General & Help Boards

Category Boards(continued)

Category Boards (continued)

Giving Board

International Boards

Category Boards

Paid Hosting

Paid Hosting (continued)

Free Hosting

www.pennythings.com

Auction-Picture

www.tpdigital.com (FTP & Web uploader)

www.graphixfx.com

Helping your Item Sell:

The following will definitely help:

Searchable title, accurate, with the right search terms in it. Good description, accurate, with all flaws described accurately, shipping and payment terms/costs right in the auction.

Effects of the Description:

The fuller you make the description the better. If I am selling a piece of pottery I can either say:

"Pottery Ewer, Seagrove, North Carolina. Green glaze, good condition, 8 inches tall, no chips or cracks"

Which will get some bids, or I can say:

"Beautiful handmade pottery ewer, made in Seagrove, North Carolina 1960s. Very typical North Carolina form to this graceful pitcher. Notice the beautiful green luster glaze, made using chromium oxide, in a reduction firing process that takes many steps. A true expression of the potters art. Only a few area potters work with this difficult glazing technique. Seagrove pottery was started in 1958 by Dorthy Auman and her husband. Was continued by her, and her children, up until Dorthy's death in 1990. This piece was made in the 1960s. Good condition, 8 inches tall, no cracks or chips".

This will get many more bids.

Pictures and the Gallery:

I do think adequate pictures are necessary. Notice I didn't say great pictures, speed is important. In my opinion, an adequate picture that loads fast is better than a great one that loads slowly. I do think that the gallery option can help your sales. For it to have impact you need a dramatic picture, that will look nice as a thumbnail. I also do think some of the featured auction choices can help, but only if the piece is pretty expensive, rare, and warrants it. 

There are several methods of getting the pictures on the internet, and ready for Ebay. Image editors should be used to crop and resize the pictures for optimum presentation and speed of loading. You can use an FTP program to post the picture to your own web space if your ISP provides space, or you can use one of the Image Hosts above. Ebay now offers image hosting for auction use. The tutorials, and other information above will help you.

For capturing the images, there are several ways to go. A scanner is ideal for small flat items, such as paper, coins, even some three dimensional items such as small jewelry. I have had good success using a scanner for fishing lures. Good scanners are relatively inexpensive. Using the scanner you can also scan photographs of items taken with a regular camera, and conventionally developed, but using film and scanning can get rather expensive. 

A regular film camera can be used, and the film developed on disk, or even automatically stored on the web. Kodak offers such a service, as well as other film developers.  For the occasional seller, this may be a way to go, it can get expensive in the long run.

Digital cameras are an ideal solution for the Internet seller. Even though expensive, they do an excellent job, and with regular use, more than pay for themselves. This is one item where you really do get what you pay for. Some of the cheaper cameras really are not adequate for the seller. I recommend at least 640 x 480 resolution, a zoom lens, and good close-up capability. I heartily recommend the line of Sony Mavica cameras, few cameras can match their ease of use and versatility. . 

For the serious seller, a combination of both a scanner and a good digital camera can hardly be beat. 

Backgrounds, Fonts and Music:

If you must use backgrounds, keep them simple and fast loading. Be very aware of browser compatibility. Some things that will work for Netscape will not work for Internet Explorer and vice versa. Make sure your font colors and sizes are easily readable. Avoid blinking or scrolling text. Animated Gifs, small, fast loading, animated gifs can be cute. Avoid large gifs with slow load times, or a great deal of motion, it can be distracting, and it can cause computer problems. I do not think music is a good idea in an auction, it causes browser problems for some, additionally if someone dislikes your music choice, it will drive the bidders away, it also slows down the loading considerably, and may lock up older computers. In addition, folks browsing at work, will get the shock of their lives when music comes blaring out of their speakers, and it may get them in trouble.

Effects of Feedback:

Build your feedback through fair dealing. The higher your feedback goes, and stays positive, the easier you will find dealing with bidders. They will see your fair treatment of customers, and will be more likely to bid in your auction. The same holds true with buyers, as feedback builds, you will find dealing with most sellers easier. If you do have to leave a negative feedback for a user, and they leave one for you in turn, most users will be able to see it is retaliatory. If you are forced to leave a negative or neutral, keep it calm, factual, and businesslike. As a seller, leave feedback for your customers. Not only is it a thank you, it also will help generate repeat business.

Terms in the Auction:

Some terms are necessary and desirable. Such as payment terms, whether sell internationally, and shipping terms. For shipping, it is good if you can provide an exact amount. If you will check the USPS link above, there are rate calculators available on their site. Some terms are not good, and can discourage bidders. If your terms and conditions get too long, and are too strict, folks will be reluctant to bid. Make sure payment terms are realistic. Requiring payment 5 days after auction closes is too tight, seven is iffy, ten to fourteen is much better. Consider the types of payment you will offer. It is better to be as flexible as you can, you will get more bidders. I think sellers who accept Money Order or Cashiers Checks only lose business. Avoid any mention of negative feedback or consequences in the auction description, it turns off bidders. Some categories may require stricter terms than others, I think it depends where you concentrate your selling.

E-mail and Keeping your Bidders Informed:

To me this is one of the most important points to consider. No one likes to be kept in the dark. Always notify your bidders of their wins as soon as possible. Let them know when you receive payment and ship. Hopefully they will keep you informed as to when they send payment or when the item is received. Always respond to questions on your items while the auction is running. Ignoring an e-mail inquiry will result in the possible loss of a bid. Always keep e-mails friendly, but keep them businesslike as well. Respond to problems promptly.

Handling Problems:

Always remain calm, cordial, and business like. You will find that you get much more accomplished both as a buyer, and seller, when problems occur. Being confrontational or rude rarely accomplishes your set goal. Yes, you have to be firm. Stick to your terms, and rights, but you can do so in a businesslike manner. You will find far fewer problems if you do this. "Kill them with kindness" is more than a cliché. It works. Say you get a nasty note from a bidder. Rather than returning it in kind, write them back, and be firm, but couch your reply in cordial businesslike tones. IE:

"Dear Mr. Jones, I'm sorry you weren't pleased with your item. If I made a mistake in my description, I will be glad to accept a return. When the item is returned in the same condition as sent, I will send you a refund. "

This will defuse a bad situation. The same holds true for feedback. State "just the facts" Don't waste time with recriminations like calling the user a liar or thief. All that does is make you look bad, and lessen the impact of your feedback. It also almost insures retaliation. 

No matter how often you sell, or buy, sooner or later you are going to run into a total jerk. Someone who cannot be pleased. You may have to absorb a negative feedback, but you don't have to put up with harassment or etc. if a user harasses you, report them to eBay and their ISP. Be firm, yet still cordial, and let them know you won't be bullied. Reacting emotionally often will feed their needs. and result in a continuation of the behavior. 

Build a Me Page:

Anything you can tell a bidder about yourself, and your business will help make them more confident in dealing with you. Ebay allows you to build a page for doing this. Once you do a little  icon appears beside your name on eBay, folks can click on it and go to your me page. Click on this link to build a ME page: About Me

Final Thoughts:

Here are some things to keep in mind. The internet is fallible. E-mail can bounce, and get lost. Many folks have other things going on than Ebay. Be as considerate of your bidders as possible. Remember not everyone can check e-mail hourly. Be reasonable in all your dealings. Its easy to get in a spitting contest with someone on the internet. The perceived anonymity of the internet lets some people's bad side show. Keep all dealings businesslike, unemotional, and friendly. Don't fight fire with fire. Remember a bidder is also a customer. To me the best rule has always been: Treat others as you would like to be treated.

Feedback Tool:

A very useful tool to see someone's feedback, or feedback left.

Courtesy of Willy, wcdc on Ebay.

Willy offers many helpful HTML hints Click the following link:

wcdc

Still having problems?

Visit the User to User Question & Answer board on Ebay. Nice, friendly, and very knowledgeable users available there at all hours to help. The folks there are volunteers, and do this for fun, and out of the spirit of community that has kept Ebay the #1 auction service. There is a very wide range of experience with shipping, HTML, selling, buying and identification of items. Few other places you can go and get such comprehensive advice. To visit, click on the link below:

Ebay User to User Q & A Board

I hope you have found the above information helpful.  Feel free to share this link with anyone, and feel free to link to this page. If you have any links to suggest, please e-mail me using the e-mail address below. Please help me by reporting any dead links. I hope you will bookmark this page, and that you will find it helpful in the future.

I am not an Ebay employee, I just use the service to sell and buy items. I am the owner of   Myth n Lynx Crystals, Stones and Jewelry.,   If you have any questions, or if I can help in any way, feel free to e-mail me using the link below:

HiddenUniverse@MythnLynx.com

Alternate e-mail address if the above should be out of service:

HiddenUniverse@Yucca.net

My userid on eBay is: hiddenuniverse

Click Here for my page on eBay, more
information about me, and my eBay sales.