On EnergyBin, wholesale buyers and sellers are connecting every day to trade PV hardware equipment. The platform provides an additional sales channel for wholesale sellers to move their inventory and increase visibility among PV professionals.
It’s important to upload inventory on EnergyBin because the very first step buyers take when they log into the platform is to search for equipment they need. Designed after search engines, the EnergyBin platform utilizes keyword search capabilities to match buyers to inventory listings.
In this article, we’ll cover what wholesale buyers are searching for within the secondary market and tips to win business by uploading inventory to EnergyBin.
Buyers on EnergyBin are PV professionals who act in a variety of roles, including wholesale solar equipment brokers and resellers, developers, EPCs, installers, and O&Ms.
The majority of buying needs are for bulk volumes of solar panels for projects taking place in the utility-scale, commercial, agricultural & industrial, and residential markets. Most buying requests are for new equipment, which dispels the myth that the secondary solar market is just for used hardware.
Additionally, EnergyBin members aren’t confined to solar projects within a particular geographic region. They often represent international buyers outside the United States and therefore are not necessarily restricted to sourcing domestic content.
Here is a sample of bulk buying requests searched for in May on the EnergyBin platform:
Here is a sample of replacement part buying requests searched for in May:
Here’s a list of the top 30 keyword search terms from the month of May:
These examples give a static view of what buyers are looking for. However, needs are constantly in flux. Uploading inventory is the best way to ensure your hardware appears in keyword search results.
Beyond appearing in search results, uploading inventory to EnergyBin gives sellers the opportunity to receive quotes from buyers. As buyers search and find hardware, they can select and send RFQs to the listing sellers.
RFQs are sent to the recipient’s inbox with the buyer’s contact information. Plus, EnergyBin stores RFQs within a member’s account (Manage >> My RFQs) to conveniently view and reply to buyers as well as maintain a historical record.
To ensure the best results for uploading your inventory to EnergyBin, follow these recommendations.
First, verify that your upload satisfies EnergyBin’s Inventory Protocol, as stated here:
Second, ensure your product descriptions are accurate and specific. Remember that EnergyBin is a search engine that matches keywords based on part number, manufacturer, and description fields. Plain and simple, if you mis-spell a part number or manufacturer, you won’t appear in search results.
Third, include information for every field, including condition, price, and quantity. Buyers can filter search results by these and other fields. You wouldn’t want your listing excluded by a filter search simply because you didn’t complete all the fields.
Fourth, set a schedule to regularly upload your inventory. If you’re a company that has multiple team members using EnergyBin, assign one or two employees to be responsible for uploading. Depending on the amount of inventory you have coming in and going out, set a daily or weekly upload schedule. Make it a habit that becomes second nature to your business operations.
Uploading inventory to EnergyBin, or any other online marketplace, is only half of the task at hand. The other half deals with maintaining accurate and up-to-date listings as well as following up on all requests.
EnergyBin is all about relationship building. Buyers are solar industry peers. Misrepresenting what you have available for sale or failing to respond to an RFQ in a timely manner may cost you a sale and could very well hurt your business reputation.
Set a schedule to regularly update inventory quantities, price, or other fields that may change. Remove line items that are no longer available. Appoint a person within your company to quickly respond to buyer inquiries, preferably within one business day.
Finally, don’t wait for buyers to come to you. Be proactive. Promote your special offerings, clearance, or discounted products by sending Want-to-Sell broadcast emails. Advertise your broadcasted products on social media sites. Add a product catalog to your website. Call and introduce yourself to other EnergyBin members.
Think of EnergyBin this way: Every time you upload your inventory, you have increased your chances of being seen by pre-qualified buyers, who are your industry peers.
The actual work of uploading your inventory list takes less than 2 minutes. Maintaining accurate listings can be as simple as uploading a new inventory list, which automatically replaces your previously uploaded list. You can also schedule auto uploads (Manage >> Inventory).
Contact EnergyBin to learn more about inventory uploads.