As a syndicated newspaper columnist about eBay, as well as a trainer on using Direct Marketing techniques to boost sales, I run into lots of beginning eBayers who are having difficulty getting initial bids.

   When I review their auctions, the most prominent feature their auctions lack is a good picture. Far worse, some don't even use a picture. I think they feel they'll get around to posting auction pictures when they get used to selling a few items.

   The problem is that it's difficult to sell even 'a few items' without at least one auction picture.

Use a Picture in Every Auction

   When you don't list a picture, your item brings less money. Would you buy a blender sight unseen when 100 other eBayers are trying to sell you the same blender but they show you a picture of what you're bidding for? The better your picture, the more bidders you'll get. The more bidders you get, the more money your auction puts in your pocketbook.
 
Getting the Picture Right

   An inexpensive digital camera is all you need. (You'll find plenty on eBay!) Outdoor lighting is often great for auction pictures and helps eliminate shadows and glare but be sure to keep the sun behind you. Drape an offsetting colored cloth over a chair and put your item in the chair for the picture. Indoor lighting is fine if you can avoid glare but keep enough light on your subject to take the shot.
 
   Don't make the mistake of using a "stock" photo. For example, if you want to sell a DVD player then take a picture of your actual DVD player. Don't use one from the DVD player's Web site. Buyers want to trust you so give them the opportunity by showing them exactly what you are selling.

An Exception

   If you're selling an item that's still new in the box, such as a DVD player someone gave you as a gift that you don't need, you shouldn't open the new box to get a picture of the player. In this case, take a good picture of the sealed box itself. The sealed box helps demonstrate further that you have the actual item and it is unopened and still new.
 
Pictures Are Worth 1,000 Words... But Words Are Good Too!

   To boost your bids even higher, tell a short story behind your item when possible. "If only my husband had been clearer on exactly what he wanted, I wouldn't now be selling this once-used, like-new coffee maker."

   Describe your item and especially disclose any flaws. The more you describe, the more trust you build. Marketers have known for years that the more you tell the more you sell.

   We sell a lot of rare books. If we state in an auction that a valuable book has '2 minor half-inch cuts on a book's front dust jacket edge,' that detail shows we examined the book and we wish to disclose all we can about what the bidder is bidding on. Our buyers, then, are more likely to trust that nothing else is wrong or we would have told them about it.