Top Tips for Selling on eBay
I’ve been buying and selling on eBay and other auction sites for many years now. As I browse the various lots up for sale, I never cease to be amazed at how badly some people present their items.
Having created a really terrible auction, these people wonder why their item goes unsold or for a ridiculously small amount of money – well below its true value.
So I’ve written this short article to give a few hints and tips for making a sale on auction sites.
Auction Title
This is very important. Most buyers don’t use the Advanced Search options, or even check the “Include title and description” box. This means that the search is carried out based on the words found in auction titles. If buyers are going to find your item, you will need to keywords that that most people are likely to use in a search.
Think about what you would use to search for that item if you wanted to buy one. Try searching in eBay using those words to see if you can find items similar to yours. Check the keywords that other people are using.
The title space is limited in length, so think carefully about the words that you use. Check spellings before you submit your auction. Thousands of items have gone unsold, or sold for the starting price because the seller mis-spelled keywords in the title and very few people actually found the auction.
Category
Choose your Category carefully. Some people seem to choose the first category they see that relates to their product. As an example, I have often seen accessories for PDAs listed under “PDAs” instead of under “PDA Accessories”.
Some Categories on eBay contain some fields that you can select from to provide specific information in a standard format. For example, Womens Clothing has fields for Size, Material, Colour etc.
My previous example, PDAs, has a field for screen size. If you don’t specify these fields, buyers become frustrated and move on.
Description
I have seen some incredibly bad descriptions of items – some consisting of a single line of text or even less. You’re trying to sell this item to people who can’t actually see it, touch it or pick it up. In your description, you need to be their eyes and ears. If you don’t provide the information, people will want to ask questions, or they will just ignore the auction and move on to one with a better description.
Another common mistake is to write a single block of text. Divide your description into paragraphs, with each paragraph covering a different topic.
If your item is available in a variety of different variants, specify details. Colour, size, model number etc. Using my PDA example again, I have seen auctions for a “Pocket Loox PDA” with no details as to the model number (there are many – each with very different specifications). Usually the photograph isn’t good enough to determine the model number, either.
Details. Make sure you know as much about the item as possible before typing in your auction details. Continuing the PDA theme, I have seen an auction advertising a “Dell X51v PDA” with a screen size of 640×480. The Description then went on to say that it was a “Dell x50″, which is a different model with a much smaller screen size. The seller had then blindly pasted in the specification from the Dell website which contained information about both models.
Photographs
Always, without exception, provide a good quality photograph of the item you are selling. Remember, buyers cannot see the item you have for sale.
Take several pictures and choose the best one (or more).
There are a lot of common mistakes made with regard to photographs on eBay auctions.
Focus. All digital cameras have autofocus. Learn how to use it properly and make your picture as sharp as possible. A blurry image tells the buyer nothing except that you couldn’t be bothered to make a better picture. Use a proper digital camera or the camera in a mobile phone if it’s of decent quality – borrow one if you don’t have one. Webcams are notoriously bad – they’re not really designed for taking high quality images.
Lighting. If you take a photo of your item indoors under artificial light, the colours in your image may look strange. If possible, set your digital camera for the relevant lighting conditions – incandescent light (conventional light bulbs), fluorescent (including energy-saving compact fluorescent) or daylight.
Use natural light if possible – take your pictures during the daytime, near a window, or even outdoors.
Rotation. I have seen many pictures on eBay auctions that are rotated by 90 degrees because the seller turned the camera to fit the item in. Many digital cameras come with programs to rotate images. If not, there are plenty you can obtain for free or at very low cost.
Size. A thumbnail image the size of a postage stamp is no use to anybody. Ebay allow you to use large images. Use that facility.
Presentation. Before you take the photo of your item, take a look what else is around the room that might end up in the picture. Buyers don’t want to see a pile of junk lying around. Tidy up so that only your item will appear in the picture.
If you’re selling clothes, put them on a hanger – maybe on the back of a door. A picture of a skirt lying on a bed doesn’t sell anywhere near as one with it on a hanger. Even better – use a mannequin (dummy) or a live model (You don’t need to take a picture of the complete person – just the item for sale). Clothes look so much better on a body than when flat.
Details. If the item has some distinguishing feature that is a selling point, why not add a close-up of that feature.
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