Auction Information

Professional eBay Auctions Reap the Profits for Sellers


eBay offer an unbelievable amount of traffic for ANYONE wanting to sell on their auction site, so much so that millions of items are listed on it everyday. So with all this competition how do you make sure that your listing doesn't get lost amongst the rest and that customers keep coming back to you.

The answer is simple.... Professional Listings!

This covers all aspects of the transaction from the listing itself, how the customer is interacted with to how the item is packed and shipped. If you ignore any stage of the process then you are going to force your customers to go elsewhere. Your are offering a service to the customer, if they get bad service then they will go elsewhere and remember there are millions of items for sale on eBay so the customer doesn't even have to try hard to go elsewhere.

Remember, Professional Listings will give you the edge over the rest and also the highest selling price and profit.

Split your auction process into the following stages and follow the below guidelines:

The listing itself has to be:

Correctly written, You have to grab the attention of the reader and hold it and a poorly written listing will do nothing but FORCE the customer onto the next listing available. Use your knowledge of the item and use the key words and phrases that will 'push the buttons' of the customer, if you were buying the item what would sell it to you? Look at other sellers listings and determine selling strengths and listing opportunities and develop on them, these are the people you want to stand out from after all. Above all use proper English (or your native language), do not use text speak and shortened 'phrases' and also capitalise properly as a listing completely in capitals is an instant invite to close the listing down.

Correctly formatted, eBay provide the following auction sections as standard, use them correctly and effectively to maximise your listing potential and 'kerb appeal'.

Remember first impressions count!

Auction Title

This is the FIRST thing that your customers will see. Make it short, sharp, to the point and most of all DO NOT include silly characters and smiley faces in it as all that does is make you think that the auction seller is 'just a kid'...NOT A VERY PROFESSIONAL IMAGE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS TO HAVE.

The default search on eBay only scans the title so you need all your keywords in there, so don't waste the space on rubbish.

Auction Description

This is your opportunity to fully describe the item and as such needs to be as complete as is possible, the more information the customer has the more they know what they are buying and the more likely they are to form a professional image of you as a seller. i.e.. this seller gives a true indication of the item and doesn't try to hide anything. Always include the strengths and weaknesses (faults) of the item as these are both SELLING POINTS. Strengths are obvious but weaknesses as a selling point, surely not! The more accurate the description the more the customer can trust you and will develop a professional image of you and more importantly keep coming back to your eBay auctions.

Think about what you are writing, does it fully describe what you are trying to? Words like 'great condition' and 'like new' are not good enough because different people interpret these in different ways so be specific and add extra detail to ensure that there are no crossed wires.

This information has to be correctly presented to the customer, the majority of eBay listings as simply just typed out in the editor ebay provides, which is perfectly acceptable but your listing will just appear in boring black and white. Remember the idea is to make your listing stand out and look professional and the simplest way to do this is to use HTML to format, add tables and images in order to liven up the listing, this is very simple to achieve and I offer some FREE to use templates here. Using templates will also help to develop a business identity for your auctions so that the customer can instantly recognise you

Within your listing also take the opportunity to cross promote your other auctions, it is free publicity which will encourage the customer to take a look and will generate greater sales opportunities from singular listings. Its as simple as adding a link to your other auctions on the listing page itself.

Include Pictures

Simply remember :

A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS

All professional web sites use images and so should you, for a review of the importance of pictures go to the eBay picture guide.

Always give payment and shipping details

Would you buy something without knowing the full cost ?

No, neither will your customers. A truly professional listing will always detail shipping charges up front. Again use the principle of the more information you give the better.

Mike - webmaster at Online Auction Traders Resource

Visit ebay templates to use for FREE to develop your online business.


MORE RESOURCES:

Top auction houses to put art market rally to test
Reuters
By Mike Collett-White | LONDON (Reuters) - Auction houses pinching themselves after bumper 2011 sales are now turning their attention to 2012, amid cautious optimism that the two-year bull run for top works of art will continue.

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Treasurys edge up on concerns about Greece
MarketWatch
Limiting gains, traders are preparing for the US government's quarterly refunding auctions, which will include sales of 10-year notes and 30-year bonds. See story on bond refunding. “Treasurys are modestly higher, as discord among Greek coalition ...
Treasury Auctions Set for This WeekNew York Times

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Treasuries Halt Slide on Greece Default Concern Before Auctions
BusinessWeek
Ten-year Treasuries yielded more than German bunds for the first time in four days as the US prepared to sell $72 billion of notes and bonds this week, starting with an auction of three-year securities tomorrow. “It's all Greece, all the time,” said ...

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Fewer buffalo, higher prices from past years mark stock show auction
Rapid City Journal
He travels to auctions in Custer, Denver and Rapid City looking for animals, he said. "People tend to bring their better bulls to these things," White Thunder said. "They say if you go to a ranch, it's kind of like a feed lot so you don't really know ...

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Wayne Co. offers homes in Detroit for cheap
The Detroit News
In a stark sign that paying property taxes is optional for some in Detroit, Wayne County Treasury officials decided last week its workers will go door-to-door to some of the 6500 city properties unsold at last fall's tax auctions and offer to make a ...

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DFNIonline.com

Brazil auctions major airports
DFNIonline.com
Brazil's civil aviation authority Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) will today (February 6) auction the rights to operate three of the country's largest airports. The privatisation of São Paulo Guarulhos (pictured), Campinas Viracopos and ...

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Belfast Newsletter

Bargain homes bagged at auction
Belfast Newsletter
BARGAIN hunters were celebrating this weekend after seizing on the collapse in property prices to snap up super-cheap houses at auction. Twenty-four residential lots, starting from £10000, were sold in little more than an hour at the major sale in ...

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Moneycontrol.com

Uninor to bid for 2G spectrum: CEO
NDTV
Uninor, a 67 per cent subsidiary of Norway's Telenor, plans to look at all options including fresh auctions of second generation spectrum by India to protect its investments. Sigve Brekke, CEO, Uninor said that the company was ready to participate in ...
Telenor readies legal, diplomatic fight to save investmentTimes of India
Norway's Telenor says 'not dead yet' in India marketEconomic Times

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Spain Renewable-Energy Future May Center on Auctions, Cinco Says
Bloomberg
Spanish renewable-energy projects may be awarded in the future through auctions, Cinco Dias reported, citing language in the January royal decree that eliminated guaranteed subsidies. The law champions “a new model for retribution” in which “resources ...

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Stockholm home to oldest auction house
Times of India
Herodotus has mentioned auctions in Babylon. Several types of auctions - from slaves to seized goods in an armed invasion - are mentioned in Roman and Greek history. The modern world's oldest auction house is the Stockholm Auction house formed in 1674.
Auction for Sale of Government StocksPress Information Bureau (press release)

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