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I have always cropped my photos on the eBay listing, but I read on one of my eBay Facebook pages that a rep while on a long phone call with a seller was making small talk and told the seller that you should never edit your photos on the listing because the photo ceases to be a square and when all things are equal in a listing (same item, same price, same shipping method, for example) the listing that doesn’t have square photos will come up last. Has anyone ever heard of this before? I have always edited my photos in the listing (one less step to take) but I am wondering about this rep’s comments. Some say the reps don’t have inside knowledge of these sort of things which is what I tend to think, but how would she come up with something like that?
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what? that makes zero sense. i think they have no idea what they’re talking about, why would they even mention that?
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Hi. I am Paul delaVarre, new to this. Cropping I believe is essential. I have been doing this gor ages. Right now I am sorting and scanning 100s of slides. Many have shaded areas and blemishes around the edges and so with cropping I eleminate that and it makes the image far more clearer.
I would also like to ask you if there are any other companies or sources you know of who buy slides. Mine date back to the 1960s: 70s family shots and memorabilia; travels from around the world: Europe, Israel, the Caribbean and so forth. Any sites aside from eBay that you may recommend? Thank you very much. PS: What camera would you recommend for professional, adventure travel photography? PRice range of $300-$850. Peace, Paul
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According to the rep, it has something to do with having a “square” photo and that eBay would have to fill in your photo if it is not perfectly square. I doubt that a telephone rep has any internal knowledge of the eBay algorithm so I was skeptical that her information would be accurate.
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These were the areas discussed in a very lengthy conversation with the rep while she helped the seller (not me)with other issues that she posted on a FB forum:
1. The Internet browser that will work the best is Google Chrome. This is the only browser any area of eBay uses and is constantly updated for their systems and have the newest updates.
2. How to be at the top of searches every time: only use important key words that would actually be in a search in the most common order…too many words makes you lower in searches even if they are searchable words used to accurate describe the item. Cassini search only looks at the first 5 or less words, so make those the most important regardless if it makes sense. Don’t use condition in titles, that will lower you and especially don’t use it in the first 5 words (this includes new, tags, etc.).
3. A number 1 rank is given to Free Shipping, Top Rated, Store Subscribers (based on store level), Pricing (be competitive, runs sales, promotions, and referral links), Title Entirety and Keyword Order, Pictures (square, 4 or more, clarity/resolution), Mobile Friendly, all Item Specifics filled out (drop downs or fill in your own does not affect Cassini searches, but only drop down selections can be sorted/filtered by), Returns (by length then how, and handling fees), International Shipping (apparently GSP does not matter or effect), Handling Times (eBay has a contract with USPS to scan all packages immediately upon arrival for their higher placement/ads/preference of use), and number of EBay Categories you list in (clothing, electronics, toys, etc.).
4. Indexing a listing can now take over 12 hours, but their goal on revised is 1-2 hours, re-list / sell similar / and GTC is 1-4 hours, and new listings can be 2-8 hours+. This answers my question before of revising as they are ending…NEVER revise anything if it is ending, re-listing, or going on sale for at least 12 hours before or you risk losing any extra exposure it may gain from ending soon, newly listed, or promotions/sales.
5. The new rulings (not really posted anywhere) on Drafts in the Seller Hub is that they are Unlimited, Expire in 30 days from Created Date vs Last Update. If you want them longer then 30 days without listing you are advised to use the Scheduler or list and end to keep for 90 days.
6. Listing & Store Promotions are based on : Seller Level, Sales and them Increasing (Can not be stagnant (even if all good), Highest # of Categories Listing in, Type of Categories Selling in(electronics/tech & cell phones top, Clothing & books bottom), and Type of Listings. That should cover most of everything needed to sell well outside of Quality Items, Smart Purchases, Competitive Pricing.
Now, I did not create this list, but was posted on a forum that I think I can share (it’s not a private forum). I don’t know how the rep would know some of these issues, but as Jay says, they are rumors and he doesn’t like to deal in rumors…even though it came from an eBay rep. Jay, if this is too “rumorish” for you, go ahead and delete.-
I’ve been adjusting my titles to try to meet that “first five” rule as I’d heard that somewhere, but I’m not sure it plays out in the real world of eBay. I could see eBay giving some preference to some of these items, like picture size, for aesthetic reasons, but a quick ebay search seems to support them not prioritizing. Very little of what the person wrote seems to hold up on a search. I searched on “Golden Eagle” with best match as my sort and the first 5 listings were rectangular, only two of the first 10 had free shipping, and the 3rd listing had Golden Eagle starting at the 7th word (with an emoji and Very Rare being first). Perhaps it’s a number game and it moves you up more often. Or perhaps, this is the general direction eBay is moving in and they are slowly tweaking the system to get them there.
Interesting food for thought, though, and many of the suggestions make sense just from having a good listing. Having your key words in the first 5 makes them visible when the title is truncated in some views, square pics are the size of preference on mobile devices, and it can’t hurt to add the additional item specifics to allow for better filtering.
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I think what ebay doesn’t like is for someone to use manual cropping to crop photos to different aspect ratios within the same ad. It can make for a messy lineup of photos with a wide one beside a square one then a tall, skinny one. If you crop the photos of an ad all the same aspect – all square or all standard screen, they will line up nicely.
I use the free Google app Picassa to crop photos and it offers an easy way to choose preconfigured aspects.
You can download Picassa free from this link:
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