How Much Time Do You Spend on Your eBay Item Description?
By Art Stanley
If you”ve just received a full pallet load of Olympus digital cameras, then it’’s probably well worth your while to create a full-fledged sales letter that covers every conceivable benefit and feature and addresses any potential questions and concerns.
With such a large quantity of the same item, it makes sense to do this because once you”ve created a winning listing you can simply go ahead and repeat it a number of times until you unload your entire shipment.
But for many eBay sellers, taking the time to write a sales letter doesn”t make a lot of sense. If you”re like most, you sell odds and ends from the basement or attic, garage sales, thrift shops, or even live auctions and estate sales. One item is often very different from the next. It might be a child’’s toy today and a 19th Century collectable sword tomorrow. One product means much more in potential profit than the other. Therefore, the time justifiably spent on each is not the same. Nor should it be.
Your major consideration in deciding which type of ad you”ll use should be based primarily on the value of the item. If you”re selling an insulated pizza delivery bag, there’’s a limit to its value. Let’’s suppose value on the high end is $50. You got it for $1 when a local pizza shop was forced to change its menu when the landlord signed over exclusive pizza rights to a giant chain. In this case, if your pizza bag was a hit, you could stand to make $49 in gross profit (less eBay and Paypal fees, etc).
From the outset, if you can make a quick $49 or so, it looks pretty good. After all, you reason, how many items sold at retail make 49 times their cost?
It may be a quick windfall, if all goes well. But even if you reach the high value, (and that’’s a best case scenario) how much time should you spend creating your ad? That’’s something you should consider with each item and then use the format that best reflects its value. You don”t want to waste your time spending hours on an ad that might only fetch a few dollars. You want to maximize the value of your time and if you spend too much time selling dime store merchandise, you can”t possibly make the kind of money the big dogs do.
Before you write a single word, decide how much time you”ll assign to the item. It’’s a judgment call and only you can make it. Now it’’s time to bring out the one tool that will help keep you on track your pocket timer. This simple device is an ad writer’’s best aid. It keeps you focused and ensures you don”t spend more time than you should writing a description that stands little chance of paying you for your time.
About The Author
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