Ten Ways to Create a More Effective Auction Listing


With the principles of good web page design now lodged in your head, let's get down to brass tacksand go through a short list of ways to improve your auction listings.

  1. Prioritize your information. It's always good to assume that potential bidders are in a hurry. Make it easy for people to graze your listing without having to read every single word. Put the most important information at the beginning, and the least important at the end. Don't make the bidder read through to the end of the listing before placing a bid. Grab their attention and convince them to bid now!

  2. Organize your content on the pagebreak it into sections. Organization is different from prioritization, although it has the same goalto make your listing easy to read. Not only should the most important information be the first thing on the page, it should also be the most dominant thing. Use various page design techniques to separate out different types of information and put them in different sections on the page. Make it easy for potential bidders to find the item overview, detailed description, and your terms of service.

  3. Present complete information, in a logical order. Your item description should say more than "Here's a green widget." It should fully describe what you're sellingwhich means including manufacturer information, model number, production year, size or dimensions, and a full list of features and benefits. Include all relevant information, and organize that information logically. When you're presenting a lot of details, consider using a bulleted list instead of long text paragraphs. Make the description flow, from start to finish.

  4. Use text formatting to emphasize important words or phrases. Not every part of your item listing is of equal importance. Don't hide the most important stuff; put key words and phrases in boldface or in a different color. Force the reader's eyes to focus on what's important.

  5. Identify important keywords and use them in your title and item description. Remember, most eBay users search for what they want to buy. Make sure you include the most likely search keywords in the formal listing title, as well as the title in your item descriptionand in the description itself. And don't forget alternate phrasing and spelling; not every buyer will search in the "correct" way.

  6. Include at least one product photoand put the most informative photo first. Item listings with photos sell much better than those without. Potential buyers need visual reinforcement in order to bid with confidence; since they can't see the item in person, your photos have to substitute for the "in-person" experience. Make sure your photos are well-focused, properly framed and cropped, and present the subject in appropriate detail. If the buyer needs to see more than the front of the item, use multiple photosbut always lead with the most informative photo.

  7. Include a detailed terms of serviceafter your product description. It's important to include the fine print of how you conduct businesswhat methods of payment you accept, which shipping services you use, your shipping/handling charges, whether you offer a returns policy, and so on. But don't place undue emphasis on this section; place it at the bottom of your listing, after the main description. Remember, your TOS doesn't entice people to buy; it's necessary, but not the most important part of your listing.

  8. Use proper page design to enhance the eye-appeal of your listing. There's nothing wrong with a plain-text listingassuming you include photos, of course. But there's also nothing wrong with including a little eye candy, in the form of background color or graphics, a variety of fonts, and an attractive page organization. This is where it pays to know a little HTMLor to use an attractive listing template.

  9. Cross-promote other items you have for sale. If you're an active seller, there's not reason not to promote your other auctions (or eBay Store) in all your auction listings. Yeah, eBay includes that little "View my other auctions" link, but some pretty pictures of your other auction items will do a much better job of cross-selling.

  10. Spell check your listings. Successful online selling is all about establishing buyer confidence. When your auction listing includes gross misspellings, that confidence is eroded. Do yourself a favor; use a spell checker before you list!




eBay Auction Templates Starter Kit
eBay Auction Templates Starter Kit
ISBN: 0789735636
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2007
Pages: 101

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