I like dough. Not just plain bread dough but also sweet dough for cinnamon rolls or sugar cookies. I love kneading dough, rolling it and getting it ready to make delicious treats, especially during this time of year. But I like rolling in a different kind of dough a little better.

You know the kind I’m talking about: the kind that helps me add new inventory, access tools to make my eBay listings stand out, and buy the shipping and packing supplies I need to keep my shoppers coming back.

So what can help me, you and other eBay sellers bring in that kind of dough this holiday season? Good inventory and a few Auctiva tools to help you attract buyers, stay organized and create listings quickly.

Festive listing templates: Auctiva has more than 1,800 listing templates and tons of holiday-themed ones to catch shoppers’ eyes as they’re looking for the right gift this holiday season. Templates help you “snazz” up your listings by not only giving them a professional look, they also help break up your listing’s information into easy-to-read segments so buyers find all the information they need quickly. Templates also reassure buyers that you’re a serious seller since you’ve put in some extra effort to make your listings stand out.

Did someone say schedule? Another great Auctiva tools is our scheduling feature, which helps you stay organize—and ahead of the game. With it, you can create eBay listings in advance, save them in your Auctiva account, and launch listings on the day and time of your choice. This means you can knock out tons of listings this week in advance for the busy Cyber Monday, which is quickly approaching, and launch them just in time for that day. What’s nice is that if you have any of Auctiva’s paid plans, including the $2.95/month Basic plan, you can use this feature as many times as you want for no added charge.

Images, images, images: Quality photos are always important. They can help buyers see every detail of your items, and, as you know, buyers want to know exactly what they’re buying, especially during this time of year. Luckily with Auctiva, you can post up to 24 super-sized images at no extra charge to show shoppers your products in their truest nature. Just be sure to still provide quality photos that are sharp and uncluttered to really entice shoppers to buy from you.

Listing profiles and creating similar listings: Auctiva’s Listing Profiles make creating new listings a snap! With them, you can easily add the information you use most often like your payment and shipping information with just a few clicks. You can also create similar listings from your saved Auctiva listings. This is very helpful if you sell a lot of the same types of products, like books and DVD. That’s because by clicking the “Create Similar” link in the Listings tab of your Auctiva account, you create a duplicate listing of one you already have, then you can make a few changes, like the listing title, price or etc., to list the new item.

Integrated shipping: You can also ship quickly by using Auctiva’s new integrated shipping feature, which allows you to print postage right from your Auctiva Sales page, upload the tracking information automatically into eBay and give buyers the fastest service possible. You can even purchase Auctiva Shipping Insurance when you print your labels to protect your shipments.

These are just a few of the ways Auctiva tries to make your selling faster and easier. You can use these features year round, but during this week, you might find them especially helpful as you prepare for the selling season. Here’s to wishing you a very busy selling season—filled with lots of dough!

Video is not only a fun way to capture memories with family and friends. It can also set your eBay listings and online items apart from the competition. If pictures speak a thousand words then, perhaps, video speaks a million. And as technology advances, being able to shoot and create a video has never been easier.

Whether you’ve got a nice new digital video camera, a digital camera with a video option, or just a phone that captures video, this short guide will help you put video to good use. Let’s look at some important video fundamentals that will make your films something your customers and potential buyers will enjoy.

Use a tripod: These come in several varieties and prices, ranging from $20 to $30 all the way up to $400 to $1,000. Even if you get a small tabletop tripod for your smart phone, having a steady camera will make a big difference in the quality of your video. You’ve probably seen handheld takes that bounce around and have the potential to give the viewer motion sickness. Steadying your camera on a tripod will help you avoid this mistake, commonly made by amateur videographers.

Get the right lighting: Lighting can be anything from sunlight to room lighting, to a simple desk or clip lamp. The thing to consider in regard to lighting is not the light source, but actually the shadows the light creates. Avoid outside lighting whenever possible as this is harsh, and stark light can wash out your subject and produce a lot of glare. But if you do shoot outdoors, make sure your subject is facing the sun. If the sun is behind your subject, their face will be covered in shadows, and poorly lit. The same concept applies inside. Light should be pointed at the subject, so shadows and darkness don’t cover the subject.

Control sound: Sound quality can boost a “decent” video to “good,” or even “great.” The quality and clarity of sound is just as important as what you’re seeing on the screen. If possible, get an external microphone for your camera. Even if the camera comes with a microphone attached, you can inexpensively add another to make dialogue or narration easier to hear. Another main consideration for sound is the environment you’re shooting in. If you’re indoors, eliminate all the background noise you can, be it a television, stereo, or people. The same principle applies outside. Avoid busy streets or crowded areas, where recording background or white noise is unavoidable.

Be concise: Try to make your video as short as possible, while covering everything you want to include. Be direct and clear. Organize your thoughts before you start filming. The shorter you can make your video, the more likely viewers are to sit through your entire film.

Close is better: When planning or executing the filming, remember that closer is better, as a general rule. Having a subject’s whole body in the shot is rarely the right approach. Come in close for either a waist-to-head shot or, better yet, just capture from the middle of the chest on up. Think of news broadcasts you watch. It would be much less engaging if the camera was farther back from the reporter. But don’t use zoom feature. Instead, bring the camera physically closer to the subject.

Now, when it comes to editing, this has gotten much easier and accessible. All newer Mac systems come with iMovie, which is ample for your editing needs. If you’re a PC user, no problem! If your Windows system didn’t come with Windows Movie Maker, you can download it free from Microsoft.

Publish it: Once your video is done, it’s time to share it. I recommend YouTube. After you upload a video to YouTube, you can either share links to your video, or embed it directly into your eBay or other e-commerce listings. On YouTube, click “Share,” then click the “Embed” button below the link that pops up. This will generate a string of html code that you can insert in your listings.

If you’re already making videos or thinking about it for your first time, check out Auctiva’s video contest, which runs through Sept. 30. With it, we’re inviting you to create your own Auctiva commercial for a chance to win free listing service, free shipping insurance and much more. See the contest details.

My selling challenge is finally over! It wasn’t much of a challenge, though. If this had been a boxing match, spectators would’ve throw objects and booed. I had challenged myself to sell at least 50 items from the inventory I have (literally) lying around and below my desk during the month of July. I was up to 16 when I last posted about this challenge.

The final tally for July was… 22.

Yep, I stunk it up real good.

Why? As I noted in previous blog posts, I’ve been too busy to list. I feel cheated, too, because I had lots of great merchandise that would have been perfect for the back-to-school season. Maybe it’s not too late for those, but I have to hurry. My daughter starts junior high in a few days, so I’m sure schools across the country are also getting back into sessions, or are about to. They grow up so fast!

So what did I sell? Remember those “secret weapon” beads I listed? I sold about 15 of those. I also got rid of a few Jelly Belly hanging air fresheners. (Now my cubicle doesn’t smell like cherries anymore). I also sold some Sarah Jessica Parker body splash and a couple pairs of ear buds.

I tried to spend a few minutes here and there searching for inspiration. I know there are tons of eBay sellers who work full time, have a house and family to tend to, and still find the time and motivation to list on eBay. Heck, just being a parent is a full-time job by itself!

There’s one blog I try to read at least once a week for tips and tricks. It’s called YardSaleMommy. If you’ve never checked it out, I recommend popping over and reading about this mom’s selling triumphs and secrets to keeping everything balanced in life.

My favorite post, so far, is Once-a-Month eBay Mommy. In it, the author reminds us that it can take just one good week a month, or a few naptimes, to get all your items ready to go online. During this downtime you can take pictures, write descriptions and get your items ready to list, she notes. That gives me hope that I can squeeze in listing between other tasks.

At this point, I am desperate and ready to try a new strategy. And this one looks quite promising! What strategies do you enlist to keep you motivated and work listing into your day? Let us know below.

Editor’s note: This guest blog comes from Donna Tonelli, the second-place winner of Auctiva’s Best Shot photo contest for the month of May. In it, she shares some of the photo techniques she uses to capture great eBay images.

I’ve been listing on eBay since before the company went public. It started one night when I was playing with my first new home scanner, and copied pages of an old Wedgwood store folder for everyday pottery that had been sitting on a cabinet for years. (I didn’t have a digital camera).

I listed it for $4.99 and sold it for more than $100. I was hooked on eBaying! Since then I have figured out a few listing tricks, by trial and error. One thing I learned quickly was that good photos make a big difference. Below are a few approaches I’ve use to get professional-looking images.

Tip 1: Use Adobe Photo Deluxe Home Edition 4. This program has been discontinued, but you can still find it on eBay. Unfortunately, it is not compatible with Windows 7. (I use XP). The program allows you to edit photos quickly. Auto fix (Crtl-3) adjusts the image’s color automatically. Crtl-F allows you to click on a solid color and delete it. This makes it easy to group images into one photo using the advanced tools. To do this, click on “View,” select “Layers” and merge. You can also sharpen your images with this program to give buyers detailed images of your items. I hope I never have to stop using it!

Tip 2: Use a light reflector box. I recently ordered a professional light reflector box, but for years I used one I made myself. To build your own, join three pieces of plexiglass to from a U-shape. Cover the plexiglass with privacy film used for windows. (Hardware stores like Menard’s and the Home Depot carry this). I place this on my “shooting” table along with four simple $20 desk lamps, the kind with flexible necks so you can move the light. I point two of the lamps toward the top of the box, and one through each side. This makes it so you don’t need to use flash, reducing the glare, shadows and hot spots in your photo. (As a side note, when you’re ready to take your photos, be sure to use the close-up setting on your camera).

Tip 3: Use solid backdrops. To create these, I used to buy a roll of photography backdrop paper, which helped create a smooth, solid color background that I could delete easily. I would cut off a piece of the paper and tape it onto the wall and roll it over the table top. When the paper got dirty I just replaced it. Not long ago I ran out of photography paper and needed to take some photos that day. I pulled out the green backdrop cloth that came with the program I use to edit home videos. This works even better as a backdrop, and I can wash the cloth when it gets dirty. Best of all, I usually don’t have to adjust my photos at all.

Check out our latest Tips and Tricks video below! Our own Rebecca Miller explains how to zero in on words buyers use when they shop, and craft a listing title that will turn lookers into buyers.

Do you have to be a professional photographer to get professional-looking shots of your eBay items? No, and many of eBay’s best sellers can attest to that. I’ve never taken a course in photography, and I get good shots with my fairly inexpensive point-and-shoot Nikon camera.

How do you get those great shots that show off your items without forking out hundreds of dollars on professional equipment? I’m far from an expert, but I know what’s worked for me for more than 12 years and 4,000 transactions on eBay. Here are a few pointers:

Get the right lighting. You don’t need special filters, diffusers, meters, etc. to get good lighting for your photos. If you are a professional and have your own photography studio, then you likely have that equipment lying around, so you might as well use it. Us average Joes can rely on what we have handy, for instance, the sun.

You can use it as a light source, and it’s free! Take your items outside into the natural lighting and you’ll notice the difference. Experiment with the lighting. Try setting a plain backdrop on a covered patio or take your photo in the shade of a tree. Take a few shots and see what works best to minimize the glare or shade. Even if you decide to stay indoors to take your photos, open the curtains to let the light in. It’ll help immensely.

Make a lightbox! Light boxes are easy to make and provide a “sterile” backdrop for your smaller items. They provide excellent lighting to take clear shots that really show off your item, and they take away distractions. We recently made a video for our YouTube channel that explains how to make a simple, inexpensive lightbox, step by step.

Use a simple backdrop. I’ve seen some pretty scary backgrounds in some listings, and they definitely didn’t make me want to buy. If your item is too large to shoot in a lightbox, which has a clean, white background, invest in a couple pieces of white or black poster board or a sheet to use as your backdrop. No one wants to see your dust-covered bookshelf or loud, peeling wallpaper in the photo. They’ll be distractions for the buyer and could turn them off your item.

Avoid being too creative with angles. In some situations, one or two fancy angles might be fine. It may seem like a fun and interesting way to show off your product, but put yourself in the buyer’s position: Do you really want to tilt your head sideways to know what you’re looking at? We don’t think so, so keep it simple. If not for the sake of professionalism, do it for those buyers who have neck problems.

Get a photo editing program. Most everyone has access to these, whether it’s a program that came preinstalled on your computer, something you downloaded, or software that came with your digital camera. I use Google’s Picasa more than any other, and I find that it does all the basic editing I need. It’s also free! And if your photo came out a little crooked, you can easily fix that in Picasa. If you got too much background in a shot, crop it. Too dark? Adjust the lighting.

Invest in a tripod. You don’t have to spend a lot on a tripod, just buy a small, table-top model that you can use with your camera. I’ve seen some on dealnews.com for less than $5. If you are a bit shaky and your camera doesn’t have a stabilizer, you might want to invest in one of these gadgets.

Finally, take all your photos at once. Pick a day each week, every other week or every month, etc., and take all your photos at one time. Then upload them, edit them and upload to your Auctiva account. Done. It’s not fun to have to set up your backdrop or lightbox multiple times, so if you get everything shot in one day, you’re all done and you won’t have to do it again the next day.

Try these tips, and when you’re ready, enter our Auctiva’s Best Shot contest. You could win like zodiac_woman did for her travel bag listing and obsessedwithvintage did for the photos of these vintage leather shoes. Congratulations to them both.

The Auctiva Lister iPhone app has been in the App Store for a few months now, and users have given us some great feedback. The app allows users to create listings on their mobile devices, complete with descriptions and images, and send them to their Auctiva accounts to launch later.

While folks liked being able to work on the go, that first version of the app suffers from a few design flaws and a look that’s not entirely clean. We worked with third parties to develop the app, but that taught us a valuable lesson: If you want something done right, sometimes you just have to do it yourself! So we put together a new mobile team and got to work updating the Auctiva Lister app.

The major improvement, besides the new, clean look, is improved image uploads. With the original version you could only select one image at a time to add to your listing, and the app would resize the photo to 300 x 200 pixels before uploading it to Auctiva.com. This didn’t give buyers on eBay a very clear view of the item. So we’ve made it so you can select up to nine images at a time and upload them to your account at full size.

Overall, we believe the new app design is much easier to navigate and more intuitive. It just feels more like an iPhone app.

We’re waiting for Apple to approve our updated app in the coming weeks so it can be available for download in the App Store. Once that happens, our new mobile team will get to work on our next app! We are still in the early design stages, but some great ideas have been thrown around. For instance we discussed an app that would allow you to get notifications on your phone when you get an order or a message from a buyer, an app that allows you to mark items as shipped, and one that scans the barcodes of items such as books and CDs with your phone to create listings.

As always, we are open to suggestions, so let us know below if you have some, and be on the lookout for our updated app!

Ever since I started working here at Auctiva, I’ve had to create numerous eBay selling accounts for testing purposes. Recently, I used one of these accounts to try out a project we’ve been working on very hard, and created several listings in the test category on eBay.

As soon as those listings ended, I began receiving a rash of cheerleading e-mails, encouraging me to “try and sell my goods again on eBay!” Even though my listings were just for testing purposes, I almost wanted to relist them, because the e-mails were so positive and supportive. The e-mail also included a link to eBay’s “top 10 tips” for success. Curiosity got the best of me, so I clicked on the link to see what (in eBay’s eyes) would make me a successful seller.

I was hoping to see some new, innovative ideas on the list, but alas, I saw the basic tips most sellers already know. Of course, I’m far from being a newbie, so many of those tips might be useful for someone just starting out. My favorite tip on the list was “include photos.” Something tells me people know this one, so I decided to come up with a few other tips for newbies:

• Keep your blocked buyer list updated! I have a document about 13 pages long of blocked buyers, and I recommend you pay heed and add any IDs you’ve heard about causing issues to your own blocked buyer list. You can often find mention of these bad buyers on seller forums, or by doing a Google search for “bad eBay buyers.” It’ll save you a lot of hassle down the road.

• Use insurance. If you sell something you can’t afford to self-insure when you ship, buy shipping insurance. It doesn’t matter who it’s through; the USPS, Auctiva Shipping Insurance, etc. If you have insurance, you’ll be more likely to get your money back if a buyer claims they didn’t receive their order or that it arrived broken.

• Be assertive. Unfortunately, some  buyers assume that because you’re new, you don’t know the ropes and they can manipulate a situation, and take advantage, so hold your ground. And if a manipulative buyer doesn’t leave you alone, add them to your BBL.

• Be aware that buyers do leave neutral and negative feedback—sometimes without reason. No matter how well you handle a transaction, don’t be surprised if buyers leave you a negative or neutral feedback, and/or ding your DSRs. It can happen whether you’re a new or a seasoned seller.

• Never leave feedback for a buyer as soon as they pay. Doing this opens the door for the buyer to use that as leverage against you. If the buyer turns out to be a scammer, would you feel right for giving them a positive feedback? Until the day eBay allows sellers to leave buyers neutral or negative feedback, I’m sticking to that policy. I’d feel better leaving no feedback and receiving no feedback in return than to mislead other sellers by immediately posting positive feedback for a buyer who doesn’t deserve it. Even if the buyer does leave me a neutral or negative, at least I’d have the option to not leave any for them.

• Lastly, diversify. There are other avenues to sell on. Few offer the amount of traffic eBay does, but sometimes it’s worth the extra time and effort making a sale that you can be proud of. We have many sellers successfully using our Auctiva Commerce storefronts, but it took them a lot of hard work to make it happen. Use your eBay sales to drive traffic to your other selling sites by inserting a flyer into your packages with your selling IDs for other sites, or your own e-commerce store address. Offer them a discount if they shop your other sites. What will it hurt? Actually, it’s free advertising!

Auctiva’s eBay template count just surpassed 1,800! We used to be at 1,700+—I’m sure you saw that number several places on our site—but we’ve been busy creating and adding more than 35 new listing designs, and now we’re at 1,800+!

If you haven’t been to our Template Library recently, you need to check in and browse our latest additions. You won’t be at a loss for choices!

Templates featuring vector illustrations, photography, fun and lively patterns, spring colors, holiday themes and mobile-optimized designs are all waiting for your listings. Also included in this new batch are template designs inspired by our customers’ suggestions, including Sassy Beads, Rustic, Pink Flower, Zebra, Color Burst, Bold Spring, Verdure and the Fine Line series—all created due to popular demand.

We’re not stopping here, though. We’re already working on an even larger selection of templates, so you can find the perfect one for your listings.

My favorite new templates are Fresh, Frothy, Pink Flower and Coastal. These designs were the first time I used photos as soft backdrops. Styles change over the years and Auctiva’s designers want to keep current. These new templates are reflective of current tastes, and trends.  We now have a larger selection of templates without images, which are an ideal file size for mobile applications.

And suggestions for new templates are always welcome! The key is to suggest a design that doesn’t contain a brand name or other elements that might infringe on copyright laws. For instance, I can design a mermaid template, but I can’t design a Disney “The Little Mermaid” template. Or I could make a motorcycle template, but it can’t contain a Harley-Davidson logo.

The more general the template suggestion, the better. In fact, a suggestion for a basic beach theme would more likely be chosen than a too-specific suggestion, such as Maui sunset with a palm tree in the upper left and beach umbrella in the bottom corner with shells on the tags.

If you have a suggestions click here, or leave us a comment below.

It’s a brand new year, and if you want to jump-start 2011 by revamping your listings, we have all the tools to help you do that! Our new templates are live and ready for your use. Check them out and let us know if you have any suggestions. Happy listing!

Could you precisely describe an item you have for sale without using at least one image? Try it right now. Take an item you want to sell and attempt to accurately point out its purpose, color, size, shape, design, flaws, etc., in such a way that buyers would know exactly what you’re selling with just your words. It’s harder than it sounds, right?

The fact is photos are very important in your eBay listings! So we’re encouraging our customers to challenge themselves to take even better shots for their eBay listings and enter them into our Auctiva’s Best Shot contest for a chance to win gift cards to the stores of their choice!

Read more about the contest on Auctiva EDU.

Why are images so important? Because buyers don’t want any surprises when they open the package you send them. While images can’t replace the written item description, they are invaluable—especially when you sell collectibles, antiques and used products. It’s much easier to show a close-up of a tiny scratch on an item, rather than try to describe the imperfection’s exact position and size in such a way that buyers can virtually see it in their minds.

This might mean taking a few photos of the product. After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, aren’t eight photos worth 8,000 words? Well, the logic is the same. The more images you provide of the item you’re selling online, the better idea potential buyers will have of exactly what you’re selling and its condition.

There are exceptions to the rule of “more is better.” For instance, some new items—that don’t contain any damage—would do fine with just one image, although this image should be sharp and uncluttered so it can show off the item in all its glory. But for most products, two photos are better than one. Buyers need to feel as if they are holding the product in their hands and can see every detail.

But the quality of your photos is just as important as the quantity. Last week I was doing some market research on eBay, and was shocked by how many sellers relied on just one out-of-focus image to sway shoppers to buy their products. Some items needed at least three quality photos to show their full details.

Maybe those sellers didn’t own an actual camera and were using their cell phone cameras with limited-functionality. Who knows for sure, but if I was really in the market for what these sellers were offering, I would’ve hit the back button and gone elsewhere.

Luckily, it doesn’t take a degree in photography to take a few professional-looking images. We have tons of EDU stories, chock-full of tips from experts. Check them out. And review your images, and see if they stack up. If they don’t, take this time to revise, and then enter your new, prize-worthy shots into our Auctiva’s Best Shot photo contest. Good luck!