Ordinarily, I don’t throw out French phrases just for the fun of it. But where making a profit is an issue, I definitely have to agree with the French that choosing or not choosing
le mot juste
can mean the difference between having potential bidders merely see your auction and having an all-out bidding war on your hands. Read on for tips about picking
the best words
to let your listing shine.

Look for a phrase that pays

Here’s a crash course in eBay lingo that can help bring you up-to-speed on attracting buyers to your item. The following words are used frequently in eBay listings, and they can do wonders to jump-start your title:

Mint

One of a kind (or OOAK — see the abbreviation list in Table 10-1)

Vintage

Collectible

Rare

Unique

Primitive

Well-loved

There’s a whole science (called
grading
) to figuring out the value of a collectible. You’re ahead of the game if you have a pretty good idea of what most eBay members mean. Do your homework before you assign a grade to your item. If you need more information on what these grades actually mean, Chapter 5 provides a translation.

eBay lingo at a glance

Common grading terms and the phrases in the preceding section aren’t the only marketing standards you have at your eBay disposal. As eBay has grown, so has the lingo that members use as shortcuts to describe their merchandise.

Table 10-1 gives you a handy list of common abbreviations and phrases used to describe items. (
Hint:
Mint means “may as well be brand new,” not “cool chocolate treat attached.”)

Often, you can rely on eBay slang to get your point across, but make sure that you mean it and that you’re using it accurately. Don’t label something MIB (Mint in Box) when it looks like it’s been Mashed in Box by a meat grinder. You can find more abbreviations on my Web site,
www.coolebaytools.com
.

Don’t let your title ruin your auction

Imagine going to a supermarket and asking someone to show you where the stringy stuff that you boil is instead of asking where the spaghetti is. You might end up with mung bean sprouts — delicious to some but hardly what you had in mind. That’s why you should check and recheck your spelling. Savvy buyers use the eBay search engine to find merchandise; if the name of your item is spelled wrong, the search engine can’t find it. Poor spelling and incomprehensible grammar also reflect badly on you. If you’re in competition with another seller, the buyer is likelier to trust the seller
hoo nose gud speling.

If you’ve finished writing your item title and you have spaces left over,
please
fight the urge to dress it up with lots of asterisks and exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!! (See how annoying that is?) No matter how gung-ho you are about your item, the eBay search engine may overlook your item if the title is encrusted with meaningless **** and !!!! symbols. If bidders do see your title, they may become annoyed by the virtual shrillness and ignore it anyway!!!!!!!! (It’s even more annoying the second time around.)

Another distracting habit is overdoing capital letters. To buyers, seeing everything in caps is LIKE SEEING A CRAZED SALESMAN SCREAMING AT THEM TO BUY NOW! Using all caps is considered
shouting,
which is rude and tough on the eyes. Use capitalization SPARINGLY, and only to finesse a particular point.

Giving the title punch with a subtitle

A new feature on eBay is the availability of subtitles. eBay allows you to buy an additional 55 characters, which will appear under your item title in a search. The fee for this extra promotion is $0.50, and in a few circumstances, it is definitely worth your while. Any text that you input will really make your item stand out in the crowd — but (you knew there would be a
but
didn’t you?) these additional 55 characters won’t come up in a title search. In other words, if the subtitle includes essential information (“NR MIMB,” for example) that isn’t in the main title, people searching for
NR MIMB
won’t find your listing. So if you have all those words in your description, the words will be found either way with a title and description search. If you choose this option, choose attention-getting info that isn’t absolutely needed for the title itself.

Writing your description

After you hook potential bidders with your title, reel ’em in with a fabulous description. Don’t think Hemingway here; think infomercial (the classier the better). Figure 10-4 shows a great description of some silver dollars. You can write a magnificent description, as well — all you have to do is click in the box and start typing.

Here’s a list of suggestions for writing an item description:

Accentuate the positive:
Give the buyer a reason to buy your item and be enthusiastic when you list all the reasons everyone should bid on it. Unlike the title, you can use as much space as you want. Even if you use a photo, be precise in your description — its size, color, kind of fabric, design, and so on. Refer to “Creating the perfect item title” earlier in this chapter, as well as Table 10-1, for ideas on what to emphasize and how to word your description.

Include the negative:
Don’t hide the truth of your item’s condition. Trying to conceal flaws costs you in the long run: You’ll get tagged with bad feedback. If the item has a scratch, a nick, a dent, a crack, a ding, a tear, a rip, missing pieces, replacement parts, faded color, dirty smudges, or a bad smell (especially if cleaning might damage the item), mention it in the description. If your item has been overhauled, rebuilt, repainted, or hot-rodded (say, a “Pentium computer” that was a 386 until you put in the new motherboard), say so. You don’t want the buyer to send back your merchandise because you weren’t truthful about imperfections or modifications. This type of omission can lead to a fraud investigation.

Be precise about all the logistical details of the post-auction transaction:
Even though you’re not required to list any special S&H (shipping and handling) or payment requirements in your item description, the majority of eBay users do. Try to figure out the cost of shipping the item in the United States and add that to your description. If you offer shipping insurance, add it to your item description.

While you’re at it, promote yourself too:
As you accumulate positive feedback, tell potential bidders about your terrific track record. Add statements like “I’m great to deal with. Check out my feedback section.” You can even take it a step further by inviting prospective bidders to your About Me page (where you may also include a link to your personal Web site — if you have one). Chapter 14 gives you some tips on how to make your auction seen by a wider audience.

Wish your potential bidders well:
Communication is the key to a good transaction, and you can set the tone for your auction and post-auction exchanges by including some simple phrases that show your friendly side. Always end your description by wishing bidders good luck, inviting potential bidders to e-mail you with questions, and offering the option of providing additional photos of the item if you have them.

When you input your description, you have the option of jazzing things up with a bit of HTML coding, or you can use eBay’s HTML text editor, shown in Figure 10-5. If you know how to use a word processor, you’ll have no trouble touching up your text with this tool. Table 10-2 shows you a few additional codes to help you pretty things up.