10-14-2017 03:17 PM
put more, or less, info in the "item description" area? Does this help or hurt in searches? Is it basically like a "tag word"... and it will pull up my listing if someone types it into their search?! I'm still a big rookie at selling and am trying to figure it all out. Or, does it hurt me because they HAVE to type in that word in order to pull up my item?! I see that some sellers have TONS in the "item description" box and some have almost nothing. Just wondering if there's a strategy here... 🙂
10-14-2017 03:37 PM
The description area is for BUYERS, generally speaking the more information you include the more likely you will make a sale.
There are limits of course, a giant wall of text, much of it irrelevant to the specific item could be a turn off to buyers or at least make them less inclined to read the pertinent information.
Not many buyers use advanced search so their searches don't include the description area. eBay on the other hand may look at it and use it to place items in the "related items" section which appears when a particluar search returns a small number of results (or no results at all).
10-14-2017 03:58 PM
10-14-2017 04:02 PM - edited 10-14-2017 04:04 PM
When I first began selling, I used to have a ton of stuff in the description pane--in fact, I even wrote little short stories as description. Six years ago that worked like a charm and I got compliments along with my sales--one buyer liked my descriptions so much that she plastered them all over Facebook. But these days, a lot of description apparently just annoys already-impatient people. Cell phone buying has changed the marketplace completely.
From my experience of the currect market (and my sales have been way off lately so you may want to take this with a grain of salt): Most selling will take place from the title line. Descriptions should be quite short and very clear--and buyers may never see them anyway (on cell phones, seeing the description requires an extra click that some buyers cannot be bothered to make). Item Specifics need to be filled in wherever possible and these should repeat the information that is in your title and your description.
And if you do all that.....guess what? Your buyer may still not get the relevant information. (Happened to me last week--even though I had listed the size of a bandana in no less than 3 places in the listing, the buyer didn't catch on.)
The important thing to take away is this: do your best and see what happens. You can always adjust and make changes if your items fail to sell. And you're doing the right thing to ask for help from experienced buyers--that shows a determination to succeed.
One more thing--keep any sales chatter (requirements for payment and what will happen if the buyer doesn't and so forth) in the description area to the absolute minimum because it can drive buyers away.
10-14-2017 04:06 PM
10-14-2017 04:11 PM
Regular basic search doesn't look at your Description text at all. That's why a good title is important.
The nature of your Description depends a lot on what you're selling. The Description for a collectible will have a different tone than one for clothing, which in turn will be different than for car parts.
10-14-2017 04:12 PM - edited 10-14-2017 04:14 PM
Glad to help. When talking about shipping and such in the description, remember the old saying "least said soonest mended"--in other words, don't give away your strategy to the buyer; the less they know about some matters, the less they are gonna think about it and that helps keep you safe.
One way I learned about good listing practices was to examine listings by sellers I liked to buy from. There's one that I call my "hero seller" because his business model is a thing of beauty--he never explained it to me; I learned by checking his listings every day for weeks and months. He taught me so much about selling just by doing things the right way in his listings. Years later, I still check his listings weekly (often daily) even when I'm not planning on buying. Find a seller who is an inspiration and quietly watch what they do; you'd be surprised what great tips you pick up.
10-14-2017 04:19 PM
Shipping is the hardest part of selling,but most of what you want the buyer to know is covered by eBay standards and by the information you put into the Sell Your Item Form.
The main point is not to be negative.
Nothing will ever go wrong with your transactions because you picture clearly, describe accurately, have friendly Terms of Sale , and communicate politely with your customers.
Two ToS I particularly dislike are No Returns (because you have to do refunds so why argue)
10-14-2017 04:23 PM
10-14-2017 04:50 PM
Your shipping might work better if you set up calculated shipping. When you set up a flat rate for Priority Mail, you're inevitably undercharging some buyers and/or overcharging others. You can set also up combined-shipping rules in your Site preferences.
10-14-2017 05:03 PM
10-14-2017 05:06 PM
10-14-2017 05:11 PM
Hi, I just looked at your active listings and I see 77 items WITH NO PICTURES for any? You are not going to sell much of anything without pictures. You may want to check into this.
10-14-2017 05:15 PM
@ekmadonna wrote:Hi, I just looked at your active listings and I see 77 items WITH NO PICTURES for any? You are not going to sell much of anything without pictures. You may want to check into this.
What are you talking about? There are plenty of pictures...
10-14-2017 05:20 PM