What Every New Seller Should Know

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Whether you use Auctiva for launching your listings to eBay, or list directly on eBay, there are a few things every new seller should know to build a successful venture.

One of my job duties here at Auctiva is to make sure new employees go through the entire process of listing on eBay using Auctiva’s tools. Even if they have sold on eBay before, it’s imperative they learn about our listing services and understand how all our tools work with eBay.

I’ve been selling on eBay for about 11 years, and there are many things I automatically do when I list and didn’t realize new sellers might overlook. I guess it’s just become second nature to me, and I assumed even new sellers would automatically do these things.

Of course, when I first started out, it was a lot easier to sell on eBay. There were fewer rules and regulations. Nowadays, including one word in your ad could get your listing pulled for some violation or another. Sellers need to be clear about what they are selling, how fast they will ship, what their refund policy is (if they have one), etc.

Here are a few crucial points I’ve noticed many new sellers leave out, or go totally overboard with:

Make sure you’re using the title space wisely! There’s very little real estate to play with, and you need to make the most of it. Don’t use the same word twice. Do use keywords relevant to your item, and do use that 55-character space to grab buyers’ attention.

Describe your item thoroughly. This doesn’t mean you have to write a novel, folks, but if you leave out a vital detail, it could come back to haunt you. Buyers want to know exactly what they’re buying.

Don’t fill your listing description with various font sizes and colors. Writing in all caps makes buyers think you’re yelling at them. The same goes for colors. It’s OK to highlight a short sentence or word, but if you have one color for each paragraph then type one sentence IN ALL CAPS IN RED, you’re just asking for a potential buyer to hit the back button.

Don’t forget to include good photos—and lots of them! Some items may be OK with just a few, but for many categories, it’s vital to have a lot of photos showing every angle, detail, flaw, etc. An important note about the layout of those photos: If you have several to include, use a slideshow or thumbnails. Or at the very least, pair up the photos—otherwise, potential buyers will have to scroll a lot just to get to your description.

Auctiva offers several formatting options that allow you to choose how the photos will be displayed in the listing description, so why not use them? You should also take advantage of Auctiva’s Super-sized image to show close-up shots of your products and give buyers the best view possible.

Keep your “fine print” short and sweet. State your basic policies clearly, in an easy-to-read manner. I’ve read some “fine print” that resembled a five-page threatening letter from an attorney (not that I’ve ever received one of those—knock on wood)! It’s OK to tell buyers what they can expect from you, and what you expect from them, just do it nicely. Buyers don’t want to feel like there’s going be a knock on their door at 3 a.m. if they don’t pay immediately or leave you feedback within five hours of receiving the package.

Finally, create listing profiles so you can post listings in minutes. These handy tools contain the information you use most, like your accepted payments, shipping preferences and autorelist details. You can even create a Master Profile that contains all of this information.

Bottom line: You want your listing to look professional and inviting. The easier it is for a potential buyer to see your images, description and terms of sale, the better chance you have of making a sale.