www.elesclothing.co.uk
has some advise on Ebay listing our wholesale ladies stock for you please take
a look at this Blog www.elesclothing always looking
for ways to increase your shops turnover The success of your online business on
eBay will depend largely on the success of your individual listings - here's
how to make them stand out
I
know that many of my newsletter subscribers are busy Mums and Dads and right
now in the middle of the school holidays it's sometimes a challenge to juggle
work and home life.
At
this time of year it's very easy to lose your momentum - simply because you
have so many other things to focus on - namely your children, who, if they are
anything like mine need entertaining for hours on end!
So,
with this in mind, if you really can't concentrate on anything else for the
next few weeks then now is an ideal time to take a step back, have a good look
at your online listing descriptions and make sure you are maximising the sales
potential of your items - particularly on eBay.
The
success of your online buying and selling business on eBay will depend largely
on the success of your individual listings and if you want to do just a small
amount of research, try taking a look at the 'Completed Listings' on eBay as
this will swiftly show you that those listings lacking in information or images
tend to sell for significantly less than their rivals, even if the item is
exactly the same.
Fortunately
creating truly excellent eBay listings needn't be a long, drawn out and
difficult process for you. I've put together my top seven listing tips for you
so that you can tweak and adjust your own listings when you have a moment
spare. So, here we go:
1.
Start and end your auctions at the right time
If
you are using auction listings rather than 'Buy It Now' and you don't manually
change the time when your auctions on eBay will start and finish then they will
automatically start immediately and finish at the same time in the specified
number of days time.
Bear
in mind that if your eBay business is full time, the chances are you'll be
creating your auctions in the middle of the day, which means that by default
they will also finish in the middle of the day. That could be a problem for
anyone that would like to bid on what you have for sale that works a standard
nine to five week, so you'll need to consider what the best start and end times
are.
The
auctions that tend to make the most money on eBay tend to finish during the
evening or at weekends. Statistically the very best time to complete an auction
is on a Sunday evening; however any evening should work well for your selling
strategy. It only costs a few pence to schedule a start time (and it's free if
you subscribe to Selling Manager Pro), and therefore the ending time of your
auction so if you invest that small fee to ensure you complete your sale at a
better time, you are likely to maximise your profits.
2.
Take time over your title
You
don't have a lot of characters for the title of your eBay listings - only 80 to
be precise - so it's important to make every word count. This is your
opportunity to fit in the keywords that a prospective customer will really be
searching for, so what you need to do is put yourself in their shoes and
consider which search words they are likely to enter in order to find what you
have for sale.
Think
about what you would search for if you were looking for your item and be as
descriptive as possible within the space constraints. If it's applicable you
should include the make of the item, the model and any specific characteristics
where appropriate.
You
may also wish to consider capitalising the first letter of each word within
your titles as this can draw attention to your listing over others, without
alienating any potential buyers who would rather not be 'shouted' at with a
completely capitalised heading!
3.
Incorporate multiple photos
Every
eBay listing should come complete with at least one photograph. This will be
shown in the search results as a 'gallery photo' and will help a prospective
customer see, at a glance, that you actually possess the product that you have
for sale. Your initial photo should be as clear as possible, with a plain,
non-cluttered background and showing as much of the product as you can fit into
the frame.
One
trick that many eBay sellers don't take advantage of however is that of
incorporating multiple pictures into a gallery. eBay selling statistics show
that those listings with a gallery of images consistently sell for more money
than those with just the one picture so if you can, you should include shots of
different angles of the item that you're selling, or photos that show detail
that might be missed in your one main photograph.
4.
Write a comprehensive description
One
particular error that I've seen eBay sellers make time and time again is to
assume that all interested parties know all of the details about the product.
When I see a description that contains just once sentence saying something
along the lines of "for sale is my old PlayStation", it makes me want
to weep! (Or simply place a bid myself knowing that I'd be able to sell it on
for a profit!)
What
model of PlayStation is it? How old is it? What's the specification of it? What
does it come with? Think of the questions that your customers are likely to ask
and answer them within your description; it's what the space is for and the
more information you can provide the more you will set your buyers' minds at
ease as they realise that you know what you are talking about.
5.
Make your pages aesthetically pleasing
What
looks nice to one person might look hideous to another, it's true, but there
are certain elements of design that you can incorporate into your sales pages
without hurting the eyes of anyone involved. Experiment with the formatting
options presented to you by eBay; even if you don't know anything about
programming code for websites you can still investigate how your text would
look if it were centred rather than sited to the left, and what it might look
like with headings in bold text for example.
Colour
can be an excellent tool to highlight a particular word or phrase, but try to
stay away from clashing colours. A purple background with pink text in front of
it isn't going to be easy for anyone to read!
6.
Set a low starting price
This
isn't a worry for 'Buy It Now' listings on eBay, but for auctions you should
always start out with a low price, even if it's an expensive item. It's
generally better to set a reserve price if you're determined to make a certain
amount rather than setting a high starting price.
Why?
Because a low starting price will help a buyer to realise that they have the
opportunity to get a real bargain here. Even when the price rockets up they are
likely to stay with your auction and keep bidding because that first low bid
has convinced them that it's good value.
7.
Build a solid reputation
Okay,
it's true, this tip isn't specifically related to any one listing, but it is
absolutely key in making all of your auctions successful. Always put the needs
of your customers first, answering any of their questions about your products
quickly, and dispatching your goods as fast as possible. This excellent
customer service will, in time, earn you an excellent reputation, inspiring
more and more people to buy from you on a daily basis - which after all, is
what you want!
I
haven't gone into any depth with these listing tips because I simply haven't
got the space here in my weekly newsletter to do so, but I hope that this has
at least given you some hints as to what you should be doing in order to make
your listings more profitable.
