eBay Title Writing Tips

By Hendra Subrata Liu

Trying to help your buyers find your auctions can be a truly daunting task. Most people only search
eBay by title, not by description, and that means that you only have those 55 characters of the title
to cover all the possible search terms. That's not easy. In this email, I'll give you a few pointers.

Don't bother with eBay clichés
There are plenty of eBay auction titles that say things like "Super rare camera wow look low price".
These are stupid things to put in your title, as no-one is going to search for them.

Think like a buyer
If you were looking for your item, then what exactly would you type into that box? If you think it'd help,
try searching yourself to find someone else selling your item. What were the first things you thought of
typing?

Think like other sellers
Keep an eye on which sellers are doing best with items like yours, and try to copy their title styles -
if it works for them, it can work for you.

Be specific
You should be sure to write the item's brand and specific model number in the title, as people will
often search only for this information. Make sure that you also say exactly what the item is.

A Few Examples
Here are a few examples of good titles. They're real, and they're on eBay right now, making their sellers
money. So what makes them good?

"Dell Latitude Laptop P3 500mhz Notebook PC Computer"

If you know about computers, you'll know instantly what this auction is selling. It has manufacturer (Dell)
and product line (Latitude), followed by a few technical specifications (P3 500mhz is the processor speed).
Notice also that the title includes the four words 'laptop', 'notebook', 'PC' and 'computer', as the
seller wants people looking for any of those words to see his auction.

"OASIS Don't Believe the Truth CD Album (New)"
This auction for a CD is well formatted: it gives the artist name in capital letters, followed by the album name.
It then manages to include the two key words 'CD' and 'album', as well as the word 'new' - that means that
anyone searching for 'new oasis cd', 'oasis new album' and so on will find this auction.

"1840 Penny Black stamp, certificate, four margins"
Here's a slightly more obscure one, from the exciting world of stamp collecting. A penny black is one of
the oldest and most famous stamps. It uses a few key words that collectors will consider important:
'four margins' indicates that the stamp has been cut out with some margins around it and so isn't damaged,
and 'certificate' tells you that the item has a certificate of authenticity - it's a real penny black.
Remember to use every bit of space to squeeze in as much important information as you can in the title.

So now that you've written a winning title, you need to start on a great description. The next email will
show you how.

About the author:
To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.pandanwangi.pobs.me
http://www.homebizrevelations.blogspot.com
http://www.healthismorepreciousthanwealth.blogspot.com

How to Choose the Right eBay Product Category

By Hendra Subrata Liu

Some people think it's easy to choose the right eBay category, and often it is. Sometimes, though,
it might not be quite clear exactly what to go for.

Why is it Even Important?
Plenty of people use the category system to find items, when they're not looking for something specific.
If your item is listed in the wrong category - or you've just given up and listed it in 'Everything Else' -
then these people aren't going to find your auction.

Also, listing items in the wrong categories is against eBay's rules, and eBay say they will remove any
auctions that are wrongly categorised. They don't often actually do this, but it's not worth the risk -
especially since breaking any rules can cause them to penalise your account, including losing PowerSeller
status if you have it.

So What Can You Do?
eBay will suggest categories for you when you sell your item, if you type in a few words to describe the
item on the category selection page and click 'search'. You can make the best of this feature by typing
in exactly what your item is, with brand name and model number (if any), so that eBay can find the best
category for you.

If that doesn't work for you, then search yourself for items like yours, and pay attention to which category
most of them seem to be in (you can see this near the top of each item's description page). Try different
words and see which ones come back with the most results. You can also browse through all the available
categories from eBay's front page.

Remember that the more specific the category is, the better - use as many subcategories as are appropriate.
Don't just list your HP laptop in the 'Computers' category, for example - list it in 'Computers >
Laptops > HP'. Don't worry: your item will still appear in the 'Computers' category, as well as 'Computers >
Laptops', because items listed in subcategories are always listed in every category above.

Take some time to look through all the categories and get familiar with the way eBay as a whole is laid out.
After all, that's better than getting a few months down the line and finding that you still think of eBay's
category system like it's some kind of scary jungle.

What if More Than One Category Fits?
Don't worry, eBay have you covered. For a small extra fee, you can list your item in an extra category,
to increase the number of potential buyers who will see it. This isn't always worth it, though - some
items only really fit properly in one category, and listing them in extra categories is just a waste.

Once you know where to list your item, the next step is to write your auction's title. The title is the most
important thing about your auction - the difference between a good title and a bad title can be the
difference between $10 and $100. That's why I'll take you through the dos and don'ts in the next email.

About the author:
To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.pandanwangi.pobs.me
http://www.homebizrevelations.blogspot.com
http://www.healthismorepreciousthanwealth.blogspot.com