Ebay Alternatives
Many sellers who relied on ebay to sell their items to a worldwide market, are now really struggling to sustain a business because of eBay fees - let alone make a profit.
As a result, many sellers are being forced to close shop and look elsewhere for possible ebay alternatives. Some Powersellers are now looking to open up their own online stores, but many small to mid-sized sellers are looking for other low-cost ebay alternatives.

Just how high are the new eBay fees?
I recently had a look at all the new fees faced by those trying to make some cash on the site:
- A basic eBay Store will now cost sellers $15.95 a month. That's a massive increase of 60% from the usual monthly cost of $9.95.
- Final Value fees on most of the items sold on eBay Stores will increase by 50 percent.
- Gallery photo fees will increase from 25 to 35 cents.
- Buy It Now fees will rise from 5 cents to 10 cents on any items priced over $10 and 25 cents for items over $50.
- Final value fees will rise from 5.25% to 8%.
For people running a business and listing multiple items for sale, this can add up to a huge amount of fees. In addition,if your items don't sell, you still have to pay the fees!
eBay used to be known as the little man's solution for starting an online business. You could sell unwanted items from your home and be virtually guaranteed that someone else in the world be interested. It was the first and only place to go if you wanted to sell just about anything you could think of.
And now, no matter what you are selling, prices are going up and there's really nothing you can do about it.
The good news is that whether you are a Powerseller or a small part time seller, there are more eBay alternatives out there than ever before. More importantly they'll save you money.
What are the best ebay alternatives?
Although there are now many auction websites available, only a small handful of them are actually worth considering. Why? The main problem for the majority of these sites, is that the amount of traffic to these places is too low.
According to Alexa.com, eBay is the world's 12th most popular website, with millions of people going their to shop each day. So just going to a site where the fees are lower, doesn't necessarily make sense if they're attracting less traffic since the prices you'll get tend to be lower too.
The best ebay alternative in my opinion is eBid.
This website not only has low selling fees, but the number of people visiting the site has increased dramatically since eBay announced their new fees.
www.eBid.net - The Best eBay Alternative?
List as many items as you want.... For FREE!
eBid is one of the most popular auction sites outside eBay. Established since 1999, eBid have a number of international sites including: UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Spain, France, Germany, Holland and Italy
Many sellers are now choosing to list items on both sites, and some have dropped eBay entirely because eBid costs are much lower.
The main benefit is that it costs nothing to list items for sale on eBid!
The only fees you pay are on items that you sell and any subscriptions you may sign up to. Sellers can subscribe to eBid in two different ways:
Basic seller: You can subscribe to eBid for free as a basic seller. You'll then be charged a final value fee of 3% of the sale price of each item you sell. No listing fees are required.
Seller+: You pay a subscription fee for a chosen period of time (7 days = $1.99, 30 days = $6.99, 90 days = $16.99 etc). Again, you do not need to pay any listing fees, and in addition Seller+ subscribers do not pay the 3% final value fee. This could, therefore, be a good choice for you if you think you're going to sell regularly.
eBid preferred secure payment partner is Pp Pay, although you can also use:
* Google Checkout
* Paypal
* Nochex
* Eggpay
* PPPay
* Escrow
* BACS/Bank Transfer
* Postal orders
* Personal cheques
eBid is one of the best eBay alternatives because of the amount of traffic it receives each day.
According to eBid's press release, visitors to the site more than doubled in the first 24 hours following eBay's recent fee and policy announcements made on January 29, 2008. Below is eBids traffic stats provided by www.statsaholic.com:
www.cqout.com - The second best eBay alternative?
List as many items as you want.... For FREE!
-USA
-Canada
-India
-Australia
Eastablished since 1999, CQout has grown quietly by word of mouth.During that period the CQout has established a solid reputation for security and customer service and now have users in over 50 countries. It is now the second largest auction website in the UK.
Just like Ebid, the main benefit is that there are no listing fees.
The only fees you pay are on items that you sell and any additional listing features you use:
Category featured: $3.99
Instant Buy: Free
First picture: Free
Next picture: $0.20
Premium Package: $12.98
Home Page featured: $14.98
Gallery image:$0.20 (Gallery images are Free in CQshopfront)
Second Category Listing: $0.10

CQout runs its own payment system called Easy Pay but users are free to use whichever payment system they prefer. NoChex has also been integrated into CQout's structure to enable immediate payment to be made for goods purchased on CQout quickly, easily and seamlessly. It also operates its own Escrow service.
Quick Poll
352 Other eBay Alternatives
Ever since eBay was launched, there have been numerous copycat sites which have been attempting to duplicate their success. Below is list of 352 possible eBay alternatives.
Please be aware that the vast majority of these sites have very low traffic compared to eBay. However, a number of them are very niche specific, so if you are sell niche items in the relevant auction site, you will have a highly targeted group of customers searching for your items.
bidbunny.com
1 point
aquabid.com/zoobid.com/
0 points
Art Brokerage - Fine Art Classifieds
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artbyus.com/
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auction.com/default.aspx
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Loading...
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auctionaddict.net/
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auctionair.co.uk/index.aspx
0 points
AuctionArms.com - Online Gun Auction
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Untitled Document
0 points
Auction Dawg
0 points
The Auction Depot Computer Sale
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auctionhome.net/
0 points
auctionpage.net/
0 points
auctionspass.com/
0 points
Auction's Unlimited, Inc.
0 points
Welcome to AuctionUSAweb!
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auctionvue.com/index.php?
0 points
Liquidators
0 points
Auctions: Police Auctions!
0 points
Visual Auction
0 points
bargainbids.co.uk/uk/
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baymore.com/pb/index.php
0 points
bestbidding.com/
0 points
bestlabdeals.com/
0 points
bid-alot.com/
0 points
bid4assets.com/
0 points
BidMonster
0 points
Bid City Auctions
0 points
Free Online Auctions
0 points
BidTampaBay.Com - Online Auction
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BidWA.Com - B2B Auctions - Auction
0 points
Bidville Auctions
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Bidztown Free UK Online Auction
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Blujay 100% Free Online Marketplace
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boatxchange.com/
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Bidzville Auctions
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BuyersChoiceAuctions.com
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BuySellAuction.com
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buysellcommunity.com/
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Welcome to Calling All Cars
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Auctions: Auto GOVERNMENT AUCTIONS
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cellarexchange.com/
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cheaperbytheday.com/
0 points
ChildrensBookAuction.com
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chooseyouritem.com/
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Choochooauctions.com
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Cigarbid.com Auctions
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Classifieds Live! Free classifieds!
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w.ww2.collectorcartrader.com/
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collectoronline.com/
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compusa.com/
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cooltoad.com/listings/
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cqout.com/
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dealgates.fr/
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dealgates.co.uk/
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dealgates.com/
0 points
Disturbing Auctions
0 points
Early American - Home Page
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eauctionworld.com/index.php?
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Ebang--The Gun Auction Search Engine
0 points
deremate.com/
0 points
ecrater.com/
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ecraftmart.com/
0 points
E-CRYER ONLINE AUCTION MARKET PLACE
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WahmBay.com
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Eggbid.com
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estoreauctions.com/
0 points
:: :: EURO Auction :
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eurobid.com/
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Exhibit Auction
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wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/
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ezead.com/
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FindAnAuction.com
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FreeBiddings.com
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fleavenders.com/
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friday-auction.co.uk/
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Generous Adventures Travel Auctions
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goantiques.com/
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gobidauctions.com/
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golfexchange.com//index.aspx?
0 points
»õ·Î¿î ¼¼»óÀ» ¿©´Â ¹®, G¸¶ÄÏ
0 points
Google Base
0 points
GothicAuctions: Home
0 points
govliquidation.com/
0 points
GunBroker.com Online Gun Auction
0 points
gundeals.co.uk/
0 points
guitarauction.com/
0 points
hammersite.com/
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icollector.com/
0 points
Welcome to iGavel
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indiamart.com/
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Industrial Classifieds and Auctions
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internationalmilitaria.com/
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ikilese.com/
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ioffer.com/
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Internet Auction Inc.
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jaxbids.com/
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japaweed.com/
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jewelrytelevision.com/
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juliensauctions.com/
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Welcome to Kidswap!
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liquidation.com/
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livedeal.com/index.jsp
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Laundromatic
0 points
MAGIC AUCTION Home Page
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maoriauctions.co.nz/
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mascoo.com/
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M.A.T. Stamp Auctions
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midwestauctions.com/
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Welcome to our Auction!
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motorntv.com
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myquickbid.net
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MOM PACK AUCTIONS - Main Page
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rollingeyes Auction & Classifieds
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nflauction.nfl.com/
0 points
Ok2Bid Auction - www.ok2bid.com
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okazii.ro/
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onlineauction.com/
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onlinecoinshow.com/index.htm
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orbay.co.uk/
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oldandsold.com/
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ozfreeonline.com/
0 points
pathasgoal.com/
0 points
Fountain Pens & Antique Pens
0 points
Pageant World Auction - Pageants
0 points
playle.com/main.html
0 points
Player Auctions
0 points
propertyauctionzone.com/
0 points
propertyroom.com/
0 points
pirkis.lt/
0 points
quicklysell.com/
0 points
racersauction.com/
0 points
redlightauction.com/
0 points
reenactorstuff.com/auction/
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rinkya.com/
0 points
rockauktion.de/
0 points
Rock Bottom Auctions
0 points
Welcome to Romahawk Auctions!
0 points
rubylane.com/
0 points
sandafayre.com/
0 points
Scrapfoam.com
0 points
OnLine Auctions
0 points
Free News Servers
0 points
Sewbid Craft Auctions
0 points
shabid.com/Auction/xcAuction.asp
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shop4fun.de
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shopgoodwill.com - Welcome
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simplyauction.com
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skinnerinc.com/
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skyauction.com/
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specialistauctions.com/
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speedybid.com/
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stampfair.com/
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stamphead.com/
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squeagle.com/
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Steiner Auctions
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gradedstamps.com/
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Online coin auctions
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Strictly Bids Sports Auction
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superebids.com/
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StuffEnuff
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taobao.com/
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TheKnifeAuction Knives
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thriftybidderauctions.com/
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totalbids.co.uk/
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thefreeauction.com/
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Barter Trade
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trademe.co.nz/
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Tutt Enterprises Online Auction
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Welcome To Our Online Auction!
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UniqueAuction.com
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UO-Auction 2
0 points
Up4sale.Net
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www.utrove.com
0 points
Vintage Poster Art International
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visualauction.biddersauction.com/
0 points
Wagglepop - Join The Revolution
0 points
WahmBay.com
0 points
winebid.com/
0 points
WODAUCTIONS.COM
0 points
Yez - Welkom / Bienvenue
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yourearthnow.com/
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zazzle.com/
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ziing.com/
0 points
zoobid.com/
0 points
However, before you register with any of them, you should ask yourself:
1)How much traffic does the site get?
2)How long has the website been operating?
3)How much do you have to pay in listing and final value fees?
4)What types of payment methods do they accept?
5)How much traffic does the site get?
The last question is the most important.
Registering and selling at a website which has free or extremely low fees, is practically useless if no one will be viewing your items.
eBid is by far the best of these eBay alternatives, in terms of traffic and fees.
Ebay users threaten boycott over feedback row
In one of the biggest changes in the site's 13-year-history, eBay said it would no longer allow sellers to leave "negative" or "neutral" comments about buyers.
The feedback system is the bedrock of the site as it enables customers to warn fellow eBay users about unscrupulous practices and poor customer service.
However, the new policy - under which buyers will still be alllowed to post feedback about sellers - caused uproar among eBay's user community.
Continue reading
Stop crying and get on with it
Personally I believe that taking part in this boycott is a complete waste of time.
Do these boycotters think that their actions will scare eBay into reconsidering their new changes? Although there may be thousands of sellers taking part in the strike, when you take into the consideration the vast millions of people who buy and sell on eBay EVERY single day, the boycott seems very irrelevant.
Threats of action to boycott eBay are nothing new to the company. In 2006, there were similar threats of strike when eBay made changes to the way Seller Stores were listed. In the same year Bob Geldof called upon yet another boycott over ticket touts cashing in on the Live 8 concert.
What effect did it have on eBay - nothing.
People moaning about eBay changes should remember that without eBay, they would never have been able to start selling in the first place.
Whether you have set up a small business on eBay or if you just use it to make some extra cash, dont forget that you are using eBay to reach a mass global audience. If eBay wants to make more money by charging people for this privilege, then so be it.
It's business. Get over it.
The world is constantly changing. Get over it.
Sellers can react to eBay's changes in 3 ways:
1) Find an alternative auction site (there's plenty on this page!)
2) Cry about it
3) Review the way you sell or how your business operates and adapt to the changes.
Instead of questioning or moaning about eBay changes, people should stop and think about what they can do improve themselves. The more money you can make, then the less the effect of the fees will have on you.
How do you make more money?
- Learn HTML skills or use templates to create professional listings and store designs to improve sales
- Read and study the art of sales copy to influence buyers and increase bids
- Build a website and direct your customers there to make additional purchases
- Build a customer list and keep in regular contact with them
- Research companies to find places to get cheap stock
These are just a few things you can do to improve your existing skills and help improve your sales on eBay. It doesnt matter if you are running a small business or selling items for fun, improving your skills as a seller will help you make more money.
Its fight or flight time. Which will you choose?
10 Words To Use In Your Description That Make People Buy
People don't like waiting and want everything yesterday.
Helping people save time is a strong psychological tool you can use. Using simple phrases like 'fast shipping' or' fast ordering' can really boost your sales.
2. Guaranteed
Although many more people are now shopping from the internet, people are still wary about buying goods they cannot see from a person they have never met. Using the word 'guaranteed' can help you assure people that you are not their to rip them off. Consider offering a guaranteed money back offer. Sure you will get people trying to take advantage, but in the long term you will see your sales dramatically increase because buyers will trust you.
3. Limited
People love to buy or receive things which are exclusive or rare. Why? Because they perceive them as being valuable.
4. Easy
Have you heard the phrase 'keep it simple stupid'? Make things as easy as possible for your buyer and include phrases such as 'easy ordering', 'easy to use' or 'easy payment'. Remember, people want fast results, and making describing everything as 'easy' also reflects 'fast'
5.Testemonial
People want proof that your product works and what better way to endorse a product than having a testemonial from a previous happy customer
6.Sale/Discount
Everyone loves a bargain and especially people on sites such as eBay. You can include offers like 'buy one get one free', or '70% off' or anything you can think off which results in your customers thinking that your item is a really good deal.
7.Free
People love free things! Giving away free stuff to customers can be a great incentive to get them to buy from you. You dont have to give away anything of real value - give away ebooks, small accessories or offer a free service.
8. You/Your
Write your auction listing as if you were speaking directly to them. People will feel more important when you are addressing them directly, rather than talking about yourself all the time.
9. Important
No one wants to miss out on important information or news and the same principles apply to selling. By including the word 'important' in your descriptions you are telling customers to sit up and take notice of what you are saying.
10. New
Out with the old, and in with the new. People are not interested in yesterdays news and are drawn towards all things 'new'.

by 7 people |
