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Once you have taken the time to create the best possible title for your item, you will have more space to give a detailed description of the product you're selling in the body of your auction. While the title and photo will get the person interested in your auction and bring them to your listing, your description is going to be what gets people to bid on your item.
Now that you've managed to get the potential bidder to your auction, your description needs to get them to place a bid. Chances are high that if the person doesn't place a bid the first time they view your auction, they won't come back to do it again. Furthermore, if you can get someone to bid on your auction early, this in itself will attract more bidders to your auction. There is an inherent curiosity when searching listings to see why someone has bid on a particular item, so auctions that already have bids stand out from the rest and bring even more potential bidders to your listing.
You want to list all the attributes of your product making it sound as appealing as possible while also being careful to accurately describe it. Details are extremely important. The more detailed you can be about your auction item, the better. People want to know as much as they can about something before making a bid on it. Even things that may seem obvious should be included. Imagine that you are on the phone and a friend has just called you to say that he has found this great item. What details would you want to know about it? Your description should paint a picture of the item in the person's mind. Don't rely on your photo to tell the story. Write your description as if you auction didn't have a photo at all.
If there is any flaw or imperfection with the item, be upfront about it. Simply ask yourself if you were the buyer and the seller left out the imperfection in the description, how would you feel when the item arrived? By making the description as accurate as possible, highlighting the attributes, but also giving details of any imperfections, you will greatly reduce the risk of having problems when the sale is completed. You will also quickly gain a reputation as describing your items accurately.
Descriptions can also help with attracting buyers to your auctions. While the main way people search is through the search engine that uses the titles, they can refine their search to include words found in the description. This lead many people in the early days of the online auctions to list hundreds of words after their description to get more people to view their auction even when the words had nothing to do with the product they were selling. This has become known as "key word spamming" and is not allowed. By making a longer description, however, you automatically create more words that in return increases the chances of your auction being included in someone's search.
If there is a story that goes along with the product, tell it. The buyer only has your description and photo to go on. The more flavor, detail and warmth you bring into your listing, the more likely the person looking at your auction will be to bid on it. Use adjectives freely and play on any unique attributes the item has. Take the time to create a description that will make the buyer feel completely comfortable with placing a bid on it if it is something that he or she is interested in.
Also be sure to give the after auction information in your auction. Give the shipping price for the item or all the prices if you offer several options. List the type of payments you will accept. Make a definite date at which point payment must be received. The clearer your instructions, the more comfortable the bidder will be and the less likely you will be to run into problems with the transaction.
While not all your items will be the same, there are portions of your description that can remain the same for virtually every product you sell. Once you have created a description you like and it seems to get people to bid, save it and make it into your template for auctions. Then simply change words where appropriate and add extra information where needed. Not only will this guarantee that each auction you list will have a quality description, it will also allow you to list a lot more auctions since you don't have to write a completely new description for every auction you list.
Copyright Jeffrey Strain and SavingAdvice.com 2003 - 2004, All Rights Reserved. If you find anything inaccurate in this article, please email us. Also be sure to read our disclaimer.
Now that you've managed to get the potential bidder to your auction, your description needs to get them to place a bid. Chances are high that if the person doesn't place a bid the first time they view your auction, they won't come back to do it again. Furthermore, if you can get someone to bid on your auction early, this in itself will attract more bidders to your auction. There is an inherent curiosity when searching listings to see why someone has bid on a particular item, so auctions that already have bids stand out from the rest and bring even more potential bidders to your listing.
You want to list all the attributes of your product making it sound as appealing as possible while also being careful to accurately describe it. Details are extremely important. The more detailed you can be about your auction item, the better. People want to know as much as they can about something before making a bid on it. Even things that may seem obvious should be included. Imagine that you are on the phone and a friend has just called you to say that he has found this great item. What details would you want to know about it? Your description should paint a picture of the item in the person's mind. Don't rely on your photo to tell the story. Write your description as if you auction didn't have a photo at all.
If there is any flaw or imperfection with the item, be upfront about it. Simply ask yourself if you were the buyer and the seller left out the imperfection in the description, how would you feel when the item arrived? By making the description as accurate as possible, highlighting the attributes, but also giving details of any imperfections, you will greatly reduce the risk of having problems when the sale is completed. You will also quickly gain a reputation as describing your items accurately.
Descriptions can also help with attracting buyers to your auctions. While the main way people search is through the search engine that uses the titles, they can refine their search to include words found in the description. This lead many people in the early days of the online auctions to list hundreds of words after their description to get more people to view their auction even when the words had nothing to do with the product they were selling. This has become known as "key word spamming" and is not allowed. By making a longer description, however, you automatically create more words that in return increases the chances of your auction being included in someone's search.
If there is a story that goes along with the product, tell it. The buyer only has your description and photo to go on. The more flavor, detail and warmth you bring into your listing, the more likely the person looking at your auction will be to bid on it. Use adjectives freely and play on any unique attributes the item has. Take the time to create a description that will make the buyer feel completely comfortable with placing a bid on it if it is something that he or she is interested in.
Also be sure to give the after auction information in your auction. Give the shipping price for the item or all the prices if you offer several options. List the type of payments you will accept. Make a definite date at which point payment must be received. The clearer your instructions, the more comfortable the bidder will be and the less likely you will be to run into problems with the transaction.
While not all your items will be the same, there are portions of your description that can remain the same for virtually every product you sell. Once you have created a description you like and it seems to get people to bid, save it and make it into your template for auctions. Then simply change words where appropriate and add extra information where needed. Not only will this guarantee that each auction you list will have a quality description, it will also allow you to list a lot more auctions since you don't have to write a completely new description for every auction you list.
Copyright Jeffrey Strain and SavingAdvice.com 2003 - 2004, All Rights Reserved. If you find anything inaccurate in this article, please email us. Also be sure to read our disclaimer.