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Its damn simpler to place a listing on an Internet auctions. As a matter of fact anyone can do it. In an ideal scenario selling at online auctions is like fishing, its fun and sometimes addictive but only when you are catching something. Find below just a few of the many tips to assist sellers in having the best auction experience. 1. Listing Lessons *Category selection. It is of utmost importance that you take care when selecting categories. Furthermore go though the auction site and make a list of categories that best suit your product and situation. After that narrow these down to one and its appropriate subcategories. Few of the auction sites allow two category listings for an additional fee. It is quite mandatory that you avoid listing in categories that have less than 1000 listings, typically, these categories dont get as much traffic. Aim for categories with 4,000 to 5,000 listings. *Research. It is crucial that you take great pains to research the Internet auctions sites terms and agreements and similar products on the website. In addition see how much the starting price is and how much they are selling for. Begin as low as possible. Products with low starting prices are more likely to be bid on first. Moreover, avoid reserve prices. Individual become wary of a product they are blindly bidding on; however, reserves are usually expected for highticket items like computers and televisions. *Its all in the timing. Carefully opt for closing times and days. Its better to close an auction during peak hours of the day, usually when people are at home and willing to spend money. Few of the higher traffic days are Sunday and Monday nights from about 5 to 10 PM or Saturday and Sunday mornings between 10 AM and 2 PM. *Find a niche. Majority of major companies and department stores are flooding the online market and making it difficult for individual sellers to sell common goods like clothes and appliances. Though, finding your niche in the auction world will benefit the buyer and seller. In that regard focus on objects that department stores dont usually carry like products from joke shops, magic shops or rare baseball cards. *Be up front and honest. It is essential that you always disclose shipping and handling arrangements and payment options. In other word dont become over zealous in the shipping department. Furthermore be honest about how much the product really costs to ship. In case if someone buys an item for two dollars, they will not be willing to pay eight dollars for shipping and handling. Remember that overcharging for shipping is considered price gauging and seriously frowned upon and can sometimes result in being kicked off the auction site. The general thumb rule is the more payment options the seller is willing to accepted the more likely the item will be bid on; however, make it very clear to the buyer that if paying by check or money order, the product will not be shipped until the check clears. Majority of people feel safe using third party payment companies like PayPal and many auction sites highly recommend using these services. 2. Visually Speaking *In theory a picture is worth a 1000 words. Because of this simple reason always include one or more photos of the product. Fact remained that buyers feel more comfortable bidding on products they have seen. No matter how descriptive the information are about the item, always include a photograph of the item in the gallery page and on the details page. *Bold and Highlight. Large chunk of auction sites offer additional listing upgrades; these often include bolding or highlighting item titles in the gallery or in features. These upgrades normally cost a little extra; however, they will help make your product stand out in the crowd. Remember, in case if the item is listed in two categories the fees will be double. *Include background. You can spice things up a little with background watermarks or textures. This offers the seller the opportunity to subtly show personality. Though, be careful when choosing a background. It is advisable that you dont chose flashy designs that will irritate the eyes of the person browsing the page or distract from the product being sold. 3. Choose Words Wisely *Headlines are more or less advertisements. The objective is to sell the item, therefore use words that make the item sound special without lying. This is a tricky business to say the least and professional advertisers are paid millions of dollars to think of interesting Internet auctions ways to sell products. Take the help of power words like designer, new, rare, unique, easytouse, money saving, etc. According to experts included with choosing power words is creating a strong search. Believe me 65 percent of eBay users find products through the search feature, including specific search terms like designer names and product manufacturers will greatly increase traffic. Power words can be termed as the words that get peoples attention without taking up too much space. You can use a combination of attentiongetting words with short detailed descriptions of what the product is in the title. In addition, avoid strange characters like @@, $$$ or !!! These symbols are distracting and unprofessional in nature. Remember most important thing that lying about a product is illegal. Thats why dont advertise an item as rare if any Larry, Curly or Moe can get the same item at WalMart. *Detailed descriptions. The item information section is the products place to shine. In other word this is where the seller should include every detail they can think of about the item, important or otherwise. You can also include the products history, any defects, why its being sold and stories. Again, individual like to know what they are buying. Therefore be honest about cracks, bends, rips and imperfections. Additionally, in case if the item has a story attached to it, tell the story. This more often than not gives the item a personal touch and allows the buyer to know a little something about the seller. People are more likely to purchase products from those they feel a connection Internet auctions with rather than strangers.
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