Hydrahose started selling on eBay as an extension of our already long established business, and in just a short time, we reached £17,000 a month in sales. Sounds like a success story, right? However, the truth is that all the listing, stock management, packaging, and posting were not worthwhile due to eBay’s hefty ad fees eating into our margins.
The juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. As our eBay sales rapidly grew, so did the fees. We found ourselves operating a turnover machine, working hard converting sales but with meagre profits. Enough was enough. One Friday morning in January, we closed down the eBay shop and removed all of the listings. It was time to take control of these sales and focus on building our own online community rather than growing eBay’s bank balance! So, we made the bold decision to ditch eBay and build our own e-commerce platform.
The results? Hydrahose has been able to retain more of our newly acquired customers by focusing on building relationships, something eBay prohibits (even blocking messages between sellers and customers). Our sales continue to grow and we’re in control of our online future.
Now being able to focus on what matters most – our customers – and deliver the exceptional service they deserve.
Quality Assurance: When you shop directly with us, you can trust the quality and authenticity of our products. Many listings on eBay are from third-party sellers, which means you may not always receive what you expect in terms of quality. By purchasing directly, you ensure that your products come from the original source, reducing the risk of receiving counterfeit or inferior items.
Support: Shopping directly provides a more streamlined support experience. If you have questions or encounter issues with your order, you can reach out to us directly for assistance.
Exclusive Offers and Promotions: We provide exclusive deals, discounts, and promotions that are only available on our official website. By shopping directly with us, you can take advantage of these special offers.
The 3 Big Things We Have Learnt
1. Control is Key: Having control over our sales platform is crucial for long-term success. By owning our e-commerce platform, we’ve been able to increase our profit margins, build a healthier direct relationship with our customers/suppliers and make data-driven decisions to drive growth. Bye bye eBay we are no longer limited by restricting rules and fees.
Better margins has allowed us to buy larger quantities, lowering purchase costs meaning we can offer lower sales prices. A huge win for our customers and repeat business.
2. eBay ads are a poisoned chalice: Once we entered the realm of eBay ads we had ruined our organic traffic forever. The eBay algorithm would reject us immediately for organic traffic once we stopped the ad spend. Even though on price, delivery and service metrics we dominated.
The eBay algorithm would destroy our listings position like a scorned ex partner! After spending quite literally thousands of pounds a month, we really wish we had spent it on marketing that had more longevity for Hydrahose.
3. Service is King: Whether it’s a £2.44 eBay sale or a £600 e-commerce shop order, top-quality service is the key to growth, not price. We’ve focused on delivering exceptional service to our customers and it’s paid off in spades. Our customers appreciate the personal touch and care we put into every order. Bonus for us, we have increased our average order by nearly 10 times!
By learning these lessons, we’ve been able to build a better understanding of what our customers really care about and improve our service to them.
Plus adding our current e-commerce platform to the business really complements our existing operations.
We’ve been able to:
- Increase our profit margins and lower our prices!
- Grow a loyal customer base and continue to deliver exceptional service
- Make data-driven decisions to drive growth and improvement
- Create tailored discounts for customers who register on the website.
If you’re struggling with the low margins on eBay/Amazon or similar and want to take your business to the next level.
We hope our story can inspire you to also make the leap of faith. As a growing Father and Sons run business we are very proud of what we’ve achieved over the last 38 years and we’re excited to see what the future holds.
Thank you to all of you who have encouraged & advised, built relationships with us, supplied us and purchased from us!
