Bedroom Sellers Invaded Your Business Model? Ways to go!
The land of ecommerce is open game. That means it is filled with many cowboy entrepreneurs, looking to gun their way to the top using all the methods they can. It goes without saying that some of these methods are more ethical than others, and that some of your competitors are more apt for success than others. Where do you stand, as a serious businessperson? Well, that depends on how you stand up against bedroom sellers.
Here is what you need to know about competing with bedroom sellers:
What are bedroom sellers?
The easy way to think of bedroom sellers is to picture people who operate (or who can operate, if need be) in the ecommerce world from their bedrooms, the implication being that they are not really running a business, per se, but rather are selling as a hobby.
Bedroom sellers may just enjoy coming across great bulk deals and liquidating them, or they may be collectors looking to trade what they have for new, personal pieces. Whatever the case may be, bedroom sellers are commonplace in the world of ecommerce, and they can be your greatest competition.
Why are bedroom sellers such serious competition?
There are a number of reasons for why bedroom sellers are a force to be reckoned with. Simply put, they can often undercut your prices, sometimes dramatically, in order to make a sale. This is because they generally have little or no overhead to account for-no office expenses, employees, etc.
What’s more is that bedroom sellers, because they are not necessarily professional business people, often miscalculate the amount of money they need to make on what they are selling; it is not unusual for them to underestimate shipping and handling costs, accrual costs, living expenses (personal wages), and the like. This fact, combined with the naturally competitive nature of the ecommerce market, makes them quick to undercut your well planned and contemplated prices in order to nab the customer.
How to beat bedroom sellers.
If you’ve done your homework, then you should already know that you cannot beat bedroom sellers by way of price; there simply is not enough wiggle room in that department. However, what you have that bedroom sellers don’t is customer service, and a reputation that hinges on that customer service. Most bedroom sellers are fly by night-here one day and gone the next. You, on the other hand, have the chance to build ongoing relationships with customers that keep them coming back, and referring other people. That means you must get it right the first time, and keep doing it right: send packages right away, respond promptly to customer inquiries, be diplomatic about handling complaints, and be sure to follow-up, to ask how you might continue to improve your business.
Bedroom sellers are tough competition, but only in one arena. If you concentrate on your advantages and focus on providing the best customer service experience possible, then you will come out on top.
About the Author:
Tiffaney Matheus is working on creating a new ecommerce site for a small retail business. You can click here to see showcases from bigcommerce, showing off some of the great shopping cart options available to any ecommerce store.
