Executive Research: Let's Read the Reports Tab

 

by Jen Cano, eBay Certified Consultant

I remember the first time I opened HammerTap to research a product I wanted to sell on eBay. My first thought was, "Whoa, what are all these numbers?"

I´ve had a lot of experience with auction research using HammerTap now, and I thought I´d share with you some of my secrets for making sense of all the numbers on the Reports tab.


Average Success Rate vs. ASP (Average Sales Price) per Auction


One of the secrets is understanding the importance of the Average Success Rate and ASP per Auction columns on each of the reports on the Reports tab. If you weren´t sure where to begin reading these reports before now, these columns are a fantastic, simple place to start.

Average Success Rate vs. ASP (Average Sales Price) per Auction

When you see the ASR and the ASP columns, think of them this way:

Auction Success Rate: Numbers in this column tell you the elements and features that are likely to boost your chances of making a sale. You´re looking for the highest percentage in this column to decide which auction element will give you the best chance of selling.

ASP per Auction: Numbers in this column tell you the elements and features that are likely to boost your ending sales price. You´re looking for the highest dollar amount in this column to decide which auction element will give you the best selling price.

If you don´t quite get it yet, don´t give up. Let´s run through an example.


Let´s Read the Auction Summary Report (on the Reports Tab)


Each of the reports on the Reports tab are organized the same way. Let´s take a look at the first report on the tab: the Auction Summary report.

Since each report on this tab is organized the same way, when you learn to understand the Auction Summary report, you´ll understand the other reports, as well.

The Auction Summary report tells you which auction types worked best for the auctions included in your research. To read the report:

1. Scroll down the Report tab to find the Auction Type report (or click its link at the top of the Report tab).
2. Look at the Auction Success Rate column to pinpoint which auction type had the largest percentage of sales.
3. Look at the ASP (average sales price) per Auction column to find which auction type had the largest average sales price.

Note: Often, one auction type yields the highest success rate, while another yields the highest sales price.

Auction Summary report tells you which auction types worked best

In the table above, regular auctions without Buy It Now had the highest Auction Success Rate (50.17%). In contrast, BIN Auctions (Fixed Price) had the best average sales price.


What Do the Numbers Mean?


Below are some common questions about what the numbers mean:

Is X% a good success rate?
People often ask whether 50% or 40% or 60% is a good success rate. The answer isn´t a simple "yes" or "no." If you can list the product more than one time and still make a profit, the answer is yes. If your profit margin is too narrow to list the product multiple times, then the answer is no.

Should I follow the best Auction Success Rate or the best ASP per Auction?
The research in HammerTap has been organized to fit two basic strategies: selling a higher volume (auction success rate) or selling at a higher price (ASP). You should follow the one that fits your strategy.

For example, if you have just purchased 100 widgets at a bulk rate, you´ll want to do whatever helps you move more merchandise in a shorter time period. You know that if you sell more items, even if they´re sold for slightly less, you´ll make more money in the long run. In this case, you´d want to take advantage of the auction elements with the best Auction Success Rate.

If, on the other hand, you have a unique item, you´re probably less concerned with how quickly it sells and more concerned with how much money you can make for it. In this case, you´d want to implement the auction elements that had the best ASP (average sales price).


Common Pitfalls


With all this said, here are a couple of pitfalls to avoid when doing the research:

Research Not Narrow Enough—If you haven´t gone through the process of narrowing your research so that it includes only auctions that match your offering, the prices and percentages on the reports will be skewed and misleading. For the best results, you should narrow your research first. For information on how to do this (and lots of other cool stuff), see the Sellers Guide.

Too Few Auctions—If the Auction Success Rate or the ASP per Auction that looks the best is based on too few auctions, it´s not necessarily good enough information to base a listing decision on.

For example, if 75% of auctions without Buy It Now sold, but there were only four auctions of that type, the information is not based on enough auctions. It might just be a fluke.

If, however, 75% of 40 auctions of that type sold, the data is more meaningful.

Note: If the number of auctions is too low, you might be able to just increase the number of auctions included in your research to solve this problem.


Reading Reports on Your Own


Do you feel ready to read the other reports on the Reports tab? If not, download the Sellers´ Guide and listen to the Tele-Workshops. They are designed to help you figure out how to make more money on your auctions. You can also contact us at support@hammertap.com.
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