Dress up your eBay listings...

Jan 15, 2008 | milodes

Ever seen an eBay listing which looks like this in the description area? -

Sure makes shopping an exciting thing, eh? Who wants to read a huge block of text stretching across his monitor? Not me!
A listing template can help to organize your listing & a bit of html (especially break and paragraph tags) will make your listing much more readable.
At 10¢ per use, eBay offers templates to hold your description. I believe Auctiva has free ones. On the Photos/HTML discussion board are threads with many free templates designed by fellow eBayers. I have listed a few on that board, then created a web page with those I offer to other eBay sellers: going1nce.com/freetemplates.html. Here are a few of my available designs:






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Things your eBay Designer should know...

Jan 14, 2008 | milodes

When I get a job to do design work for a fellow seller, I ask these questions first so I can learn about my new client:
- What is it that sets you apart from your competitors?
- Who are your typical buyers & bidders?
- Are there any URLs of websites you especially like? (Not to copy, but to get an idea of stuff you like.)
- What image do you like to portray to your buyers? (Girly, classy, conservative, fun, etc. - combo thereof?)
- What ideas have you had about your eBay page(s) in the past - things like "someday I want to do this..."?
These basic questions do help me learn about my client's eBay business & his style preferences. If your designer doesn't ask such questions, give him the info before he starts your job so he can understand you before starting something that may be way off from what you want & need.
I'm different from some other designers. I am the expert at what I do, but I think I must take into consideration my clients' desires. I may think that seller X should have a really slick, avant garde eBay template, but X may be very conservative & not want to be as flashy as I think he should be. It's my job to design something he's comfy with while adding slickness which will attract shoppers.
Here is a small shot of one of the templates I designed for a client whose tastes are a bit more conservative than my own:

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Tippy Kal, eBay Seller

Jan 13, 2008 | milodes

My eBay Blog


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The beginning...

Jan 13, 2008 | milodes

A designer & eBay seller? How does that work?
Back in the day when cutting & pasting meant an Exacto knife and hot wax, I began doing design work. In 1990, I finally discovered how to do the Ctrl-X & Ctrl+V thing on the computer & have since loved working with my keyboard, monitor & Wacom tablet!
In 1999, my friend Wayne asked me to manage his eBay auctions as I was his geekiest friend (okay, just a bit more computer savvy than the others!). In 2003, I began my own eBay biz as a Trading Assistant, selling items for others. Of course, I created templates for Wayne's & my own eBay listings over that time but until 2007 I really didn't focus on that. How silly - I could have had much more fun in the previous years focusing on designing eBay stuff for other sellers!
I still sell a few client items, but my most fun thing to do is design eBay stores & such. I am building that up & continue to learn more every week about eBay & design work.
In addition, the geeky side of me teaches others how to use Blackthorne, eBay's auction management software. I had been selling a Blackthorne Quick Start Guide previously based on my own knowledge of using the program & once I learned of copilot.com, I started offering my remote training services on eBay.
It's a treat to merge my love of design with that world-wide marketplace! You can bet I'll have much to say as I build up my blog archives!


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