How to maximise the chances of selling items in eBay

How to maximise the chances of selling items in eBay

Use HTML to Create BetterLooking Item Listings

Now that we’re on the topic of auction listings, have you noticed that some sellers
have really cool looking listings, complete with fancy text and colors and
such? Ever wonder how those sellers created those eye-popping listings?

The secret is the use of HTML code. This is the same code used to create Web
pages, and eBay lets you incorporate HTML code in your item listings. (You
can’t use HTML in your titles, though—just the item description.)

What kind of codes are we talking about? If you know your way around basic
HTML, you’ll find you can use all the essential formatting codes in your item
descriptions. That means bold (<b>), italic (<i>), and underline (<u>), along with
 paragraph (<p>) and line (<br>) breaks. You can even use the <font
face> code to specify specific fonts, and the <font color> code to specify different
color text.




If you don’t know HTML from HDTV, don’t despair. eBay includes a basic
HTML Text Editor as part of its Sell Your Item page. Just click the HTML Text
Editor link next to the Description box to launch the HTML Text Editor tool.

This tool lets you add HTML effects in a WYSIWYG
(What You See Is What You Get) environment, much the same way that you add
bold and italics in your word processor. Highlight the text you want to format
and then click the appropriate formatting button. With this tool, you don’t have
to know any HTML to create great-looking item descriptions.

Apply a Colorful Theme to Your Listing

Another way to create a great-looking item listing is to apply a pre-designed
theme to the entire listing. These themes include special text formatting, color backgrounds,
 and graphics; the special effects are added automatically to your
standard item title and description.

eBay lets you apply themes from the Sell Your Item page using its Listing
Designer tool. You’ll pay 10 cents to use the Listing Designer, but if you do you’ll have more
 than two dozen themes to choose from. Just
choose a theme from the Select a Theme list and then choose a page layout
from the Select a Layout list. It’s an easy way to make your listing stand out from
the millions of others on the eBay site.

Pictures Sell

The most effective way to increase your odds of auction success is to include
photographs of your items in the auction listings. Shoppers like to see pictures
of things before they buy; pictures definitely add to the appeal of any auction
item.

To add a picture to your listing, you first have to have a photograph of your
item. The easiest way to do this is with a digital camera; make sure the photograph
 is sized to no more than 300 × 300 pixels. (If you can’t set picture size from within
your camera, use a photo editing program—such as Photoshop
Elements—to perform the resizing.) Once the picture file is on your hard drive,
you can add it to your item listing from the Sell Your Item page.

eBay offers several different photo-hosting options. Your first photo is free, but
each additional photo in your listing will cost 15 cents each. You can also choose
to create a slide show of multiple pictures (75 cents) or allow potential bidders to
 “supersize” your pictures (another 75 cents). If you have a lot of photos, the
better option is eBay’s Picture Pack, with gives you up to six supersized photos
for a buck.

To insert photos into your listing, you’ll want to work your way to the Pictures &
Details page, scroll down to the Add Pictures section, and select the eBay
Picture Services tab . Click the Add Picture button in the
First Picture—Free box; when the Open dialog box appears, locate and select
the photo you want to use and then click the Open button. Repeat this procedure
to add extra pictures.

Then, in the Picture Layout section, select the options you want—Standard,
Slide Show, Supersize Pictures, or Picture Pack. If you’ve previously chosen to
use the Listing Designer , you can scroll to the Listing Designer
section and select a position for your photo from the Select a Layout list.
eBay will now automatically upload your pictures from your hard disk and
automatically insert those pictures into your item listing.