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We used to use a custom template when eBay was very bare bones. In each listing, we’d input all the info about the item: size, color, description etc. This was also before people purchased on their phones.
Now eBay pages include all that info in the description and item specifics. Their pages work much better on mobile.
We did away with our templates because it was too much work to maintain.
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I mostly sell modern sports cards and the category is dominated by a lot of huge sellers who mostly sell on consignment and have tens of thousands of listings. Their templates are usually variants of “see title” and “see description.”
This is a boon to me as someone who buys all his inventory on eBay (usually through auctions which are also huge in this niche), since the title or description on some listings contain errors or are missing information which makes that particular card valuable.
But what these sellers lack in maximizing profit, they make up for in volume. Many have 100,000 listings or more. So I can see the utility in a very bare bones, basically non existent template.
I have a standard template which lists out my shipping costs (including combined shipping if the buyer purchases multiples) and references how I ship and package. Then for each listing, I add in the same details that are in the title plus anything I couldn’t fit because of character limits (for trading cards, usually it is the full set name and which sport it is) and any details on item condition.
I combine shipping for free (buyer only pays the highest shipping charge) which is somewhat common in my niche. I actually think this might be one tip which could be useful for other scavengers regardless of what items you’re selling. I realize shipping can be prohibitive on larger items but I am of the mindset that it is worth losing a buck or two on combined shipping if it means selling multiples.
What I think is always worth avoiding is the classic “new seller on mobile” template, where the description is just a repeat of the title. See this listing (not mine) as an example.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334062662162?_nordt=1&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true
The seller will still make good money on this listing because eagle-eyed card buyers like myself can spot many of the valuable cards in the pictures, and a lot of card buyers and sellers (myself included) enjoy the “thrill of the hunt” (basically banking that there might be more valuable cards than what’s pictured). But this listing would sell for much higher if there was a list in the description of the most valuable cards.
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I have a standard template which lists out my shipping costs (including combined shipping if the buyer purchases multiples) and references how I ship and package. Then for each listing, I add in the same details that are in the title plus anything I couldn’t fit because of character limits (for trading cards, usually it is the full set name and which sport it is) and any details on item condition.
This is all good feedback. I can see how being very detailed oriented in your listing could help get a higher price if collectors are looking for very specific info.
–Did you buy the template or make it yourself?
–Does the template work well on mobile devices?
–So in addition to filling out item specifics and the eBay description, you also add all this info in the template. Does it add a lot of time to your listing?
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Jay, Here is a link to one of my listings: link
Very simple text based template that I came up with myself. I have revised it over the last few years to make it as short as possible and ensure it displays nicely on mobile.
The only things I change in the description are two lines in the middle: This listing is for ____ and the line after that which provides slightly more detail about the item and condition. Sometimes I use that line to add some info beyond what is in the title, if I think it is something a buyer might search for or if I want to make something very clear about the item condition.
It takes me a minute per listing, if that, to change those few lines. It takes me slightly longer to inspect each card for condition and to research the price. So I usually finish 15 to 20 listings in an hour. Everything else in my description carries over from one listing to the next.
A lot of the bigger sellers in the sports card categories have very long listing templates like this: link
A lot of these sellers work on consignment and have thousands of auctions ending every night, so even a few minutes to add a little information to the description is not worth it for them.
I like my template and process because it covers all the info I care about as a buyer, and it allows me to take a second look at each listing to make sure I don’t miss anything obvious. It is easier to have a template like this when 90% or more of my packages are less than one pound. If I had items in 100 different categories, it would be more difficult, although I think there are ways to craft a template that works across multiple categories.
Before I started focusing more heavily on trading cards and autographs, I bought and sold a lot of media listings (books, CDs and DVDs primarily) and my template was very similar: link
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