If you are working at home selling items on eBay either casually or through an eBay store, make sure that your listings stand out from the rest. Here are a few pointers on what makes a great eBay listing. The first tip is to check completed auctions from similar items. The auctions that ended with the highest price for your item will give you clues as to what helps sell that particular item.
Pictures can make or break your eBay listing. Buyers want to see exactly what they are getting. A plain background and good lighting go a long way towards a great photo, as does making sure the item is as clean and nice looking as possible. Crop photos so that the item takes up as much of the picture as possible without getting cut off. Although it may seem counterintuitive, take close up pictures of any flaws so that potential buyers know exactly what they are getting.
While pictures do a lot of the talking for your eBay listing, the words that you use in your listing are just as important. Maximize those 55 characters that you have available for your title. Pack it as full of substance as you can including brand, size, color, and other identifying characteristics and avoiding filler and fluff terms like “nice” or “awesome”. For your description, you can use as may words as you like so be thorough and include all of the details including describing any flaws that the item has. Use headings and spacing to keep information neatly organized and choose a very readable font.
If you choose payment and shipping terms that will “seal the deal” with buyers that are interested in the item based on the rest of your listing, then the item will sell. If not, the potential buyer will “walk away” from your listing without making a bid or a purchase. Buyers feel comfortable using PayPal, and sellers should too. Although there are fees, it is the number one preferred choice of buyers and it also offers certain protections if you follow the rules correctly and don’t forget to do important things like getting delivery confirmation. Accepting certain methods of payment could open you up to fraudulent purchasers so do be careful to use only methods that you feel comfortable with. No sale is better than a sale in which you do not get paid.
You want to make shipping affordable for the buyer but not at your expense. Flat rate shipping may appeal to some buyers, but since prices vary depending on your location some buyers may feel that the shipping could be less if it were based on the actual shipping costs. Avoid charging a separate handling fee to cover your packaging costs by building that cost into the price of the item.
Photo by earl53 on morguefile.com.