Question:
This is my first eBay listing of Vintage Costume Jewelry for a gallery that is starting me off in the auction listings business. Still working out the verbiage as far as my business representing this gallery, but I would love to hear what you all think of the listing.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5020865742&rd=1&sspage name=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

Are names like Eisenberg, Weiss, Julianna, Matisse and Hobe what people are looking for?

Thanks so much,
Mary
Answer:
Here goes...

I would put at least some of the designer names in the Title. The Subtitle
does not show up in search.

I had to read the auction three times to find out if all items were pictured.
Might make that more prominent.

Photos are really good; like them a lot!

I understand the "all sales final, no refunds", but I don't agree with it.

THE BIG ONE: As far as I can see, there is no Shipping Cost listed, or a
shipping calculator. That would keep me from bidding.

And finally, there is no mention of any damage.
Do all the clasps work? Any broken chain, etc etc
You might consider a bit more along these lines. I know you said
any damage would be disclosed, but what the bidders MIGHT read is
the list of jewelry.. So "Good condition; exc.; slight tarnish" after each
might be nice.

Last critique: I also would leave out that part about zero or negative feedback
bidders having to email first. Course, I don't sell in costume jewelry, so if
there is a problem with those bidders, perhaps it is needed.
I am pretty much an optimist on bidders paying, regardless of their feedback
numbers. Net negatives worry me, of course!

Absolutely the last critique:
Lots of pictures. Would take a long time to load for Dial Up users.
Make those babies as small a file size as you can!

Nice stuff! Hope it goes well and you make decent comissions!
Answer:
Well you already have a bid, so there is no way to revise and my suggestions are moot unless you cancel and relist.
The left to right scrolling is something that I don't usually wish to do.
I agree with larruone about the bidder with ) or negative f/b. It's alway good to have new eBay bidders and the new ones are so happy to have won. There is a preference in eBay that will take care of some of the negative feedback issues "Buyers Preference."
Why the 3 day payment? Usually the seller must wait 7 days after a listing closes to file an Unpaid Item dispute. If paying by PayPal, some people (seller) try to pay with PayPal Transfers when they have funds in their accounts. Sometimes that can be 5 or 6 days after the auction ends.
I also think that Free can be placed in eBay instead of "Check item description and payment instructions or contact seller for details."
I don't know if you can change the Title or not after a bid, but if they were mind, I'd get the quantity and some keywords in the title.
Larruone did a fabulous critique of your auction except he missed one huge point.
Up for auction is a 35-piece Designer Costume Jewelry Lot There appears to be 46 pieces pictured, not 35. So, as I'm looking at the great pictures, I'm wondering which 11 pieces will not arrive at my home if I bid.
OK, I've drooled enough for tonight!
Answer:
Thanks for the feedback...I really appreciate it. I can make changes to the description that apparently is placed on the bottom of the description, underneath the Turbo Lister icon.

Absolutely right...most folks don't like to scroll horizontally. I was trying to place pics that had the signatures on back next to the front shot of the piece...like the Hollycraft necklace or Matisse earrings. And of course, make the pics large enough to see the detail clearly.

I changed the template to read "payment in process" in 3 days to encourage the buyer to make contact with us, even if the PayPal process is longer. Good catch.

I have been struggling to find the "Free Shipping in US" option, but it doesn't seem to exist.

And there are more pictures because some pieces got 2 or 3 separate pics, like the gold and purple Hobe piece. And to add insult to injury, we recounted the lot and came up with 36 pieces, not 35.

By the way, should the quote go on the top or bottom of my reply? What is the etiquette on that?
Thanks for drooling,
Mary

Originally Posted by elizdale Well you already have a bid, so there is no way to revise and my suggestions are moot unless you cancel and relist.

The left to right scrolling is something that I don't usually wish to do.

I agree with larruone about the bidder with ) or negative f/b. It's alway good to have new eBay bidders and the new ones are so happy to have won. There is a preference in eBay that will take care of some of the negative feedback issues "Buyers Preference."

Why the 3 day payment? Usually the seller must wait 7 days after a listing closes to file an Unpaid Item dispute. If paying by PayPal, some people (seller) try to pay with PayPal Transfers when they have funds in their accounts. Sometimes that can be 5 or 6 days after the auction ends.

I also think that Free can be placed in eBay instead of "Check item description and payment instructions or contact seller for details."

I don't know if you can change the Title or not after a bid, but if they were mind, I'd get the quantity and some keywords in the title.

Larruone did a fabulous critique of your auction except he missed one huge point.
There appears to be 46 pieces pictured, not 35. So, as I'm looking at the great pictures, I'm wondering which 11 pieces will not arrive at my home if I bid.

OK, I've drooled enough for tonight!
Answer:
Hi Larruone,
I will remember the name issue for my next lot, coming up tomorrow or Sunday. However, a search on the designer name brought up our listing.

I actually thought about putting an annotation on the picture with the item number on the list. I did picture all the items, and perhaps I could even state that in the desc.

Yes, we rethought the "all sales final", "no refunds" go to Hades statement and that will go away in our next listing...too late to get it out now.

I did state Free Shipping in the title...and in the terms and conditions. Is it not prominent enough? Elizabeth mentioned that it may be an option when creating the listing through Ebay, although I couldnt find it.

I removed the negative/zero bidders statement. In all honesty, we looked at our competition in the arena on Ebay and that seemed standard. But having another set(s) of eyes looking over the listing helps and perhaps we can set ourselves apart. I sure know I encourage people in real life to try Ebay, and nobody is born with thousands of transactions with a rating of 100%.

We tried loading the listing on a dial-up and it worked quite well. But that is valid since the pics look huge, and like Elizabeth said, she doesn't like to scroll horizontally. I am going to work on that issue.

Another thing I need to do is include an "about us" statement...and I was thinking of explaining my business and that I list for my customers, and then add the info on my customer, which is a gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. Would that add credibility?

Thanks for the great feedback and best wishes!
Mary
Originally Posted by larruone Here goes...

I would put at least some of the designer names in the Title. The Subtitle
does not show up in search.

I had to read the auction three times to find out if all items were pictured.
Might make that more prominent.

Photos are really good; like them a lot!

I understand the "all sales final, no refunds", but I don't agree with it.

THE BIG ONE: As far as I can see, there is no Shipping Cost listed, or a
shipping calculator. That would keep me from bidding.

And finally, there is no mention of any damage.
Do all the clasps work? Any broken chain, etc etc
You might consider a bit more along these lines. I know you said
any damage would be disclosed, but what the bidders MIGHT read is
the list of jewelry.. So "Good condition; exc.; slight tarnish" after each
might be nice.

Last critique: I also would leave out that part about zero or negative feedback
bidders having to email first. Course, I don't sell in costume jewelry, so if
there is a problem with those bidders, perhaps it is needed.
I am pretty much an optimist on bidders paying, regardless of their feedback
numbers. Net negatives worry me, of course!

Absolutely the last critique:
Lots of pictures. Would take a long time to load for Dial Up users.
Make those babies as small a file size as you can!

Nice stuff! Hope it goes well and you make decent comissions!
Answer:
BWAHAHAHAH!!
I can not believe that I read... and did not process... FREE SHIPPING!

My bad. Boy do I feel stupid!

I tried 3 ways, using title search only, and using only the terms in
your subtitle...

Your auction did not show up for me.

From ebay's Fee page concerning Subtitle:

"The text included in the Subtitle will not be searchable when buyers conduct a "basic search" of titles. However, the Subtitle will be searchable if the buyer searches in "titles & descriptions".

Ah, reserves...
Seems the majority of people who have weighed in here agree that they
significantly reduce sales.
Unless it is really high, I suggest starting the auction near the minimum
amount acceptable.
I am a big fan of the auction process, but I understand the consignors
having to get a certain minimum for the lot.
Have fun, be sure to let us know how they do!

PS.. I didn't have to scroll my screen...
Answer:
Originally Posted by pcgoddess Absolutely right...most folks don't like to scroll horizontally. I was trying to place pics that had the signatures on back next to the front shot of the piece...like the Hollycraft necklace or Matisse earrings. And of course, make the pics large enough to see the detail clearly. The only people who usually have to scroll are the ones with the 800 X 600 pixel screen display. If a person is interested in the auction, they will scroll.
I have been struggling to find the "Free Shipping in US" option, but it doesn't seem to exist. It's impossible to find. I've seen "Free" written in auctions before, but don't know how they did that. I just went through the process using eBay's "Sell Your Item" for a bogus item and see that you can enter 00.00 or 0.00 for the flat rate shipping cost, but don't know if that reads "Free" when posted or not.
And there are more pictures because some pieces got 2 or 3 separate pics, like the gold and purple Hobe piece. And to add insult to injury, we recounted the lot and came up with 36 pieces, not 35. OK, I went back and counted again. According to the list, there are 46 pieces. I also see 46 different pieces in the images too. People who sell jewelry (or other items) by the Lot usually count each piece, such as, they count earrings as 2 pieces, Parure (sets of set of three or more matching pieces), Duette (2 pieces), etc.
By the way, should the quote go on the top or bottom of my reply? What is the etiquette on that? I doesn't matter where the quote goes, but 99% of the people put it at the top or break it up, like I just did.
Regarding Reserve Auctions, some people do have a negative reaction to reserve auctions, but many people use reserves, and many, many auctions sell at the reserve price or higher. I use a reserve when I have something of value that I don't want to sell at a flea market price. If the item is what people want, they will bid.
I see you have two bids now. That's great!
Answer:
AH...we counted the earrings as 1 instead of 2. That kind of information really helps and I could have stated in the auction that we counted 2 earrings as 1.

Well, 2 bids is a good start...lets hope the reserve doesn't scare away serious buyers.

Originally Posted by elizdale OK, I went back and counted again. According to the list, there are 46 pieces. I also see 46 different pieces in the images too. People who sell jewelry (or other items) by the Lot usually count each piece, such as, they count earrings as 2 pieces, Parure (sets of set of three or more matching pieces), Duette (2 pieces), etc.
Answer:
You might want to take a look at this free program for doing lots of pics with jewelry. I know I've decided to use it for all my auctions that have more than 3-4 pics.
clic-pic
Answer:
That is a neat site...I will give it a try....beats all the coding and stuff! Thanks!
Originally Posted by cariad You might want to take a look at this free program for doing lots of pics with jewelry. I know I've decided to use it for all my auctions that have more than 3-4 pics.

clic-pic