AUCTION TIP: A Basic eBay Listing Template

By Chuck Smith
Posted Friday, December 24, 2004

The following article pertains to anyone who is looking to start an online auction business on eBay. Please feel free to use it for your ezine, web site, or any other electronic or print publication, with the following exception:

You may NOT use this article in any form of spam.

I only ask that you:

1. do not add or delete anything from the article 2. include the resource box at the end 3. notify me (csmith@auctionrookie.com) you are using it

Synopsis
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A good auction listing must not only read well, but must look professional. Here’s a quick, easy template anyone to make their listing more professional

Word count according to Microsoft Word: 728 including title, byline, and contact info.

Thanks,

Chuck
(http://www.auctionrookie.com)
mailto:csmith@auctionrookie.com

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Do you know what drives me nuts on eBay? When I view an item up for auction and the listing has no style whatsoever. There’s just a long scroll of text that gives only the briefest explanation of what the product is and why I should buy it.

Writing a good auction listing is a topic for another article, but I can help those of you who want to spice up the look of your auction listings with a simple template that will work in the eBay “Sell an Item” system.

First, I want to go over a couple of HTML “tags” so you know what all the funky little letters in the brackets (< >) are for. But don’t worry – I’m not going to try and teach you HTML. I just want to show you a little to keep you from messing up your listing.

First, an HTML TAG is just a quick way for you to let a Web browser know how you want your web page to look like when it is displayed in your Web browser. That’s it.

HTML TAGS

HEADING TAG: This tag designates that the text is a heading and should be larger than the page text. You can designate different sizes of headings (I use heading2 below - ).

FORMAT: Starts with and ends with

PARAGRAPH TAG: This tag lets you format a block of text, complete with a break in between paragraphs. The break is always there, and you cannot start a new paragraph on the very next line.

FORMAT: Starts with and ends with

LINE BREAK TAG: This tag is like a carriage return on your word processor or typewriter. This tag will allow you to start on the very next line. NOTE: You cannot use more than one Line Break Tag in a row – HTML ignores them.

FORMAT: Put a at the end of the line

BULLETTED LIST: This will allow you to create a nice list of items with bullets in front. Great for showing off some features, since people tend to skim pages.

FORMAT: Start the list with and end with Each list item gets a in front of it

HTML TAGS

That’s it for the HTML tutorial. That wasn’t so bad, was it? Now, here’s a quick template you can use to spice up your eBay listings. Just cut and paste the text below (in between the “CUT HERE” lines) into the Notepad program on your PC (located under “All Programs > Accessories” in the Start menu) and edit the information in ALL CAPS.

++++++++++++++++++++++++ CUT HERE ++++++++++++++++++++++++

YOUR INTERESTING HEADLINE

AN INTERESTING SUBHEAD

HERE, YOU CAN EXPLAIN THE MAIN BENEFITS OF THE ITEM. MAKE IT A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION (2 – 3 SENTENCES).

ANOTHER BENEFIT PARAGRAPH.

SOME FEATURES IN A BULLETTED LIST:

FEATURE 1
FEATURE 2
FEATURE 3
FEATURE 4

USE THIS PARAGRAPH TO WRAP-UP. YOU CAN STATE THE PRICE OF THE ITEM IF THEY BOUGHT IT IN THE STORE (I.E. I SAW THIS PRODUCT FOR $97 AT THE LOCAL STORE). YOU CAN ALSO PUT IN SOME CLOSING COMMENTS (I LIKE THIS ITEM, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE ROOM IN MY BASEMENT).

PAYMENT TERMS: PUT YOUR PAYMENT METHODS HERE.

P.S. ADD YOUR ABOUT ME PAGE HERE About Me

Thank you!

++++++++++++++++++++++++ CUT HERE ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Once you’ve changed the text and saved it from Notepad, just copy all of the text and paste it into the listing window on eBay. This will be the “Item description” form that comes up after you’ve picked a category. You can preview the description by clicking on the “Preview Page” link below the window. If you’ve done everything correctly, it should look great!

By using this simple template, you can immediately vault the professionalism of your listings above and beyond what a lot of eBay-ers are putting out there right now. And that can result in more sales, at a greater price, for your online auction business.

About the Author
Chuck Smith is the creator of the Auction Rookie web site. This site is dedicated to helping people start and run a successful online auction business. Visit his site to get a free report on “How to Get Started Selling on eBay.” (http://www.auctionrookie.com) or mailto:csmith@auctionrookie.com