Meet Tracy Janik - Her Businesses Give Back
Tracy Janik, owner of five eBay businesses, uses eBay Giving Works to attract new shoppers and, in the process, has found charity listings attract higher final sale prices and praise from customers as well.
After hearing Meg Whitman talk about eBay Giving Works during eBay Live in 2007, Tracy Janik (247jewelry, bakelitejohnny, raefielddesigns, bffjewelry, vintagewatchcrystal) saw the program's potential to attract a new kind of customer to her eBay stores.
Customer magnet
That summer, she listed her first eBay Giving Works items. Quickly she noticed that buyers were willing to pay more for listings that had part of the final sale price going to a charity. Tracy believes that "Baby boomers and their offspring are very socially conscious. They are deeply concerned with what is behind the companies and products that they buy and use in everyday life. This overall higher level of social consciousness make them more apt to purchase items that offer an added benefit of contributing to charity."
"It's challenging to find out how to sell something for what it is worth on eBay. The charity element helps push people that don't want to pay more than $5 for an item," she says and provides a common customer scenario, "There is a rare piece of jewelry you'd never find in your area, and four are listed on eBay. Which one will you pick? The one with the charity element."
Savvy promotion
Tracy thinks the new $1 minimum donation on eBay Giving Works listings is an excellent opportunity. "You can easily afford to give 10% of your profits to charity on any given day," she notes, "and the $1 minimum means that it's now economically feasible to add a charity element to listings as low as $10." She also likes the promotion aspect of the $1 minimum donation. "It is a much better promotion then a simple 10% markdown with Markdown Manager. And it's an especially nice promotion to use for the holiday season, when everyone is thinking of those less fortunate," she says.
Spreading the word
To get the word out about how her businesses support good causes, Tracy uses various techniques. Every eBay listing mentions that the eBay Store has a variety of charity listings. The staff creates an eBay page within the eBay Store on what charities they are supporting and why those particular ones were chosen.
Additionally, Tracy and her staff have created Squidoo articles, blogged, and inserted information about the causes she supports into her packages.
When asked what she finds to be the most valuable aspect of eBay Giving Works, without hesitation Tracy states, "eBay Giving Works affords you the opportunity to support what you believe in and tell the world about it."
Facts
eBay IDs: 247jewelry, raefielddesigns, vintagewatchcrystal, bffjewelry, bakelitejohnny
Selling on eBay Since: 2001
Products: jewelry
Business type: for-profit
Nonprofits supported: One Laptop Per Child, Aid for AIDS, Ava's Hope, Angelwish, Elka Best, Sports 4 All, and others
Quirky fact: Tracy has two dachshunds and was formerly a stockbroker
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