How to get Your Listings Seen on Ebay

It’s true that Ebay is an enormous virtual marketplace with millions of vendors all over the world. With that kind of competition, it’s vitally important to go above and beyond the competition to get buyers to notice your listings. Luckily, the steps you should take, though critical, are few in number. Anyone can implement these tips to draw more eyes to their Ebay auctions.

First, think like a buyer. Would you want to buy merchandise sight unseen, or would you prefer auctions with pictures? Do rushed or incomplete descriptions put you off? What if you saw a listing from a seller with several negative feedback comments stating that the merchandise was shipped late, or wasn’t as described? Chances are you wouldn’t want to buy from such a seller. Neither will buyers feel comfortable buying from you if these things are true of your listings and reputation.

So, to get Ebay shoppers to click on your auctions, always include clear photos of the item. Be sure to photograph any damaged spots as well. Use Ebay’s inexpensive photo hosting service, and always upload your pictures as 400 by 300 pixel jpegs of high quality. Ebay will resize the photographs to those dimensions anyway; if you create the pictures at that size, you will lose minimal detail after uploading.

Listings should be easy to read. Very disorganized listings can be distracting, and some buyers won’t want to spend time trying to decipher them when there are so many other, more user-friendly listings available. To keep buyers reading, use a template or HTML to make the item description easier on the eyes. You don’t need a lot of fancy code to make your item description clean and readable. Ebay offers an inexpensive listing designer that you can use if you’re not comfortable writing your own HTML tags.

While you’re evaluating the layout of your item description, also make sure that your listing isn’t filled with typos. If it’s hard to read, buyers will go elsewhere. Another thing to watch out for is the length of your item description. Buyers like to know details. If your listing has one short paragraph passing for an item description, you probably haven’t given them all the details they want. Go back and share more information about the item. If the product is damaged in some way, in addition to documenting the damage with a picture, you should also describe it in the text of your listing.

Offer a variety of payment options, including PayPal. Buyers will frequently skip auctions that require a check or money order as payment. PayPal allows buyers to use their PayPal account, bank account, or credit card to make a purchase. Most Ebay auctions offer Paypal, so yours should, too.

On Ebay, sellers have to compete against many other sellers hawking the same wares. If one seller has well-organized information and a good photograph of their item, they will draw the most views and bids. Don’t run buyers off with a hard-to-read listing. Employ these simple tips instead to make sure your auction gets seen on Ebay.