Getting the buyers attention is the first thing, i wont go into it much (In terms of importance) but the Top Title, then the Main Picture (And gallery photo) then the subtitle then the actual listing are very important in an effective Ebay listing.

So, you've written an effective title, subtitle (Just as important but not searchable) got your photos processed and uploaded (The right way around!) and are now writing your listing up.

I guess you read my guide to hosting and adding your own photos, so you can now show the product images in the body of your listing as well as just on the Ebay photo gallery (Honestly, nobody will bother reading a bunch of text, all they really want is the photos of the product, or screenshots if electronic and this will pretty much make their minds up, apart from...the specs, see below):

A bit about the photos!

 I recommend using your own photos for your Ebay listings, apart from the potential intellectual copyright issues that you may be faced with, a product is more "Real" and "True" if it is shown the photos of the actual product. I will soon write a guide on photographing products for Ebay and taking screenshots, however i will assume you have taken and processed the images for the time being. Take clear photos, dont use a flash as this washes out the images, if you are taking a screenshot (If you're selling software) then resize the image and compress so that it doesnt look too big and load too slowly!

The specs

When someone goes on Ebay to buy something (Note they may not be planning on buying, but ma be browsing) when they get to the actual individual listings, they dont want to read a book, thats not what they are on Ebay for.

Show all the photos that will be required, the more information you provide in pictures, the easier it is on the viewer (They would much rather look at pictures than read text) the better. Give a bullet list of product specs, specs that you think the target viewer will want to know- Theres no point in telling a lone parent who is looking at a corsa that the car is xx horsepower when you could be telling them that there is a facility for child seat, or that you get xxx low miles per gallon with the car. I know you'll be thinking "Why hide the facts", i'll tell you "Im not hiding the facts, im giving the target buyer the relevant facts, not information that is incomprehensable or useless to them, if the target buyer wants to know more i will have a link that points the viewer to the Ask Seller A Question link to the top of the listing".

Bullet points are easy on the eye, too many are bad though. Bullet points are there to give a quick list of facts about the product, even about the product uses such as:

• Lots of room for two children in the back
• Big doors for easy access
• Rubber mats on the floors for spillages

- I think so long as the list is not too big, you can mix in the uses with the facts, a use is only your interpretation of what you think may be good for the target buyer.

If the product you are selling has bad points, i recommend putting these in your listing. I DO NOT recommend putting them at the top, as they may put the buyer off before they see the good points, however i dont recommend putting these at the bottom either, because this could be construed as hiding the facts, just the same as this dont make the text of the bad points/faults smaller than the rest of the listing!

Location?

Your products really should be photographed in its best setting, but make sure there are no distractions around it!

If you are selling a car, I recommend taking the photo in the sort of place that you think the potential target buyer (For the type/spec of car) will use it. If you are selling a sports car, take the photos in a sporty place, take the shots quite close up and as always - make sure the car is clean (Unless its a rally car, then take the photo with the car in action in the mud!). For PC reasons I wont go into where the corsa may have its photo taken, i just mean to photo it so that the potential buyer may be able to relate to the situation in which the photo was taken in. A big posh car, take the photo outside an airport terminal (If you are allowed), a people carrier beside a park or in a driveway (In a friends if you dont think that your driveway is the sort of driveway that a potential target buyer will park their car in, OR ASPIRE TO).

More about taking the photos!

If you have a car, you will want to show each angle, if there are scratches etc then make sure the car is clean first (Or the target viewer may think that the scratch is worse) then get the scratch photos. If you are selling a computer, take a photo of the front, back, side, monitor (If the monitor comes with it), peripherals and overall view. Tidy the desk up if this is where the computer is situated at the time of taking the photos, other objects distract, something clean neat and tidy will make the potential bidder/buyer believe they are getting real value for money, a dirty old computer on a cluttered desk may make a potential punter think they are going to get a bargain rather than a quality product from a seller that has taken real care of his stuff!

Make sure that people know that there is a "Contact seller" button at the to of the page, so that if they have questions (You'd be surprised what sort of questions people ask) they can go ahead and do so, the more information that a potential buyer has the more informed they are, thats less chance of someone complaining after the sale and more chance of more bids and a good end price!

This is a very rough guide, and will be tidied up in time!