The company where I work sells repair parts / home security upgrade related products online. Currently we have three main outlets.
- The E-Commerce Website
- Ebay
- Amazon
Over the last couple of years i’ve noticed the mindset of people shopping at each different on-line outlet is very different.
The E-Commerce Website – Generally I would class customers on the e-commerce website to be your average on-line shopper, they know how to use a search engine and have usually purchased on-line before. These customers are happy to upgrade from the standard free 2nd class delivery to first class delivery to get the repair part quicker.
The Ebay Customer – Ebay customers expect to be treated like royalty and pay as little as possible for the privilege. For the Ebay customer it’s all about price, if another seller is selling the same product as you and is a little as 1p cheaper, you will loose the sale. Reputation, Feedback or even if the customer has purchased from you before will not come in to it. The pure motivation is price.
Not only is eBay all about price you are expected to go above and beyond the call of duty and be available 24/7 365. I can sort of understand the mentality behind this, a lot of people on Ebay are your average person like me and you, selling random unwanted gifts, or selling things from home, so probably will be around to answer questions during the evening when the majority of people are likely on-line shopping after a hard days work.
Some Ebay customers will “ask for a quote” for buying two items that are £5 each, then be disappointed when you tell them the price is £10… On Ebay you can sometimes be saving up to 15% on our eCommerce website price as it is!
Despite having to sell some items at discount prices on Ebay and pay the listing, PayPal and Ebay Fees it is more than worth while still, it gives great exposure for the company and gets more people on the actual eCommerce website where the full product range is listed.
As far as Ebay customers go though some if your going to get a down right ignorant customer, it likely will be on Ebay. I could post more about this, however that would kind of be going off topic, so perhaps best left for a future blog post.
The Amazon Customer – If you are able to provide a same day or next day dispatch Amazon customers will love you. The majority will never ask questions and simply purchase the product. The product can be priced higher than your own E-commerce website and still sell well. For some customers Amazon is the only on-line shopping site they use and most importantly trust. Customers expect a speedy, secure service, which regular Amazon customers know Amazon rigorously enforce. With options like Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) a customer can purchase form you in the middle of the night and often have it delivered next day. Compared to Ebay, Amazon customers are in a totally different league.
