Increase sales with Ebay Neighborhoods
Ebay is a huge, multi-million dollar business that has been going strong for years. The newest addition to their buying/selling Website is Ebay Neighborhoods. This simple yet successful add-on to the site is a social networking tool for Ebay members to join groups based on their interests.
These Ebay groups include a plethora of topics including coffee lovers, sports teams and designer clothing. Joining a group is simple by signing in, finding a group you’d like to affiliate yourself with and clicking “join neighborhood”. Once you are part of the group, you have access to read and participate in discussions about that topic and post your own blog if you are a true aficionado. The discussion board is nice because you are able to hover over each section and read a lengthy snippet of what the post contains – without having to click and navigate away from the main page.
When you are an official Ebay neighborhood member, you have your own “My World” page that displays all of your groups, blogs, photos and the typical Ebay sales aspect. This can be set to your main Ebay page, allowing you to watch “bid on” items and/or items that you are selling. Your own page can be authenticated with a personal picture and your bio if you want to really share your information. Ebay neighborhoods is different from other social networking sites because it is all tied around increasing sales for other members, yourself and for Ebay. For instance, if you are a part of the coffee lovers group, your page is full of items related to coffee that are for sale throughout the Ebay site. There is also a section for reviews on coffee makers and other coffee-holic items. If you expressed interest in an item at the beginning, you are more inclined to view and/or buy an item if it is directly on your site…right?
Overall, Ebay neighborhoods are interesting and a good idea. There are tons of users in the neighborhood section so it is obviously successful. I would be interested in seeing the sales statistics on the selected advertisements that stem from group selections. I foresee Ebay stores and sellers savoring the most profit from the neighborhoods, due to the high traffic that can be conjured up by joining many groups and spreading the word on what’s for sale.
