From Ebay Zero to Power-Selling Hero: The Devil Is In The Details

If you've ever heard the expression "the devil is in the details," you can probably already guess how it relates to today's lesson. The bulk of the work you do as an Ebay seller will be easy and repetitive, but it is the minor details that will make or break your business. In today's lesson, I am going to talk about the single most important "detail" - and why you absolutely must pay attention to it if you want to be successful selling on Ebay.

At some point in your career as an Ebay seller, you probably stumbled over two types of sellers that completely bewildered you: the first type was selling items for absolutely stupid prices--so low that they couldn't possibly be making a profit; in contrast, the second type was selling items for unbelievably high prices. . .and somehow getting bids.

The second type of seller knows that the devil is the details--the details being your auction title and description.

Knowing this seemingly insignificant piece of information and putting it into practice makes all the difference in the world. It can literally mean the difference between 25 and 250 auction views.

The amount of traffic you receive on Ebay is dependent on the keyphrases and keywords you use to form your title and the keywords and keyphrases you pepper throughout your description.

While there are a number of ways to navigate Ebay, almost every visitor uses either "titles" or "titles and descriptions" to search for auctions. If they search for "green ipod mini" and your title or description includes "green ipod mini," your search result will be displayed.

When most sellers create auctions, they concentrate on describing the item or converting visitors with powerful sales copy; however, what they don't do-- almost without exception--is add traffic-pulling keywords to their titles and pepper keywords throughout their descriptions.

In fact, some sellers neglect this to such a great extent that they misspell important keywords in their titles and description. This is the first type of seller we talked about. As a result, they attract no buyers-- with the possible exception of people who scour misspelled auctions to purchase underbid items that are unintentionally"hidden."

. . .so don't fool around when you create your auction title and description! You now know better.

This is the single most important determinant of the amount and quality of traffic you receive as a seller on Ebay. Use it, and you will immediately attract more interested buyers; ignore it, and you voluntarily give interested buyers to the seller who is already selling the same products as you for twice the price.

- Written by Isaiah Hull, author of "How to Profit on Ebay In Seven Days Without Spending A Single Penny." For a limited time only you can get a pre-publication copy of his book for ONE-FOURTH the post-publication price!

In The News:


Minneapolis Star Tribune

President Ronald Reagan's blood for sale on auction site
Washington Post
An online auction site is hoping to find out by selling a vial that it claims was used to draw President Ronald Reagan's blood as he recovered from the gunshot wound that nearly killed him in 1981. To top it off, the auction site says, “dried blood ...
Reagan blood sample vial for sale, controversy includedLos Angeles Times
Auction claims it's selling vial with Reagan's bloodMinneapolis Star Tribune
Reagan's son says auction of vial purportedly containing late president's ...Fox News
The Atlantic
all 762 news articles »

CBS News

Disputed dinosaur fossil auctioned for $1M in NYC
BusinessWeek
By JENNIFER PELTZ A dinosaur dispute is brewing between the Mongolian government and an American auction house, which sold a fossil of a fearsome T. Rex relative despite a court order not to. The 8-foot-tall, 24-foot-long skeleton of a Tyannosaurus ...
Dinosaur Auction: Tyrannosaur Skeleton Fetches $1 Million Despite ObjectionsHuffington Post
Dino fossil sold in controversial auctionWTAM.com
Dinosaur Dustup: Auctioneer, Mongolia Battle Over $1M BonesABC News
Bloomberg
all 303 news articles »

Hamden police auction rids department of old items while adding to town's ...
New Haven Register
By Ann DeMatteo, Register Staff HAMDEN — Some chairs and desks, three coat racks, six doors, three telephones, a chalk board and an electric pencil sharpener are no longer town property as a result of an auction held at the old detective bureau ...
NHR: Old Hamden PD Stuff to be Auctioned TuesdayPatch.com

all 3 news articles »

Bloomberg

Treasurys fall as stocks gain; auction on tap
MarketWatch
Last month's auction came at a yield of 0.27%. Yields on shorter-dated securities haven't fallen as much as longer-dated ones in recent weeks because they are more closely connected to interest-rate expectations — and the Federal Reserve has given no ...
Treasuries Fall Third Day Before European Summit, Note AuctionsSan Francisco Chronicle
Treasury Auctions Set for This WeekNew York Times
TREASURIES-Prices fall on profit-taking in new debt salesReuters
Bloomberg -BusinessWeek -Investor's Business Daily
all 92 news articles »

Spanish, Dutch Funding Costs Move Opposite At Auctions
Wall Street Journal
By Emese Bartha Spain's borrowing costs rose further at Tuesday's Treasury bill auction, underlying the market's unease with the country's funding sustainability as bank recapitalization needs, frail finances in some of its regions and an upwardly ...

and more »

New York Daily News

Babe Ruth jersey fetches a 'Ruthian' $4.4 million at auction
Chicago Sun-Times
By MIKE FITZPATRICK AP Sports Writer May 21, 2012 9:58AM This undated photo provided by SCP Auctions shows a circa 1920 New York Yankees baseball jersey worn by Babe Ruth that sold for more than $4.4 million at auction, Sunday, May 20, 2012.
Babe Ruth's jersey sold at auction: Piece of Yankees' history has mighty price tagnewjerseynewsroom.com
Babe Ruth's Yankees jersey sells for record-setting $4.4M at auction; Lawrence ...New York Daily News
Babe Ruth jersey sells for a record $4.4 million at auctionFox News
USA TODAY (blog)
all 424 news articles »

Pocklington to auction off Edmonton Oilers' Stanley Cup rings
Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON — Peter Pocklington, former owner of the Edmonton Oilers, is once again putting his Stanley Cup rings up for online auction, meaning some deep-pocketed fans get another shot at buying the last remnants of the Oilers' glory days.

and more »

Brazil Central Bank Calls Foreign Exchange Swap Auction
Wall Street Journal
SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--The Central Bank of Brazil on Tuesday called a foreign exchange swap auction, offering contracts valued at the equivalent of $2.47 billion. The auction offers investors the opportunity to exchange paper linked to interest rates ...
Brazil Rate Futures Yields Rise on Stimulus; Real Extends DropBloomberg

all 9 news articles »

Guitar World Magazine

Beatles' 'Backwards' Abbey Road Photo Fetches Thousands at Auction
Spinner
A photograph of the Beatles walking "backwards" across the Abbey Road pedestrian crosswalk has just sold for £16000 (about $25000 US) at auction. The photo shown above was not used for the band's Abbey Road album cover and was therefore unseen by many ...
Backwards Abbey Road Image sells for $25000NBC Bay Area
Rare Photo of The Beatles Walking "Backwards" on Abbey Road Sells for $25000Guitar World Magazine
Crossing with The Beatlesbrand-e.biz

all 30 news articles »

Music Center sells time with Gehry and Domingo in online auction
Los Angeles Times
Its first-ever online auction is going on right now, with 36 items up for bid. They range from what you might expect — living it up at the Los Angeles Opera's opening night gala on Sept. 15, then capping the evening by getting to hobnob briefly with ...

Google News

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