Buyers really like pictures. The more pictures you have, the more they'll feel like buying their item from you instead of your competitor. In fact, there are plenty of buyers who will literally leave your auction within 5 seconds of arriving if they don't find a picture there waiting for them. A little extra work on photography can pay off massively, especially if you're working on slim profit margins. But why is it so effective? 1. It shows youre serious. Sellers who take the time to take good pictures and present them properly are much more likely to go to the trouble of providing good customer service. Buyers instinctively know this. If you can't be bothered to take a simply photo and upload it to eBay, are you really going to pack their item properly? Are you going to post it on time? 2. It makes them trust you. Your buyers will feel more comfortable that you actually have the item if they can see that you have your own photo of it. It also reassures the buyers that your item isnt a beaten up and broken piece of rubbish. 3. It makes your auction stand out. When your picture is displayed on the search results screen, people can see your item right there instead of having to read your title. People prefer to work visually, and are more likely to pay attention to a picture. If you want the kind of response that pictures can bring, then here are a few simple tips to make this work for you even better. * Bombard them with images. eBay might want you to pay for the privilege of adding more than one picture to an auction, but if you have your own web hosting then you can do it for free. Just take as many pictures as you want, upload them to your webspace, and then add them to the auction using HTML. It's really very simple... Just write this in your description each time you want to insert a picture: img src="http://www.your-website.com/picturename.jpg" * Take better pictures. You should also use an image-editing program to touch up your pictures. There are plenty of choices. Ifranview (www.ifranview.com) is good and it's also free! Adjust things like brightness and contrast to make sure that buyers get the best view of your items. * Improve picture quality. Get a good camera, and pay attention to technique and composition when you take the photos. Don't just throw them on your bed and take photos. A better way would be to use an empty, lightly coloured table, place it against a white or nearly-white wall and take your photos there. Other good ways to get more people to respond to your auctions is to find the best price points. This includes starting prices, Buy it Now prices, and shipping prices. But remember... Even if your prices are good, without photos you won't get the good results you're looking for. |
