on 27-08-2014 10:33 PM
I am starting this thread to find out what buyers think makes for a good listing. Over the years I have read threads where buyers complain about a seller's listing, but I want to start a thread that can be a one-stop place for posting ideas about listings. As a casual seller, I am interested to know what buyers think makes for a good or bad listing.
I'm not thinking about 'professionally' produced listings, I'm thinking more along the lines of listings produced by casual sellers.
What is it about a listing that makes you stand up and take notice? What can a seller do to improve their listings for buyers?
What puts you off a listing?
I'll kick it off with a few things I have gleaned about listings over the years.
Solved! Go to Solution.
on 27-08-2014 10:34 PM
I think that when a seller puts "I am not responsible for an item once it has been posted" they are losing potential customers. Buying from a seller that has this in their listing seems too much of a risk for me.
on 27-08-2014 10:34 PM
Photos that are not correctly oriented. I hate having to turn my laptop sideways just to view a photograph the right way around.
on 27-08-2014 10:42 PM
Hi slr, I like it when sellers state in their listings that they are happy to combine postage to save money.
I agree with you about the photos.
I hate GSP, and will avoid sellers that use it........................grrrrr
on 27-08-2014 10:52 PM
I,ve got three words to say. Photos, Photos, Photos. ( especially when they show mentioned faults. ) I hate it when you only get one photo. A reasonably brief but acurate description of condition is also very important. My pet hate is when sellers have heaps of terms and conditions, ( most of which are over-ruled by ebay policy anyway ). It just makes the seller look pedantic and difficult to get on with.
on 27-08-2014 11:28 PM
on 28-08-2014 01:05 AM
Lol, absolutely agree about loving badly photographed, poorly described items which get no bids and I can snipe for less than a couple of dollars.
If I want something fit to wear out of the house (not that some of the former don't turn out like that) then I want clear photos, measurements, especially of clothes, and no demands for prompt payment, disclaimers about responsibility or anything else other than positives like combined postage policies and good refund policies.
on 28-08-2014 11:55 AM
on 28-08-2014 12:40 PM
28-08-2014 03:19 PM - edited 28-08-2014 03:20 PM
I like:
I hate:
on 28-08-2014 04:32 PM
I like plain descriptions.
If it is too loud and looks more like a website than an eBay listing I won't buy.
I'm not there to see what else the seller has to offer. If I want to see what else they sell I'll go have a look.
I prefer short and to the point descriptions.
And short terms and conditions. With headings so I know where to direct my eyes depending on what I want to know.
Good quality photos are a must.
I base my own listings on what I like to see in others. They need to be easy to follow and easy to get information from without having to sort through mess.
on 28-08-2014 06:41 PM
Most of the core issues for me have already been mentioned, but just a couple of things... The biggest turn-off for me, perhaps strangely, is music. There's not too many sellers these days that have something auto-play if I open a listing, but there is one on eBay Oz, and I've come across their listings in my searches a few times now. They have some stuff I was thinking about buying, but I lost all interest when the music started.
Measurements are key, in a wide range of categories - nothing irks me more than seeing a craft component and not being able to tell if it will fit what I want to use it with. Sometimes some measurements are provided, but not the important ones (eg cabochon frames - I need to know the dimensions of the tray, not the overall outside dimensions).
Not as irksome, but still annoying - I also like to see numbers that refer to the most relevant quantity, not individual pieces if it takes >1 piece to = 1 of whatever is for sale (i.e. if something has 3 pieces per set or unit for 1 complete item, and there's 10 complete sets in a lot, I want to see "10 sets" in the title / description, not "30 PCS", in some cases both might be useful to include, eg bulk earring wires like 100 pairs / 200 ear wires, but the set quantity is the most important IMHO).
When I look for a seller's TOS, I'm primarily looking to see whether they combine and discount postage, if they have any pre-set amounts etc, and/or whether they ask to wait for a combined invoice rather than have auto-discounts set up (and as a related thing - free postage is a turn-off, too. For some things I don't have much of a choice because everyone is offering free postage on them, but I would say around 80% of the time I shop on eBay, I'm interested in purchasing several items at a time to make it worthwhile, and if I have the choice, I will buy from a seller who has postage quoted separately, then look at their other stuff. If a seller is offering free postage, I'm much less inclined to even look at their other items, let alone buy them).
Sellers using 95% of the listing to advertise other items, and the listing takes a couple of minutes to load properly, is a pet peeve. Not too many in Oz do it, so that's a plus, but some listings I click on have many extremely large images of half their catalogue in their descriptions, and it's a chore to wait for everything to load, then I feel like I'm reading a Where's Wally? book while I scroll through and find the bit that actually refers to the item for sale.
on 28-08-2014 06:41 PM
Nice clear photos & a bit of a description-as in, good condition? any faults? Measurements if relevant.
I hate ads where there is next to no description and only one distance shot.
I do hate it if an item is available for pick up & the seller doesn't list suburb, or they have something general such as "Melbourne area". Where, exactly? I get tired of having to ask.
Also, just a tip with photos. If you are selling something-anything really-have a look at the background in the photo. I've seen things advertised with mess all over the floor (and one was a wedding dress where they expected top dollar), or empty cigarette packets or bottles outdoors etc. To me it is a turn off. If it all looks messy/dirty or that you have taken no care with the photo, then I wonder about the condition of the item.
on 29-08-2014 12:32 PM
@springyzone wrote:Nice clear photos & a bit of a description-as in, good condition? any faults? Measurements if relevant.
I hate ads where there is next to no description and only one distance shot.
I do hate it if an item is available for pick up & the seller doesn't list suburb, or they have something general such as "Melbourne area". Where, exactly? I get tired of having to ask.
Also, just a tip with photos. If you are selling something-anything really-have a look at the background in the photo. I've seen things advertised with mess all over the floor (and one was a wedding dress where they expected top dollar), or empty cigarette packets or bottles outdoors etc. To me it is a turn off. If it all looks messy/dirty or that you have taken no care with the photo, then I wonder about the condition of the item.
And just to add to that, I hate clothes photographed lying on the floor or across a bed. And I am so over too many clothes sellers not including the size in their title and even worse, not including measurements. It seems the majority of clothes I look at and would like to buy don't include measurements, and then have to waste time asking for them.
on 30-08-2014 12:53 AM
Honesty.
on 30-08-2014 01:12 PM
on 30-08-2014 10:19 PM
I really like a description that is simple and honest sounding. One that doesn't go overboard to talk something up which makes me suspicious.
Good photos are fab, but if it's an item I know really well with bad photos . . . well that can be a nice way to pick up something cheap.
Agree about location being a must for a free local pick up. So annoying not to have it stated when you live in a big city.
I hate listings where the seller sounds burned out and bitter and has a bazillion requirements and policies listed (eg things like saying 'people who ask idiotic questions will be banned' . . . hmm really well thanks for the heads up that you are willing to be rude to people who haven't even yet purchased from you. Wouldn't be buying from them. These ones just shout to me that even if you have a legit quibble they will be a horror to deal with.
on 08-09-2014 02:23 AM
Just thought of this today - knowing whether or not returns will be to an Australian address. It's all good and well to say the item location is Sydney and it genuinely comes from Sydney, but getting a rude shock to return faulty or incorrect merchandise overseas is more than irksome, as evidenced by many of the threads here.
Computer would probably say, "No," to that one as it would actually require a working system to implement
on 27-08-2014 10:34 PM
I don't like the scrolling gallery whether it is at the top or bottom of a listing, it is too distracting.
on 27-08-2014 10:34 PM
I think that when a seller puts "I am not responsible for an item once it has been posted" they are losing potential customers. Buying from a seller that has this in their listing seems too much of a risk for me.
on 27-08-2014 10:34 PM
Photos that are not correctly oriented. I hate having to turn my laptop sideways just to view a photograph the right way around.
on 27-08-2014 10:35 PM
Poorly focussed photos, need I say more?
on 27-08-2014 10:42 PM
Hi slr, I like it when sellers state in their listings that they are happy to combine postage to save money.
I agree with you about the photos.
I hate GSP, and will avoid sellers that use it........................grrrrr
on 27-08-2014 10:52 PM
I,ve got three words to say. Photos, Photos, Photos. ( especially when they show mentioned faults. ) I hate it when you only get one photo. A reasonably brief but acurate description of condition is also very important. My pet hate is when sellers have heaps of terms and conditions, ( most of which are over-ruled by ebay policy anyway ). It just makes the seller look pedantic and difficult to get on with.
on 27-08-2014 11:28 PM
on 28-08-2014 01:05 AM
Lol, absolutely agree about loving badly photographed, poorly described items which get no bids and I can snipe for less than a couple of dollars.
If I want something fit to wear out of the house (not that some of the former don't turn out like that) then I want clear photos, measurements, especially of clothes, and no demands for prompt payment, disclaimers about responsibility or anything else other than positives like combined postage policies and good refund policies.
on 28-08-2014 11:55 AM