Just got a brilliant suggestion from a competitor...

[HowardH]

One of my friendly competitors (in my business, all of my true competitors are pretty good people!) came up with a suggestion that I'm going to try out.

I had posted (on another forum) that one of the problems that I face in marketing violins on the internet is that these instruments are much easier to sell in person because I can play it, and the prospective customer can tell what it sounds like. That is pretty hard over the internet.

My competitor told me that he will invite a prospect to call him on the phone, and play a selection of instruments over the phone. While the fidelity of phone transmission doesn't really do justice to the tone of a violin, this approach accomplishes two remarkable things.

First, the potential buyer gets a preliminary idea of how the violin sounds when played by a professional.

Second, and this is a biggie, it proves that the instrument is properly set up and actually playable.

Most of the volume sellers of violins on ebay have no clue about what they are selling, and wouldn't know where to start in order to actually demo their instruments. For starters, the volume sellers usually ship instruments that are not even in playable condition -- to customers who don't have the background needed to properly set one up.

I find this idea especially appealing because it fits in with the general principal that success on ebay involves personal added value. (I just wish I had thought of it myself...)

[Lynn Terry]

I would certainly address the issue in your auction description - sort of a condensed version of a "buyer's guide" for those interested in violins. You may already be doing this (?) but I imagine it would be a great way to close the sale. The idea above is a great one - you could easily add links to audio and/or video in your auction description so they could see/hear the peice in use... as well as offering to phone potential buyers.

[Ravedesigns]

Hi Howard,

You know, that's a great idea, and it certainly must help those who are considering buying from you.

How about taking it one step further though and adding small video clips of you actually playing the instrument? Being able to hear you play is great, but to hear AND see you play the actual instrument that would be neat.

I've recently come across an auto dealer selling used cars on eBay with a video "test drive" and that's one of the best Ideas I've seen in a long while.

Wishing you continued success,

Steve

[Kate-2NicePeople]

In our role as eBay TAs (trading assistants) we once sold an old German music box for a client. Now she insisted on a reserve which, according to our research, was too high for the market. We went ahead and listed, with her agreement that if it didn't sell, we would lower the reserve by $200, which is what happened. No bid had even come close, as there was so much info we did NOT know about this item, and no way to verify its age.

But on the second round, we changed two things. We told them in the description that the reserve had been lowered, and we also added a link to our website where we placed a l'il movie with sound which we created using the same digital camera we take all our eBay pics with. (No extra software or know-how was necessary.) The outcome: Much more interest, many more bids, and the reserve of $600 was met and exceeded. Correspondence with the winning bidder confirmed that he never would have bid as high as he did, had he not been able to listen to the actual music and see the lid being opened, and watch the thingy turning. So there ya have it -- testimony to the power of sound that butresses the text description and photos.

After that, we messed around with doing more movies for some of our toys, and while it was fun, it was time consuming and ultimately not worth it, save for the extra $20 or so per piece which we got for our interactive learning robots for the kindergarten crowd during the holiday season.

Now we're selling cars for people, which makes me wonder if the purring of the engine might be a good thing to include...hmmmm! A 30 second clip of getting into the car, turning the engine over and whatnot may work well to set our auctions apart from all the dealers out there. Now you guys have got me thinkin'!

Howard, good luck, and do let us know how you fare with this phone idea for your violins!
Cheers, Kate

[Kate-2NicePeople]

Oh my, Steve ya popped in there with your post whilst I was writing mine, and see, great minds DO think alike, lol! Thanks for the affirmation on the car idea Kate

[Lynn Terry]

I agree - great idea!

And Kate - nice to meet you . Welcome to the forum!

[Vera]

Hey don't mean to hi-jack this thread, but welcome Tom & Kate, glad to see you here!

Vera

[HowardH]