Wednesday 17 February 2016
Some Great Funny eBay Stories
http://ppcorn.com/us/2016/02/17/ebay-15-tips-and-tricks-you-didnt-know-part-2/
Saturday 6 February 2016
How To Sell Absolutely Anything On eBay The Ultimate Guide!
How To start off With eBay The Right Way
If
you want to buy and sell on eBay it is very simple. You register for an
eBay and Paypal account and that's it your basically set. A Paypal
account isn't strictly required but it makes the process a lot simpler.To start with you should purchase a few items off eBay. This also allows you to see the whole process from a buyer's perspective. It also allows you to build up some feedback on eBay so people can see that you a trustworthy person to deal with.
Once you've bought a few items off eBay you can then move on to selling. Again the process is very simple. Start with a title, add a picture, a good honest description, set your price, work out the postage costs. Click on submit. That's it your done
eBay has now turned into a totally different animal than the early days. eBay now has over one billion transactions every day and thousands of businesses around the world rely on their eBay account for a source of income.
So how easy is it to make money off eBay? Well if your considering using eBay as a full time business model then you need to look at a few things: -
1. Competition. What ever it is you want to sell on eBay I guarantee someone will be there and probably selling it cheaper than you can buy it. China's introduction onto eBay has been meteoric and the Chinese have totally embraced it.
2. Fees: - eBay makes its money by charging fees for every item you sell these fees can add up to a substantial amount depending on what features you want your auction to have.
The Final Valuation Fee (F.V.F) varies a great deal on what the final selling price of your item is. Paypal also charge fees and take a cut of the money sent to your account. As a matter of fact eBay owns Paypal which is why it's difficult to operate an eBay account without a Paypal account (eBay Paypal are now separate companies)
3. What to sell: - One of the most asked questions on the eBay forums is "what sells well on eBay?" What I do is to sell items that I have a lot personal knowledge or a passion about. For example I was in the Army for quite a number of years. So I have quite a lot of personal knowledge about military clothing and equipment. I'll purchase these virtually anywhere I can find them and then sell them for a really good profit. I'm a massive kid at heart so also sell a lot of games and toys which are really easy to pick up from Car Boot Sales.
What I suggest you do to start is start selling some items laid around your home. Everyone has some clutter that can be sold on eBay & you can sell virtually anything. Don't try and sell anything illegal eBay have very got very good at finding these, closing the auction and suspending the seller so don't even try. I'll go into depth with eBay again in a later post with a few do's and dont's when it comes to selling and how to get the best possible price.
Getting The Right Category
When
you're ready to start selling on eBay. Choosing the right category you
would think would be a fairly simple process. But I have seen so many
auctions listed in the wrong category that either didn't sell or sold
for far less than they should have. This is how I make sure I get the
right category when I sell anything on eBay.
Choosing a category is the very first thing you do when you start to
list your item. When you open the first page there is an entry box that
says, "Enter a few keywords or a title to describe your item." You want
to enter a very broad search term, so if we go back to our leather
jacket example. The search term I would personally would be simply
"leather jacket." You could enter a descriptive i.e. "women's leather
jacket" but I personally choose not to. I want to see how many
categories have the words leather jacket in them. The categories are
listed in popularity order so the category with the most items with that
search term in it is at the top and so on.
The leather jacket example brings up: -
Clothes, Shoes & Accessories
Women's Clothing > Coats & Jackets
Men's Clothing > Coats & Jackets
Vintage Clothing & Accessories > Men's Vintage Clothing > Coats & Jackets
Women's Clothing > Dresses
Kids' Clothes, Shoes & Accs. > Boys' Clothing (2-16 Years) > Coats, Jackets & Snowsuits
Women's Clothing > Tops & Shirts
Women's Handbags
Vintage Clothing & Accessories > Women's Vintage Clothing > Coats & Jackets
Vehicle Parts & Accessories
Clothing, Helmets & Protection > Motorcycle Clothing > Jackets
Clothing, Helmets & Protection > Other Clothing & Protection
Clothing, Helmets & Protection > Motorcycle Clothing > Leathers & Suits
This is where you get to choose which category best describes the item you're selling. You can add a second category if you want. So for example if your selling a ladies vintage leather jacket you could list it in:- Women's Clothing > Coats & Jackets. As well as:- Vintage Clothing & Accessories > Women's Vintage Clothing > Coats & Jackets. However remember doing this will have the effect of doubling your listing fees for the item. Try and stick to one category if at all possible, its expensive enough to sell on eBay. Put a tick in the box on the category you want to use, click continue, close the listing variations pop up screen (I'll go into detail about this in a later post) click continue and your ready to add a title, item description, photo's and postage.
The leather jacket example brings up: -
Clothes, Shoes & Accessories
Women's Clothing > Coats & Jackets
Men's Clothing > Coats & Jackets
Vintage Clothing & Accessories > Men's Vintage Clothing > Coats & Jackets
Women's Clothing > Dresses
Kids' Clothes, Shoes & Accs. > Boys' Clothing (2-16 Years) > Coats, Jackets & Snowsuits
Women's Clothing > Tops & Shirts
Women's Handbags
Vintage Clothing & Accessories > Women's Vintage Clothing > Coats & Jackets
Vehicle Parts & Accessories
Clothing, Helmets & Protection > Motorcycle Clothing > Jackets
Clothing, Helmets & Protection > Other Clothing & Protection
Clothing, Helmets & Protection > Motorcycle Clothing > Leathers & Suits
This is where you get to choose which category best describes the item you're selling. You can add a second category if you want. So for example if your selling a ladies vintage leather jacket you could list it in:- Women's Clothing > Coats & Jackets. As well as:- Vintage Clothing & Accessories > Women's Vintage Clothing > Coats & Jackets. However remember doing this will have the effect of doubling your listing fees for the item. Try and stick to one category if at all possible, its expensive enough to sell on eBay. Put a tick in the box on the category you want to use, click continue, close the listing variations pop up screen (I'll go into detail about this in a later post) click continue and your ready to add a title, item description, photo's and postage.
Item Specifics
When you've got you
title sorted you can move on to some of the fairly easy stuff. It's
little tedious but needs adding and can make all the difference. Adding
things like - Subtitle, Condition, Condition description, and item
specifics will make a difference to the sale of the item. I'll take each
one in turn.
Item Sub-title
If you just need to many words in the item tittle and can't reduce it you can also add a subtitle to your item. This gives you another 90 characters. It can be a great idea but remember eBay gives you very little for free. So you pay to add a subtitle. I've never personally used a sub-tittle. I have come close on a couple of occasions and I' wouldn't shy away from it if I really thought the auction would benefit from it.
Condition description
This is where you get to put in your own words what the condition of the item is. This should part never be missed, especially if the item is used. You don't need to go into much detail at this point, its just sort of a summary that prospective bidders can read quickly. The most important thing to remember BE HONEST! If there's marks and scratches say so. If its in new you could add, "still factory sealed" or "new but missing box" "never worn missing tags." You can use a bit of salesmanship here. Writing things like "used marks and scratches but does not affect the operation of the item" is fine. Try no to use ambiguous terms such as "like new" or "mint." Using terms like these are open to personal interpretation. What you might think looks "like new" someone else may have a different opinion and that's how problems start.
Condition
This is in a form of a drop down box. You have a number of choices you can add. The best advice pick one! Don't leave a little line through it. Buyers either want new for a quality item or used because they want to save a few quid. Leaving a small white line means yours is unspecified and wont fall into either category. There are some categories, which have some additional item conditions for you to choose. The most common alternatives are refurbished, or seller refurbished, ideal if you're selling automotive or computer parts.
Item specifics
You can add item specifics for the item your selling. Each category has it own set of item specifics. These item specifics cover such areas, as manufacturer, weight, size and a number of other areas. I do use this part but I'm not a slave to it, I sometimes I find the specifics can be a bit generalised (if that makes any sense)
eBay's catalogue
eBay's catalogue is now vast and covers ton of items that eBay already have the details of and places them in your listing. I've used it loads of times and find it invaluable. Especially if I'm selling anything like video games consoles where there is lot of variants of basically the same item. All you have to do is put in a search term and put a tick in the box of the item your selling. You can also use eBay picture catalogue for the item. I don't use this, as I like to take a picture of the item I'm sending to the customer then there can be no argument.
At the time of writing
this post, eBay U.K has just given sellers up to 12 photos on all their
listings totally free of charge. But as with everything else, as one
hand giveth so the other hand taketh away. Shortly eBay are going to
start applying the F.V.F to the postage charged by sellers. I personally
think this is a real cheap shot by eBay to grasp at a few straws for
the shareholders. As usual there is the sounds of revolution in the
forums, but as usual it will amount to nothing and sellers will just put
up with it and soldier on.
Item Sub-title
If you just need to many words in the item tittle and can't reduce it you can also add a subtitle to your item. This gives you another 90 characters. It can be a great idea but remember eBay gives you very little for free. So you pay to add a subtitle. I've never personally used a sub-tittle. I have come close on a couple of occasions and I' wouldn't shy away from it if I really thought the auction would benefit from it.
Condition description
This is where you get to put in your own words what the condition of the item is. This should part never be missed, especially if the item is used. You don't need to go into much detail at this point, its just sort of a summary that prospective bidders can read quickly. The most important thing to remember BE HONEST! If there's marks and scratches say so. If its in new you could add, "still factory sealed" or "new but missing box" "never worn missing tags." You can use a bit of salesmanship here. Writing things like "used marks and scratches but does not affect the operation of the item" is fine. Try no to use ambiguous terms such as "like new" or "mint." Using terms like these are open to personal interpretation. What you might think looks "like new" someone else may have a different opinion and that's how problems start.
Condition
This is in a form of a drop down box. You have a number of choices you can add. The best advice pick one! Don't leave a little line through it. Buyers either want new for a quality item or used because they want to save a few quid. Leaving a small white line means yours is unspecified and wont fall into either category. There are some categories, which have some additional item conditions for you to choose. The most common alternatives are refurbished, or seller refurbished, ideal if you're selling automotive or computer parts.
Item specifics
You can add item specifics for the item your selling. Each category has it own set of item specifics. These item specifics cover such areas, as manufacturer, weight, size and a number of other areas. I do use this part but I'm not a slave to it, I sometimes I find the specifics can be a bit generalised (if that makes any sense)
eBay's catalogue
eBay's catalogue is now vast and covers ton of items that eBay already have the details of and places them in your listing. I've used it loads of times and find it invaluable. Especially if I'm selling anything like video games consoles where there is lot of variants of basically the same item. All you have to do is put in a search term and put a tick in the box of the item your selling. You can also use eBay picture catalogue for the item. I don't use this, as I like to take a picture of the item I'm sending to the customer then there can be no argument.
The All Important Title
If you want to sell something on eBay the title is one of the most important parts that you must get right.
When a buyer searches for any item they will be quite specific with what they want. So you have to think like a buyer. "What search term would I use to find the item I'm selling." If your lucky enough to get your item listed in a search you only then have a second or two to get them to look at your title, read it and get them to want to investigate further by clicking on your auction
You only get a few characters to give a name to your item that will catch the bidders attention and make them want to investigate further.
eBay is responsible for over 1 million auctions per day ending in the U.K alone and your one item is out there among it all.
Don't waste letters make sure you get the best possible exposure you can. You must make a perfect description of you item in only 90 characters spell check everything you can and then spell check it again.
There are lots of people out there that are more than happy to search for your item through websites like misspelled words and can save an absolute fortune. If it saves the buyer money its coming out of your pocket not eBay's they get paid whether it sells or not. Make sure you use as many of the 90 characters as you can but don't do stupid things like putting "L@@k" or "great bargain" nobody searches for either of these, so don't use them. It also really does put a lot of people off even clicking on your item.
We'll look at an example we'll use the example of my old favourite "a leather jacket" (it's still a sore point with my wife.) Have a look at this title "Girls Leather Jacket" its just doesn't say anything about the item whatsoever. The seller has given no thought to the title and the buyer will look at this and think "what a lazy seller, am I even going to get the jacket and how bad is it really going to be." Now look how the title could be improved with just a little thought. "Girls Next Black Waist Length Leather Jacket Size 12 To 14 Years Very Good Condition." That is a lot better title. It gives the seller a lot better chance that someone is going find their item, click on it to see the picture and read the description and more importantly make a bid.
This is the real meat content of any listing for an auction on eBay.
You really need to take your time here and make sure you get this bit
right!
There are thousands of different ways you can write your item description not one of them is right or wrong. I'm going to go through the way I write an item description. If you want to you can then use this as a starting point and then build you're own style of writing.
At the top of the page I'll write a title of what I'm selling. This is not necessary, its something I've always done. I personally think it's a good way to start the description. Also anyone looking for your item may have possibly looked at hundreds of the same item, so it makes yours stand out a little from the rest. I then start on the meat of the item description. I always start the same way and say something like "this is a great widget that's in very good condition. There are some faults and these are..." This is where I list the faults of the item especially if the item is second hand. I always get the bad news out of the way first. However I do use a bit of salesmanship and will down play any faults writing things like "none of the marks and scratches affect the operation of the item." Or "the widget is missing a wigwam however these can be easily and cheaply picked up if the new owner wants to and the widget still works absolutely fine without it"
Before I ever come to list anything on eBay I always test & clean it fully. This helps the item look a lot better in the pictures. If I'm selling a video games console I go to the trouble of deleting any stored game information on the HDD or memory card.
I will then list all the good points but I also say how this will
benefit the buyer. If you just sell features of the item your
prospective bidder can say "so what?" So sell a feature and then back it
up with how this will benefit them. So if for example your selling a
printer, a feature would be the printer has it own email address. The
person looking at the printer can say "so what." But if you follow up,
with "this means you can print your pictures from anywhere in the world
and is ideal for sending pictures straight home to the family". It
sounds a lot better and that's a feature and a benefit. When I'm writing
my description I'll add as many of these as possible. You can write
these in a form of bullet points. I prefer not to and write them in long
hand. I finish with a summary of the description and another reason why
the prospective bidder should become the buyer. Right at the very end I
always finish with "Thanks for looking and good luck."
Things you should avoid when writing an item description.
I see a lot of people writing an item description like they are the auctioneer and start with something like "right then here we have for auction" Don't do it looks really corny. Another thing you should avoid writing is "you are bidding on" " NO! I'm not bidding, I'm just looking." Don't use all capitals for your item description it looks like your SHOUTING. Spell and grammar check your work. Minor mistakes will usually be over looked but you should try an avoid any.
Something that is very near and dear to my heart is Terms of sale
(TOS) that sellers put in item listings. I regularly see auctions with
terms and conditions so long and complicated that you would need a
degree from Oxford University to understand them. You do need to set out
a few of your expectations such as payment time, delivery surcharge
area’s & your return’s policy but that’s it. This is your
opportunity to tell prospective bidders that you’re a responsible seller
and a trustworthy person to deal with.
eBay & Paypal set their own rules for sellers and they're very simple.
1. The item must be received within 7 days of the seller receiving cleared funds.
2. If the item gets lost in transit it’s the seller’s fault. It’s then the seller’s responsibility to get the money from the courier and they must refund the buyer or send a replacement.
3. If the item gets damaged or doesn’t meet the buyers expectations then you the seller, has the right to ask for the buyer to send the item back at their cost, however you must state this in the auction. The buyer is entitled to a refund on its return including the original postage cost.
That’s about it, three fairly simple rules that eBay and Paypal use. However when I’m looking to buy anything on eBay I see T.O.S such as:-"If it gets lost, tough." Or "If it gets lost the buyer has to claim from the courier." Or " I package my items really well if its gets broken it’s the buyers responsibility." Or "I only post on a Monday so if your payment reaches me after this, you'll have to wait." These are examples of terms of sale that I have seen on people’s auctions. Nothing has a buyer hitting the back button faster than unfriendly, long-winded or unfair T.O.S. Using T.O.S that go against selling by distance laws is a waste of time anyway. Paypal have the power to reach into your account and refund the buyer, if they don’t receive the item they’ve purchased. Below is the T.O.S that I use in every auction I have on eBay.
PLEASE NOTE: - We insure all our
packages against loss or damage by our courier. We also take full
responsibility to get them to you safely and in a timely manner. All our
items can be tracked on line and we will inform you of any problems that
could affect the delivery date. If you would like to add a phone number
at checkout we'll inform you ASAP. To try and keep Postage &
Packaging charges as low as possible we do re-use packaging items (e.g.
boxes, jiffy bags etc). In the unlikely event you don't receive the item
we'll offer you an identical item, if this is not possible we'll give
you a full refund.
It’s short, to the point and I try to put he buyer’s mind at rest and within it’s The Selling By Distance Regulations.
When anyone walks into a store and makes a purchase, there is usually only two people involved, the buyer and the seller so very little ever goes wrong. On eBay however the people involved in the sale are:- Buyer, seller, courier, eBay & Paypal. This is at the very least. This means things will go wrong from time to time and unfortunately it’s the seller that has to foot the bill when they do.
When a buyer searches for any item they will be quite specific with what they want. So you have to think like a buyer. "What search term would I use to find the item I'm selling." If your lucky enough to get your item listed in a search you only then have a second or two to get them to look at your title, read it and get them to want to investigate further by clicking on your auction
You only get a few characters to give a name to your item that will catch the bidders attention and make them want to investigate further.
eBay is responsible for over 1 million auctions per day ending in the U.K alone and your one item is out there among it all.
Don't waste letters make sure you get the best possible exposure you can. You must make a perfect description of you item in only 90 characters spell check everything you can and then spell check it again.
There are lots of people out there that are more than happy to search for your item through websites like misspelled words and can save an absolute fortune. If it saves the buyer money its coming out of your pocket not eBay's they get paid whether it sells or not. Make sure you use as many of the 90 characters as you can but don't do stupid things like putting "L@@k" or "great bargain" nobody searches for either of these, so don't use them. It also really does put a lot of people off even clicking on your item.
We'll look at an example we'll use the example of my old favourite "a leather jacket" (it's still a sore point with my wife.) Have a look at this title "Girls Leather Jacket" its just doesn't say anything about the item whatsoever. The seller has given no thought to the title and the buyer will look at this and think "what a lazy seller, am I even going to get the jacket and how bad is it really going to be." Now look how the title could be improved with just a little thought. "Girls Next Black Waist Length Leather Jacket Size 12 To 14 Years Very Good Condition." That is a lot better title. It gives the seller a lot better chance that someone is going find their item, click on it to see the picture and read the description and more importantly make a bid.
The Item Description
This is the real meat content of any listing for an auction on eBay.
You really need to take your time here and make sure you get this bit
right!
There are thousands of different ways you can write your item description not one of them is right or wrong. I'm going to go through the way I write an item description. If you want to you can then use this as a starting point and then build you're own style of writing.
At the top of the page I'll write a title of what I'm selling. This is not necessary, its something I've always done. I personally think it's a good way to start the description. Also anyone looking for your item may have possibly looked at hundreds of the same item, so it makes yours stand out a little from the rest. I then start on the meat of the item description. I always start the same way and say something like "this is a great widget that's in very good condition. There are some faults and these are..." This is where I list the faults of the item especially if the item is second hand. I always get the bad news out of the way first. However I do use a bit of salesmanship and will down play any faults writing things like "none of the marks and scratches affect the operation of the item." Or "the widget is missing a wigwam however these can be easily and cheaply picked up if the new owner wants to and the widget still works absolutely fine without it"
Before I ever come to list anything on eBay I always test & clean it fully. This helps the item look a lot better in the pictures. If I'm selling a video games console I go to the trouble of deleting any stored game information on the HDD or memory card.
I will then list all the good points but I also say how this will
benefit the buyer. If you just sell features of the item your
prospective bidder can say "so what?" So sell a feature and then back it
up with how this will benefit them. So if for example your selling a
printer, a feature would be the printer has it own email address. The
person looking at the printer can say "so what." But if you follow up,
with "this means you can print your pictures from anywhere in the world
and is ideal for sending pictures straight home to the family". It
sounds a lot better and that's a feature and a benefit. When I'm writing
my description I'll add as many of these as possible. You can write
these in a form of bullet points. I prefer not to and write them in long
hand. I finish with a summary of the description and another reason why
the prospective bidder should become the buyer. Right at the very end I
always finish with "Thanks for looking and good luck."Things you should avoid when writing an item description.
I see a lot of people writing an item description like they are the auctioneer and start with something like "right then here we have for auction" Don't do it looks really corny. Another thing you should avoid writing is "you are bidding on" " NO! I'm not bidding, I'm just looking." Don't use all capitals for your item description it looks like your SHOUTING. Spell and grammar check your work. Minor mistakes will usually be over looked but you should try an avoid any.
Terms Of Sale.
Something that is very near and dear to my heart is Terms of sale
(TOS) that sellers put in item listings. I regularly see auctions with
terms and conditions so long and complicated that you would need a
degree from Oxford University to understand them. You do need to set out
a few of your expectations such as payment time, delivery surcharge
area’s & your return’s policy but that’s it. This is your
opportunity to tell prospective bidders that you’re a responsible seller
and a trustworthy person to deal with.eBay & Paypal set their own rules for sellers and they're very simple.
1. The item must be received within 7 days of the seller receiving cleared funds.
2. If the item gets lost in transit it’s the seller’s fault. It’s then the seller’s responsibility to get the money from the courier and they must refund the buyer or send a replacement.
3. If the item gets damaged or doesn’t meet the buyers expectations then you the seller, has the right to ask for the buyer to send the item back at their cost, however you must state this in the auction. The buyer is entitled to a refund on its return including the original postage cost.
That’s about it, three fairly simple rules that eBay and Paypal use. However when I’m looking to buy anything on eBay I see T.O.S such as:-"If it gets lost, tough." Or "If it gets lost the buyer has to claim from the courier." Or " I package my items really well if its gets broken it’s the buyers responsibility." Or "I only post on a Monday so if your payment reaches me after this, you'll have to wait." These are examples of terms of sale that I have seen on people’s auctions. Nothing has a buyer hitting the back button faster than unfriendly, long-winded or unfair T.O.S. Using T.O.S that go against selling by distance laws is a waste of time anyway. Paypal have the power to reach into your account and refund the buyer, if they don’t receive the item they’ve purchased. Below is the T.O.S that I use in every auction I have on eBay.
PLEASE NOTE: - We insure all our
packages against loss or damage by our courier. We also take full
responsibility to get them to you safely and in a timely manner. All our
items can be tracked on line and we will inform you of any problems that
could affect the delivery date. If you would like to add a phone number
at checkout we'll inform you ASAP. To try and keep Postage &
Packaging charges as low as possible we do re-use packaging items (e.g.
boxes, jiffy bags etc). In the unlikely event you don't receive the item
we'll offer you an identical item, if this is not possible we'll give
you a full refund.It’s short, to the point and I try to put he buyer’s mind at rest and within it’s The Selling By Distance Regulations.
When anyone walks into a store and makes a purchase, there is usually only two people involved, the buyer and the seller so very little ever goes wrong. On eBay however the people involved in the sale are:- Buyer, seller, courier, eBay & Paypal. This is at the very least. This means things will go wrong from time to time and unfortunately it’s the seller that has to foot the bill when they do.
Taking Good Pictures.
At the time of writing
this post, eBay U.K has just given sellers up to 12 photos on all their
listings totally free of charge. But as with everything else, as one
hand giveth so the other hand taketh away. Shortly eBay are going to
start applying the F.V.F to the postage charged by sellers. I personally
think this is a real cheap shot by eBay to grasp at a few straws for
the shareholders. As usual there is the sounds of revolution in the
forums, but as usual it will amount to nothing and sellers will just put
up with it and soldier on.
Until there is another equally strong selling platform on line, eBay
hold all the cards. eBid is up and coming, but its got a long way to go
and at the moment its just a shadow of eBay.
Right that's the bit of a rant out of the way. Moving onto how to take good photos. As I've said you now have up to twelve photos to put with your auction totally free of charge, so use as many as you need.
This is what I do. If my item has several parts, I'll take a group photo and use this as the gallery shot. I'll then take a close up picture of each individual part. I may even take more than one close up and capture all four sides. If you take lots of photo's especially using profiles, any prospective bidder gets to see every angle and this will help cut down on any problems when the winning bidder receives the item.
So to take a good photo. The photo is only going to be as good as the weakest link in the chain. Cell phone's now have some great quality cameras on them and are more than adequate to handle a picture for an eBay auction. You don't need a 14MP digital SLR. That said if you have one, use it. The pictures it takes will be so much better than a camera phone.
Choose a well-lit room. The best light to use is natural light. So
unless its totally unavoidable do not take your photo's at night using
artificial light, it gives them a soft orange appearance and never, ever
use the flash on the camera, your item will look really washed out. The
best type of area to use is one with a very plain background. Stay away
from areas with busy backgrounds, this takes focus from the item you’re
selling. Put a sheet or drape up if necessary. I personally use an old
red velvet curtain or an old white cot sheet. I also sit small items on a
box that's under the cover it produces a really nice picture especially
when selling jewellery. If your selling clothes put them on a dummy or
get someone to model and have stand in front of a plain background. Crop
their head off after you've settled on which photo to use. If at all
possible have the natural light coming from the side this often gives
great result.
Take a number of photos from different angles. When you’re happy with the photo's you’ve taken. Choose the ones your going to use for the auction and delete the rest. Crop and adjust the pictures to clear as much of the background as possible. This will make the item look as large as possible in the listing. Do not artificially adjust the image by copying and pasting over faults that are actually on the item. This will ultimately lead too not as described claims. Upload your photos and your all set.
OK,
so you've had a clear out of the garage and decided to sell the widget
you found at the back that no-one’s used in years. You've given the
widget a really good clean made sure its working. You've got the
category right. You've added a great title with some good keywords.
You've got the description nailed whether it be fully written or in
bullet points. Worked out a fair price and put the cost the cost of
posting the widget. The photos look first rate and the auction has run
for 7 days. Success you have a winning bidder and your item's sold for
more than you were expecting, Fantastic well done!
This is where you need to make sure it all goes really well. To start with immediate action and send an invoice to the buyer ASAP. Don't give them chance to get buyers remorse and cancel the sale. I use the invoice generated by eBay. You can if you want to write one yourself and save it as a template for future, it really doesn't matter just get it off soon as you can.
Give the buyer as many ways to pay as possible make it easy for them to pay you. I still receive cheques & postal orders in the post from senior citizens that still want to conduct business that way. Discourage sending cash through the post. It still amazes me how many people put a £20 in an envelope, stick a first class stamp on it, drop it in the mail box and expect everything to be fine. I guarantee if it goes missing it will be your fault, you stole it. Really discourage this
Once you've being paid and every thing's cleared. Get the widget packed and posted ASAP. The buyer should receive it within 7 working days of payment clearing. When you send the parcel ask for proof of delivery and have it traceable on line. This will protect you in the event of a scam and them saying they didn't receive it. That said everything at the post office costs money, so its more to get as signature on delivery. I've set myself a limit of £10.00. I'm willing to loose anything below this amount and won’t bother paying the extra. To date Royal Mail have lost only a handful of the thousands of parcels I've sent out. I can't remember a time when I got scammed down to postage. I lost more money to Paypal in the early days when they just sided with the buyer regardless of what happened.
Leaving feedback has always been a bit of a bone of contention on eBay forums with 50% saying sellers should leave it first when the buyer pays and 50 % saying buyers should leave it first when they receive the item and are happy with it. I'm firmly in the second camp. The buyer should leave feedback when they've received the item and they're happy with it. If they're not, the transaction hasn't completed and its up to the seller to put it right. Finally something I do, just send and email in few weeks to make sure everything is fine with the widget and the buyer is still happy.
Right that's the bit of a rant out of the way. Moving onto how to take good photos. As I've said you now have up to twelve photos to put with your auction totally free of charge, so use as many as you need.
This is what I do. If my item has several parts, I'll take a group photo and use this as the gallery shot. I'll then take a close up picture of each individual part. I may even take more than one close up and capture all four sides. If you take lots of photo's especially using profiles, any prospective bidder gets to see every angle and this will help cut down on any problems when the winning bidder receives the item.
So to take a good photo. The photo is only going to be as good as the weakest link in the chain. Cell phone's now have some great quality cameras on them and are more than adequate to handle a picture for an eBay auction. You don't need a 14MP digital SLR. That said if you have one, use it. The pictures it takes will be so much better than a camera phone.
Choose a well-lit room. The best light to use is natural light. So
unless its totally unavoidable do not take your photo's at night using
artificial light, it gives them a soft orange appearance and never, ever
use the flash on the camera, your item will look really washed out. The
best type of area to use is one with a very plain background. Stay away
from areas with busy backgrounds, this takes focus from the item you’re
selling. Put a sheet or drape up if necessary. I personally use an old
red velvet curtain or an old white cot sheet. I also sit small items on a
box that's under the cover it produces a really nice picture especially
when selling jewellery. If your selling clothes put them on a dummy or
get someone to model and have stand in front of a plain background. Crop
their head off after you've settled on which photo to use. If at all
possible have the natural light coming from the side this often gives
great result.Take a number of photos from different angles. When you’re happy with the photo's you’ve taken. Choose the ones your going to use for the auction and delete the rest. Crop and adjust the pictures to clear as much of the background as possible. This will make the item look as large as possible in the listing. Do not artificially adjust the image by copying and pasting over faults that are actually on the item. This will ultimately lead too not as described claims. Upload your photos and your all set.
Your Work Really Starts When The Auction Ends!
This is where you need to make sure it all goes really well. To start with immediate action and send an invoice to the buyer ASAP. Don't give them chance to get buyers remorse and cancel the sale. I use the invoice generated by eBay. You can if you want to write one yourself and save it as a template for future, it really doesn't matter just get it off soon as you can.
Give the buyer as many ways to pay as possible make it easy for them to pay you. I still receive cheques & postal orders in the post from senior citizens that still want to conduct business that way. Discourage sending cash through the post. It still amazes me how many people put a £20 in an envelope, stick a first class stamp on it, drop it in the mail box and expect everything to be fine. I guarantee if it goes missing it will be your fault, you stole it. Really discourage this
Once you've being paid and every thing's cleared. Get the widget packed and posted ASAP. The buyer should receive it within 7 working days of payment clearing. When you send the parcel ask for proof of delivery and have it traceable on line. This will protect you in the event of a scam and them saying they didn't receive it. That said everything at the post office costs money, so its more to get as signature on delivery. I've set myself a limit of £10.00. I'm willing to loose anything below this amount and won’t bother paying the extra. To date Royal Mail have lost only a handful of the thousands of parcels I've sent out. I can't remember a time when I got scammed down to postage. I lost more money to Paypal in the early days when they just sided with the buyer regardless of what happened.
Leaving feedback has always been a bit of a bone of contention on eBay forums with 50% saying sellers should leave it first when the buyer pays and 50 % saying buyers should leave it first when they receive the item and are happy with it. I'm firmly in the second camp. The buyer should leave feedback when they've received the item and they're happy with it. If they're not, the transaction hasn't completed and its up to the seller to put it right. Finally something I do, just send and email in few weeks to make sure everything is fine with the widget and the buyer is still happy.
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