Tell More To Sell More Writing Effective Ebay Listings

When I first got started on ebay, I was convinced it was just a rush to list as many items as possible.  Don't worry so much about the description or listing, just about getting the item up.  My thought was - If it's not there for people to see, you can't sell it.  And, in my haste to list items, I was selling 12 % to 15 % of what I listed.  the result was - I needed to list 300 to 400 items per week to make 60 sales.  And, that was if I was lucky.

  That meant on an average week - Over 300 of my listing were not selling.  Talk about a lot of work, for not enough payback.  And, the sad part was, it took me over three years to slow down, and decide there had to be a better way.

Take Some Time To Plan Your Listing Strategy

When I finally sat down to think it out, I realized I was doing a lot of things wrong.  And, to make it worse, when I thought about it, I knew all along what I needed to do.  i was just caught up in this crazy pattern of rushing to list my 400 items week in, and week out.

After really looking at my listings, and what my competition was doing, I came up with the following plan.

1. Get a good look for my auctions.  Make them easy to read, with plenty of white space.
2. Give more information in each listing.  People were always emailing to ask me for more info, and it was always the same questions.  Idea?  What if I answer those questions in each, and every listing?
3. Include more high quality pictures, big enough for people to see and read if they desired.  Using one picture was quicker and easier for me, but people need to see more to make an informed decision.
4. State my return policy up front.  I've made over twenty thousand sales on ebay, and only three people have asked for a refund.  For the last four years I have told every one, I will refund any item purchased no questions asked, and only one person has asked for a refund.  it's more of an worry breaker.  People know they can get there money back if they want it.
5. Take Paypal.  My first year or two on ebay, I couldn't see why I should pay the extra fees to accept Paypal.  Today 95% of my customers pay with Paypal.  Some mornings I wake up $300 or $400 richer. 
6. Automate mailing.  Get a good label printer, and use Paypal shipping, Stamps.com, Endica, or whatever tool works for you.
7. Use a template.  A good template contains 85% of your information needed for every auction - Policies, shipping details, payment info - You just plug in the details.
8. Answer emails.  I absolutely hate to slow down and answer emails, but it increases sales dramatically.
9. Take the customers side.  When items go astray and get lost in the mail or damaged - Fight the urge to tell your customer they should have bought insurance, or tracking.  I automatically insure or add tracking to all packages I feel need it, whether my customer paid extra for shipping or not.  When an uninsured package is lost or damaged - I send out another item, or refund the money paid (SHIPPING TOO).  it only happens once every month or two, so why make the customer unhappy, and risk a negative to boot?

End Result - 40 % Closing Rate

Today I close 35% to 45% of my auction listings, while listing only 150 items a week.  End result more sales, more profits, more time for me.