It’s easy to earn a few dollars as an eBay seller. You find old junk around the house, perhaps covered in dust in the attic. You open a seller’s account, publish an ad with a mediocre picture and, like magic, you find that someone, somewhere, happens to want your junk for their attic.

Now you’ve earned a few dollars and cleared out space in your attic. But how can you take this to the next level? How can you become one of those lucky individuals who make a living selling on eBay? Is it fate, or business luck?

Rather than leave your eBay seller status in the hands of the auction gods, take your earnings into your own matters. The most important factor in selling on eBay is building trust – this is what separates the amateurs from the professionals.

Make a Great eBay Listing

Developing trust starts with building credibility from the very first impression. On eBay, this first impression stems from the appearance of the listing.

Review some of the eBay seller auctions that are set to expire, and you will find a rainbow of professional appearances. Now ask yourself: would you be more apt to buy from the seller who has a blurry photograph and a misspelled text listing, or the shop that has taken the time to include charts, graphs, a custom business graphic, and beautiful pictures of the item?

Some of the auctions on eBay look as if they were designed by a professional web developer. This is what you must aim for in order to begin building trust on eBay. You want a crisp background, clear lettering, dynamic descriptions, and professional-looking photos. If you want to break away from the pack, you have to invest both time and effort. However, you don’t have to have a degree in graphic design. All you need is a good word processing program and the dedication to learn a few tricks.

Professional Pictures Sell

Though it is almost unimaginable in this day and age, there are still hundreds of listings that do not include a photograph with their listings. This is inexcusable. If you want to begin building trust as an eBay seller, you must include multiple quality pictures with every listing.

Digital cameras are more affordable than ever, and all you need is good lighting and a steady hand to capture professional photos. Choose a neutral background, perhaps a clean white table, or a freshly pressed cloth drop. Position the product attractively, and make sure you take multiple pictures from different angles. Experiment by opening curtains and turning on lights in the room to minimize the shadows cast across the product. For less than $100, you can even purchase light boxes that illuminate the entire product very professionally.

It’s best to include a picture of your specific item, rather than a stock photo. The buyer wants to see the condition of your item. Those listings without “real” photos make it look as though they have something to hide.

Include Information about Yourself

Building trust as an eBay seller, in many cases, is just like building trust in any other form of internet commerce. The more information you give about yourself, the more likely it is that a buyer will give you his or her trust.

This does not mean you should include personal information about where you live and work, but it adds credibility to publish a short bio and a phone number where you can be reached. Even if most buyers would never think of actually calling you, the presence of such a number can go a long way to reassuring many buyers that you are a serious seller – and one that doesn’t need to hide behind the anonymity of a screen name.

Indeed, building trust does involve demonstrating a great reputation based upon feedback. However, creating a trusting rapport with your potential customers means that you exhibit professionalism – from the first impression to the last.

Filed under: eBay

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