lacey97
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posted on May 4, 2002 10:12:56 AM
I want an opinion on creating ads for Ebay. Does it make a difference to a buyer, if you use a plain ad or a spruced up ad with the backgrounds, etc. In my opinion, people look at the picture first not whether the ad is fancy. A popular item will sell either way.
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alwaysbroke
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posted on May 4, 2002 10:50:15 AM
<b>What do you look for first</b> when shopping on eBay? I look for the pic, price, shipping $.
I rewrote my ads to put the picture first with hot spots above so they could jump to TOS (payment, shipping$, etc.)I actually received compliments from buyers!
As far as background; <b>who are you selling to?</b> Guys, gals, kids?
Using my husband as as example, guys could care less. They want ease and speed of reading with clear pictures.
Using myself as an example: I enjoy all of the bells & whistles, as long as it is quick to load, has plenty of pictures, a friendly and acurate description. For example: "Nice coat" is not a description! LOL The picture on one seller's ad helped me remember her ID!
The other extreme is wading through hundreds of words to find the info I want.
Just my 2cents.
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rarriffle
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posted on May 4, 2002 11:15:23 AM
I personally like a nice looking background but NO music or trailing gifs all over the page.
A short but complete description of the item and condition with very clear pictures.
I cannot believe the sellers who have pictures that are so blurry you have to guess what the item looks like.
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jewels2go
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posted on May 4, 2002 07:51:50 PM
Hello, I will stay longer at an auction page if: 1). The page loads fast
2). "NO" Music, and soft background color ONLY !!
3). A complete discription that includes "ALL" important information, even measurements !!
4). "COLORED" and "COLOR" fonts with details about S/H charges, Seller/Buyer agreements, and Payment instructions are "VERY" helpful to me and sit comfortable with the EYES !!
5). Pictures be very CLEAR, but don't have to be on top. Some times it's nice to add a picture at the bottom so people can view your item one last time before posting their bid.
6). "End Of Auction" email sent by the "Seller" themselves that states that they send one out to winning bidder at end of auction.
7). Seeing the page "Centered" is really helpful for faster reading and is much easier on the eyes.
This is just how I like to see an auction page. I think it keeps me looking longer at an auction page and is much more comfortable on my eyes.
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alwaysbroke
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posted on May 4, 2002 09:28:22 PM
Come to think of it, I exit from an auction quickly if the print is shouting at me.
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denisv
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posted on May 5, 2002 05:51:19 AM
I stopped using the nice AW templates, although I liked them very much. Now I use the "blank" template, with picture either at the top (if it's horizontal) or on the left (if it's vertical). This has simplified my listing process greatly, and it still looks good. There's nothing to distract from or clash with the item I am peddling.
As a buyer, to me the most important things in a listing are a clear picture of the item, a description with all the necessary information to make an informed bidding decision, and a complete (but friendly!) TOS, especially the S&H charges. I try to construct my listings accordingly.
Although I know these do not necessarily correlate to the quality of the item for sale, I am usually turned off by bad spelling, bad grammar, music, gaudy backgrounds, and graphics that flash, bounce, wiggle, or follow my cursor around the screen.
denisv (not my eBay name)
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tomwiii
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posted on May 5, 2002 05:56:10 AM
My favorite fancy lad was in that hit flick, "Cabin Boy!"
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Helenjw
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posted on May 5, 2002 06:55:12 AM
"Keep it simple" is my advice and keep the focus on your product...not the ad.
Backgrounds of color and wallpaper designs may be "pretty" but they are distracting
Print on these backgrounds is generally hard to read.
Avoid flashing anything.
Use good photographs.
Use a good description with paragraph breaks. A five inch non breaking description is usually not read.
Warnings in the description are a turn off.
Don't limit your accepted payment methods to exclude checks.
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twinsoft
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posted on May 5, 2002 07:34:36 AM
I'm experimenting with adding a menu to my listings. Please take a look at this closed auction and tell me what you think (honestly):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2019734756
Too much?
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dman3
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posted on May 5, 2002 07:49:14 AM
Fancy or not fancy is not really the Right wording here I don't think.
Many sellers find that color back grounds make your pictures stand out and look better.
many times people think there auction pictures look blured, fade, to small and what not and don't stand out on a plan white back ground add a medium or darker blue back ground and the image seems to brighten and clear up as well on a dark background an image on a color back drop will seem larger and smaller details will stand out more.
color background can make your Text more dramatic as well, Im talking about solid color not jpg or gif back ground with many colors and designs on them which make thing hard to see and read.
Tables framed make that area of detail stand out to the person viewing this is a great way to be sure your terms and shipping rates get noticed as they scroll through your listings.
some people who havent thought about framed tables and colored back ground in there listing use Huge text totrying and make Items stand out this makes you listing look less Smooth and even rude in some cases, and a turn off to people surffing through your listing if they are turned off by how the first listing they see looks they are not likely to click to see other item you have listed and less chance they will make a bid.
These things are not so much about makeing your listing look fancy as smoothing them out and makeing them pleasing and catchy to the eye.
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
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JinkiesVelma
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posted on May 5, 2002 08:04:06 AM
ALWAYS BROKE ... would you supply a link to one of your auctions so I could have a look? Thanks!
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Helenjw
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posted on May 5, 2002 10:21:42 AM
Twinsoft
Your ad looks great!!!
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afallenangel
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posted on May 5, 2002 10:56:34 AM
I keep my auctions as simple as possible. I try to remember that not everyone has a cable modem and the more graphics, boxes, and borders I add to the auction means extra loading time.
The "Fine Print" is very well defined so you don't have to read a long, rambling paragraph to see what shipping is, or what my terms of service are.
Gurantee: blah blah blah
Payment: blah blah bla
Shipping & Handling: blah blah blah
Feedback: blah blah blah
I close auctions that play music, have big, animated graphics, or have a background that is so busy it distracts from the actual item. I also avoid auctions with cursors that have banner ads that trail behind it.
Those are my personal peeves and preferences. Some people like all those things, but I avoid over-hyped auctions.
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toolhound
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posted on May 5, 2002 11:05:27 AM
My first year on the internet I used Web tv and 4 years later I still remember what a pain fancy auctions where waiting for them to load. I now have a cable modem and still close auctions as soon as I see a bunch of fance stuff loading.
I keep my auctions simple and I leave the description first because that gives people with Web tv and slow modems something to do while the photos load.
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alwaysbroke
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posted on May 5, 2002 11:53:26 AM
JinkiesVelma,
I wanted to show you the newest one, but it doesn't launch until tonight. This one will do:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=865022349&ssPageName=ADME:B:LC:US:1
I keep tweaking the wording & margins, etc., as I do each one.
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dman3
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posted on May 5, 2002 12:04:26 PM
alwaysbroke
Your listing has a nice setup but that back ground is deadly on the eyes..
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
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afallenangel
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posted on May 5, 2002 12:10:43 PM
alwaysbroke, I like your setup, too, but the background does clash for me with the areas of pink text. You've got pink on pink.
Hey, would you share with me the html tags needed to do the pictures you have? I like being able to click the pictures on the right to place a larger version in the image box on the left.
I'll love you forever if you share. 
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marcn
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posted on May 5, 2002 12:47:45 PM
I used to just basically put a picture and the bear minimum text. Basicaly just the description and shipping fees. I have been experimenting with ads that have very detailed TOS's and they seem to be doing OK. Below is a link to a currently running auction with the newer format. Comments are appreciated.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=867553015
Marc
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twinsoft
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posted on May 5, 2002 02:05:19 PM
AFA, here's one gallery you can use. It might need a bit of tweaking.
http://home.earthlink.net/~arnoldsteven/javascripts/pic-gallery.html
Marc, I like the look of that ad. Very easy to read.
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marcn
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posted on May 5, 2002 02:35:26 PM
Twinsoft:
Thank you for taking a look. I was a bit concerned that it may be a bit too wordy but the format seems to be working.
Marc
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alwaysbroke
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posted on May 5, 2002 02:43:45 PM
I agree the background is too much. I had one that was easier on the eyes. I'll have to go look in my files. Like I said, I keep tweaking it and probably forgot about the background.
The javascript was not my idea, sad to say. Someone shared it with us on this board:
http://home.earthlink.net/~arnoldsteven/javascripts/pic-gallery.html
Of course you substitute your name and pic names. Click on mine to view the source if you need a leg up.
Good Luck! It has cut down my loading time, and I like to use a LOT of pics for clothes.
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outoftheblue
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posted on May 5, 2002 03:08:31 PM
lacey97
My ads are not fancy. I have our logo at the top, a 2 column setup with pictures on the left and the description and TOS on the right. That way a person sees the pictures and the description at the same time.
I do use a background image (within the table) I hate it when the background image covers the entire auction page. I also use a background image that dosen't divert attention from the text or pictures I use.
As a buyer I am impressed and not impressed with:
> ads that look professional, not fancy.
> Ads that have decent pictures so I can see the item I want to purchase.
> A good description that includes detail about the item. Not sounding like a raving lunitic with a lot of !!!!s
> no mouse trails because I usually play with the mouse trails and forget about the auction.
> absolutely NO MUSIC. If it's a quiet evening and I'm just casually browsing the listings it can be a shock to the system.
> Wild backgrounds are too distracting.
Edited to add: I don't like waitng for pics to load that are sometimes larger than my screen. Size your pictures appropriately. I also hate sideways pictures. If you are too lazy to flip them into an upright position I won't bid.
[ edited by outoftheblue on May 5, 2002 03:12 PM ]
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JinkiesVelma
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posted on May 5, 2002 06:54:53 PM
ALWAYSBROKE ... Thanks for sharing. Are you happy with Square Dollar? How 'user friendly' is it?
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JinkiesVelma
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posted on May 5, 2002 06:56:43 PM
ALWAYS BROKE ... gotta get to the eye doctor! Just noticed it was SPARE dollar, not SQUARE dollar! Is it my eyes or the fact that I am a double blonde (used to be natural; now clairol impaired!) 
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intercraft
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posted on May 5, 2002 07:56:51 PM
always broke, I was just trying to look at your page. I have a cable modem and I clicked away after waiting 1 minute for the page to show any of the images. I looked at your reference for the javascript and that may be the problem. You are downloading all those pictures twice. 1 in the small format, and the other in the big format. I don't know how large the images are to begin with, but it makes a serious difference. I checked out a few other pages of others auctions just to be sure, and I found that it was definately your page.
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twinsoft
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posted on May 5, 2002 08:10:49 PM
I also have a 56K modem and the page loaded in a reasonable amount of time, considering the number of images.
Everyone has their own pet peeves, but I honestly don't understand bidders who complain about the number/size of images. After all, you're spending the money - don't you want to see what you're buying?
I would much rather wait a minute to see good pics than get one or two fast, tiny, low-quality images that don't really show much.
I believe the picture gallery used by AlwaysBroke handles this problem pretty well. The script doesn't load all the images, only one big image and the rest thumbnails.
However, I went back to the page and it is appearing to hang. It looks like the server might be down or experiencing problems.
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afallenangel
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posted on May 5, 2002 08:41:26 PM
Oooo! Thanks so much for the html tags for the gallery pics! I shall be experimenting soon!
Smoochies and rose petals to you all!
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sun818
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posted on May 5, 2002 08:49:24 PM
marcn -- I like your simple and clean description. May I suggest you using a valign=top on the left column? It would be nice to see the picture next to the title.
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quickdraw29
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posted on May 5, 2002 11:35:03 PM
If you're just looking to make a sale, keeping it basic is enough. But if you want to set yourself apart, and develop a fan base, do what is unique and creative, and you will make an impression, especially if you sell a lot within one category.
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alwaysbroke
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posted on May 6, 2002 05:33:28 AM
Ok, I'm going to go check the load time and maybe take out the back ground. My html program tells me the load time for 28.8, 56K, and higher. I try to plan it for 28.8.
I do believe that with clothes it takes more pics. Especially if your camera takes fuzzy pics, you need close ups.
I'm going to to look at it.
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