A Little Lesson on Photos for Online Listings

It is something I run into every day on eBay, poor quality pictures in a listing. Since the days we were allowed to start inserting photos into listings I can remember this was an area I could stand out as a seller. The old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" is absolutely correct!

Even after all these years I still find myself struggling to get the best pictures possible of items, I like to think I do a pretty good job, but always room for improvement I'm sure!

So some tips:

1. Have adequate lighting, here are two examples good lighting and poor lighting...

2. Crop as much excess from around the actual item for sale and you can still see in the examples above the difference.

3. Take photos with this thought in mind, "my customer does not have this item in their hand so I must in essence put it in their hand and take the best photos of all pertinent angles including the bottom, especially in the case of porcelain and glass items even if they have nothing on them."

4. Make your images large enough to view without enlarging, people in this day and age are not into clicking on things to see them, you will lose people's interest fast if you make them click through to see the item they may be interested in.

5. If there is ANY damage on the item include a closeup! Can't emphasize this enough. You can sell something with a crack or chip but will get treated harshly in the feedback department if you didn't set buyer expectation on what they were receiving.

Here is one of my most recent listings:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220752085889&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

If you are viewing this past the point the auction is still available for viewing here are just a couple of the photos of these G. Armani Running Free sculpture...

In order to even think I will get my opening bid and beyond I have to include several high quality photos of the item. No one would ever consider paying hundreds of dollars for an item they couldn't see clearly.

You don't have to be a professional photographer to sell online, you don't have to have a fancy camera even! Just take clear, well lit , detailed photos and you will be at the higher end of the price range on the items you sell!