How to Sell on eBay – Product Images

One of the best ways to become successful selling on eBay is to present yourself in a professional manner. One way you do this is by creating a very thorough and professional listing.

One key element to creating a professional listing is to have great product images. After all, your customers cannot hold, touch and feel what you have for sale. They only have your product listing and photographs to base their decision on whether to buy from you or not.

There are several ways that you can obtain product images. If you are selling new merchandise, you can approach your product supplier about using images that they provide. This is good for several reasons. It allows you easy access to high quality images and it frees you from having to take photographs of the items yourself.

The downside of using images from your product supplier is that everyone who buys the same product from the supplier also has access to these images. When you are trying to make money on eBay, you need to do whatever you can to stand out from the competition. You have to use your best judgment if you want to use the images from your supplier.

If you do decide to use images from a product supplier, make sure that you have permission to do so. Your supplier will either have a written policy that they provide you, or you will have to request something in writing. Make sure you get permission in writing, to alleviate any possible future issues from your use of the images.

If you do not have access to images from your supplier, or if you are selling one-off or used items, you will have to take pictures yourself. Now this may seem like a daunting task, but with a little practice you will become an expert at it.

The key to taking good product photographs is to make sure that you have an easy-to-use camera (preferably digital), good lighting and a neutral background. Don’t take a picture of the item against a busy background or thrown on your couch or bed, for that matter. Be smart about it and think about all of the professional product images you see in magazines. Think like the pros and you will be able to take pictures like the pros.

You must have good lighting to ensure that your product is well lit so that your image doesn’t have a bunch of shadows. There are lighting tents that you can purchase fairly inexpensively to do this with. You set your product inside of the tent and you use the included lights to provide shadow free lighting. This is really the best way to take professional looking images. Above, you will find an example of an image taken in a photo lighting tent.

If the idea of creating professional looking images still seems a bit daunting to you, we suggest that you take a look at a publication created by eBay guru Skip McGrath. Skip’s Online Auction Photo Secrets will help you take the product photographs that your eBay listing truly deserves.

Learning how to take good product photographs is a very important step to master as you learn how to sell on eBay. Your listings (and customers) will thank you for the effort you put into taking great photos of the items you are selling on eBay.

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