THE TITLE: Write the right words to get the most views!

When I first started selling on eBay I learned how important the title is the hard way. I had listed a huge box of very expensive designer dressmaker buttons. There was over 8 pounds of buttons worth several hundred dollars. I didn't have a scale either so I guessed at the weight. As you may have already guessed,  lost money big time on that auction. But it was a lesson that has paid many dividends since.

I titled the auction: Button, Button whose Got the Button? No place did I say what kind of buttons. There was nothing to attach a serious costume designer, dressmaker, crafter or shop owner who was looking for replacement buttons.

To make a very sad story, very short and to the point, I sold the lot for $8.49 and didn't even collect enough to cover the shipping.  I ended up making less than a dollar on the deal. To make it even worse, if that's possible, I had photographed the buttons in a large, plastic shoebox, and wanting to be super honest, I even shipped that heavy box which made the already high postage even higher.

After the auction ended and I was feeling totally miserable about my losses, a good eBayer friend of mine emailed me and asked if I would like some helpful hints on how to have a winning eBay Auction. I said I would be very interested. He was a top seller back then and I knew he would have some useful information to pass along. He told me that he spent as much time on the wording for his Title as he did on the body of the listing. Where was he before that auction ended? :(  It was so absolutely clear what my mistake was that now I even felt more sad and miserable than I did before. It's funny now, but I saw no humor in it that day. I did thank my friend though because I knew he has set me on a track to be a successful seller on eBay. That was 1998. And I still say it was one of the most important lessons I have ever learned in eBay selling. 

I knew he was right. My first mistake was repeating the word Button 3 times, using up valuable character slots that could have been filled with key search words such as Designer, Dressmaker, or Fashion. Words like The; A; An; Is; Of; etc. are not good choices. Non-words like LQQK and WOW also don't usually get the desired results. Give careful thought to what you want people to know about your listing. Even if the title makes no sense at all, even boring on the absurd, it will still often get people to take a look.  Other tricks are to use all BOLD. Some people think Underscores hope because the make the title longer and therefore more noticable. Indenting one space also helps get attention. I don't use bold on every word. I no longer use underscores because of the effect it has on wrapping the title to the next line. But it is a personal option that each person has to decide on to get the desired results.

Hopefully these suggestions will help. Thank you for looking.