ebay listings that sell for dummies

by Marsha Collier and Patti Louise Ruby eBay ® Listings That Sell FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page iii 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page ii eBay ® Listings That Sell FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page i 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page ii by Marsha Collier and Patti Louise Ruby eBay ® Listings That Sell FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page iii eBay ® Listings That Sell For Dummies ® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. eBay is a registered trade- mark of eBay, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2005939204 ISBN-13: 978-0-471-78912-3 ISBN-10: 0-471-78912-7 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1B/RT/QU/QW/IN 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page iv About the Authors Marsha Collier spends most of her time on things related to eBay. She’s a charter member eBay PowerSeller, as well as one of the original instructors for eBay University. As a columnist, an author of four best-selling books on eBay, a television and radio expert, and a lecturer, she shares her knowledge of eBay with millions of online shoppers. Thousands of eBay fans also visit her Web site, www.coolebaytools.com, to get Marsha’s latest insights on e-commerce. Out of college, Marsha worked in fashion advertising for the Miami Herald and then as special-projects manager for the Los Angeles Daily News. She also founded a home-based advertising and marketing business. Her successful business, the Collier Company, Inc., was featured by Entrepreneur magazine in 1986, and in 1990, Marsha’s company received the Small Business of the Year award from her California State Assemblyman and the Northridge Chamber of Commerce. Bargains drew Marsha to eBay in 1996, but profitable sales keep her busy on the site now. Marsha applies her business acumen and photography skills to her eBay business — and in this book, she shares her knowledge about what makes good, profit-promoting listings on eBay. Patti “Louise” Ruby, an Indianapolis native, was born to work on a computer. In junior high, she took a class in the programming language Fortran. She excelled and enjoyed the class: The die was cast. Patti went through several jobs as a programmer and then became a consultant. In the late ’90s, Patti was part-owner of an antique mall, and coincidentally found a Web site called AuctionWeb (the original eBay). She was fascinated by the concept, and began selling on the site. She also became an integral part of the chat rooms, which initially served as loose customer support where users helped other users. Patti’s ease with computers helped many a new user feel comfortable on the boards — and with using the AuctionWeb system. In February 1997, Patti was hired as AuctionWeb’s second Customer Support Representative. In this position, she became the main interface between the engineering staff and the user community, where she communicated mem- bers’ “bug” reports and suggestions for site enhancements. When AuctionWeb became the new eBay site in the fall of 1997, she headed up a “live” question- and-answer board that was set up to help members make the transition between platforms. 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page v In 1999, eBay started a traveling show called eBay University (where Patti first met Marsha), and she has been a lead instructor since its inception. Patti “retired” from eBay in February 2002, after five challenging, exciting years. Being a part of the early eBay years gave her the opportunity to watch the company grow from a small neighborhood market to the worldwide marketplace it is today. She has continued to buy and sell on eBay. She laughs, “. . .once you’ve discovered eBay, there is no escape!” 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page vi Dedication Marsha and Patti dedicate this book to the thousands of members of the eBay community who strive for better listings and higher revenues. We know just how difficult the striving can be and want to help in every way we can. We hope to meet as many of you as possible at eBay University classes and eBay Live. We take our lead from the legions of sellers who continue to inspire us to do what we can to carry them through the fun, challenging, and profitable jour- ney we call eBay. Authors’ Acknowledgments Without the amazing talents of Leah Cameron and Barry Childs-Helton, this book would not be one iota as good as it is (and it really is darn good). They are one top-drawer editorial team, and only by working with them can you possibly know how very talented (and patient) they are. We’d also like to thank our tech editor, Cindy Lichfield, for going over the book — and check- ing it twice! Steven Hayes, thank you. You’re always thinking and working a new angle. Its part of what makes working with you fun. Andy Cummings, it’s wonderful that someone as high up on the corporate food chain as you really cares about the writers. You’re a rarity in the pub- lishing field. Patti would like to thank Marsha for sharing this book with her. Patti says, “I always admired Marsha for what she was able to accomplish; now I know firsthand what a tremendous job it is she does! I’d also like to acknowledge my family, who has continued to display their unfailing belief in me, and David, as always, most of all.” 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page vii Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Editors: Leah Cameron, Barry Childs-Helton Acquisitions Editor: Steven Hayes Technical Editor: Cindy Lichfield Media Development Manager: Laura VanWinkle Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Cartoons: Rich Tennant ( www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Erin Smith Layout and Graphics: Andrea Dahl, Stephanie D. Jumper, Barbara Moore, Lynsey Osborn, Jill Proll, Heather Ryan Proofreaders: Jessica Kramer, Techbooks Indexer: Techbooks Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page viii [...]... apply to eBay sellers Remember that selling is the goal of this book It’s no accident that we focus these important topics in that direction 5 6 eBay Listings That Sell For Dummies Here in this part you find out why our philosophy of eBay, HTML, and Photography” is different from everything you may have encountered in other books The way we see it, all you want to do is post clean listings that sell your... seller was an eBay Trading Assistant (a seller who sells items on eBay for those who choose not to sell their own) — and charged clients a minimum fee to cover the time and expenses for every item listed Research — whether it’s for an item you plan on selling or buying, or for just about any situation you face on eBay — is your number-one tool for success If you think that a certain seller is a whiz-bang... creating listings that sell Chapter 1 Attracting Buyers with Your eBay Listing In This Chapter ᮣ Matching listings to your goods and your style ᮣ Attracting attention to your listings ᮣ Using the tools and techniques that make catchy listings ᮣ Copywriting, eBay style W hy is it that some eBay sellers are successful while others can’t seem to move their similar items? We get e-mails every day from sellers... with the For Dummies Tip icon in the margin next to them Follow the tip, and you’ll be right on target! We think that “senior moment” is an unfair term We’ve been forgetting things since the early ’70s (hmmmm, I wonder why?) At any rate, we point out these important-to-remember ideas with the “finger” (the one with the string around it), so you won’t forget them 7 8 eBay Listings That Sell For Dummies. .. better listings Better Listings + Better Photographs = More Money Isn’t that the goal we’re working toward? Our goal is to give you a boost toward building your eBay business Marsha’s Web site has been garnering good stuff for that purpose for years: www.coolebaytools.com CooleBayTools is the Web site for the For Dummies books regarding eBay Here you’ll find interesting articles by Marsha and a special... information you absolutely need to know to produce the right kind of product image, and nothing more 2 eBay Listings That Sell For Dummies We can help you! Patti Ruby — or “Louise” as she was known on the eBay chat boards — was one of the very first pinks on eBay (A pink is a customer-support person whose job includes posting on the chat and message boards These posts are highlighted in pink so eBay. .. 39 xii eBay Listings That Sell For Dummies Browsers 39 Web servers 40 Deconstructing an HTML Tag .41 Cascading Styles Sheets (CSS) 42 Sure and Simple Formatting Tricks 43 Part II: Lining Your Pockets with HTML 45 Chapter 4: HTML Text — Formatting Basics 47 Making Text Clear but Catchy with HTML 48 Formatting builds strong listings. .. “big-time” seller — and found that only about 1 in 20 of the listings resulted in the item being sold So how on earth could this person be such a huge success on eBay? Here’s the scoop: ߜ Quantity does matter: The seller listed hundreds of items per day, and whatever sold, sold If it didn’t sell on eBay, the item then came up for sale in the seller’s retail location ߜ Service fees make money, too: This seller... the dreaded HTML, of attracting more eBay profits! (By the way: Thank you if you’ve bought eBay For Dummies books before — and if this is your first one, welcome We’re sure this book will add some high-caliber know-how to your eBay selling arsenal.) There are good ways to display your eBay listings, and there are bad ways How many times have you opened an item on eBay and found barely enough of a description... look at that seller’s completed listings As sellers, you need to concentrate on what works best for your own style of listings and the type of items you sell Learning from other sellers can be helpful, but copying the look of someone else’s listings is really a waste of time (not to mention unfair to the person who worked hard to develop his or her own branded templates) Oddly enough, whether you sell . Patti Louise Ruby eBay ® Listings That Sell FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page iii 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page ii eBay ® Listings That Sell FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_789127. Marsha Collier and Patti Louise Ruby eBay ® Listings That Sell FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_789127 ffirs.qxp 3/27/06 5:59 PM Page iii eBay ® Listings That Sell For Dummies ® Published by Wiley Publishing,. available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2005939204 ISBN-13: 97 8-0 -4 7 1-7 891 2-3 ISBN-10: 0-4 7 1-7 891 2-7 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1B/RT/QU/QW/IN 01_789127