How sites like eBay and Etsy can help small businesses

Ask any small business owner and they'll say they've at least considered opening an Etsy, eBay or Amazon storefront. Some have jumped in and are thriving, others have jumped but still struggle to find consumers, engage them and then sell product and some are still considering.

by Kristina Knight

The Outright platform is one that helps small businesses organize finances so that working within a site like eBay isn't frustrating - and so they can see the profits or losses at a glance. I recently chatted with Outright's CEO about small businesses making the most of sites like eBay.

Kristina: What trends are you seeing from SMBs - are more moving online or better using online outlets to succeed?

Steven Aldrich, CEO, Outright: More and more SMBs are moving online to the major marketplaces. We are particularly seeing this for handmade products, as you can see with Etsy's tremendous growth. For example, we recently had a customer who was selling at craft fairs. She posted her stuff on Etsy and realized that she was selling about the same amount - but with a lot fewer costs on her end because she wasn't having to pay travel. She recently made the decision to move her business almost exclusively to Etsy because of this.

Kristina: How important are sites like eBay for small retailers, especially those with unique products?

Steven: Extremely important. These sites give small retailers the opportunity to reach millions and millions of consumers that they wouldn't otherwise have access to. They also allow them to get online with little friction - they don't have to create a website or anything to get on one of these sites. That means that they can start small on a place like eBay, use Outright to learn what's working and how it's going, and then ramp up as appropriate.

Kristina: What can a small business using a site like eBay stand out from the millions of other sellers?

Steven: A few things: First, keywords are absolutely critical. It's important that the small business use the right keywords in their listings so that they will be found when people are searching for their products. Second, on eBay, it's important to brand your store, since it will help people make the decision about whether to buy from you or not. There's a great product called Billboards from a company called Page Mage that makes it really easy to do this branding. Finally, a free tracking tool like Outright can help the small business to see what's working and what's not, so that they can make the right decisions about what to stock and when to expand their listings.

Tags: ecommerce, ecommerce trends, Outright, small business tips, SMB tips, Steven Aldrich