Andrew,

I have an established Ebay store (feedback 99.9% & 1400 comments) aimed at the Consumer Electronics market.

I now want to also diversify into something different. Do I get a new UserID/New Store with NO feedback and start again, or do I integrate my new products into my existing store somehow ?

I am worried that selling “Cheap Dog Combs” etc. in my “Expensive wide screen” store will have a negative effect as it will show a lack of direction. Should there be a different store for each “niche”?

Any ideas,
Thanks, Phil

Hi Phil,

Thanks for your question.

Branding & Positioning your online business can be a complicated task, especially if you decide to diversify activities, like in your example. And on eBay it’s even more difficult as it’s somehow limited (in terms of design, communication with your customers etc.).

With that said, I would strongly recommend you to make that extra step and create separate businesses for each niche. Yes, even if this means new logos, templates & shop subscription fees.  There are several reasons why it really wouldn’t be a wise move to sell pet products along with consumer electronics:

1. It would simply look weird. Let’s face it – as a customer, seeing wide selection of dog collars AND LCD wall brackets at same shop, would make me think you’re not an expert in either. As customers are looking for experts – they want to buy products from BEST sellers @ best prices. That’s why niche businesses work so well. You can get nice selection of wines at your local supermarket, right? Yet so many people choose specialized wine shops instead because they know they’ll buy from experts (even if sometimes this means paying extra), getting even bigger range & expert advice.

2. You would lose targeted customer list. If you sell everything to everyone, you have a very low quality customer base, with low return purchase rates and low click through rates for e-mail promos. Why? Because most likely your marketing activities will be relevant to small portion of your total customer base (based on items they have purchased).

3. Your average order value will be lower. As you won’t be able to up-sell & cross-sell as effective as with separate shops for each niche. On many occasions, visitors looking at your auctions/BIN listings will take a look at your shop to see what else you have on offer. Now, if they come from a dog collar listing, most likely they would be interested in other pet related products. But NOT LCD TVs, right? If you sell all kinds of products under one roof, it will only confuse your potential customers (on many occasions).

4. Your conversion rates will be lower. As I already mentioned, people LOVE to buy from experts! Whatever you’re selling dog items, lcd TVs or plant seeds – people want to be 100% sure YOU know what you’re doing (in terms of products pictures, descriptions, prices etc.). They trust experts.  If you have a generic brand and sell everything, you have to expect lower conversion rates (visitors/buyers ratio) than if you’re running a niche shop.

5. It will be very difficult to “transfer customers” to an online shop. It’s not a secret any more that selling solely on eBay is not a very good idea, especially in long term. You want to have an online shop too. Again, if you have a niche based shop & brand it will be very easy to include a flyer or some sort of marketing material with each eBay purchase to promote your online shop. And chances are many people will take a look at your online shop and purchase more stuff from you (if your marketing works). But that’s only if you can offer them something of their interest! Again, working in niches makes this very easy as you’ll know EXACTLY who is your customer and what they want to purchase.

Phil, as you can see – it’s a very easy choice to be made! I have listed just 5 reasons why you want to brand each business separately and run multiple eBay shops and there are even more! So good luck with your new ventures & hope this helps!

Thanks,
Andrew

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