GM Alaa Hassan
Since 1999,
iNetVideoCom has grown from listing occasionally to being a large-volume seller that’s fast-approaching Top-rated Seller status.
iNetVideoCom began their eBay business in 1999, occasionally selling hard-to-find movies acquired during their 10 prior years in the VHS business. In 2000, they turned their focus towards Internet sales and have grown into a 100+ employee company with ecommerce, wholesale distribution and brick & mortar retail divisions.
After over a decade of eBay selling, iNetVideoCom is now close to attaining Top-Rated Seller status – an upcoming achievement General Manager Alaa Hassan is extremely excited about. “It’s my #1 goal,” he states, “as the trust inherent in the title and promotional boost in Best Match search results will enable even higher sales records.”
Overcoming obstacles to achieve success
For iNetVideoCom, change equals challenge, and should be seen as a wake-up call for one’s business. Hassan states that “if your business can’t keep up with the times, there’s a problem with your business model.” For example, when Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) came into effect as part of eBay’s Feedback system, his company had to make some key adjustments to raise DSRs for shipping time and shipping cost. They lowered shipping charges, purchased a packaging machine, and streamlined internal processes to allow for same-day shipping. Hassan also increased the shipping time in the company’s listings to set the right buyer expectations when shipping from Canada to the USA.
“We’d rather be up-front with the client about when they are going to receive their item. We might lose a sale or two as a result, but it’s important to the reputation of my company to set buyer expectations we know we can consistently deliver upon.”
With the majority of iNetVideoCom’s eBay sales occurring in the DVD, HD DVD & Blu-ray category, Hassan sees attaining Top-Rated Seller status as crucial in light of this category’s new shopping experience. He says that this new experience is “a better experience for buyers, as it puts the product first. Buyers confirm the item they want and then choose the seller that offers the best price and services. And with eBay Top-rated Sellers gaining prominence, it’s yet another reason to achieve this status.”
Uploading tracking and enabling Smart FAQs is key
Another important practice iNetVideoCom has adopted along the way is to upload tracking to My eBay. By doing so, they get higher DSRs, less negative feedback, and fewer buyer questions, as buyers know when the item shipped and can follow its progress.
iNetVideoCom also takes advantage of eBay’s Automated Answers. By augmenting Automated Answers with Q&A’s specific to their items, polices and business, they’ve greatly reduced their volume of incoming emails.
Turning a negative into a positive
Hassan takes negative feedback very seriously, and sees it as a way to actually grow iNetVideoCom’s business. He follows up with unhappy buyers not because he wants negative feedback to be removed, but because responding with care and concern is key to building his brand’s reputation. In fact, he’s turned many unhappy buyers into repeat customers by responding to their feedback with care. “Making the customer happy is worth the cost of sending a replacement item.”
Additionally, by digging deep into negative feedback, he gains great learnings into his operations and uses that information to fix or refine iNetVideoCom’s business practices. “If we get a negative feedback, something must have happened.”
Plans beyond attaining Top-rated Seller status
Once iNetVideoCom achieves eBay Top-rated Seller status, Hassan looks forward to getting involved in eBay Daily Deals, as well as continuing to develop his brand via eBay-exclusive prices and promotions. “My goal is to be the first consideration for buyers, both new and returning.”
