fashionable ebay tips - selling

(photo: myheartisaddicted's tumblr)

Selling


Having seen a lot of clothes and accessories listed on eBay, I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in terms of eBay listings. Here are a few tips which only require an ounce of common sense and a little bit of time.

1. Title
It may seem very obvious, state exactly what you're selling in the title as this will increase the likelihood of your listing coming up in searches by the sort of buyer that you're targeting. I've seen some terrible titles for some pretty decent items. Don't forget to include:
:: The name of the brand/designer
:: The size (if it's a 12 you might also want to include 'Medium' too to get more hits)
:: Whether it's brand new
:: Anything particularly interesting about the item e.g. 'Real leather' or 'This season' are good options to attract attention

2. Photos

(photo: fashiontoast)

Rumi from fashiontoast started her super successful blog as a result of all of the interest she got from her (now defunct) eBay shop, Treasure Chest Vintage. A lot of her success can be attributed to her eye for key pieces but also to her styling and Colin (the bf)'s photography skills. Which brings me to my point about photos on eBay listings: make the item look appealing!

As we're becoming increasingly exposed to and accustomed to slick styling and graphics from the likes of Net-A-Porter, ASOS, The Outnet, Topshop, and popular blogs, a dark photo of a bag laid flat on a stained carpet just doesn't quite cut the mustard.

You don't have to have an amazing camera, just a good amount of light, I prefer shooting my items on a sunny day rather than using the flash which changes the colour of items.

3. Description

Keep it simple. There are so many listings chock full of colour, different fonts, links, pictures, tables, stars you name it. When eBayers are searching/browsing all they want to know is what condition the item is in, whether there are any imperfections, the dimensions and perhaps some inspiration/ideas on how to wear it/style it.

Sometimes I like to insert photo inspiration which includes the item or demonstrates the particular trend. I usually get the images from the internet or magazines. eBay don't charge for uploading photos for clothing listings so whyever not!

fashionable ebay tips - searching

(photo: chaneljunk's tumblr)

True love
I have a love, love, LOVE relationship with eBay. The ever-escalating addiction has recently been fuelled by my purchase of an iPhone and the eBay app. Browsing and bidding on the Temple tube station platform: on-the-go bargain heaven.

Spreading the love
According to Marti Pellow, love is all around so why not share some of my searching, browsing, bidding, selling tips that help me with my bargain urges, whether it be high street or top designer. This list is work-in-progress and if you want to share any of your own eBay tricks please comment away!

Useful search terms 

Trend names

Sellers who sell trend-led clothing often use 'trend' names as part of their listing titles e.g. 'Navajo' is a recent fave or 'Colour block' is a good one for the recent hot spell, sometimes I browse 'Granny' too! then refine by category: Women's clothing, Women's accessories and Vintage Clothing & Accessories.

Celebs

If you like a certain celebrity's style then sellers will often use their name to denote an item which is in their style, for example, Alexa Chung, Kate Moss, Kate Middleton, Olsen, even Rumi from Fashiontoast.

Related labels
In order to increase traffic to their listings, sellers will often insert names of designers and labels related to or similar to the label of the item they're selling in the listing title. For example, 'Acne' and 'APC', 'Alexander Wang' and 'Rick Owens' and 'Margiela'.

So, if you're looking at Margiela tops you could end up bidding for several Alexander Wang bags - eek.

This Season
'topshop this season'
'net a porter this season'
'asos this season'
...
you get the picture.
I find this quite a good way to separate the really old stuff from the new stuff, the majority of which are still in store so you can definitely buy something at about 60-75% of the RRP.

More tips on making the most of saved searches, last minute bidding and selling to come!