How hard is it to take Photos of the Object your Selling?

[vulcannomad1170]

I've been a member for 25 yrs now and this is the first time I'm posting something on here. With today's ability to take EASY  Photos, why don't I see them in most of the Merchandise being sold on Ebay? What's up with the strange Angles of the object they're selling? I've seen ads where most of the photos were completely out of focus. Dosen't the Seller see the garbage photos when they're posting an ad? Case in point, there's an ad currently being sold, "Hitachi Bookshelf Stereo".  Perfect example of how bad the photos are. I tell people when they're inexperienced with ebay the Key to Selling is the Photos. 

Here's another one that I notice when I'm looking at Radio/Stereo/Audio gear. For some ODD reason, the person takes the photo of the equipment above on an angle so you're seeing most of the top of the unit and hardly the front face. The front face is the most important part. I really don't get it. I realize that some of the Vintage equipment Sellers purposely take the photos, out-of-focus, because they're trying to hide the equipment blemishes, dirt, dents, etc. The other one is that they don't take photos of the equipment powered up. Some are trying to hide that there's something wrong with it. But most of the postings, I ask them to add photo's with it powered up and they quickly respond. Doesn't it occur to them that this is what a buyer wants to see? Apparently not. When I sell something I make it a point to provide many views of the object, lit up/powered on, and extremely clear and close up photos before I post. 

I'll get off my box now.  Thank you

[dhbookds]

Short answer is many sellers don't think.........  I remember the lst item I ever posted.........I was lucky enough to get a buyer who explained to me what was missing......both in photos and description........ I've been eternally grateful to her.........

[monroe67]

"With today's ability to take EASY  Photos, why don't I see them in most of the Merchandise being sold on Ebay?"

I don't know what possible variety of eBay you're looking at, but I would say the overwhelming majority of eBay's listings do  have photos attached.  Indeed, a couple years ago, eBay increased the allowance of photos to 24.  Two dozen photos is a lot.  In my observation, listings on eBay with no photos are extremely rare.  

The quality of photos you'll see on eBay ranges from abysmal to professional.  
The quality of item descriptions you'll see on eBay also ranges from abysmal to professional.  
Not everybody has perfectly steady hands and some photos are blurred.  
eBay cannot monitor all the photos that are posted on this site, any more than they can require all sellers to prove their artistic visions.  

It seems to me that many, many eBay listings are made by people who don't know how to crop their photos.  I think we've all seen photos taken on tables where the breakfast dishes haven't been cleared off or on floors that haven't been vacuumed in a while.  Or Uncle Elmo wearing a tank top is sitting in the background.  

All you can do as a seller is to continue what you say you are doing:  show many views of your own listings, and be sure to include photos of any stains, scratches, dents, or other negative aspects.  Honesty.  

What you can do as a buyer is simple:  click the back arrow.  

[aldet_4021]

Like @monroe67 said, there's a range of quality - if you gave letter grades to listing photos, I've seen A+ to F. I haven't seen "Uncle Elmo in a tank top" but it's probably just a matter of time. I have seen lots of feet - socks and toes. 

In my listings, I hope I would get a "B" or "B+". I go for the basics - all sides, insides, clear closeups of model and serial numbers, publishing and copyright dates, etc. And defects - if there's a major flaw, a close picture of the flaw. I love that eBay allows up to 24, Etsy only allows 10. I think of my pictures as a "we're all on the same page" type part of the overall transaction.  I hope decent pictures would make a potential buyer trust the seller, and I sometimes wonder why sellers don't care more about them. Maybe they have earned the trust overall of people who would buy from them? And those people know and trust the seller and aren't bothered by bad pictures (and/or Uncle Elmo?)?

[chapeau-noir]

If you gave letter grades to listing photos, I've seen A+ to F. I haven't seen "Uncle Elmo in a tank top" but it's probably just a matter of time. 

I have.  😖

And lest we forget - the reflected teapot guy.

[worldcoinauctions]

I think a lot of new sellers are just working off their phones and rushing.

[oldwestgold]

I can only speak for the coin category, but I believe some sellers take poor photos for a reason. It hides any defects that they don't want any potential buyers to see which would negatively impact the end price.

[redlinear]

Ya wanna see worse, FB marketplace is the worst!
6 pics of one car for sale.  If you didn't know better, you might think it's 6 different cars.
And when you get there to check it out?
There's the 7th car 🤣

[ten_o_nine]

There could be several reasons why some sellers may not provide clear or well-lit photos, such as:

Lack of knowledge or experience with photography
Limited equipment or resources for taking photos
Intentional attempts to hide flaws or damage
Rushing to list items quickly without taking the time to take proper photos

[yuzuha]

This is something I honestly, truly don't understand. Even the cheapest cell phone these days can take perfectly good photos... heck, my old Samsung Galaxy S7 (which is nearly 10 years old at this point and is so old I just use it as a portable MP3 device instead of an actual phone!) takes excellent photos. Get a white sheet/towel/pillowcase/piece of cardboard to use as a backdrop. Stage your photos outside if you don't have a single place inside your house that has decent lighting.

It isn't rocket science, and honestly, nothing makes me hit the back button faster on a listing than bad photos. My logic is that if a seller can't even put in a bare minimum amount of effort to take decent photos, I don't trust them to a) be honest about the condition of the item they're selling, and b) package safely for shipping.

[chapeau-noir]

My theory is that people just don't 'see' how bad the photo is that they take. Like someone with horrible, bright intrusive backgrounds - they think it's very cool, but it's actually headache inducing and you can't see the item. Someone else used to make a collage of their clothing item - it was terrible, a badly photoshopped jumble and it was the ONLY photo they offered, but they called the individual in their household who did it "their photoshop genius". They truly thought they were doing a great job.

ETA:  I see the same thing with web page development. When I worked as a data miner I looked at hundreds of web pages and whereas most were pretty good, there were too many that were awful, like Geocities on steroids.

[simba6]

Some just don't want to take the time.    Like at in person flea-markets where they don't even have a table. Just unload the merchandise on the ground.  But , that's where you can find the beat deals.  Sellers that "play store" with display stand and such often have higher prices.

[rockyroadtradingpost]

I've wondered that, myself. Like you, I try to be careful and thorough with my listings.

I used to follow a guy who sells full-time and gives great tips to sellers. When I checked out his ebay store, I was stunned. Clothing askew on the hangar, very few photos, vague or minimal descriptions, etc.  

[adamcartwright]

Probably so, but doesn't that come back to bite them in the butt with INADs and negative FB?

[robbie31415]

For some things. You are right, it does.

As a liquidator selling at big discount and I have many many pallets always pending.

Photos aren't big deal for me. Fast, decrease quality.

Every bit of added time spent is decrease in profit.

But if I was selling collectibles, I could see how very detailed photos would be important.