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Auctiva allows you to easily manage eBay consignments. You can create commission plans, manage consignors and send automatic email messages to your consignors when items are posted. This tutorial will show you how to set up the Consignment feature in Auctiva.
Introduction
Consignment is the process of selling items for the owner of the item. The consignor is the owner of the item and you are the seller. In this partnership with the consignor, you will need to negotiate a commission plan and a consignment agreement. Consignors can be individuals with unique items or business owners who have many items to sell. In most cases, consignors need an experienced seller to attract buyers so they can get the most money for their items.
What is a commission plan?
A commission plan contains details on what fees the consignor is responsible for paying and what commission fees you, the seller, will charge upon the sale of an item. Commission plans can be configured to be paid out by a fixed rate or a variable rate.
Instructions
It's a good idea to have an email address for consignors so they can receive automatic emails when you post their item. You should have this information handy and it would be good to have the details of the commission plan worked out in advance. You can always edit these terms later. Just make sure you have a contract agreement and commission plan agreed upon with your consignor before you post a listing. It's up to you how you want to approach the consignment agreement and commission plan. We highly recommend you work with a professional lawyer to create your agreements.
Step 1. Create Commission Plan.
In this step, you will create a Commission Plan. This can be a default commission plan that you will offer to all your consignors, or it can be a unique commission plan created for a specific consignor.
- Hover your mouse over the eBay Sales tab and click on the "New Commission Plan" link (Figure 1.1).
- Name: Enter a name for the commission plan.
- In the Consignor Pays section, you can establish which fees the consignor will be responsible for when an item is posted. Here are the options:
- eBay Fees: Select this checkbox if the consignor will be responsible for the eBay fees associated with posted listings.
- Payment Processing Fee: Select this checkbox if the consignor will be responsible for payment processing fees associated with purchased listings.
- Base Fee: Enter in a flat-rate base fee, if necessary. This base fee will be charged in addition to all other fees and commissions on the listing.
- In the Rate section, you can enter the commission rate. These fees are only assessed when an item is purchased. Here are the options:
- Fixed ($): Enter in a fixed rate if you want to charge a fixed amount.
- Fixed (%): Enter in a fixed percentage rate if you want to charge a percentage of the closing price of a listing.
- If you want to assess a variable rate, click on the "Advanced Options" link. The variable table will display.
- Variable: Select "Variable" if you want to assess a variable rate. Also, choose a variable option from the drop-down menu. The "Graduated" option will assess a single rate from the variable table (see example in Figure 1.2). The "Scaling" option will assess multiple rates per each row of the table based on the final sale value (see example in Figure 1.3).
- Enter the appropriate value ranges in the table. Also enter the associated rate percentage for each row of the table.
- Above: Enter the final value and variable rate for any final sale value that is above the value expressed in this field.
- Click on the Save button.
Step 2. Edit Consignment Settings.
In this step, you will set up the Consignment feature to automatically send email messages to consignors when you post their listings.
- Hover your mouse over the My Account tab and click on the "Consignment" link (Figure 2). The Consignment Settings page will load.
- Send email to consignor when auction posts: Select this checkbox if you want to automatically send an email message to a consignor when their item is posted.
- Default Commission Plan: Select a default commission plan, if desired. This is optional. When a default commission plan is chosen, it will automatically load when you add new consignors. If you do not choose a default, you will simply have to select a commission plan when you add a new one. You can always change the commission plan, even with or without a default expressed in this field.
- Agreement Logo: Click on the Choose button. A pop-up window will open and load an Image Browser page. Use the "Folder" field or "Search" field to refine the image results. Click on the thumbnail image that you would like to use as the agreement logo. The agreement logo will appear in your consignment agreements.
- Click on the Update Consignment Preferences button.
Step 3. Add consignor.
- Hover your mouse over the Sales tab and click on the "New Consignors" link (Figure 3).
- In the "Consignor Details" box fill in the necessary information. The "First Name" and "Last Name" fields are required. It's a good idea to enter in as much information as possible. The email field is also critical if you want to be able to send email messages to the consignor from your Auctiva account.
- Maximize the Contract Agreement section by clicking on the "Maximize" link. Additional fields in this section will display.
- Add Logo: Select this checkbox to include an agreement logo. This is optional.
- Logo: If you choose an agreement logo in Step 1, the URL for the logo will appear. You can also choose an image by clicking on the Choose Image button. A pop-up window will open and load the Image Browser page. Select an image by clicking on the thumbnail image.
- Start Date: The current date will automatically be entered into this field. Change the date by clicking on the field, if necessary. When you click on this field, the Calendar widget will load.
- End Date: Enter an end date by clicking on the field. When you click on this field, the Calendar widget will load.
- Terms: Enter the terms of the agreement in this field. We highly recommend you seek professional help from a lawyer when you create your agreements.
- Use as my preferred contract settings: Select this checkbox if you wish to have this contract agreement automatically loaded into this section when a new consignor is added.
- Click the Preview Agreement button to preview the agreement.
- Maximize the Commission Plan section by clicking on the "Maximize" link. Additional fields will display.
- Default Plan: Choose the default commission plan for this consignor if you want a commission plan to automatically load for every item associated with this consignor. You can always change the commission plan per item, if necessary. You can choose not to assign a default plan, if desired.
- Click on the Save button. The Options page will load.
Step 4. Email / Print Contract Agreement.
In this step, you will email or print the Contract Agreement. This step is optional. It's up to you how you want to handle all legal agreements. We suggest you work with a law professional to establish your methods and contracts.
- In the "Options" box, click on the "Manage Consignment" link (Figure 4.1).
- Find the consignor you added in Step 3 and select the checkbox associated with the consignor.
- In the Actions column, choose the "Print/Email Contract" option (Figure 4.2). A pop-up window will open and the Contract Agreement will load.
- In the Contract Agreement pop-up window, click on either the Print & Close button to print the contract, or the Email button to send an email to the consignor. If you click the Email button, the following options will display:
- Email to: You can choose from the consignor's email address or your own email address.
- Subject: Enter a subject for this email message. The default subject is "Consignment Agreement."
- Message: Enter a message. The message you enter here will display before the Contract Agreement in the email message.
- Click on the Send button to send the email message.
This completes the task of setting up Auctiva's Consignment feature.
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