Introduction: This is a guide for sellers to properly image items (with a focus on trading cards) on eBay as well as for buyers to learn how some sellers can con the unsuspecting bidder with those images. New ways to con honest people on eBay keep cropping up. Creative imaging is one that that was rare a few years ago and is now becoming a bit more common. There are three ways to get an image on eBay: scan it, photograph it, or steal it. Sellers can alter digital images created from scans and photos. Sellers lacking material to do either can steal the image from another seller or source. Sellers that follow the suggestions described will likely get more bids, have less questions, and generally have more happy customers. Buyers who understand this process will be able to make a more informed buying choice.

Scan it: Seems simple. One would think a picture is worth a thousand words, right? What if you need 2000 words... like the image of the back of a trading card? The front may be perfect while the back is less than ideal. When spending big money be sure to get a good scan of both sides of the card. Ever used Photoshop or Paintshop? A scan is not really any different than a digital photograph. They can be altered, trimmed, retouched, etc. That clone brush can come in really handy for honest and dishonest sellers. The honest seller will use the clone brush to remove artifacts that are not attributed to the card. These are usually related to the scanner surface or card holder. This is legitimate as the seller is only trying to make the card look more presentable without altering the actual card. The dishonest seller will retouch defects that are on the actual card. Examples include digitally removing a stain on a white border, making condition sensitive (chipped) borders look better, blotting out factory print spots,... the list can go on and on. Image cropping and distorting is becoming increasingly dangerous. It takes little software effort to crop a bit off a condition sensitive or off-centered border. Chipped black borders can look pristine with a few pixels cropped out. Distorted images are those where the seller enters the wrong pixel dimensions on his host, either by mistake or intentionally. Distortions make on off-cut card look less off-centered and might be enough to get the buyer to bite. You, the buyer, need to study that scan so when the card comes you know what to expect. You may also wish to save an image of the scan by using the "right click-save image as..." so you have a reference should the seller delete his images. Images can be quickly removed by a seller if he is using a non-eBay image host. Sellers should use a black background when scanning cards with white borders or put the card in a top loader. I'm certain there are buyers here that looked an a 1989 Upper Deck Griffey or 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas card and could not tell how well the card was centered and therefore had no choice but to look at a different auction. Buyers should be very careful bidding on cards where the borders and corners are not clearly visible. Sellers should be careful to not scan muliple cards at once which overlap as this can hide potential defects to the viewer. When possible, sellers should also avoid the use of "gang" scans where numerous cards are scanned at once and the bidder is forced to hunt for the item up for bids and doesn't get to see the details.

Photograph it: I personally dislike most photos used for trading card auctions but concede they are necessary in some instances, particularly when selling large lots of cards where scans may not be as practical. Many digital cameras will not focus properly when the shooter gets very close to the subject. You generally need to get close to the card to get the level of detail a scan offers. If you have a scanner I would strongly recommend using it over the camera when selling individual flat items like trading cards. The only time I use my camera is when the scanner cannot provide a useful image of the cards. This happens for me from time to time with chrome type cards and cards with dark foil.

Photography is an art and some of the cons have mastered it. One of the most common tricks with photographed cards is to take the picture at an angle so the card's centering appears better than advertised. The next most common is to take the photo from a distance so the card looks small in the center of a much larger image. This also gives an illusion of better centering. Bidders also must love those out of focus images. I don't believe many of these are intentional but you have to wonder why a seller would want to have that type of image on a high priced card. Laziness will cost bids potentially leaving a bargain out there for the hunter but buyer beware! That fuzzy image could be hiding potential defects on the card.

Steal it: Bidders want to see the actual card they are bidding for in the image provided. Some sellers knowing that items with a photo or image tend to garner more bids will steal an image from another item on eBay or from another source. Trading card images are generally easy to find in fair to good resolution. The seller may not necessarily understand his actions could be misleading and the buyer will have a difficult time spotting such trickery. The best bet for sellers who have actual scans is to clearly state the scan/photo below is of the actual card you are bidding on. Sellers of high dollar material should be able to afford a cheap scanner which will actually save time (and much hassel later).

Recycle it: This is a common technique of sellers unloading multiple copies of the same item such as trading cards but using an identical image for each item. I recently saw one seller with several 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas rookie cards that all had the same image. Of course, that image was of a perfectly centered card. Perhaps the seller scanned one image and used that image for all the listings. Perhaps the seller stole the image. We don't know which is why the buyer should be very cautious with these listings. Perhaps the buyer could request a scan of all the cards but you still need to find out which one you are getting. Sellers can avoid this conundrum by scanning each card individually and labelling the holder with the auction number so there is no mix-up come shipping time. The honest seller is happy as the item draws more bids and the buyers are happy because they receive exactly what was ordered.

Summary: Good sellers will produce quality images. Following the above advice will lead to better images and allow for more fierce bidding competition. A couple extra minutes worth of work for your better cards will be worth the compensation in the final bid price. Buyers should beware of the potential problems of images I've described. You may get the item at a discount by ignoring these flaws but it may or may not be what you were expecting.

If this guide will help your buying or selling experience then hit the "yes" botton below.