Moving the position of Auctiva Showcase in a listing

You bet, troutstreamtraders -

Here is the answer to your question on our FAQ page: http://www.auctiva.com/free-auction-software-help/help....ing-gallery-position.

Happy Listing!
Cara

Hi - I have read that many buyers don't like the scrolling gallery at the top of the listing. They find it to be an irritating distraction. I personally agree with that. I think the bottom of the listing is a much more appropriate location. Why would you want to take your buyer off the listing before they have even gotten to the description and photos? Seems very counter-productive. Think of it this way: the reason the buyer clicked on your listing in the first place is because they wanted to check it out, and possibly buy your item. Checking out your store is probably of secondary, or no importance to them. If you immediately irritate them, you're just a click away from being history.

I want to run a test to see what work better for my items - whether to push the one item that is listed or to put additional input in front of the buyer to go to my eBay store to see other items, as well. If I can convince them that with a multiple purchase discount and a discount on shipping, they may want to buy the item AND go to the store. But I have seen that just saying that there is a store is not enough to get them in the door. I'll try it both ways and see if there is any difference. I learned a long time ago that "the way a buyer thinks" really means "the many ways that a variety of buyers think" and that means thinking outside the way that I look at things when I am the buyer. Thanks for your thoughts.

You've obviously thought this out. Please post your results of the test, as they could help us all. Thanks.

Actually, the suggestion came from eBay store support. I had one of their consultants give me the idea. For the last month or so I have been keeping it in mind as I have done my own browsing. Perhaps it has been because I am looking for it, but I don't consider it a distraction as I still scroll down to see what the item is that I pulled up on the screen. However, if I don't see the showcase, I don't go looking for it, either, and I usually don't look to see if the seller has a store or anything else beyond a 3 digit feedback and a 99.0% or better score.

The problem is similar to when I was a small businessman and running advertising in a newspaper. I had to compete with the larger businesses who advertised with large ads as opposed to the smaller ones that I could afford. I started running ads that I thought were tasteful and effective. They might have been, but the customers didn't think so. We didn't get much action from them. When I started running ads that were meant to catch someone's eye, such as with humorous pictures or headlines, I had a much better chance to bring someone into the ad and make it all the way down to the "Call to Action" at the bottom.

I feel that my job in a listing is to both sell the item that I am listing, but just as important - or more so - to get someone to come into my store. I guess this is similar to a retail store showing something in their store window to interest the passer-by. With that tactic, they are more interested in getting someone to walk into the store and buy anything they find, not just the item that is in the window.

You make some very valid points. I'm not sure how closely the retail store analogy applies to this situation. There are obvious similarities, but also different dynamics at work. Since different people will likely respond in different ways, testing is really the only way to be sure which is the best location, or even if there is a best location. Good discussion, please let us know how it turns out.