Auction Information

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words and Creates Auction Euphoria on eBay


Ever since I sold my first item on ebay I have been addicted to the site and I have steadily developed it as a supplementary source of income over the last two years. As I gained experience from listing items, I rapidly became aware that the inclusion of pictures in the listings was a major selling point as buyers could literally see what they were buying and as such create a greater interest and desire within them which in turn led to greater selling prices.

To sum it up in one sentence:

Pictures attract attention, help explain details and more importantly stimulates desire which leads to Auction Euphoria.

Auction Euphoria is that process whereby the desire to own an item is that great that all logic goes out the window and the buyer rebids to ensure that they win it, thus increasing the selling price.

This simple bit of knowledge has allowed me to push my final selling prices up on average between 10-30% and as such it amazes me that so many listings do not include one picture and just type out the details in one long line of text (usually all in capitals!). I am not complaining however because this fact alone has allowed my auctions to stand out and make the money.

I started off using eBays add additional photo service to include extra images in my listings which people could use as a reference point and I found out the following :

1. Always make sure that the image is clear and of the actual item for sale, otherwise what is the point of including it? You will find that poorly presented pictures suggest that the seller doesn't care and hence will devalue the potential selling price of the item which is of no use to anyone.

2. Never use a stock photograph of the item for sale, with the increase in fraudulant transactions (especially on the higher value items) this will serve to put the buyer off, again serving to devalue your final selling price. Taking a little extra time to get an actual photograpah shows yours buyers that you care and will endear them to you.

3. Where possible use a digital camera, these are very easily accessable nowadays and relatively cheap and they produce excellent images. A webcam can also be used but does give a grainier picture. Remember the cost of the digital camera can be offset by the gain in final selling prices.

4. Have good lighting on your images, a poorly lit image may as well not be there. Where possible I take mine outside into the garden, put it onto a chair with white paper behind it and take advantage of the natural light. Its a few minutes work that pays dividends in the end in cold hard cash!

5. Never just use one image, always use at least two. I tend to use one image for every one of the details (or faults) that I mention in the listing. This illustrates what you are actually trying to describe and helps to prevent the dreaded negative feedback of 'the item wasn't as described'.

Using the above meant my auctions stood out and I was considered to be true to my word by my buyers so much so that I have multiple return buyers and the Auction Euphoria effect is evident on my auctions as there regularly go for higher prices than similar items listed on eBay.

As I developed my auctions I realised that using eBays additional picture service was COSTING ME a large proportion of my profit so I looked into other ways of getting my pictures on my listings. I also realised that the format of the listings was another major factor. I wanted to use the additional pictures to illustrate a detail or fault but it was no use having the picture at the bottom of the listing away from the description as per eBays standard approach.

So I did some research and learned that the answer to my problems was HTML to generate a template for my listings and allow me to pull my images into them without having to use eBays image service, sure it was still gonna cost me to host my own images but no where near what eBay was charging me. Using this has meant that my eBay Listing Fees have dropped by nearly 90%.

My buyers then started to ask me if they could use my templates and how they could include images on thier listings, advice which I always gave to them. I then decided to put this advice together on a few webpages so that they could use it as a reference and to upload some of the templates that I have used in the past so that anyone can use them for FREE.

I hope that these simple bits of advice help you to take advantage of Auction Euphoria, and really develop your profits from the amazing, and addictive, animal that is eBay auctions.

Mike - Webmaster and eBay Power Seller.

Online Auction Trader

FREE eBay Selling Templates, can be used by anyone you dont need to ask my permission to use them anywhere you want.


MORE RESOURCES:

RM Auctions gets ready for Concours d'Elegance of America
AutoWeek
Cars from the Kughn collection at RM Auctions event at the Concours d'Elegance of America. Photo by Darin Schnabel . 1930 Cadillac V16 All-Weather Phaeton Photo by: Darin Schnabel. Cars from the Kughn collection at RM Auctions event at the Concours ...



BuddyTV

BuddyTV Free Auctions: Win a Copy of the 'Game of Thrones' Book 1 or 'The ...
BuddyTV
The BuddyTV Free Auctions are a set of weekly and bi-weekly auctions where users can win all sorts of TV paraphernalia by being the highest bidder. It's as simple as logging in, going to the games tab and clicking auctions to see what's up for grabs ...



SB Nation

Alabama auctions broken BCS title trophy for $105000
SB Nation
Alabama recently auctioned off its broken 2011 BCS national title trophy, which when intact was valued around $30,000, for more than $100,000. The crystal football was accidentally broken last spring by Carlton Tinker, the father of former Crimson Tide ...
Alabama auctions off broken BCS trophyYahoo! Sports
Alabama Auctions Off Broken 2012 BCS Championship Trophy for $105K (Photo)NESN.com
Alabama Auctions Off Broken National Championship Trophy For $105000FanSided
USA TODAY (blog) -Lost Lettermen
all 18 news articles »


D Magazine

This Week Heritage Auctions Offers A Brief Look at a Trove of Modern and ...
D Magazine
So while the fact that Heritage Auctions is holding an auction this week of modern and contemporary art, featuring works by Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, Ellsworth Kelly, and many others, may excite the collectors among you, the open viewing offers another ...



Treasury Auctions Set for This Week
New York Times
The Treasury's schedule of financing this week includes Monday's regular weekly auction of new three- and six-month bills and an auction of four-week bills on Tuesday. At the close of the New York cash market on Friday, the rate on the outstanding ...

and more »


Us Magazine

Downton Abbey's Brendan Coyle: Win a Romantic Date With Him!
Us Magazine
Downton Abbey fans, listen up! Unlikely heartthrob Brendan Coyle, the 49-year-old English actor who plays Bates, the PBS show's ill-fated butler, is auctioning himself off to benefit the Origin Theatre Company in New York. The event takes place tonight ...
'Downton Abbey' auction lets you read poetry to Mr. Bates - um, what?Zap2it.com (blog)

all 9 news articles »


Fairfield Resident Auctions Art to Benefit Mental Health Services
Patch.com
There is also a Newtown Tzedakah (charity) Box, which pairs the events of Newtown with more traditional Jewish motifs, and other carvings. Paris' work will be auctioned off at the end of June and proceeds will go toward community mental health services.



Willis Henry Auctions, Inc. to hold American Indian & Ethnographic Art Auction ...
Art Daily
ROCKLAND, MASS.- Willis Henry Auctions, Inc. will present Tribal Art material at auction featuring four major collections: the John P. Richardson Collection of Hingham, Massachusetts including Southwestern paintings from the Henry Beston family (from ...



Economic Times

CCI to seek more info from CAG on telecom spectrum auctions
Economic Times
In November and March, the government had put on auction more than half of the spectrum that was freed after the Supreme Court in February last year cancelled 122 mobile permits issued by the then Telecom Minister A Raja to nine telecom companies in ...
CAG accuses operators of forming cartel in recent auctionsTelecompaper (subscription)
DoT and operator cartelisation blamed for failure of spectrum auctionsTeleGeography
CAG on spectrum auctions: Govt did nothing to bust telcos' cartelFirstpost
Light Reading India -Business Standard
all 16 news articles »


ABC News (blog)

SEAL Auctions Bin Laden Raid Knife for Fallen Friend
ABC News (blog)
A member of the elite team that killed Osama bin Laden donated a knife he carried on the historic raid to a charity auction recently, raising $35,400 for the family of another Navy SEAL who perished in a training accident in March. Mark Owen, the ...


Google News

eXTReMe Tracker
Auctions home | Auctions site map
© 2006 - www.worldpaidshop.com