Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Written by Texas Tracy on January 20, 2008

If you are just starting on ebay as a seller, I would like to recommend that you visit the auctions of several sellers who are selling items that are similar to what you are hoping to sell. Look at their auctions and check the following:

How they title their auctions, keywords, capitalization, do they use words like NR, NWT, NIB, etc.?
What kind of layout do they use to present their auctions? Plain or customized?
What is the opening bid price? How quickly do they get bids? Do they sell with reserves, BIN or Best Offer?
Do they have a return policy?
What is their feedback? How do they respond to feedback left for them?
How long have they been selling on ebay? Do they buy also?
Regarding their completed items, are they actually getting bids on all that they sell?
How do their photos look? How many photos do they post in their auctions?
Would you feel comfortable doing business with this seller?
Go to the Advanced Search button on the ebay homepage and add up their completed transactions for the past 30 days. Is that and amount that you would be pleased with making every month?
Last, would you consider this person a successful ebay seller?

After you have visited the auctions of several sellers, pick one that you like the most. Then in a word, copy what they do. You need not copy their text verbatim, but you can certainly model what you say after them. When I started I watched a seller named ‘tawny’. She very kindly answered some questions for me early on, and I have since referred buyers to her. On occasion I will still ask her a question. I don’t think she is aware of me but I have watched her business and have followed her lead on how she presents her auctions. There is a reason why some sellers are more successful than others, and the key oftentimes is right there on your computer screen.

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2 Comments so far

Suzanne Wells January 20, 2008 10:30 pm

Hi, Tracy. All good tips! Especially the warning not to copy text or photos - this is an ebay offense and if the seller is made aware and reports it, the offender’s listing will be pulled.

I completely agree that networking, visiting forums and groups, and talking with other eBay sellers is a great help. Everyone has different knowledge and experience no matter how long they have been selling on eBay.

Happy selling!
Texas Tracy January 21, 2008 8:39 am

Hello Suzanne! Thanks for the comment. You bring up a very important point. For ebay newcomers it is very, very important not to copy text or make use of someone else’s previously used photos. This makes ebayers very angry. If you have ever seen photos where people will have their name across the item it is to prevent you from utilizing their photo URL in your own auction. I have had people ask me if they could use my photos…heck no! I use my same backdrop in most every photo and believe it or not people recognize it.
Model your auctions after someone else, don’t cut and paste.