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Make Your Auctions Sell Better

(Posted August, 2003):

There are something like 17 million active sellers on eBay as I write this, and on most auctions you are hardly the only seller with that particular item. So how do you beat your competition, or at least not let them beat you?

First of all, put yourself in the buyer's shoes. What would make you feel more comfortable about sending money to a stranger? Here are some obvious points:

1. What payment options does the seller accept? Personally, I try to avoid buying from someone who doesn't accept either PayPal or a credit card. If the seller accepts credit cards directly, that means he has an establisted business of some type, since qualifying for a merchant account is not automatic, and generally it is not cheap as far as monthly fees. So if someone has a merchant account that means he or she is most likely not some fly by nighter (though some good people do go bad, unfortunately). However, even though just about anyone can qualify for a PayPal account, I generally feel comfortable going that route.  In fact, using PayPal is far more convenient than any alternative. A seller who accepts credit cards either directly or thru PayPal gives you some level of purchase protection in case of fraud.

2. What kind of feedback does the person have? Just take a quick look at the seller info box on the auction listing, if I see a rating over 100, and a percentage of positives 99.8 or higher, I have no qualms about dealing with the person. If the feedback or percentage is lower, I'll proceed further and evaluate the seller's feedback profile comments more thoroughly. What do previous buyers say? Are there neutrals as well as negatives? Often a neutral comment can be considered just as bad as a negative, depending on how it reads. Many buyers don't want to risk retaliation if they leave a negative. Something like "NEUTRAL: Took 30 days to ship, but eventually got here" is not the kind of person I want to deal with. But not every seller is perfect, and not every buyer is fair in the comments they leave, so do some due diligence in investigating. If you're comfortable, proceed to step 3.

3. How well does the description describe the item? Is there a picture (or more than one)? If the item is condition sensitive, is the condition described well? Is there a guarantee given?

4. What about shipping charges? Are they fair in relation to the weight and/or cost of the item? You may not know the weight exactly, but someone who wants to charge you $9.95 postage and handling for a pair of socks should lead you to the next auction.

So if you understand what the buyer is looking for, that can help you as a seller to provide that information. Before you list, I suggest scouting out the competition. Do a search for what you think the main keywords are for your item. Look at the titles and descriptions of those items. Especially look for completed items rather than auctions in progress since often an auction gets the majority of its bids in the last hour. Analyze what might have made the top price sell better than the bottom prices. You can learn a lot from doing that.

Here's my suggestions on writing an auction:

1. Pick the correct category. Often there is more than one choice, but usually the best choice is obvious. Checking out successful auctions that were completed might help you make a decision if you're not sure.

2. Make sure the title is plain and includes the keywords necessary to cause a "hit" when a typical buyer is searching for the item, or to stand out when someone is just scanning through the auction list for the category. Garbage words like L@@K or multiple exclamation marks are a waste and can give a bad first impression. It should go without saying that you should spell check your title (as well as everything else in your listing, of course, but especially your title), but I notice a lot of spelling errors in listings. If someone is searching for a Barry Bonds rookie card, and your title says Berry Bonds rookie, you won't be seen. You only have 45 characters to work with, put in as many obvious search keywords as you can, and if there is room left over, put in abbreviations of things like BIN (buy it now if you're using that), NR (no reserve if that's true), PP (PayPal if you accept it), etc.

3. Make sure your description is accurate and complete. If appropriate, give the dimensions of your item, as well as color, brand, manufacturer, etc. The condition is important. Is it new or used? It may be obvious to you that it's new, but not necessarily to the buyer. Are there any distinguishing characteristics of the item? What is the estimated retail value of the item (unless you think that it might hold down the bid price)? Are there sellers you will not sell to, for example if you're selling a hunting knife you might add a sentence that says no sales to anyone under 18. If you're selling an item that cannot be sold in certain states, for example a stun gun or a slot machine, you need to mention the restrictions.

4. What are the shipping charges? Be precise. If the quoted price is for shipment by UPS ground, and postal delivery to Alaska, Hawaii, or P.O. boxes is extra, state it here. If insurance is included, state it (that could be considered an advantage over someone that makes you pay extra), if insurance is extra, how much extra? Will you ship to international addresses, state yes or no, and you should state, if yes, that additional postage will be necessary, and to email for a quote (or give a weight so that the buyer can estimate the postage themselves rather than waiting for reply from you (perhaps they're looking at your item and there's only 10 minutes remaining before the auction ends, they have no time to wait for an email exchange)). Do you offer reduced total shipping charges when combined with another auction win shipped at the same time to the same address? That will encourage bidders to look at your other auctions also. If you charge $5.95 to ship 1, and $6.95 to ship 2, you just might give them a reason to bid on 2. Do you give a bonus if someone makes a qualifying purchase? If so mention it (but check out the eBay rules about bonuses, there are some restrictions).

5. What are the payment options? Do you wait for checks to clear before shipping? Personally, I tend to ship lower value items without waiting for the check to clear, and I don't want to turn off someone who's buying a $3.00 item by telling them if they send a check I won't ship for 10 days. That's especially true of you're not accepting PayPal or credit cards. It's asking a lot to ask someone to go down to the post office, bank, supermarket, or convenience store, and stand in line and spend an extra .75 or more to buy a $3.00 money order, when they know they have plenty of money in their bank account to cover the check they can write and mail today.

6. I mention this in another article, but feedback testimonials are a great sales point. Copy some from prior auctions, and include them in your description. Don't go overboard, but at the very least (assuming your feedback is something to be proud of), mention that you recommend checking out your feedback as well as feedback of anyone they are buying from. Remember, you're selling not only your item, but your reputation.

7. Do you offer some kind of buyer protection or guarantee? Say so if you do. Very seldom will someone take you up on it (assuming you describe properly, and pack and ship carefully), but a guarantee is the best thing you can do to encourage an impulsive purchase. If you guarantee to refund the original purchase price but not the shipping charges, say so.

8. Above all, make sure your terms are completely clear. Don't surprise the bidder with bad news after the end of the auction, that's the quickest way to receive negative or neutral feedbacks, and/or a high percentage of non-paying bidders. And keep an eye out for the competition if it's an item you're continuing to sell. They might try one-uping you if you're more successful than they are, so be ready to react yourself.

Obviously writing a description that includes all the information above can seem like a lot of work if you're selling something for less than $10.00, but you're find that most of the suggestions will lead to the same wording in every auction you write, so put your template down either in your auction management software, or in a Notepad file on your desktop, just change the particulars for each new auction, and it should be no problem at all. If you follow the suggestions in this article, hopefully your average bid prices will increase.

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR AUCTION SALES, I WELCOME YOUR SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONS TO THIS ARTICLE!

Dennis Becker, MDM Sports, www.auction-tips-and-techniques.com