for far less.”
Currently Baxter is experimenting with search engine optimization (SEO) to boost traffic to his new retail site, and says he will soon add articles and blog content to help SEO efforts. He is also one of many shop owners making use of our E-commerce forums to get advice on the site’s design and functionality. To help bring buyers to the new site, Baxter says that he offers free shipping on orders of more than $50 to encourage sales.
Having built such a positive reputation on eBay, Baxter mentions his eBay UserID in the ‘About Me’ page of his retail shop, plus he now includes the shop’s Web address on the note card that is sent out with every eBay purchase to let his existing customers know about the new store.
Running his own retail site is a new endeavor for this eBay seller who says he has no intention of dropping his eBay store. He plans to manage both simultaneously, a strategy he says more sellers are considering.
“You see more sellers and PowerSellers in the eBay forums talking about running their own online retail store,” said Baxter. “It’s definitely becoming a more popular option.”
Vangie Beal is a seasoned online marketplace seller, frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com and avid online bargain hunter. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com.
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