This September marks eBay's 20th birthday. The online marketplace has grown from a software programmer's hobby into a global shopping destination. These seller businesses range from micro-businesses to multi-million pound operations.
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As a result, the online marketplace has asked Director of Consumer to Consumer Will Weightman to provide top tips on how wannabe eBay entrepreneurs can make the most out of their listings.
1. KEY WORDS ARE TRULY KEY
Take the time to get your keywords right and bidders will come. When buyers search, eBay automatically looks for words in the listing's title only, so it's crucial to write your listing in your customers' language, and use the keywords they search for - especially brand and product names. Consider "stylish plunging neckline plum dress". No one's going to search for "stylish", "plunging" or "plum". Instead, consider the practical search "new size 10 purple silk Whistles dress".
There are some keywords that are sure draws including old, vintage and sexy. If relevant - use them, they build traffic to your sales.
2. GO FOR 7-DAY AUCTIONS TO ENSURE THE MAX NUMBER OF BIDS
When listing an auction, you can choose whether it lasts one, three, five, seven. The longer your item is listed, the more chance of people seeing it, so unless it's time-sensitive, pick 7 days. For buy-it-now listings, you can choose three, five, or seven.
There's also the "Good 'Til Cancelled" option, which renews automatically until you score a sale.
3. PICTURES ARE IMPORTANT
The vast majority of users will not bid on items they cannot see. It allows people to see what they are interested in and that you actually have it. Remember, a good picture often holds up a less than perfect listing.
4. IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY
Check out the best of the competition to understand the marketplace you are operating in. There is no worse feeling than to have sold a very expensive item for a very low price because you did not know its value. If a brand or product is unfamiliar to you, you many also not know how to draw bidder. Do searches for items similar to yours. Take a critical look at the listings and pricing - especially if there are more bidders and higher prices. You can learn much from your competition.
5. TIMING, TIMING, TIMING
Get the timing right. The busiest time for buyers is Sunday evenings, so schedule your auctions to end around that time. Avoid times when most people will be busy, such as weekday mornings, or any big events such as sports matches or TV finales.