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 marketplacessupport@gs1uk.org or call our member support team on 020 7092 3501.