eBay: Focus Your Sales
By Sharpening Your Image
by Steve Dempster
Have you ever wondered why that item you had for sale on eBay
didn't sell? Just remember that one picture can be worth a thousand
words!
This article applies to all sellers on eBay, no matter you
sell, no matter how frequently. I'm talking about perhaps the
one most important thing on any eBay auction lot: the picture.
Just think about it for a minute and you'll see what I mean.
Better still, log on to eBay and choose any category and just
look - really look - at what you see.
I've had the benefit of some considerable amount of marketing
experience in the past, especially when presenting products for
sale on the internet. Styles change but one thing remains constant
- if a prospective customer can't see what you have to offer,
they won't buy. Period.
I have lost count long ago of the number of items I've seen
on eBay with no gallery image and even with no image at all.
Let me ask you what you yourself do when scanning the lots in
your chosen category and I bet you do exactly the same as I (and
who knows how many others) do: you skip the items with no picture.
Why? Well, it's just a basic human response. We are geared
to notice form and colour only second to noticing movement. It's
something that runs very deeply in everyone and goes way, way
back to the time when noticing these things was a very handy
way of avoiding being eaten. Whilst we don't have that problem
to face nowadays, old habits do die hard!
So what are the thing to remember when inserting an image
into your eBay lot? That's the next thing to think about: presentation.
Your customer isn't interested in a panoramic view of your living
room or your dirty laundry (I kid you not, I've seen it). What
they want to see is what you have to sell - and only that. They
also want to see it plainly, clearly and in decent light. If
you only load one image into your sale, you only have one chance
- so make it good!
If you haven't got a digital camera, try to borrow one. The
cameras built into cellphones have improved vastly recently but
they still have a big problem when it comes to taking good photos
- camera shake. It's difficult to hold them steady enough to
get a good shot. So get hold of a proper camera, or ask your
friend to take that photo for you.
Try to take it a step further, especially if you are going
to make eBay a regular thing. Get that digital camera and some
photo-editing software (very often bundled with a new camera).
Learn how to use it - for basic cropping, brightness and contrast
it's pretty easy to pick up and it's fun! Maybe invest in a cheap
tabletop tripod - these can be had for very little money and
they can make a big difference to the sharpness of the picture
due to the fact that the camera is held more rigidly then you
could ever do by hand, especially for close-up shots.
When taking your shot, try to put the item against a plain
or fairly neutral background - white paper if you can't find
anything else but a pastel shade is better. Try to use natural
light when shooting - flash photography can be tricky, especially
for those close shots or if your item is shiny or has a reflective
or gloss finish. If you can't shoot in natural light, turn the
flash off and use house lighting - your camera will have almost
certainly have an 'artificial light' mode on it to compensate
and the result will be less garish than with flash.
If you're going to make a habit of eBay, it's also a good
idea to use the same background each time and to try to keep
your shot 'composition' standard. It's surprising how quickly
regular eBay buyers will come to recognise your lots and put
a watch on them - presuming you sell good items!
It also helps to use more than one image but this of course
depends on the value of the item - it's not economic to use twenty
photos to sell a low-value product. Images can of course be hosted
elsewhere - even on you own website. It's all part of using eBay
to your best advantage.
In conclusion, always remember that on eBay, as in life, image
can be everything. Just try these simple suggestions and see
your conversion rates soar!
Steve Dempster writes informative articles for the web and
is also a confirmed eBayer. To learn more about levering your
eBay sales, take a look at A
New Life 4U or pay
his shop a visit Steve Dempster may be contacted at http://www.iwanttowrite.co.uk or stevendempster@btinternet.com
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