Hi, mimi. I always hesitate to pop off with comments about listing photos, because one never can be sure exactly what sort of photography equipment a seller might have at her disposal; I know that some folks have only their camera phones with which to photograph their items for listing, and, for those sellers, I'm sure it isn't helpful to hear that one needs to take better photos. However, when I looked at your listings, it was the quality of the photos which most drew my attention.
Taking the runway necklace as an example, I'd think that dealers and collectors might be drawn to your listing just by virtue of the rarity of the piece. However, the casual buyer, who may know nothing about Whiting & Davis in particular, or runway pieces in general, won't necessarily be atracted to your necklace due, solely, to its "pedigree." Those buyers, who are just looking for a pretty necklace, will need something else to draw them in, and I think that this is where the listing photographs become especially important.
I know that when I'm searching / browsing on eBay, whether it be for vintage costume jewelry or for Halloween ceramics, I will scroll through hundreds or thousands of listings as quickly as possible. And if I'm not searching out something in particular -- say, Fitz & Floyd Halloween cookie jar -- but, rather, I'm browsing items in a generalized category -- think pages and pages of Halloween ceramics -- and I know that I have 50 pages of listings to get through, there is only one thing that will make me stop and take a second look, and that is the listing photo.
In re: to your listing photos, if you have a decent, workable camera, I think I'd try to get closer in to the subject, in a well-lighted area, in order to capture as much detail as possible. Additionally, a nice, clean, uncluttered background, in a color that contrasts greatly with your subject, is helpful. For instance, with lighter or brighter enameled pieces, I use a 50-cent piece of black scrapbook paper behind the items, and I've found that the items really pop against that black background (and, yes, I know that black velvet fabric is better than black paper, but I haven't yet managed to get myself a piece of velvet, so, for the time-being, I'm "making do").
Also, I'm not yet very good with my camera -- haven't spent enough time learning to use it properly -- so I use Windows PhotoGallery to help me edit the photos (i.e., clean up the mess I typically make when I take the pictures), so they'll look more professional. With a black background, I use the auto exposure button, which deepens the black background, and heightens the contrast between the background and the brightly colored item. With items I photograph against a white or gray background, I hover my pointer over the exposure options, and pick the option which best lightens, and brightens, and highlights the item. I always have to do this with white- and gray-background photos, because my raw photos are almost uniformly awful, and always come out looking washed-out, gray-ish, and way too dark; using the exposure option, in PhotoGallery, allows me to lighten and brighten the entire photo, including the featured item.
Another thing I do, either in PhotoGallery or when I'm inserting the photos into the listing form, is to use the crop feature to center the item, and make it appear larger in the "frame." I've decided that a photo in which the item is a little-bitty gray-ish thing, lost in the center of a bunch of surrounding gray-ish space, just isn't going to draw a lot of looks from buyers who are simply browsing for something pretty.
So: (1) Close-up photos; (2) contrasting backgrounds; (3) use crop to center and enlarge featured item, and fill the photo field; and (4) use exposure in a photo editing program, to lighten and brighten your photos. And, finally, (5) use at least some of your other available photo spaces to provide good, clear, close-up views of the backside of your item, of the clasp, of the necklace "centerpiece," of any marks or signatures on the piece, etc. People want photos ... lots of good, clear photos. With buyers who aren't searching out your particular item, your main listing photo is your one big chance to draw their attention.
Hope you can find something of use, here, in my rambling post. Good luck!
