Ep 269 || Gen Z & Millennial Holiday Shopping Habits

[podcast_team]

eBay Director of Ads Marketing Julie Klein shares what the survey data showed her team when it comes to the holiday shopping habits of Millennials and Gen Z. Griff and Brian answer questions about Search, using eBay International Shipping from Canada, and how eBay handles reports of counterfeit items.
Episode Links:
eBay Two-Step Verification Options
eBay Ads Holiday Headquarters
eBay Help Pages on “Search”
eBay Verified Rights Owner Program
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Recurring Links:
eBay for Business Podcast
eBay Seller Spotlight Podcast
eBay for Business Podcast Listener Survey
eBay Seller News Announcements
eBay for Business Facebook
Community Chat with eBay Staff
eBay Seller Center
eBay Help
eBay Local Seller Events
Seller Hub
eBay Events

Brian: I'm Brian.

Griff: I'm Griff and this is the eBay for Business Podcast. Your source for the information and the inspiration to help you start and manage and grow your business on the world's most powerful marketplace. And this is episode 269. Welcome back Brian.

Brian: It's great to be back.

Griff: So you doing anything for Thanksgiving?

Brian: I am doing something for Thanksgiving. How about you?

Griff: No plans.

Brian: Ah, I have all three of my children home, which is kind of nice.

Griff: Well, lucky you.

Brian: Or will be nice.

Griff: I plan on listing. I've sold a lot of stuff and now it's time to list, list list, list, list.

Brian: That's the only way to sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, isn't it?

Griff: Yeah. You can't sell if you don't list.

Brian: So listing party at Griff's house on Thanksgiving is what I hear.

Griff: Yeah. Listing party of one. I've been selling a lot, so I'm gonna keep it up 'cause I want to turn some of this old inventory into some moula that I can spend on landscaping and some stuff around the house.

Brian: I thought you were gonna say on like a shopping spree to downtown Palm Springs.

Griff: Where am I gonna shop down there? It is all tourist stuff.

Brian: I don't know. It kind of looked like a kool little place to go shopping.

Griff: Yeah, I suppose it's, it's pretty cool if you like mid-century modern. There's a thrift store equivalent here. It's like savers only. It's called Revivals. That's the name. And I think there's two stores now. There's a whole other group of stores I haven't visited, but I went to one of them a month ago. I was looking at some shirts and there was, I haven't bought a shirt in six years and I'm looking at one shirt and I went, oh, I might like this. And oh yeah, this is a nice shirt. I might be able to get like 20 bucks for it. And I look at the tag and it's $40.

Brian: Oh my goodness.

Griff: So there goes that profit.

Brian: You would not be making any money.

Griff: No. But suddenly my old inventory that's still in boxes is looking a lot more attractive thus the listing party.

Brian: Ah, that makes sense. It's interesting that you bring that up because one of our past guests, Liz o Kane, had posted on her Instagram channel maybe a couple weeks ago about her exploring some other thrift stores in the Colorado Springs area. And she came out of it and basically was like, she can't make money on any of this stuff.

Griff: And this was bound to happen. This is how the business works. It runs in cycles. Things go up and down. So you always gotta be nimble and you have to think, well, where can I get product to resell to keep my business going? And it may mean that you move into a whole different strategy for your business inventory.

Brian: There might be some stuff in those thrift stores that aren't say clothing items, but something else that's profitable.

Griff: Could be like electronics.

Brian: Exactly. Well, Griff, I assume we have a guest this week.

Griff: We do. Joining me in the studio this week is going to be eBay Director of Ads Marketing Julie Klein. And she's gonna share what her team discovered when they did some surveying about the holiday shopping habits of Millennials and Gen Z.

Brian: She had a really good session last week during the seller check-in as well for those sellers who caught it.

Griff: So Brian, what's in the news this week?

Brian: Griff, has your eBay account ever been compromised?

Griff: You mean hacked?

Brian: Okay, hacked.

Griff: Well, luckily no it hasn't.

Brian: Would you like to ensure that it's as secure as possible?

Griff: Well, I guess so. Well why, what are you suggesting?

Brian: Well Griff, eBay has just reinforced the protective wall around your eBay account with the launch of an updated two-step verification feature.

Griff: Intriguing, go on.

Brian: So this new feature is a great way to add an extra layer of protection to your eBay account. And by selecting an authenticator app as your preferred verification method, you can enjoy a more secure and seamless login process. This added security layer helps us verify your identity during sign-in reducing the risk of unauthorized access to your eBay account.

Griff: Okay. I'm familiar with two-step verification. Most of my critical account websites use it and I've been using it for years. But what's an authenticator app?

Brian: Well, an authenticator app is a software tool that's installed on a smartphone and helps securely implement two-step verification. It works by generating time-based one-time passcodes, otherwise known by the acronym OTP that you use to log into your account.

Griff: Oh, sounds complicated.

Brian: It actually isn't. In fact, using an authenticator app couldn't be simpler. The six digit passcode generated by the authenticator app is stored locally on your device. It doesn't require an internet or mobile network service. It's based on a secret key that's shared between the authenticator app and the eBay app or website.

Griff: A secret key. Okay. I'm game, but why do I need an authenticator app? Is this mandatory?

Brian: Well, no it isn't mandatory, but using an authenticator app as a method for a two-step verification is much more secure than traditional methods such as SMS voice and email OTPs.

Griff: Oh, onetime passwords. See I know it.

Brian: Onetime passwords. It's also less susceptible to risk like OTP code intercepting, sim swaps, hoarding and other network vulnerabilities. When the onetime passcode is sent to a device in your possession, it makes it almost impossible for hackers to intercept it.

Griff: Anything that helps keep my account secure, it can't be a bad thing. So how do I set it up?

Brian: It's easy. Visit your account settings page under the My eBay tab to enable two-step verification and select an authenticator app as your verification method. We recommend using Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator or Authy, I kinda like Authy, the best just because it sounds cool.

Griff: Sounds like a dog's name, here Authy.

Brian: You can also check out our step-by-step guide on how to set up two step verification.

Griff: I love Step-by-Step Guides. Now where do I find it?

Brian: Click the Help link at the top of any eBay page. Scroll down to the section labeled Browser Help Articles, click account, then follow the links for Security. And finally the help article for tips for keeping your eBay account secure.

Griff: I'll do it today. Thanks Brian.

Brian: Do you ever wonder who's looking for your stuff on eBay? I do. I sell on eBay and I'm always wondering what kind of buyer is looking at my things and how do I know which kind of buyer is looking? And when I say what kind of buyer I'm, I'm talking demographics. 'cause right now the buying habits of people my age, okay, I am a boomer so sue me or people that are younger, Gen Z and Millennials, even Gen X at this point. These folks all have different intent when they're out there looking and it's hard to tell what that intent is without a little research. Now we don't expect sellers to do the research, but eBay does the research and to explain some of this, especially now that we're coming up to the holiday shopping season, is our very own eBay Director of Ads marketing. Julie Klein. Hi Julie.

Julie: Hi. Great to see you.

Griff: Yeah, it's great to have you back on the podcast.

Julie: Thank you.

Griff: So remind everyone a little bit about what your role within e the eBay Ads Team.

Julie: I lead our Global Ads Marketing Team within eBay ads and we're really focused on driving awareness and adoption of our promoted listing products and really connecting that buyer and seller experience.

Griff: I know that we talk a lot about it publicly and we want sellers to focus on this too, but why do we want sellers to focus on Millennials and Gen Z, especially in this upcoming holiday season?

Julie: It's a great question. So lots of talk with retailers and marketplaces around attracting these core segments. You know, they're really seen as that core consumer group the future of e-commerce. And just to drop some statistics, we saw one recent industry study actually revealed that about 60% of Gen Z consumers plan on spending more specifically within e-commerce. This holiday season, which is just above the 44% of Millennials. Millennials are between 35 and 44 and really this holiday season and are seen as the decision makers and driving a significant portion of that spend during the holiday season. And because they are seen as those kind of decision makers in their households, the one making the gifting purchases, kind of hosting those get togethers, planning the holidays, that's really why we focused on those specific demographics As part of our holiday survey,

Griff: Of course we just had Dallen from your team on a few weeks ago talking about some of the results of the eBay ads holiday survey and that was pretty interesting, but we didn't get too much into it in a demographic breakdown. So tell us about, for example, Millennials this shopping season. What did you find in the survey related to Millennials and of course Gen Z?

Julie: We found through our holiday survey that Millennials are even more likely to be influenced by ads. Of course, knowing this even more critical for sellers to have listings, um, and to really be visible for that specific demographic. Further insight that we got through that holiday studies is that Millennials are mostly shopping for others rather than themselves.

Griff: Oh, interesting.

Julie: Only one in five do holiday shopping for themselves on eBay as that holiday decision maker, they're also prioritizing shopping for others. Something to think about when you're thinking about what listings and how you're messaging those listings to that particular demographic.

Griff: It's hard for me to think of that particular age group now as head of household or head of family. They've spent most of their lives buying for themselves, but now they have more responsibilities. That's very interesting. What about Gen Z?

Julie: So that same survey also showed that about 60% of Gen Z consumers, ages 12 to 26. So my 12 year old daughter fits within the Gen Z demographic, which is crazy to think.

Griff: I hope that doesn't make you feel old.

Julie: Definitely does. Thank you. So about 60% of those Gen Z consumers plan on increasing their e-commerce holiday spending this season. So again, really making those two core groups really important demographics to focus on. Also, Griff, spending habits was something that was interesting. We found that six in ten, so 61% of all surveyed holiday shoppers ended up spending more than expected on holiday gifts last year. So millennials spent the most, about 70%, above their expected budget for gifts.

Griff: 70%! Where are they getting the money? or is it credit? Who knows.

Julie: I know exactly. And unfortunately I can also tell you that I, I fall into that bucket myself. So..

Griff: Most shoppers do, don't they?

Julie: It is just so easy, especially on eBay to fill the cart and all the unique things that you find. Yeah, I look back and my card is, is filled with way more than expected.

Griff: Well, your card issuer. Thanks you.

Julie: Yes, .

Griff: Jill, you mentioned earlier that Millennials are influenced by advertising. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Perhaps it's because when I think of advertising, I think of tv, the old school, and that's not necessarily the type of ads that millennials are looking at. I suppose when you say they're swayed, how much are they swayed and swayed by what?

Julie: Our holiday guide also uncovered that about one third of all those surveyed said that they are very influenced by ads during that holiday season. With more than half of the gifts that purchase being different from what they originally intended to purchase due to those super relevant ads that are capturing their attention. But this percentage, it actually also rises specifically of those millennial shoppers with about, half of those 47% being millennial shoppers.

Griff: Wow. Well good for ads.

Julie: Yes. And for eBay sellers. So this again, emphasizes ads as a great vehicle to really influence the eBay shoppers with marketing this holiday season. So our newest solution, which is offsite ads, is really a great way to bring this group of buyers to your listings, specifically from Google. We also have our cost per click solution. Promoted Listings Advanced. This gives sellers more control through daily budget. It allows sellers to use specific keywords to boost visibility for buyers, of course ready to buy. It also gives access to priority placements. And now we have our latest release just in time for the holiday season, which is smart targeting. And this is really that super simplified way to set up your campaigns, gives access to you even more placements across eBay. Just makes it super easy to get your listings shown to those relevant buyers.

Griff: Is this available right now?

Julie: Yep, it is available right now.

Griff: Lots of times we get questions from sellers that want to know, well, okay, but how do I use this? Like what are some of the best practices? I can give you an example. They're always curious to know about the relevant keywords that they should use when they're building a campaign.

Julie: Yeah, super important this holiday season. And we definitely offer guidance within the tool as to suggested keywords. But speaking more broadly and kind of going back to that core demographic, the Gen Z and Millennials, starting with the Gen Z shopping habits, we looked at specifically search terms to give more guidance there. We looked at last year's results and we found that again, specifically for Gen Z, some really key top search categories made by that group included action figures and accessories, books, cell phone accessories, collectible card games, die cast and toy vehicles, fan apparel and souvenirs watches and some parts and accessories.

Griff: Wait a minute. In that list there's one that stuck out. It didn't seem like it fit. Do you know which one are Gen Z and Millennials reading books? That's great news.

Julie: I know. Yeah, they are. I think through their devices though.

Griff: I don't care how they're doing it as long as they're doing it. That's great news.

Julie: Oh, I love that. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, yes.

Griff: What about, uh, it more targeted when it comes to things like specific items or brands?

Julie: Yeah, yeah. So more specifically for items and brands like top searched items by Gen Z last year were AirPods Pro. Apple Watch, Carhartt jackets. What which I found very interesting

Griff: Is this fashion now? This is what I used to wear to cut wood when I lived in Vermont.

Julie: That's funny. I know, I know. No surprise With this one, the gaming laptop. Of course iPhone 11, Nintendo Switch, PS 5, and Xbox Series X.

Griff: Now you said iPhone 11 we're already up to iPhone 15, but those old iPhones keep their value when they're searched.

Julie: That's exactly right. And I know that I've passed along my older generation phones to my daughter, so that's typical buying behavior.

Griff: Uh, I'm still kind of reeling about the Carhartt jacket. If I only hadn't taken all those to Goodwill years ago. Who knows, right?

Julie: Yeah, I know

Griff: Another thing that differs this time of year when it comes to most of the years it's cold weather time. And does this make a difference when Millennials are searching categories?

Julie: Yeah, so looking at Millennials, kind of the search categories over last year, so the 2022 holiday season, we saw things like Adidas and Nike, Samsung. eBay sellers can also use the popularity of these brands by promoting complimentary items. So that's a good best practice such as bundles or accessories on their listings to increases sales. And looking at Cyber Week 2022, which coming up on Millennials top keyword searches included iPad, Jordan4, Lego, Nintendo Switch games and Rolex. So similar but different. And during that same period also Millennials top purchases included Apple Home Pod Mini, JBL wireless headphones, some popular brands, Crocs. And again, Adidas came up quite a bit and the IRobot Roomba, I have and love.

Griff: Well, Millennials can see a mix of things for themselves and families like where they're looking for things like Rolex watches while also things for the kids like Legos and Switch games. That's what it looks like to me. And I still can't believe that Crocs are so popular, but there it is. I mean, they're here to stay. Hopefully that doesn't happen with Uggs. I can't stand them. But anyway, was there anything that crossed both generations?

Julie: I know that's funny on Uggs too. Unfortunately they are trending for this holiday season. I'm sorry to tell you, I'm sorry to tell you.

Griff: A perfectly named shoe .

Julie: Yes, definitely seeing some crossover brands. Uggs as well. Again, I have a pair unfortunately, so does my daughter. But, other crossover brands looking at Black Friday, both Gen Z and Millennial last year purchased Adidas, very popular. Funko, JBL, Lego, Nintendo and a Panini.

Griff: But wait, okay, I get all the others, but I thought Panini was an Italian sandwich.

Julie: As Idid I until not too long ago, but it's actually one of the most popular brands of trading cards and it's a really, really popular category on eBay in particular for enthusiasts.

Griff: Well, looking forward to this holiday season a lot. And are there any other exciting things coming down the pipeline when it comes to eBay ad promotions for sellers this holiday season?

Julie: Well, I briefly mentioned earlier, but one of the newest ways that you can drive traffic to your listings is externally off eBay. With one of our newer solutions offsite ads, your promoted listings can actually appear on external channels like Google. So this is a great way for new buyers to find your inventory. You can take control of your external advertising spend, um, and kind of go beyond eBay standard marketing. Super easy to roll out just a few clicks from the advertising dashboard and you can control your spend so that you're really only paying for clicks up to your set budget.

Griff: And these differ, right, these differ from eBay sends the entire inventory of Buy It Now, Fixed Price Listings to Google Shopping. But this is a few notches above.

Julie: Yeah. Important to note. It is currently still in a closed beta, but we will be rolling this out to more sellers in the very near future. And you can actually see if you're eligible to test in time for the holiday search in your Marketing tab of the Seller Hub.

Griff: Will something show up there if you go and you're eligible? Yes. Yes. Okay. So check it out if you, if you're interested in this and you want to see if you're currently eligible for the closed beta that's in process right now, go to Seller Hub and then click on the Marketing tab and you should see a message there.

Julie: That's right. And one more plug. So to read more of these insights on millennials and Gen Z holiday trends by category and really, which of our advertising solutions may be right for you? We have a Holiday HQ which has that and even more. It's under the holiday HQ section of eBayads.com.

Griff: And as always, we'll put the link to eBay ads specifically to the Holiday Headquarters HQ in the transcript for this episode, episode 269. Julie, I want to thank you so much for returning to the podcast.

Julie: Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. Great to see you.

Griff: Julie Klein is Director of Ads Marketing here at eBay. We've been talking about the insights that they've garnered about shopping intention between Millennials and Gen Z this upcoming holiday season.

Brian: You got questions?

Griff: We've Got answers. Now Brian, would you read our first question for this week?

Brian: Happy to. This was sent to podcast@ebay.com by seller, Be More Treasures. Hi, I'm so curious about how search works. Does the name of my store category get involved? For example, if I have a category for signed baseballs, do I still need to include that term in my titles or can I use that space for the who, when, where detail? Sometimes when pricing an item, I've shown an average recent price for that item. Will my item be lower rank if I'm way off that price? I ask because sometimes my item is something completely different. Thanks, Be More Treasures. Well Be More Treasures, I'm pretty sure that store categories play absolutely no role in search.

Griff: Well that's true. Unless they're filtering by the category on the left, but you don't put the category in the title. That's absolutely not necessary.

Brian: I thought. Be aware as for your titles, they should contain only the most important keywords as they relate to the item you're listing for sale.

Griff: Yeah and it's a very simple and straightforward rule. Now, as per price, well for the most part, price is usually only a consideration for search results where a buyer will sort the results by lowest or highest by price. However, price is one of the many factors for determining listing ranking in best match sort.

Brian: If your item is not identical to other items, then item price will be at most a minimal factor in best match. But if there is something substantially different between your item and others of the same title and type, then price shouldn't be a major best match factor.

Griff: Yeah, it's not a top line factor. Now Be More Treasures, there is a help page on eBay that explains in more detail how search works. And you can find it by clicking on the help link at the top of any eBay page and then typing in the word Search or Best Match. And then on the resulting page of links, you can click one of the ones on top. There's one that says Optimizing Your Listings For Best Match. That explains how search works. Now our next question is about reporting possible counterfeit items on eBay. And it's from Morty who wrote this to podcast@ebay.com. I'm a regular listener to your podcast and I have a question about a recent purchase. So Morty is talking about being a buyer, not a seller. I bought what was described as a Nike authentic NBA jersey and it turned out to be a duplication or a fake or a knockoff. Now as a seller, I know there are strict policies that will get listings removed immediately. The seller admitted rather easily that he's not selling authentic jerseys. The seller has several other listed and has fooled many buyers with great feedback. Why does eBay protect sellers that admit they're selling counterfeit items? I know eBay profits off this merchandise being sold, but I think eBay would do a better job enforcing criminal activities. I just want eBay to be a safe and trusted marketplace for all items. Thanks for your time on this question. And again, it was by Morty.

Brian: So Morty, eBay does have a counterfeit item policy that you can view on the eBay help pages. Click on help at the top of most any eBay page, then type in the word counterfeit and click the most relevant link.

Griff: And there's a page there that makes it clear that counterfeit items aren't allowed to be listed on eBay. However, now this is where it gets tricky and we've done this on other shows in the past. Based on federal law, eBay only removes listings that may infringe on a rights owner's trademark or copyright. And that would be the brand name that Nike in this case, when the owner of the rights contacts eBay through our VRO or VRO, Verified Rights Owner program that is eBay, can't take reports of infringing items from anyone who is not either the rights owner or a licensed representative of the rights owner. And I will put a link to the Digital Millennial Copyright Act so that you can read this more in detail. But this is a consequence of that act. This is a federal law again, and it mandates how a service provider like eBay must facilitate requests from rights owners for take down demands for content on the service provider site where that content allegedly infringes on the rights of the owner. If you've ever been on the receiving end of a VRO notice from eBay about possible counterfeit items, you know that there's no negotiation, there's no discussion, the item has to immediately be removed. But that's not true if you're not the rights owner or you're not a licensed representative of that rights owner. And in this case, say you're a just abuser and you find a listing on eBay that you believe is counterfeit, you can't just report it.

Brian: However, there is recourse for a buyer who believes they purchased a counterfeit item. When that happens, the buyer should immediately request a return by filing a return case and selecting a not as described reason. A buyer can also include a copy of the message exchange showing the seller admitting the items are not authentic.

Griff: Yeah, I mean that's good evidence right there.

Brian: There's one other example. I think when we will remove it and it's if it's blatantly or obviously counterfeit obviously. So if someone's selling a Rolex watch and they say fake Rolex, then we've got all kinds of filters. You can imagine that they're gonna capture that stuff.

Griff: So a buyer in your situation, you can open a return request. You can also file a Not As Described case because it's not as described. You were told it was authentic and then you found out it wasn't. And either way, that's different because you are the consumer who's purchased this item. You do have recourse directly with eBay without the actual rights owner being involved at all. And this particular rights owner, Nike, they're pretty good at scouring the site and finding items that infringe on their copywriter trademark. But maybe this passed them by. So another thing that you can do in this situation is you can consider actually contacting Nike and alerting them to the seller's listings. This is something that eBay actually can't do, but you can do. And this is all part and parcel of a federal law and it dictates what a company like eBay can do and what a seller can and can't do and what rights owners have in requesting what are called takedowns from a service provider website like eBay or any other marketplace. I know people get so angry and say eBay is allowing this to happen. Trust me, there's no benefit for eBay and having counterfeit items on the site. It's definitely not something that benefits a marketplace, it sows mistrust.

Brian: Yeah, as Morty mentioned, it's not healthy long-term for the marketplace because it does so mistrust.

Griff: And now put a link to the Wiki page, Wikipedia page for the DMCA. So you can read the federal law itself.

Brian: The next question is from a seller named Paul who posted this on our eBay for Business Podcast Facebook group. I'm hoping to get some clarification. I am in Canada. Being in Canada, we don't have access to programs like EIS or eBay International Shipping or the eBay Standard Envelope. For most of our shipments to the United States. We purchase USPS labels from a across border shipper. We put the USPS label on our shipments, drive to the cross-border Shipper Depot in Canada. They take all the packages to their warehouse in Niagara Falls, New York. We have an address with that company for USA returns. It is a New York address. It is the same location as the warehouse with a unique number for us. Could we use that address as a ship from location address so we can utilize the eBay Standard Envelope option since it is shipping from that address that is the address used to calculate the ship cost? I hope this makes sense. Thanks.

Griff: Well Paul, you'll be happy to learn that the answer from the Shipping team is yes. eBay does allow sellers who are not registered in the United States to use eBay International shipping by using the method that you just outlined that you're and a lot of hundreds of other sellers in Canada are doing as well. The requirements are only that the item must be located in the Us. That means not that when you list it, you may own PO have possession of in Canada. But when you're listing it, you're indicating that the item is gonna be at this address in this warehouse in Niagara, New York. And it also has to be listed on.com or the eBay motor site. It can't be listed on eBay Canada. And you can also, under those criteria, you can use eBay labels on the.com site along with US ship from addresses to purchase eBay Standard Envelope labels.

Brian: And Paul, keep in mind that for returns, as long as the return address on your account is in the US, you'll be able to purchase return labels to. The key is that all of this has to be done on ebay.com, not ebay.ca.

Griff: There was some discussion about whether or not this was allowable. And I think if you think of it as this, no matter where you're located, if you're listing the item on ebay.com and the item is shipping from a US address, then you're covered including shipments that are going through eBay International Shipping

Brian: Or a Shipper Depot.

Griff: No, no, no. You're getting confused here. These items are located in Niagara, the depot is located in Canada. So they bring the things to the depot and the the depot then brings them to Niagara.

Brian: They bring them. That makes sense because the individual seller's not gonna go bring it to Niagara.

Griff: Right. No, there's a fee involved I think. But these services are provided by different shipping companies. But the seller is indicating they have a pre-arrangement with the company. They have the address in Niagara from which the item is going to be indicated as shipping from where it's located. That's how shipping costs, for example, are determined. So they list the item on ebay.com, they put as a item location and return address that location in Niagara, New York. And then when the item sells, they bring the item to this place a depot in Canada who then transfer the item to this warehouse and it ships from there.

Brian: Good for all of our Canadian listeners to know that if they're not taking advantage of it.

Griff: Yeah, I didn't know this, but did you know that something like 90% or more of the population of Canada is concentrated along the US border?

Brian: I did not know that. And I wouldn't have guessed that it was that high.

Griff: And I was surprised with the reason, 'cause my first thought was, well it's because we do a lot of trade and it's a lot easier to be close to the country you do a lot of trade with. But that's not the reason.

Brian: What's the reason?

Griff: So the reason is a huge piece of Canada, you know, if you look at the map, it goes almost all the way to the North Pole, right?

Brian: Yes.

Griff: A huge piece of Canada, something like a hundred or 200 miles or so above the US border, it's all rock. There's no way to farm it. So it's not tillable farmland. So it was never ripe for settlement.

Brian: So it forces everyone closer to the border.

Griff: Yeah. Where there is tillable land and where you can grow crops.

Brian: I was just thinking maybe like along the Great Lakes and stuff, it was an easy place to establish and fresh water and all of that when people started. But that makes sense. People will go wherever they can make a living.

Griff: Or they can grow food. And finally, this week, Brian, with regards to our segment last week, last episode about reducing the likelihood of returns. Someone who wishes to remain anonymous sent the following tip. Guys, one thing a seller should always do is make sure the items they are listing are clean. I cannot tell you how many times I as a buyer have had to return items like shoes or clothing that are obviously dirty and sometimes smelly. Thanks.

Brian: Really good.

Griff: Yeah. It goes without saying.

Brian: It should go without saying. But think about it. She's or he has written in saying they've gotten those types of items.

Griff: No, I'm just not surprised. So I'll look at pre-owned shoes and you can usually tell from the photos there's been no attempt to clean them. So they'll show a picture of the soles and you can see it's got stuffed caked and the creases on the bottom, If they are athletic shoes, you're gonna get a happier customer and may maybe even a higher price if you do everything you can to clean those shoes and make them look as fresh and new as possible. And I remember, I'm gonna tell one little story. I went to visit a seller many years ago in the Midwest. We were doing a seller event and they wanted me to come and view their operation. And it was quite impressive because they had lots of different types of inventory in a rather medium-sized warehouse. And there were a few people working there and the owner of the business wanted to complain about the fact that their return rates were just too high. And so they were explaining to me, I said, well, do you describe them? And I'm walking around the warehouse and I'm looking at the stuff they sell and there's different, I won't get too, I don't want to be able to identify the seller. So there's all different types of merchandise. Most of it is pre-owned, but it's all been grouped on shelves based on category or type. And it's all stuff that I knew back then and we're talking maybe 15 years ago or more was really hot on eBay. And then I started looking closer and it was all filthy. And I said okay, just out of curiosity, what's one of the reasons why people return things? And she would say, well, you know, it's broken or it wasn't as described. And I said, do people actually return things because they're not clean? She said, yeah, that's a lot of it. And I said, well, they aren't. Why aren't you cleaning these items up? Some of them were different brand name toys and they were dirty. They were, I mean they were used. You could tell babies had done baby stuff on these toys.

Brian: Fingerprints out of it stuff.

Griff: Worse than that, worse. And the response was, I don't have the time. And I said, well, you're dealing with a lot of returns and your seller status could be at risk because of this people opening cases. And have you considered just putting the time in and and cleaning these things up before you list them? She said, well, I'll think about it.

Brian: It's the old adage though, right? About I don't have the time to do it right the first time. But you have time to do it right when it doesn't work. Right. And that's her scenario.

Griff: It's a false economy of time.

Brian: Because she's spending the time either way and she's actually creating bad experiences for others.

Griff: That was a long time ago. I'd never looped back to find out whether she took my advice or whether or not, it had added any impact.

Brian: It's a really good call out though because I know you know somebody who sells Legos and they make a point, they built like a little container that they put them in the dishwasher so they can clean them in the through the dishwasher before they list them. And I knew a seller of ours who does sneakers. He literally has toothbrushes that he uses on his sneakers to make sure they look spic and span.

Griff: Oh, when I sell pre-owned, I haven't bought any in a while, but whenever I would buy shoes to resell, they had to be in good condition to begin with. And if there was just an issue of dirt or grime or dog stuff stuck between the treads, those shoes got washed thoroughly inside and out. And the thing about athletic shoes is you can do this to them, dry them out. And they look great.

Brian: And then they'll sell for a higher price.

Griff: And you're not gonna have a buyer saying, these shoes stink! I don't want them, yuck. Anyway, so thank you anonymous for sending in that note. We should have talked about it last time 'cause yeah, that's one of the important tips for reducing the likelihood of getting return.

Brian: Well, do you have questions? Well, as you might have heard, we have answers. Maybe. So why not call us on (888)723-4630.

Griff: (888)723-4630. You can call at any time of the day and leave a question, comment or your own tips and we just might put 'em on the air.

Brian: And if you're not a call on the phone person, email us at podcast@ebay.com. That's podcast@ebay.com.

Griff: And now your Three Point Podcast Checklist, get out your paper and pencils.

Brian: The Announcement Board at ebay.com/announcements for UpToDate Seller News every day.

Griff: Make sure to clean your pre-owned merchandise before you photograph and list it.

Brian: Need to review anything in this episode? It's easy. Check the transcript for this and all episodes for follow up on what you've heard and to find the links we referenced during the episode.

Griff: And on our next episode, we'll talk with a data-driven seller. Her name is Ashley Mohler been on the show in the past. We're gonna talk about the benefits of the eBay listings quality report.

Brian: I think you forgot something Griff. Thermal printers.

Griff: No, not this week.

Brian: We'd like to again, thank our guests this week. eBay Director of Ads Marketing, Julie Klein.

Griff: The eBay for Business Podcast is produced and distributed by Libsyn and podCast411.