Book Lisitings Without Pictures

[youngjude-57]

I have purchased books on eBay for years. Books for reading and books for display decor.  The majority of the book listings for nearly a year or more, no longer have an image of the book. Pulling up page after page of blue or blank boxes and having to read each title is a waste of time and no fun at all.  I usually purchase upwards of 50 books a year.  This past year, I have yet to make 10 book purchases.

[taylor_memorial]

You are shopping price, I guess. Those images are supplied either by eBay's book data service or by the mega seller who knows he has to have a picture and supplies that generic picture of a book rather than spend the time and money it takes to put a photo up. 

I always picture my books. Most of the sellers who post here do. 

If the picture has borders, it's likely not a stock photo, and that seller has taken the time to shoot the books they offer.

[cambriachick]

I have seen that occasionally too.  If you open the listing, the picture usually shows.  I agree, it is annoying.

[youngjude-57]

I'm shopping by topic, not price.  Thanks for having pictures with your listings.

[katiethebooklady]

I'm seeing more of that too. It could be the transition to the new "easier" listing format. If a seller offers a brand new book, the eBay catalog stock photo for that item would automatically appear once the seller filled in the condition. Instead, seller must use the "Create Your Listing" search box and match their copy to an exact image and ISBN in the eBay catalog. Otherwise, the seller gets no catalog image and smart buyers just skim right past these "guess what you'll get" sellers. I think this is a really smart move on eBay's part!  It automatically cuts down on what the big box types can get away with... especially returns and condition violations. But it's really high time for these no-photo junk listings and  phony "image coming soon" pics to stop.  I'm thinking it's hard to catch them - big box = quick and slick and expensive tech (automated listings on steroids playing hop-scotch all over eBay's nice and tidy 'front lawn'." But a visitor could probably just lend a hand by clicking that little "report this item" and type NO PHOTO as the problem - so the seller would know where to send their small, automatic "Thank You Reward Account Credit."  I mean, it goes without saying that taking somebody else's trash out for them is a kind and thoughtful thing to do -not to mention the LOADS of time and money it will save for everybody over the long term.  Just sayin'

[youngjude-57]

I would have never thought to click on "report this item".  I thought that was reserved for a more serious infraction.

[computorite]

I have always included actual photos of my items, including books. It's really simple to do,  just scan it on your scanner, or at worst, use your phone. eBay now has extra tools that make it easy to get good quality photos, like erasing the background, and ROTATING your image so it's upright!  As they say, a picure is worth a thousand words! A good description and a some good photos will make the sale.  The idea is to find buyers who will LOVE your items and not want to return them. We hope. I have been fairly successsful on eBay for nearly 25 years,, now. 100% feedback, too. If a seller doesn't want to show me a picture of what they are selling, then I don't care to buy it. 

[youngjude-57]

I'm late to reply.  I tried your suggestion of opening the listings in an effort to see the books. I had no succes. 

Thanks all the same.

[youngjude-57]

Thank you for understanding your buyers and taking the time to convey your knowledge and experience as a successful eBay seller.  25 years...congratulations!

[computorite]

"If the picture has borders, it's likely not a stock photo, and that seller has taken the time to shoot the books they offer."

Not necessarily. eBay now offers us the ability to remove the background clutter on our photos.They also offer an easy way to rotate  them. I guess some people can't read or figure that out. It definitely pays to put up the very best photos you can.  It only takes a few moments and the results are worth it. 

[sunnydayz132]

Anytime you come across listings like this. The person selling most likely is a drop shipper or a scammer. In my opinion Ebay should require real photos for all listings. I refuse to purchase from people who do not put actual photos to their listings. This includes sellers that put generic photos of stuff as well. 

[youngjude-57]

Thank you for the alert!  I appreciate your help.

[intermedia46]

Glad I saw your post, this allows me to rant about a certain seller who maybe one pictue in a hundred listings , with no description whatsoever. Followed a couple of posts about reporting him only to hit a brickwall...nobody seems to care! I wouldn't dream of listing a book without sevral pictures when it's appropriate, paperbacks/trade paperbacks may get just 2 or 3 pics, but most Vintage or Pricey books get as many as 6 to 8 pics, more if illustrated. Hate to sound snobbish , but once the proletariat discovered e-Bay the genteel art of the bookseller is no longer " genteel " It's okay to make mistakes , in fact I've been brought up short just yesterday when I listed an OZ book incorrectly, never heard the term " white spine" for editions that were printed in the 60s , and I thanked the guy who alerted me. There's a whole lot to know about books, not just titles that sell scanned with those gizmos. I once observed a full blown metrosexual yuppie scanning a stack of MM paperback, wanted to walk up and step on his bruno Magli shoes and tell him to cease and desist , book selling is not for you!! Getting back to original post , I still cannot understand how this is allowed, where are the monitors!? ...the answer my friend is blowing you know where!

[youngjude-57]

I appreciate your knowledge about books, your passion for them, and your dedication to the art of being an honest and informed bookseller.  Thank you for sharing your gift of "telling it like it is."

[intermedia46]

I should have been a book detective, sleuthing among e-bay sellers and the scams they institute.

The more I hang around and dig a little deeper , you soon realize that there are more scammers than honest sellers ( seem like they mostly are booksellers, but I'm sure there are even more opprobious in other fields )

I first got suspicious when I saw the number of feedbacks, well over 26.000 ( I've been here more than a decade and got a paltry 3.000) well. so far , nothing to get hot aabout...then I check the comments and lo and behold, same comment 15 times in a row...baddabing I thought ( yeah, I'm Italian and watched Soprano assiduosly )...so I go a bit further through the excrements and what do I see! Well, you get the picture by now, I'm sure. This fellow , I'm pretty sure he is from New Jersey, gotta have friends that inflate the feedback, but they are so stunazzo ( stupid ) that they copy and paste the same comments wholesale, 15 or more successive coments, which I'm sure they copied from some other sellers, because they are too ignorant ad the spelling is too good, it couldn't come from their meager learning.

There is no end to the greed, ignorance, immorality, underhand, duplicitous, treacherous guiles of these scumbags...they should all drown in the Cloaca Maxima of Rome, down you go with the flotsom & jetsom navigating the tranquil waters of this platform.

Well, I feel better now, thanks the Lord I got this forum to spew some bile, I would otherwise choke on it!

Bonne Nuit, mon frere!