eBay guide 2020Checklist for optimising listings
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eBay guide 2020
Getting the basics right
• Thisisthefirstwayshopperswillfiltertheirproductsearch,solistingyourproductin the correct category and subcategory is extremely important
• Beawarethatalthoughyoucanselectasecondcategory,ifitisrelevanttoyourproduct listing,extrafeesmayapply
• Add a reminder to check the eBay taxonomy regularly to make sure you are still listing in the right category in case of any changes on the platform
List items in the correct category and subcategory
So,youhaveagreatproduct,andyou’rereadytolistitoneBay.Butareyouusingbestpracticestooptimiseyourlistingstogiveyourproductsthebestchanceofbeingseenbyshoppers?AtGS1UK,ourmarketplacesteamhavecompliedachecklisttohelpyougetthebasicsrightwhenlistingyourproductsforthefirsttime.
• Stateexactlywhattheitemis,evenifitrepeatsthecategoryname
• Theoptimalproducttitleorderisbrand,features,producttype,details i.e.SilentnightSuperspringHollowfibrePillowExtraSoftness&Comfort2Pack
• Useasmanyofthe80-characterlimitasyoucan,butkeepinmindthatineBay’sgallery view,thetitlewillbetruncated,sothefirst55charactersarethemostimportant
• Don’tuseacronymsorjargonlikeRRP(RecommendedRetailPrice)orBNIB (BrandNewInBox)
• Beawarethatsubtitlesarechargedat£2perlisting
Create your product title with the most important keywords at the beginning
• NotallproductsrequireGlobalTradeItemNumbers(GTINs)orManufacturerPart Numbers(MPNs),butwherepossible,youshouldaddtheseastheygiveadditional marketingbenefits
• Ifyouarethemanufacturerorbrandowner,youshouldbeallocatingyourownGS1 GTINstoyourproductstoensurebrandprotection,guaranteeuniquenessandavoid number clashes
• UniqueidentifiersallowslistingsfromsellersoneBaytoappearonexternalproduct comparisonsitesandpullincustomerproductreviewsfromotherretailers
• GooglestatesaproductwithaGTINcansee20 per centhigherconversionratesthan thosewithout,alongwitha40 per cent increaseinvisibility
Add product identifiers – brand, GTIN and MPN (if provided)
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eBay guide 2020
Remember: if the item is brand new, it needs a GTIN listed against it to appear on Google Shopping
• Provideasmanyproductattributesaspossibleoryourproductmaybeexcludedfrom searchresultswhenashopperrefinestheirsearchbyaspecificproducttraitthatisnot listed
• eBaynowrequireatleastthetopthreeitemspecificsforeachcategory-checkwhich onesaremandatoryforyourproductbyvisitinghttps://sellercentre.ebay.co.uk/ business/itemspecifics
• Itemspecificscanvarybycategory,somakesuretobrowsethesiteforthecategory yourproductisgoingtobeintoensurethat,attheveryminimum,theattributesthat appearabovethefoldarecompleted
Complete item specifics using eBay-suggested attributes
• Iftheproductyouaresellingisnotnew,makesureyouaredescribingitcorrectly, sothattheshopperknowsexactlywhattoexpecttominimisereturns
• Makesureanyissueswiththeconditionoftheitemarereflectedinanimage,sothe shopperisfullyawareofwhattheyarepurchasing
Be honest about the condition of your items
• Putyourtermsandconditionsinthedesignatedfields,notinyourdescription–thisis evenmoreimportantwiththemobileviews
• eBayautomaticallyshowssectionslikereturnsandtermsandconditionsformobile,so thesefieldsneedtobepopulatedtoensureallcustomersgettheinformation
Ensure your description is genuinely descriptive!
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eBay guide 2020
Whenyoustarttolistyouritem,youcanenterseveraltypesofproduct
identifiers–includingtheGTIN(EAN/UPC).eBayusesthistomatchtheitem
youaresellingtotheircatalogue.
eBaywillthenshowyouoptionsforitemsmatchingthatsearchresult,forexampletheterm‘iPhone’willgivemultipleoptions.IfyouuseaGTIN,youwillonlysurfaceoneoption.
Whenyouselecttheitem,eBaywillshowyouthecompletedattributesthat are held in their catalogue for
youtoverify.
Onceselected,youareabletoenterthedetailofyour‘offer’,which
includestheprice,shippingoptions,conditionetc.
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eBay guide 2020
Elevatingyourlisting
Oncetheyouhavegotyourbasicproductlistingsright,youshouldstarttothinkaboutincreasingtheirvisibilityfurther–particularlyformobiledevices.Ourmarketplacesteamhaveprovidedachecklistoftipsthatyoucanapplytoyourproductlistingstohelpimprovetheirvisibilityandchancesofconversion.
OverhalfofthetransactionsoneBaytakeplacethroughamobiledevice.Thismeansitiscrucialthatyoumakesureyourdescriptionsaresmall-screenfriendly.
• Keep your descriptions short and sweet-Remembermobilebuyersarereadingyour descriptionsonasmallscreen,sokeepthemasshortaspossiblewithoutomittingany importantdetails,suchaskeyinformationontheproduct’scondition
• Active content is no longer allowed on eBay-ComplicatedHTML,suchas cross-sellingcarousels,shouldnolongerbeusedinyouritemdescriptions.Thisis becauseitislikelythatitwon’trenderproperlyondifferentmobiledevicesand requirealotofupdating,whichcanleadtofrustrationforyourbuyerswhentheyare tryingtoviewmoredetail.SeeeBay’shelppageontheirJavascriptpolicyformore details: http://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/listing-policies/javascript-policy?id=4247
• Make sure you check how your listing displays on different devices–Asmentioned above,HTMLreadersdifferdependingonthedevicetheyarebeingviewedon.There arefreeonlinetoolsyoucanusetocheckyourlistings,whereyousimplyinput theURLandselectthedeviceyouwishtoview–eBayrecommendsusing http://www.i-ways.net/mobile-friendly/en-uk/
• Keep the formatting simple–Usebulletpointsinitemdescriptionstomake informationeasyforcustomerstoquicklyscanread
• Improve readability with clear text –Useablackfontfromsize12–14ona whitebackgroundforeaseofreadability
• Listing fields should include your postage, payment and returns information –Usedesignatedfieldstoshareinformationonyoupostage,paymentsand returns–itwillbefarmoreeffectivethantryingtoclumpthisinformationinto yourdescriptionwhereyoucoulddetractfromtheitemitself
Add a mobile-friendly description
• Thismightseemobvious,buteBaygivespreferentialtreatmentintheirsearchfunction forlistingswith“fastandfree”shippingoptions-ifyoucanofferthisfunction,please do.eBaywilladdthebadgeandpromotethisforyou
• Includeotherpostageoptionswhereavailable–notallcustomersareinahurry
Propose a range of postage options
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eBay guide 2020
• eBayrecommendthatimagesizesareaminimumof1600pixelsontheshortestside andthemaximumfilesizeis7MB
• Usetheentireimageframetoshowcaseyouritem,withminimalemptyspaceinthe background,tomakeiteasierforyourbuyertoviewtheitemyou’reselling
• eBayarestartingtosuppressimagesthatdon’tcomplywiththeirguidelines,somake sure you adhere to the rules
Use square images in a minimum of 1600 pixels wide
• eBayarestronglyencouragingbusinesssellerstoupdatetheirreturnspolicyfrom14 daysto30days-sellersthatdothisexperienceaconversionupliftofupto13percent
• Buyersexpecttoseereturnsperiodssetto30days,however,evenifyousetyour returnsperiodtoayear,thisdoesn’tnecessarilyincreasetheamountofreturnrequests but does mark you as an accommodating seller
• eBaycontinuetogivemoreexposuretosellersthatprovidegreatcustomerservice,so considerhowtobroadenyourreturnspolicyandboostyourcustomers’satisfaction
Offer straightforward returns
• ItisunlikelythatyouaretheonlypersonsellingaparticularitemoneBay,sobenchmark yourpriceagainstothers–pricingisimportant,butit’snottheonlyfactor
• Generousreturnoptionshaveapositiveimpactonpurchasedecisions
Check your price is reasonable, but you don’t have to be cheapest
• Ifyourproductcomesinarangeofdifferentcoloursorsizes,makesureyoubuildthisas onemulti-variantlisting,ratherthanadifferentlistingforeachvariant-thiswillenable salesfromallproductvariantstobecombined,helpingwithyourproduct’ssearch rankingsaseachtimeavariantissolditcountstowardsthelistingasawhole
• RememberthatyouneedaGTIN(EAN)foreachvariant–sometimesknownasthechild SKU–theyshouldbeassignedasthebottomleveloftheproduct,nottheparentSKU andnotataunitlevel
Use the multi-variation function where appropriate
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eBay guide 2020
Promotionstoincreasevisibilityandsales
Onceyouare100percenthappywithyourproductlistings,thenextthingtothinkaboutispromotingyourproductstoawideraudience.YoucantapintoeBay’snativemarketingtoolstorunevent-specificpromotions,offeryourcustomersmulti-buyoptionsorprovidediscountswhencustomersordermorethanoneproductfromyou.
TheeBaySellerHubboastsseveralpromotionaltoolstohelpmanageyoure-commerceventureallinoneplace.Makesureyougroupsimilarproductstogetherandofferdiscountsonthoseasagroup,ratherthanpromotingarandommixtureofitems.Forexample,apromotionof20percentoffallfootwearwillbefarstrongerthanablanketdiscount,becausecustomerswillknowwhattoexpectfromthepromotionandwillbemorelikelytoclickthrough.SomeofeBay’smarketingtoolsinclude:
• Multi-buy-Thisfunctionallowsyoutooffertiereddiscountstobuyerswhenthey purchasemultiplequantitiesofyouritems
• Order discount-Offeradiscountwhenbuyersordermoreitemsfromyou-upsellatthe pointofsaletocustomerswhoareabouttoconvert
• Sale event and markdown-Usethisfunctiontosellyouritemsatadiscountfora limitedperiodoftime,promisingbargainsonthelistedpriceofyourkeyproducts
• Seller coupons-Createyourexclusiveoffercodestoapplytoyourproductsat checkout
Use eBay’s native marketing tools
HereyoucanseetheeBaytoolthatallowsyoutosetupanorderdiscount.
Itisaneasywayforyoutocreatedifferenttypesofpromotionsthatyoucantailortosuityourbusinessneeds.
Findouthowtosetupthese promotions by
watchingthistrainingvideo:https://sellercentre.ebay.co.uk/
business/order-discount
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eBay guide 2020
• ThisistheeBayequivalentofsponsoredads-theyonlychargeyouwhenacustomer makesapurchase,soyoucansetthebudgettothemaximumamount
• Promotedlistingsarerisk-freeifyoucanaffordsomeextramargin
Use the promoted listings tool
Watchthevideoformoreinformation:https://sellercentre.ebay.co.uk/business/promote-your-listings
Thisisanexampleofwhereasponsored listing can appear on theeBaysite.Therearemorethan50differentoptionsacrossthe
site,whichcangiveyourproductsupto32percentmorevisibility.
Screenshot of setting up a sponsored listing
This is the dashboard for ‘promote yourlistings’.Tobeginusingthistool
followthreesteps:
Start your programme: choose the listingsyouwanttopromote
Choose your rate: select the percentageofthesalepriceyouwant
to use for you promoted listings
Pay when you sell:nosale,nofee-whenshoppersclickyouradsandbuy,
you pay your selected rate
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eBay guide 2020
• Trackpeakshoppingperiodsthroughouttheyear,fromtraditionalretailhighpointsto theonlinesaleseventslikeBlackFridayandCyberMonday
• Includesomeofthelowerprofilebuyingeventstoo,suchasMother’sDay,Backto School,Eid,ChineseNewYearetc.
• UsingthetoolsintheeBaySellerHub,youcanofferspecificpromotionsasvisiblyas possible
Set up a promotions calendar
There are many templates out there you can use as a base to create a
promotionalcalendar.Asimplegooglesearchwillbringupsomegreatideas.
Youshouldstartwithkeyeventsanddatesfortheyear,butgofurtherthantheobviousoneslikeChristmasor
Easter.Thinkinternationallyandmorethannationaleventsorbankholidays.
IncludethingslikeTheGreatBritishBakeOfffinal,ifyousell
complimentaryproducts–eBaysawa huge spike in the sale of baking
goodswhiletheprogrammewasonair.Remember,wealsohavesomebigsportingeventsliketheEurosandtheOlympicsthisyear.ForthelastfootballWorldCupeBaysawasurgeinthe
saleofTVs.
Onceyouhaveallyourkeydates,startplanning in the promotions you can run inconjunctionwiththem.Ensureyougetthemsetupandsaved,sotheyarereadytogoliveaheadoftimeincaseotherthingscropup–youdon’twanttorush.Finally,makesureyoupreviewyourpromotionsandamendkeywordson any sponsored ad campaigns you
alsohaverunning.
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eBay guide 2020
Tips and tricks
eBay update their category structure regularly.Checkyourproductsareinthebest category and subcategory for their typeofproduct.
Regularly check your products are in the right category
Placeimportantwords,suchasthebrandandproducttype,towardsthebeginningofyourtitle.
Optimise product titles by putting the most important words first
eBayhavesetsofattributeswhichtheydisplaytoshoppers.Forexample,inclothingcolourstheydisplay‘Red’,buttheydon’tdisplay,‘Crimson’,‘Cherry’or‘Candy’.
Youshouldsetyouritem specific to the moregeneric‘Red’andthenusean‘ExactColour’itemspecifictodisplaytheshadeofredorthemanufacturer’scolour/codename.
Don’t be too exact when detailing the item specifics
Youwillgetalotofmileagefromyourmost important product images by using themonmultipleoccasionsandoveraperiodoftime.Itisworthinvestinginprofessional help to ensure your images reflectyourproductinthebestpossiblelight,fromsimplecroppingortouchupstostudiophotoshoots.
Invest in professional product images
Do include: Anything that is a ‘product description’–brandname,model,fabric,material,colourandanyadditionalinformationthat’shelpfultoyourprospectivepurchaser.
Do not include:Informationaboutyourbusiness,termsandconditions,shipping,returnsoreBayfeedback.YourdescriptionsupportsrankandvisibilityonsearchenginesbothonandoffeBay,andinformationnotrelevanttoyourproductmayloweritspositioninsearch.
Only include relevant item information in your product description
IfyouwanttofindoutmoreaboutscalingyourbusinessoneBayorhaveanyquestionsonhowtoaddGTINstoyourlistings,getintouchwithour marketplaces team by emailing [email protected] or call our member support team on 020 7092 3501.