Points are a means to reward existing customers so that they will buy in the first place and have an incentive to return to purchase more in the future. Running a points system would be an administrative nightmare without using the proper point-system software. Consequently, you will need a vendor to provide a point system to you.

There is also such a thing as a point system on a broader scale; that is, a point system where people can use their points to buy merchandise from other retailers too. Some of the point-system vendors have set up their systems that way and are trying to establish a brand. The better they can brand their point system, the more desirable the points will become. The more desirable the points are, the better the point system will help sell your merchandise. Thus, if you get involved in such a point system, it pays to choose a vendor that’s well branded.

eBay offers such a point system now called Anything Points. Read about the program at http://anythingpoints.ebay.com/offer.html. It’s there for your use as a seller. All you have to do is take advantage of it. eBay is promoting this point system, and if you’re going to give points, eBay points should certainly be one of the systems that you consider. I am a little skeptical of points. I don’t think they work well. However, as I have said before, they may work very well for some products and not very well for others. So, it’s up to you to experiment to see whether they work for your retail business. Fortunately, the eBay points system makes it very easy for you to try out this marketing technique. But don’t overlook other vendors that may offer point systems more suited to your products.

Cost-Effectiveness Review

It’s easy to offer points in any point system. For example, it’s easy to offer Anything Points. But it costs you. eBay ’s Anything Points are worth 1 cent each. You can offer 1 to 10 points per dollar of sales price. That’s a 1 to 10 percent discount, in effect. So, that’s your cost. Are points worth a 1 to 10 percent discount? That is, will they generate enough extra sales to justify the cost? Like I said, I’m skeptical. But experiment to determine whether points will work for your eBay retail business.