As part of our blog post on Christmas business on online marketplaces, we spoke to Sascha Völkel from RedZilla about his experiences in this area. He answered our questions about how he sees opportunities as a successful retailer and what tips he would give other retailers.
JTL: Hello Sascha. Thank you for taking the time for a short interview. Would you like to briefly introduce yourself?
SV: Yes, of course. I am the Managing Director and owner of RedZilla and Fitnesskaufhaus.de. We have been selling cosmetics, care products and fragrances in our online store since 2011 and terry towelling since 2017. As a long-standing JTL customer, we have grown together with you. Today, we offer over 1,500 items in one store and around 6,000 items in the other and employ a total of 12 people.
JTL: Do you also use marketplaces for your Christmas business in addition to your online store?
SV: Definitely. eBay and Amazon are a must in my view. Basically, every retailer should make sure to position themselves as broadly as possible. By that I mean using multichannel commerce as much as possible. Anyone who sets priorities, for example only using their own store or at most Amazon, is creating a dependency. Because what happens if I am temporarily banned from selling on Amazon? This can happen faster than you might think. The loss of sales is immediately noticeable. If I focus on more diversification, I minimize the risk. Visibility also plays a major role. Almost every retailer benefits if they not only shine with their own store, but can also be found on other marketplaces.
JTL: However, more and more retailers are relying precisely on the combination of a shop and a marketplace, usually Amazon. Why do you think it makes sense to use eBay in particular, but also other marketplaces?
SV: I often reach a different target group there. There are certainly overlaps between the individual marketplaces. But let’s take eBay as an example: in my experience, the purchasing power of individual customers is lower on average, which is why you often find very price-conscious buyers there. Customers are more curious there, ask more questions, but also appreciate good service and communication. In addition, the return rate is significantly lower – while I sometimes have to expect a return on Amazon even after months, this is less common with eBay buyers. However, it should not be forgotten that all marketplaces have their own problems and hurdles. The refund of fees on eBay, for example, is clearly in need of improvement. On Amazon, on the other hand, the battle for the Buy Box often leads to price dumping.
JTL: What differences do you notice in sales on eBay, Amazon and the like between the pre-Christmas period and the rest of the year?
SV: Depending on the product range, many retailers would probably answer this question differently. If I deal in garden products, I certainly sell less in the run-up to Christmas. In my product area, especially with fragrances, I experience a considerable difference. Sales pick up at the end of November at the latest and then jump again in mid-December due to last-minute buyers. It is important to prepare for this early on – in other words, to have sufficient goods available and to have optimized logistics, storage and supply processes. If the pre-Christmas period is your busiest time of the year in terms of sales, as many hurdles as possible need to be eliminated in advance.
JTL: Do you make certain optimizations to the Christmas offers on marketplaces?
SV: No, not really. However, this is more due to my product range – I already serve a segment that is in demand at the moment. Toy retailers, for example, are probably in a similar situation. But in many other areas there are useful opportunities for customization – be it in the design of an eBay Christmas template, the pricing for the Buy Box and other listings. However, we invest the most effort in our own store before Christmas. What I can recommend, however, are targeted ad placements on the marketplaces to push listings.
JTL: Speaking of recommendations – what tips would you give other retailers?
SV: First of all, they should sell on several marketplaces. A pure store and Amazon combination, as mentioned above, exposes retailers to too much competitive risk. Everyone is out there anyway. My second piece of advice: If you sell on eBay, do it actively! If you want to be successful there, you have a good opportunity to do so. After all, price is not the only decisive factor there.
retailers are rewarded for decent pictures of their products, sensible and well-chosen attributes and an appealing price structure. So there are more levers that can be manipulated.
JTL: Many thanks for the tips and your time, Sascha! You can also find out more about Sascha and his store in our RedZilla Success Story.
