Professional eBay Auctions Reap the Profits for Sellers

eBay offer an unbelievable amount of traffic for ANYONE wanting to sell on their auction site, so much so that millions of items are listed on it everyday. So with all this competition how do you make sure that your listing doesn't get lost amongst the rest and that customers keep coming back to you.

The answer is simple.... Professional Listings!

This covers all aspects of the transaction from the listing itself, how the customer is interacted with to how the item is packed and shipped. If you ignore any stage of the process then you are going to force your customers to go elsewhere. Your are offering a service to the customer, if they get bad service then they will go elsewhere and remember there are millions of items for sale on eBay so the customer doesn't even have to try hard to go elsewhere.

Remember, Professional Listings will give you the edge over the rest and also the highest selling price and profit.

Split your auction process into the following stages and follow the below guidelines:

The listing itself has to be:

Correctly written, You have to grab the attention of the reader and hold it and a poorly written listing will do nothing but FORCE the customer onto the next listing available. Use your knowledge of the item and use the key words and phrases that will 'push the buttons' of the customer, if you were buying the item what would sell it to you? Look at other sellers listings and determine selling strengths and listing opportunities and develop on them, these are the people you want to stand out from after all. Above all use proper English (or your native language), do not use text speak and shortened 'phrases' and also capitalise properly as a listing completely in capitals is an instant invite to close the listing down.

Correctly formatted, eBay provide the following auction sections as standard, use them correctly and effectively to maximise your listing potential and 'kerb appeal'.

Remember first impressions count!

Auction Title

This is the FIRST thing that your customers will see. Make it short, sharp, to the point and most of all DO NOT include silly characters and smiley faces in it as all that does is make you think that the auction seller is 'just a kid'...NOT A VERY PROFESSIONAL IMAGE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS TO HAVE.

The default search on eBay only scans the title so you need all your keywords in there, so don't waste the space on rubbish.

Auction Description

This is your opportunity to fully describe the item and as such needs to be as complete as is possible, the more information the customer has the more they know what they are buying and the more likely they are to form a professional image of you as a seller. i.e.. this seller gives a true indication of the item and doesn't try to hide anything. Always include the strengths and weaknesses (faults) of the item as these are both SELLING POINTS. Strengths are obvious but weaknesses as a selling point, surely not! The more accurate the description the more the customer can trust you and will develop a professional image of you and more importantly keep coming back to your eBay auctions.

Think about what you are writing, does it fully describe what you are trying to? Words like 'great condition' and 'like new' are not good enough because different people interpret these in different ways so be specific and add extra detail to ensure that there are no crossed wires.

This information has to be correctly presented to the customer, the majority of eBay listings as simply just typed out in the editor ebay provides, which is perfectly acceptable but your listing will just appear in boring black and white. Remember the idea is to make your listing stand out and look professional and the simplest way to do this is to use HTML to format, add tables and images in order to liven up the listing, this is very simple to achieve and I offer some FREE to use templates here. Using templates will also help to develop a business identity for your auctions so that the customer can instantly recognise you

Within your listing also take the opportunity to cross promote your other auctions, it is free publicity which will encourage the customer to take a look and will generate greater sales opportunities from singular listings. Its as simple as adding a link to your other auctions on the listing page itself.

Include Pictures

Simply remember :

A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS

All professional web sites use images and so should you, for a review of the importance of pictures go to the eBay picture guide.

Always give payment and shipping details

Would you buy something without knowing the full cost ?

No, neither will your customers. A truly professional listing will always detail shipping charges up front. Again use the principle of the more information you give the better.

Mike - webmaster at Online Auction Traders Resource

Visit ebay templates to use for FREE to develop your online business.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

President-elect Barack Obama is welcomed by President George W. Bush for a meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, with former presidents, from left, George H.W. Bush, Bill  Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP - President-elect Barack Obama hailed a rare Oval Office gathering of all U.S. presidents as an extraordinary event on Wednesday as the current occupant, President George W. Bush, reminded his predecessors and successor that the office "transcends the individual."



President-elect Barack Obama names Nancy Killefer, left, to the newly created position of chief performance officer, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, at his transition office  Washington. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that reforming massive government entitlement programs — such as Social Security and Medicare — would be "a central part" of his effort to control federal spending.



Illinois U.S. Senate Appointee Roland Burris smiles as he meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)AP - Changing course, Senate Democrats emerged from a meeting with Senate appointee Roland Burris on Wednesday and set forth the legal steps under which they're willing to welcome him into the Senate in President-elect Barack Obama's vacated spot.



Bundles of one dollar bills at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC. The provisional US budget deficit in 2008/2009 will balloon to a record 1.2 trillion dollars, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.(AFP/File/Shawn Thew)AP - The federal budget deficit will hit an unprecedented $1.2 trillion for the 2009 budget year, according to grim new Congressional Budget Office figures.



A Palestinian injured in an Israeli army operation reacts as he is treated at Kamal Adwan Hospital, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Israel tentatively welcomed a proposal Wednesday from Egypt and France for a Gaza cease-fire and briefly halted its offensive to allow aid to reach civilians, but also gave the military a green light to press ahead with its assault on Hamas. (AP Photo/Fadi Adwan)AP - Israel tentatively welcomed a proposal Wednesday for a Gaza cease-fire and briefly halted its offensive to allow aid to reach Palestinian civilians, but also instructed the military to press ahead with its assault on Hamas.



AP - Heavy rain across the South on Wednesday caused flooding, school and road closures and a landslide that destroyed a home in North Carolina.

AP - Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen pregnancy rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title, according to a new federal report released Wednesday.

In this Oct. 15, 2008 file photo, rapper Jay-Z performs at the grand reopening of the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)AP - Jay-Z isn't performing at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, but he is planning to make a big splash on the eve of the event.



In a  photo provided by the 'Tiergarten Nuremberg' zoo in Nuremberg, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009 'Flocke', the young female polar bear left, seen with a young, nameless male polar bear from Russia. Nuremberg's celebrity polar bear cub, Flocke, has a new friend: a Russian bear. The city's zoo says it introduced the male polar bear Wednesday to 1-year-old Flocke, who was raised by zookeepers after her mother rejected her. (AP Photo/Tiergarten Nuremberg) * EDITORIAL USE ONLY * NO SALES *AP - Nuremberg's celebrity polar bear cub, Flocke, has a new friend: a Russian bear.



Florida head coach Urban Meyer speaks during a press conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. Oklahoma will play Florida for the NCAA BCS football championship Thursday, Jan. 8. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)AP - Florida coach Urban Meyer believes Utah, Texas and Southern California should fight for their teams to be recognized as national champions.



Smoke rises in the northern Gaza Strip January 6, 2009. (Nikola Solic/Reuters)Reuters - Hundreds of embattled Palestinians ventured outside to shop for food on Wednesday during a three-hour Gaza truce, a first step toward an Egyptian-proposed ceasefire under discussion by Israel and Hamas.



President Bush greets President-elect Barack Obama at the White House, November 10, 2008. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)Reuters - The U.S. budget deficit will swell to a record $1.186 trillion in fiscal 2009 as the global recession saps the economy, congressional forecasters said on Wednesday, presenting a daunting challenge to President-elect Barack Obama who has said tough choices will be necessary.



Illinois Senate appointee Roland Burris during a new conference at Midway Airport in Chicago, before leaving for Washington D.C., January 5, 2009. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - In an abrupt switch, Senate Democratic leaders began talks on Wednesday about swearing in former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, nominated by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate.



A man walks past a store advertising a sale in Virginia, November 28, 2008. (Larry Downing/Reuters)Reuters - Job losses and plans to lay off workers hammered the struggling U.S. economy in the final month of 2008, according to private reports that could foreshadow surprisingly grim labor market data from the government on Friday.



A door gunner on a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter keeps a watch on the terrain during a resupply mission in eastern Afghanistan December 25, 2008. (Bob Strong/Reuters)Reuters - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has told Congress that a planned buildup of U.S. forces in Afghanistan could add $5.5 billion to U.S. war costs in the current federal fiscal year, officials said on Wednesday.



Bernard Madoff is escorted in a vehicle from Federal Court in New York, January 5, 2009. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters - One of the packages accused swindler Bernard Madoff sent in violation of a court order contained about 13 watches, a diamond necklace and other valuables worth more than $1 million, prosecutors said in court papers released on Wednesday.



Graphic shows countries affected by the cutoff of Russia’s natural gas pipelines through Ukraine; 2 c x 3 in; 96.3 mm x 76.2 mmReuters - Russia shut down all gas flows to Europe through Ukraine on Wednesday, sharpening a dispute that has left industries and homes in southeast Europe without power and disrupted supplies to major economies.



Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran, December 25, 2008. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama should seek tougher sanctions against Iran, which will be his biggest Middle East challenge, outgoing White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said on Wednesday.



Gaza residents tell of destroyed homes and naked prisoners as the civilian death toll in the impoverished strip continues to climb. Duration: 01:19(AFPTV)AFP - Israel silenced its guns for three hours on Wednesday to give embattled residents of Gaza's main city time to seek out food and fuel as international support grew for an Egyptian ceasefire proposal.



An employee makes a routine check at a natural gas control center of German E-On Natural Gas Storage Closed Company Limited in Hajduszoboszlo, more than 200 kms east of Budapest, Hungary. All deliveries of Russian gas through Ukraine were halted Wednesday, depriving tens of thousands of Europeans of heat in freezing weather and raising the stakes in a bitter dispute between Moscow and Kiev.(AFP/Attila Kisbenedek)AFP - All deliveries of Russian gas through Ukraine were halted Wednesday, depriving tens of thousands of Europeans of heat in freezing weather and raising the stakes in a bitter dispute between Moscow and Kiev.




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