Amazon Versus eBay Customers

Buying shoes online? Is money tight? eBay it is. Want an exact style, size, and color delivered to your door tomorrow? Amazon it is. So what customer type do you have? Which type do you want?

Amazon and eBay are massive online stores, but their customers could not be more different.

eBay is for customers that value money more than time.

Amazon is for customers that value time more than money.

On eBay, you may find dozens of matches for the product you're looking for, but then you have decisions to make. Do you trust the vendor with only a few ratings? Do you trust the one with 4 out of 5 stars? Can you wait up to a week for shipping?

On Amazon, you may pay a much higher price. However, you don't need to spend 10-100x the time in the decision-making process. With Amazon, you are 2 clicks and 10 seconds away from same-day delivery. And you get the confidence of a bulletproof return policy.

Now let's flip this around.

What are YOUR customers like?

Do they treat you like an eBay vendor? Are they shopping around to 10 different places, haggling to try to get the absolute best deal?

Do they treat you like Amazon.com? Are they ready to find the top result, quickly scroll to verify it all checks out, then 1-click buy regardless of the price?

I've worked with both in my life.

The eBay client wants detailed breakdowns of all hours worked for each invoice. Then they want to debate (on your dime and time) specific line items just to see you sweat. You (eventually) capitulate and remove a few hours after they made a veiled threat to try a competitor.

Now the Amazon client can be equally picky but in a different way. $5K to 10K a month retainer? No problem! But you better save them at least 2 to 10X that a month. If you don't, they'll quickly find someone else who can deliver results quickly and consistently.

In my experience, it's a no-brainer to optimize for the Amazon customer. They have and are willing to spend the money if you can deliver the results.

So it's worth asking again.

What customer type do you have?

Which type do you want?