Previously, I had a short email interview with eBay guru Skip Mcgrath. I was surprised to get his immediate reply on that. I know Skip is a very busy man and I really appreciate his taking time for answering my questions.

Now I’m running a series of interviews with The Greatest Minds of Ebay Sellers. I have shortlisted about 10 people and Steve is the first to reply me.

Steve Wilson also runs a number of sites, and two of the more popular ones are PowersellersForum.com and LocalBargainFinder.co.uk.

Here’s the details of the interview (uncensored)

1) Can you give me an introduction of yourself, when and how did you start out and what is your blog about?

Steve Wilson, eBay seller since 2004, Powerseller. since early 2006. Like the vast majority of sellers, I started off by selling some unused personal item – DJ’ing equipment and a music collection.

After earning enough for a decent holiday, I realized that with a bit of time management and effort, and an existing knowledge of a specific market sector, I could run an eBay business alongside a full-time career.

My outside eBay career involves training and development on customer facing IT systems, which is not a million miles away from selling on eBay.

I became involved with the eBay forum and discussion scenes and from there I developed the website Powersellersforum as an independent help, advice and discussion forum, with a view to helping eBay buyers and sellers of all skill levels.

2) I understand you have been selling on eBay or online for quite some time and are now successful. What do you think is the key factor to your success?

From working in a customer-centric business outside of eBay, it was quickly apparent that to be successful on eBay, the same customer care and profitability principles are core in both.

Providing an efficient and quality service ensures that customers are left with a good feeling about eBay and will continue to buy from myself, and other sellers, but likewise a sustainable product has to be offered, in order to continue trading.

Anybody can sell short term if they have a cheap price with no margin, but it is not possible to keep in business if you are not making the numbers, even if your customers keep coming back.

3) When you are working with buyers, what is it that you are most proud of?

I always get a warm feeling when I see a returning customer, because I know that they have been impressed enough with their previous purchase to come back for a second.

Although feedback is not the be-all and end-all of eBay, it is also great to see a personal thank-you from buyers in their feedback comments.

However, the greatest satisfaction is when I check my traffic reports and learn that my buyers are telling other people about their purchases from me on internet discussion sites.

4) What is the greatest challenge that you have faced while growing your career online?

Time management without a doubt. It is a challenge to keep “real career” separate from “eBay career”, and still have enough free time to enjoy life.

As my eBay sales grew in 2004/5 I was spending far too much time in listing administration, packing and labeling time.

At one point I was running around 750-1000 auctions and shop listings at a time, but allowing time for creating the listing, sending invoices, packing, labeling, leaving feedback etc, I was spending too much time for each sale earning a small gross profit.

I realized my time would better spent washing cars for neighbours, so I had to look at my business practices and make some tough decisions.

Instead of using bubble wrap and plastic mailing bags, I bought new padded envelopes to reduce packing time, I bought a label printer instead of writing addresses, I came to an arrangement with my post office about leaving parcels with them and paying the following day.

Although this helped reduce the admin time, I was still spending too much time creating listings and taking photos, so I took another major decision to walk away from the individual DVD/CD market.

I now focus on multiple item listings, selling 20 or 30 items from 1 listing, instead of 20 to 30 individual listings. I also use Seller Manager Pro that automates listings, feedback, invoicing, payment reminders, dispatch notices and more.

This is well worth the monthly subscription fees for the automation, but also it’s business and sales reporting functions make accounting a breeze.

5) Currently, what is the one tip you want to give to amateur and newbie eBay sellers?

Having introduced a few friends and family members to eBay selling, the first thing I tell them to do is become a buyer, and spend a few weeks learning how eBay works from a buyers perspective, because this is what will make or break them long term.

Experience what it is like to make a bid, win an item, receive the invoice, make the payment and receive their item.

Consider how quickly it arrived, how well it was packed, what communication they received on where their item was in the system. It is also advisable to get friendly with someone who is experienced with eBay, as there are many many policies and procedures that can easily trip up the unwary, such as keyword spamming, fee circumvention, seller non-performance etc.

If they do not already know somebody suitable, then join a discussion site such as Powersellersforum, or AuctionCut where they can ask questions and gain advice without falling foul of eBay policies or upsetting customers.

6) What are some of the areas do you think sellers always overlook when they sell on eBay?

Revenue vs. Profit. There are a lot of “busy fools” spending 60 hours a week to generate a lot of revenue, but little profit.

Time is money, and if people analyze how many hours they spend working on eBay against how much net profit they come out with at the end of the month, some may be very surprised at their equivalent hourly wage.

The other major factor that many people overlook is the cost of unsold listings. Insertion fees may be cheap, but if the sell through rate is only 30%, these sold items also have to subsidise the cost of the unsold insertion fees. I would rather list 20 items with 18 of them selling, than 100 items with only 75 selling.

Something I have learnt outside of eBay is that lower prices are not always better. I was not the cheapest DVD seller on the site, but I offered a great service, quick delivery, a solid returns policy as well as full descriptions and photos.

My buyers knew they were paying a little extra, but the service they received justified it.

I maintained a 100% feedback record in one of the hardest to satisfy selling categories on eBay, and still made a profit. Is it better to sell 5 items with $5 profit and delight 5 buyers, or 20 items with $1 profit and upset one of the buyers along the way?

7) What do you think of the continuous eBay updates on policies?

The world is an ever-changing places, there are always new threats and new opportunities arising, so we as sellers have to adapt and change, but likewise so does eBay as a “venue” – and I use the term loosely.

Ebay has responsibilities to it’s shareholders, as well as it’s buyers and sellers, and if eBay the corporation does not continue to grow and earn, then the sellers can not expect to do the same.

eBay does not have a world class reputation when it comes to integrity – it is still thought of as by far too many people as an online boot sale, or a hot bed of fakes or black market goods, but this does no favours for the hundreds of thousands of honorable and decent sellers.

There will always be a large captive market with dedicated eBay buyers, but they are a finite resource and like any business eBay needs new buyers. Most of the developed world is now “internet-savvy” and are becoming very specific in what they demand from an online retailer.

They want an easy transaction, they want to know exactly what they are buying, with clear, honest descriptions, good photographs and that when they click the “Pay Now” button that they will receive their goods a few days later.

Although I admire the reasoning and passion behind he vast majority of the changes that eBay make, I do feel that they let themselves down in the execution of rolling out the policies.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the forthcoming changes to shop format, there is a lot of confusion around Best Match, conflicting information from customer support and official announcements on Seller Non-Performance etc.

I also feel that there is very little “working partnership” feel between eBay and its sellers; changes are rolled out without much in the way of consultation or prior discussion. Rumours spread, tensions builds and it becomes too much of a “them and us” situation.

8. Your final thought and advice for my online auctions blog readers?

eBay should not be a “them and us”, whether “they” are eBay or “they” are buyers. Without buyers there are no sellers, without sellers there is no eBay, without eBay there are no buyers or sellers.

Change is inevitable, and although not every change will favour all of us at all times, business has to adapt to changing demands.

High Street stores have to adapt to changing market places and consumer trends, and it is no different for online sellers.

Selling environments change, buyer habits change and their needs and wants become blurred. People used to be happy to wait 10 days for a auction to end, but more buyers are impatient and want instant gratification.

Don’t be afraid of change. If you stand still, the world will keep on moving, leaving you behind. Keep on top of eBay announcements, read eBay blogs and news sites, and get involved in a selling community to learn how other people are adapting to changing marketplaces.

Finally, if you are selling for business, do not let emotion over-ride financial sense when making tough decisions. You have sold fluffy toys for years, but if the market no longer wants fluffy toys there is no point fighting to make a loss by continuing selling them just because that is what you are comfortable selling.