Weekend reading: 14th May

Happy Friday all! The great British weather might not be providing us with the most memorable spring on record, but with lockdown restrictions lifting soon, we hope that sunnier, and more sociable days are just around the corner!

This week we’re talking about why you shouldn’t manipulate reviews, which tasks should never be automated in a business, why you should consider the attitudes of your target customers when you’re choosing your sales channels, considering whether marketing on TikTok should be your next move, and how eBay are getting involved with finance for small businesses.

The latest from us

Our new and improved Wish integration went live last week, and we talked more about how to add the integration to your account, as well as reasons that you should in sell on Wish in this post.

New supplier GB010087 has gone live on Avasam this week, with a range of art prints that make fantastic additions to the home. While you’re adding those to your inventory, add from our range of frames too!

The weekend reads

Have you considered manipulating reviews for products that you are listing on Amazon? Certainly when starting out, it can be tempting to do that – but Amazon are notoriously hard on sellers that break the rules, so it is a risky strategy. Since the end of April, Amazon has suspended the accounts of some of the bigger companies – with some that have been selling on their marketplace for years, and they’re also deleting reviews for the products too. It isn’t just Amazon that are cracking down – The Range are being investigated by Trustpilot over incentives for five-start reviews. The verdict? Let your products, and service speak for itself.

We’re big fans of automation here at Avasam, but there are some tasks that businesses simply shouldn’t try and automate. This article from Forbes explains the four tasks that should never be completely automated – and if this article gets you thinking, then we recommend this post as a follow-up read.

When you’re creating your sales channels strategy, do you consider that attitudes of your target customers when they are shopping on those channels? Maybe you should – since it has been shown this week that almost a third of UK shoppers felt guilty when they shopped with Amazon. Over half of those customers want to cut down on their purchases through Amazon, so diversifying your sales channels has never been more important.

Is it time to add TikTok to your marketing channels? With 1 in 4 Brits using TikTok every month, there’s a huge amount of opportunity to increase brand awareness if your target customers use the platform. But TikTok are now trialling in-app sales, with the aim of handling over $185 billion of e-commerce annually by 2022. We recommend getting started now, ahead of that functionality being released. Find out more here.

Do you need funding for your business but the traditional methods aren’t available to you? eBay are moving into providing finance for small businesses, offering businesses between £500 and up to £1 million, and are offering terms that include repaying as a fixed percentage of your daily sales. Like all finance options, it won’t be right for all businesses, but if you’re earning well on eBay, it could be one to consider.

Dates for your diary

Tamebay Live is next week – and the complete line-up of speakers has been released, with speakers from Wish, StockX, OnBuy, and Google. If you’ve been wondering whether to sign up or not, this weekend is your last chance to do so. Find out who is speaking, and sign up for free here.

Are you ready to reach international customers this year? If it is on your agenda (perhaps you’re waiting for our international shipping to be ready?) then we highly recommend attending the Expanding Internationally: Grow Your Business via Ecommerce event run by The Department for International Trade in partnership with eCommerce Expo. It is being run on Wednesday 26th & Thursday 27th May, and will provide insights into the USA, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Japanese markets.