Please don't beat me!

I'm very sorry for the long delay since my last posting. To say the least, I've been very busy and still am. I have a few article topics that I intend to write about soon but unfortunately, not as this time. I did just finish adding quite a few new Auction Abbreviations and Acronyms to the earlier list. Take a look at it when you can and if you know of any I've missed, please send them along to me and I'll add them in.

Ramblings on Searching Internet Auctions for buyers.

I’m not about to go into the details that are possible at the various sites. Each auction site has it’s own "How To" for it’s search engine. I’m just going to ramble on with a bit of advice.

The auction counter service Sellathon ( http://www.sellathon.com/index.php ) says that the 2 most often used search methods are "Ending First" (items listed in order of soonest ending to last ending) and "Newly Listed" (items listed in order of the most recently placed auction to the oldest made auction) which are often used with category and key word searches. I believe that to be true on eBay but don’t find it so on Overstock. Possibly because Overstock is still fairly new to Internet Auctions as well as it’s buyers. Mostly what I see on Overstock is "Ending First". The advantage to searching by ending first is of course the auction is going to end soon and you won’t have to wait very long for the results and you can hope for a deal on a low priced item without having to use the MIM (Make it Mine - Overstock) or BIN (Buy it Now- eBay) option. Most people dealing with Internet Auctions will tell you that most of the bids come in the last hour or so of the auction listing, so I’m not too sure how well that part of getting a deal on a low priced item works. The advantage to searching "Newly Listed" is you can take advantage of the MIM or BIN options before others see it. Hmmm, is that an advantage? In many cases it is. If the item is likely to be in short supply or a one of a kind, then the likelihood increases of it’s price going up in an auction format. In essence MIM/BIN becomes get it while you can. Overstock leaves the MIM option open until the point that either some one uses that option or some people bid above that figure. Yes, this is a bit different than what you are used to. Example - item list for $4.95 with a MIM of $5.95. If buyer one does not click on the MIM option but instead bids $5.95 the bid becomes $4.95 showing. Now buyer 2 comes in and bids $5.90 which through the automatic bid increments raises buyer one’s bid to $5.95 and eliminates the MIM option, leaving buyer one as the current high bid, forcing buyer two to bid more if he/she wants to. But, if buyer 2 had used the MIM option for $5.95, then he would of won the bid at $5.95 and be the new proud owner of the item, thus leaving buyer one out in the cold kicking him/herself for not having pressed the MIM option button (this happens more than you would think). So on Overstock, depending on the item and your gut feeling about it, searching by "Newly Listed" and then buying by using the MIM option can be very good for you. eBay works a bit differently, once someone places a bid, the BIN option disappears and you are left with the traditional "free-for-all" auction. Just some things to consider.

An interesting search method Overstock has is for items with bids – " Fewest bids" (items with the least amount of bids to the most) and "Most Bids" (items with the most bids to the least). With the first one you are trying to find something that others have missed in an attempt to get a good deal, a bit like the "Ending First" method but the list ends up being random for ending time. I’m not to sure I’d recommend this over the "Ending First" method. "Most Bids" is very interesting. The idea here is to not waste your time on things others aren’t interested in because if they aren’t, why should you? If something’s got a bid on it, it must be better or cheaper than all the rest. Right? Hmmm, not sure I agree with that but there is a good point to it and it is an interesting concept. Something to consider.

When entering key words to search for an item or group of items, be careful what words you use or you may end up with a list that contains items you are not interested in or a list too short to find the one you really want. In the too short group, try to avoid using abbreviations (like the ones in my last article) and symbols. When looking for say a 7 inch bracelet, don’t use ", in or even inch. These will cut down your list a lot as the sellers will use the ", in or inch as they have room and you will miss a large part of the listings. Just use 7 and other key words link or diamonds that you are interested in. Also be sure to use the appropriate Main or Sub Category. In the too long group, do try to be specific if you are looking for a specific item such as 7 white (for white gold, if the list isn’t big enough take it out or put in wg and search again) diamond 14 (used for 14kt, again, you don’t know what the seller used for kt when listing) and look in the Tennis Bracelet Category or other sub-category.

Here is something that I have seen a lot of that can end you up in the too short and sometimes in the too long group – searching the entire site (not using the main or sub categories) while using the main categories’ heading name such as Coin when wanting to just browse through coins to see what strikes your fancy. Sellers generally don’t use the heading name in the Auction Title. It’s kind of redundant and they need the space (they might use coin[s] to indicate more than one). Searching the entire site for Coins gets you a lot of Coin Dot (whatever that is, it doesn’t relate to spending coins), Coin Blue in color, Coin Game, Coin Bank and so on. A search of Overstock on Coins got me 1073 items but the main coin category has 3612 items in it with no coin banks in the list.

Well, enough rambling for now. If you are interested in a great deal on either of the items pictured in this article and some of what was pictured in the previous articles, just click on the button in the left column for viewing my Overstock.com Auctions and check them out. I’m sure you’ll be happy you did.

Acronyms and Abbreviations used in Auction Titles and Listings

Here’s a topic I’ve talked about a bit in the past on the bulletin board at Overstock.com Auctions. Many sellers use acronyms and abbreviations in their auction titles and listings for many reasons but the question I always have is "Do the buyers know what they mean?" What good do they do the sellers if the buyers don’t understand what they are reading? And consequently if the buyers don’t understand what they are reading, why would they buy the item? What does OOAK mean? How about NIB or NWT? Obviously the seller knows what the ones they use mean (I hope) but how many of these do the buyers know? NIB means "New in Box", this is probably the second most common one and I’ll admit that I had no idea what it meant when I first got into internet auctioning and it took me quite awhile to figure it out. The most common seems to be "NR" which means "no reserve", meaning there is not a reserve amount put on the auction as a hidden minimum price (it didn’t take me too long to figure that one out, thankfully). As I said, the sellers have many reasons for using these acronyms and abbreviations and for the various reasons, more power to them. However, I’d like to suggest that they explain whatever it is they are using somewhere in the auction listing so their potential buyer understands what they are looking at and can use the acronym or abbreviation in their future title searches. Please note that as a buyer, to use these in your title searches you need to be very careful that you are not needlessly limiting your search results.

In a humble attempt to help buyers and sellers, I’m going to list out some acronyms and abbreviations used in Internet auctions with their explanations. Please understand that this is not a complete or authoritative list, just some stuff that I have gathered and believe to be correct. Also please understand that some of these could have more than one meaning and I may not have the second meaning included. I.E. don’t blame me if something here is less than fully correct, nobody is paying me to do a definitive body of work here :-)

" = Inch (unit of measurement - lenght)
in = Inch (unit of measurement - lenght)
1st = First Edition
925 = Highest normal grade of Silver
.925 = Highest normal grade of Silver
ABM = Automatic Bottle Machine (bottles prior to 1910)
ACL = Applied Color Label (bottles)
ADV = Adventure (Books / Movies)
AKA = Also known as
ANTH = Anthology (books) ANA = American Numismatic Association
ASAP = As soon as possible
ATM = At the moment (hmm, I thought it was a box that gave you money?)
BB = Sized Hole Drilled Through Record Label - Beanie Baby (could be used with MWBTM Mint With Both Tags Mint)
BBC = Bottom of Back Cover (books / movies)
BC = Back Cover (presumable used with books and movies)
BCE = Book Club Edition
BIM = Blown in Mold (bottles prior to 1910)
BIN = Buy It Now, eBay phrase http://www.ebay.com/
BIO = Biography
BJ = Ball Jointed Body (dolls)
BK = Bent Knee (dolls)
BLB = Big Little Book
BOMC =Book of the Month Club Edition
BW = Black and White (photos, illustrations, drawings)
B&W = see above BW
C = Cartridge Only (video game)
CART = Cartridge (video game)
CB = Cartridge (video game - no instructions)
CC = Carbon Copy
CC = Cut Corner
CC = Corner (books, magazines)
CCA = Comic Code
CCG = Collectable Card Game (I’m hooked on "Magic the Gathering" - http://www.wizards.com/ )
CF = Centerfold (magazines)
CI = Cartridge & Instructions (video games)
CIB = Cartridge instructions/box (as in computer equipment) (Hey, this is the way I got it, don't blame me that it doesn't semm to be written out correctly)
CM = Customized
COA = Certificate of Authenticity
CONUS = Continental United States (this is the one the people who live in Alaska and Hawaii hate to see, it usually means they aren't going to be able to get it or it will cost them a whole heck of a lot more for shipping then everyone else.
CPN = Coupon
CTB = Coffee Table Book
CTW = Carat total weight
DB = Divided Back (postcards)
DBL = Double (2-in-1: paperbacks, etc)
DIY = Do It Yourself
DJ = Dust Jacket
DUTCH = Dutch Auction (multiple quantities available)(not the last date you went on)
EAPG = Early American Pattern Glass
EC = Excellent Condition
EF = Extra Fine Condition
EMO = a 70's style of clothing (the meaning for this on is questionable and if anyone could give me a comment on this with a more correct answer, I’ll post it for everyone to see later) (this added as additional) = Emotional
EP = Extended Play (records, video tapes)
EXLIB = Ex Library Book
FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions (usually a list of frequently asked questions with answers)(don't you hate it when there isn't answers?:-)
FB = Feedback
FC = Fine Condition - Front Cover
FDC = First Day Cover (stamps)
FE = First Edition (books)
F/E = First Edition (books)
FFL = Federally Licensed Firearms (dealer)
FN = Fine Condition
FS = Factory Sealed - Free Shipping
FTP = Method for transfering files over the internet (check with your local computer geek on this one)
FVF = Final Value Fee, eBay phrase http://www.ebay.com/
G = Good Condition
GAR = Garnet - Be careful here, Gar is also the name of a fish
GD = Good Condition
Gently Used = Item that has been used but shows little wear - should have an explanation of wear
GF = Gold Filled
GGA = Good Girl Art (paperback book covers)
GM = Gram
GSP = Gold Sterling Plate
GWTW = Gone With the Wind
HB = Hard Back (book)
HB/DJ = Hardback (Book) with Dust Jacket
HC = Hard Cover (book)
HIC = Hole in Cover
HIL = Hole in Label
HIST = Historical (books)
HM = Happy Meal (McDonald's)
HOF = Hall of Famer (sports memorabilia / autograph / trading cards)
HP = Hard Plastic (dolls) - Hand Painted – Hewlett Packard - Home Page
HTF = Hard to Find
IBC = Inside Back Cover
IE = Internet Explorer Browser Program
IFC = Inside Front Cover
ILLO = Illustration
IMHO = In my humble opinion
IMO = In my opinion
INIT = Initials
ISH = Issue
ISP = Internet Service Provider
JPG = Computer picture file format (pronounced J-Peg)
JUVIE = Juvenile Delinquency Theme
K or KT = Karat Gold measurement preceded by 10, 14, 18, 24 etc; L = Large
L = Large
LBBP = Large Bean Bag Plush (Disney)
LBC = Lower Back Cover
LFC = Lower Front Cover
LFT = Left (just couldn’t put that last letter in there could you)
LINK = A photo, icon or text on a listing page (or web page) that, when clicked on, takes you to another place on the internet. Also called hyperlink.
LLBC = Lower Left of Back Cover
LLFC = Lower Left of Front Cover
LN = Like New
LOT = more than one
LP = Little People (Fisher Price toys) - Long Playing Record
LRBC = Lower Right on Back Cover
LRFC = Lower Right on Front Cover
LSE = Loose
LSW = Label Shows Wear (records)
LTBX = Letterbox (video that recreates a widescreen image)
LTD = Limited Edition
LWOL = Lot of Writing on Label (records)
M = Medium – Mint, as in condition - Mono (records)
MA = Madame Alexander (dolls)
MAP = Map Back (paperback books)
MC = Miscut
MEDIC = Medical Genre (paperbacks)
MIB = Mint in Box (box not necessarily mint)
MIBP = Mint in Blister Pack
MIJ = Made in Japan
MIMB = Mint in Mint Box
MIMP = Mint in Mint Package
MINT = This is a statement of condition, Mint being the best with trading cards and coins having conditions that can be considered higher than Mint such as gem mint and uncirculated. Refer to PSA Grading at http://www.psacard.com/grading/grading_standards.chtml for trading card grading and NGC at http://www.ngccoin.com/coingrading/grading2.asp for coin grading. Because I’m referring you to NGC, I am not going to be including any coin specific acronyms and abbreviations, as there are far too many of them. Also check with the American Numismatic Association at http://www.money.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home .
MIOJ = Made in Occupied Japan
MIOP = Mint in Opened Package
MIP = Mint in Package
MIU = Made in USA
MM = Millimeter - Merry Miniatures (Hallmark)
MMA = Metropolitan Museum of Art
MNB = Mint - No Box
MNH = Mint Never Hinged (stamps)
MOC = Mint on Card
MOMA = Museum of Modern Art
MOMC = Mint on Mint Card (yeah, I don’t know what that means either but assume somebody does)
MONMC = Mint on Near Mint Card (see above)
MOP = Mother of Pearl
MOTU = Masters of the Universe
MT = Mint
MTG = Magic the Gathering Collectable Card Game
MWBMT = Mint With Both Mint Tags
MWBT = Mint With Both Tags
MYS = Mystery (books / movies)
NAP = Not Affected Play (records)
NASB = Nancy Ann Story Book
NBW = Never been worn
NC = No Cover
NDSR = No Dents Scratches or Rust (tins)
NIB = New in box
NIP = New in Package
NM = Near Mint
NOS = New Old Stock - still in new unused condition, but the product was released a while ago
NORES = No Reserve
NP = Not Packaged
NPB = Non Paying Bidder. Observed when the high bidder does not follow through with a payment. Auction / eBay phrase http://www.ebay.com/
NR = No Reserve (meaning there is not a hidden minimum price that has to be met before the item will sell)
N/R = No Reserve
NRFB = Never Removed from Box
NRMNT = Near Mint (reference to condition)
NWT = New with Tag
OB = Original Box
OC = Off Center Off Cut
O/C = On Canvas (paintings)
OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer
OF = Original Finish
OOAK = One of a Kind
OOP = Out of Package - Out of Print - Out of Production
OP = Out of Print (I would never suggest using this one)
Patina = The shine on an item (I'm not too sure about this, seems to me it means something else)
PBO = Paperback Original
PC = Poor Condition - Post Card
PD = Picture Disc
PIC = Picture
PM = Post Mark / Postal Markings (post cards; first day covers) , Priority Mail
P/O = Punch-Out (inventory that has been "de-classified" with a hole punch)
POC = Pencil On Cover (???)
POPS = Promo Only Picture Sleeve
POTF = Power of the Force (Star Wars)
PR = Poor Condition
PRC = Peoples Republic of China
PS = Power Supply
PSA = Professional Sports Authenticator (sports card grading service)- http://www.psacard.com/
PVC = Poly Vinyl Chloride. An ingredient of soft plastic holders
R = Reprint
RET = Retired
RETRD = Retired
RFC = Right Side of Front Cover
RFDO = Removed For Display Only
RI = Reissue (records)
ROM = Romantic (books)
ROTJ = Return of the Jedi (Star Wars)
RRH = Remade/Repainted/Haired (dolls, etc.)
RS = Rhinestones - Rubber Stamped on Label (records)
RSP = Rodium Sterling Plate
RSVP = Respond as soon as possible
RT = Right
S = Small Stereo (records)
SB = Soft Bound (referring to soft large bound books)
SC = Slight Crease (hang tags, books, magazines)
SCI = Science (books)
SCR = Scratch
SCU = Scuff (records)
SF = Science Fiction
SFBC = Science Fiction Book Club (sometimes the true 1st edition)
SH = Shipping & Handling
SIG = Signature
SLD = Sealed
SLT = Slight
SLW = Straight Leg Walker (dolls)
Snail Mail = United States Postal Service delivery (yes, it's not an abbreviation or acronym but you are likely to see it somewhere)(this is not an indication of poor postal delivery but a comparison to email)
S/O = Sold Out
SOL = Sticker on Label (records)
SPAM = Unwanted or unrequested email
SR = Slight Ring Wear (I have no idea what this is in reference to)
SS = Stainless Steel, Sterling Silver, World War II German Political Military Group
S/S = Still Sealed - Single Sheet (stamps) – Sterling Silver – World War II German Political Military Group - Stainless Steel
S.S. – Sterling Silver (this is considered the most proper form) - World War II German Political Military Group- Stainless Steel
ST = Star Trek – Sterling
STER = Sterling
STNG = Star Trek the Next Generation
STCCG = Star Trek Collectable Card Game
SUSP = Suspended - Suspense (books)
SW = Slight Wear - Star Wars
SWCCG = Star Wars Collectable Card Game
SWCS = Star Wars Collector Series (toys)
SZ = Size
TBB = Teenie Beanie Babies
TM = Trademark
TMOL = Tape Mark on Label (records)
TNG = The Next Generation (Startrek TV series)
TOBC = Top of Back cover
TOFC = Top of Front Cover
TOL = Tear on Label (records)
TOONS = Cartoon Art (paperbacks)
TOS = Tape on Spine, Star Trek term for "The Original Series"
TOUGH = Tough Guy Genre (paperbacks)
UB = Undivided Back (post cards)
URFC = Upper Right Corner of Front Cover
URL = Uniform Resource Locator (the address that identifies an internet web site)
USPS = United States Postal Service
VF = Very Fine Condition
VHTF = Very Hard to Find
VG = Very Good Condition
V/M/D = Visa/Mastercard/Discover
W/C = Watercolor (paintings)
WG = White Gold
WLP = White Label Promo
WOC = Writing on Cover
WOR = Writing on Record
WRP = Warp (records) (is there something wrong with the letter a?)
WS = Widescreen (same as letterbox)
WSOL = Water Stain on Label (records)
WYSIWYG = What you see is what you get (generally used to desribe a view on a computer screen)
XLNT = Excellent
YG = Yellow Gold

WOW! You get 10 points for shear tenacity if you actually read all those! (I get minus 50 points for being such a geek for making the list and alphabetizing it.)

Look at all the possibilities for miscommunication in that list! The list can not even be considered remotely complete! Many different hobbies and categories use the same acronym for different meanings. I’ve gotten a question in the past on what does mm mean in a jewelry listing where it was referring to thickness. As a seller, you should want your buyer to be sure of what that acronym or abbreviation meant. You don’t want to get an irate email from a buyer saying "HEY YOU DIRTY ROTTEN SO and SO, OOAK MEANS "ONLY OAK" AND THIS THING IS CLEARLY MADE OF PINE AND MAPLE!!!!!!". As a buyer, you should take some time to really understand what the seller’s acronym means, even if it means emailing a question to the seller. You don’t want to be the buyer who has to send the above-mentioned email about the meaning of OOAK. By the way, did you look up the meaning in my list? It doesn’t mean Only Oak.

Well, enough rambling for now. If you are interested in a great deal on either of the items pictured in this article and some of what was pictured in the previous articles, just click on the button in the left column for viewing my Overstock.com Auctions and check them out. I’m sure you’ll be happy you did.

Auction Listing Title Search Oddities

I told you auction listing titles could be a chapter or two in someone’s book. Today I’m going to touch on search oddities a bit.

You need to get to know the specific capabilities of the search engines used by the auction houses you use (buyers and sellers). They are different in ways that can really surprise you and hurt you. .925 is a number representing high quality silver. If a potential buyer at eBay puts it in his/her search, they are going to get all listings with .925 and 925 in them. At Overstock the buyer will only get listings with 925 and combination words with .925 in them such as New.925. Oops, hope you didn’t use .925 as a key word at Overstock, the auction won’t be found that way. Overstock doesn’t search symbols specifically and ignores them except it seems to allow them as break up points in it’s search (I probably didn’t explain that well, sorry.). Both Overstock and eBay ignore word placement order in their search. Does the other site(s) you use do so also? If not, does that adversely affect you? At eBay, if you search a non-plural word, it will also give you the plural if it has just the "s". Such as Pattern will also get you Patterns. Ops, searching for Patterns will not also get you Pattern. At Overstock, Searching for Pattern or Patterns gets you both. I hope the ramifications of these little oddities are apparent to you. The .925 one hurt me at Overstock and I found the "s" problem at eBay before it hurt me. I’m sure there are plenty more and if you email here with ones you have come across, I’ll put them in a later article so we can all benefit from the knowledge.

When you manually list at Overstock.com, the instructions say to not use HTML, asterisk or quotation marks in the auction title (it also used to say to not use dashes so I guess they are now useable). I can’t speak for the HTML or asterisk but I know you are going to have a problem with quotation marks. Hmmm 7 inches or 7"? A lot of space savings to use the 7" (Buyers, don’t use ", in or inch in your searches, just use the 7 as you have no way of knowing what the seller is using). What happens is when you go to another screen to do something, the quotation marks and everything after it disappears. The nuisance workaround for that is to put your title in as the last thing you do on the listing page. It works, you get to keep the quotation marks and everything after it, don’t ask me why. However, if you have to correct the listing before it’s been finished, you have to make sure the title is right again as the last thing you do on that page again.

This next is not an Oddity, just a tip (the heading of this Blog doesn’t have the word "Ramblings" in it for nothing). You can pretty much get found in an entire category listing by using key search words for something your item is not. Such as if you are selling a Cross Stitch Pattern that is not part of a Cross Stitch Kit, you can add ", not a Kit" in your title. In many cases a person looking for a kit (usually a kit includes a pattern and all the thread you need for it) may be very interested in just a pattern. In my previous article I mentioned that I sell a Cross Stitch Pattern making program. They sell well during the week but almost not at all on the weekends. I just experimented (this week as I’m writing this) on eBay with adding ", not a kit" in paid for subtitles for 2 auctions (I added more than that of course). 1 to end on Saturday and the other to end on Sunday, both set as 7-day listings. Because it cost me 50 cents more each to list them like that, I slightly increased my "Buy It Now" price. 1 of them sold on Tuesday even though the regular priced one that was set to end that day didn’t sell (my guess is this buyer used a key word in my subtitle that was not in my title (probably "kit"), netting me a sale I wouldn’t of had otherwise). If you have the space in the auction title, don’t waste it!

Sellathon has started it’s O Tracker on Overstock Auctions and has been in operation with it’s ViewTracker at eBay. I’ve been looking in to it and find it very impressive. I’ll be signing up for O Tracker’s upgrade package as soon as it’s available and am seriously considering getting the eBay version also. To check out the eBay version and thus have a good idea what the upgraded O Tracker will also be like, go to the Frequently Asked Questions page at http://www.sellathon.com/faq.html and look around. The program gives you statistics on how people find your auctions and what time of day they find them. Just great for determining which key words buyers use and the best time of day(s) to end your auctions. A couple of things they neglect to mention in their hype to get you to use the program (read buy the upgrade); There is no way of knowing what key words people who would want to buy your product actually used when they didn’t find your product. There is no way of knowing how many people did use key words that got your item into their search list but then they didn’t click on your item anyway. They have a great comparison set up to let you know how well you did verses other items in the same category but there doesn’t seem to be anything to tell you why you did poorly or great verses the other items or how you did verses same type items (Of course just knowing you did poorly should get you off your behind and trying to figure it out.). (This should work great on Overstock as it is used with all Overstock auctions but will be spotty at best on eBay as the comparison is only with other sellers who use their service.)

For you auction buyers out there who have read this and my other articles, this Blog is not dedicated to sellers only. It’s just that I started with this Key Word thing and these first 3 articles are of more interest to sellers than buyers. However, if you have been paying attention, you might start rethinking how you have been searching for things. Have you been using the word Patterns instead of Pattern at eBay? Do you get into the Jewelry section and then use the word Jewelry in your search? Here is another whole article coming up for you in the near future from me. The search oddity of this paragraph is that while sellers need to think like buyers to make their title up, the buyers also need to think like sellers to find the exact items they want without having to go through miles of listings.

Well, enough rambling for now. I mentioned that I got caught at Overstock Auctions on that .925 problem. That’s because I sell a lot of Sterling Silver Jewelry. If you are interested in a great deal on a set of earrings, a bracelet or a necklace in Sterling Silver, just click on the button in the left column for viewing my Auctions and see what I have to offer.

A Little More about Auction Listing Titles

My last article scratched the surface on Key Words for auction listing titles, since then, Overstock.com Auctions has joined with Sellathon http://sellathon.com/ to offer a new service that tells sellers which words were used in a search to find there listing (among other things). I’m very much so looking forward to delving into their system.

For this article I want to touch on (note: I said touch on, not give the ultimate definitive writing) what it may take to get the potential buyer to actually look at your auction listing after the buyer has done his search. Huh? But didn’t they just find my listing because I did such a great Key Word auction title? Well, yes and no. You have some competition out there that is pretty bright too. What the buyer got when he/she put the words they used in the search was a narrowed down list and depending on how many words they used to search with, the list can be from small to huge. If you did your homework well when making your auction title full of useful key words, your listing is now somewhere in that list.

So, now we have a potential buyer glancing through a list of auction listings and your auction has got to stand out somehow if you want the sale. How are you going to do that?

Overstock offers free gallery pictures that go next to the listing title when viewing the list. EBay charges 35 cents for the picture. If you don’t have a supplied electronic photo file from your vender, you better find some way to get one of the item. To not use the Overstock free option is just foolish or lazy and fools and lazy people don’t usually make it in business. To pay the 35 cents to eBay is a decision you’ll have to make and should experiment with. I sell 2 different versions of the computer program PCStitch (release 5.1 and version 7). I can barely sell a copy on eBay of 7 without putting up a gallery photo. 5 sells just fine without the gallery photo (I of course use the free photo when listing on Overstock). I sell a 5 in 1 camera (Digital Camera, Web Cam, Spy Cam, Video Camera and a Laser Pointer!) that I’ve found my best days to list are Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. I’ve discovered that I can sell them on Fridays without paying for the gallery picture but can hardly sell them at all on Mondays and Tuesdays without the gallery photo.

At my previous article we see that I didn’t use solely key words in my listing title. I added "new" and "classic" (they were in my original list but not my pared down list). Depending on what you are selling, the amount of good key words can be limited and you won’t be able to fill the 2 lines at Overstock. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen an item that couldn’t reasonably fill the 1 free line at eBay.) So at Overstock you may find yourself with some extra space to fill. This is where you need to look at hyping your product or explaining your product to get the buyer’s attention. We’ve all seen the "WOW" and "L@@K" in lists of auction titles. I’m not a big believer in these two, but if that’s all you have room for, go for it (do consider the dignity of the item you are selling). Characters such as "!" "~" "&" "@" can sometimes also be used for hyping and catching the eye of the buyer. Be very careful with capitalization of your words. Capitalizing key words can be very useful in drawing attention to them but USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS IN THE AUCTION TITLE CAN BE HARD TO READ SOMETIMES AND IT’S LIKE SHOUTING AT PEOPLE. Many people just don’t like it, but it can be something to experiment with at times. In the example from the previous article, I put in the "new" because it can be a search key word (not likely), it does draw attention and it helped to explain the item further. I used "classic" as an attention drawing word (not really sure how effective it is for this), as an explanation word and I felt (right or wrong) that it would help to hype the item. To recap, look for hype, additional key words, words and characters that can draw the eye’s attention, explain the item and especially words that fill multiple roles.

The previous article also just said we are going to now use our grammar skills that we learned in school to make this look as good as possible. That was putting it very lightly. The auction title has to read well or it can put the seller in a bad light. I’m sorry, but if it looks like English is a second language to you, even though we live in the age we do, the buyer is likely to just skip over your listing. It doesn’t have to read like a book, but it does have to make some grammatical sense and have some sort of grammatical order to it. If it doesn’t, it’s going to be too hard to read and the buyer will just move on.

To give a new example, this is what I use for the PCStitch program:

Cross Stitch Pattern Program PCStitch 7 New PC Software (55 characters with spaces)
Make Patterns from your Photos and Graphic Files! TOASA (55 again)

The first line has a grammatical problem in it in that it should have a comma after the 7. Dashes "-" and tildes "~" are better alternatives to commas "," because they draw more eye attention, but there drawback is that they use 1 more space. (Overstock has a problem with not accepting dashes in it’s titles, you have to use tildes) Unfortunately in this case I just didn’t have room for anything. In the second line I used the word "Pattern" for a second time. This is usually a big waste of a word but I was trying to explain the product as best I could and couldn’t think of any other word that would fit (please let me know if you can). I did manage to get in an explanation point. Note that I capitalized all of the key words but didn’t capitalize "your". I’ve seen some seller’s titles that would do that but I felt that it would be bad along the lines of shouting.

As to whether or not to pay eBay the extra money for the second line of text, well, that depends. If you are selling something for 5 or 6 dollars you probably can’t afford it. You may be able to afford it on a $20.00 item and if you do have a lot of good key words you should experiment with it (more sales at a slightly lower profit is still more sales at a profit). If you don’t have a lot of good key words but your profit margin is good you should do it or at least experiment with it. If your item is likely to sell for over $30.00 you are probably being foolish to not give eBay the money and use it to it’s fullest extent. Even with an item that doesn’t have very many key words, you can still use it for hype, eye attraction, etc.

Well, enough rambling for now. I hope you are beginning to understand the importance of listing titles and how to make them. If you are interested in either of the PCStitch programs or the 5 in 1 Camera I sell, just click on the button in the left column for viewing my Auctions.

Auction Key Word Searches for Beginners.

I’ve been thinking about this topic for the blog for a bit. This topic can be a full chapter and possibly two in someone’s book. So, for now I’m going to just discuss some basics in making auction listings.

Overstock Auctions and eBay each allow you 55 character spaces in the Title/Description line. They each also offer a second Description line, eBay charges for it but Overstock doesn’t. Overstock's 2nd Title line comes up in searches but eBay's doesn't so eBay's is only good when looking at a list that shows up in a search. The 55 characters include letters, symbols and spaces. So many new auctioneers and even experienced ones really don’t utilize this very well. This Title/Description line is one of the main ways people find auction items. Yes, many do use the other search methods in categories and such but you HAVE to make the most of this Title/Description line to drive customers to your auction! Don’t just count on being in the correct category! People who want a 7 inch long, gold with rhinestones tennis bracelet don’t want to waste there time looking at every bracelet out there. They are going to do a Key Word Search and if that is what you are selling, you better show up in their search if you want to make a sale! You also want to show up in their search if you are selling something close to that, they may decide they like what you have better then what they were looking for.

Everyone is taught in school to make their sentences grammatically correct and we all are bombarded with advertising that yells excitement! Guess what, you are selling via an Internet auction and things that work are different here. Making your Title descriptions grammatically correct is not always going to include every possible Key Word that the buyers are going to use to search for your item. Same thing with using flashy words and symbols. Nobody searches for an @ or a ~ or the words Great or LOOK. Key Words are to Internet auctions as location, location, location is to real estate. And you had better be darn sure you spell them correctly (purposely spelling them incorrectly in the manner that most people spell them incorrectly can also be a useful tool, but that is for another time). Flashy words and symbols are good for drawing the eye when your listing is in the searched list of items but only use them as fillers when you run out of good Key Words.

You need to take a systematical approach to coming up with what you are going to put in your Title/Description line. What are all the "key" words that describe your item? What words would you use if you were looking to buy one? Let’s use that 7 inch bracelet as our example (hey, I happen to be selling one right now that is 24K yellow gold electroplate). List out your thoughts on a piece of paper; 7 inch, Yellow Gold, 24K electroplate, 35 2.2mm rhinestones, clear diamond look to the stones, brand new, beautiful, TOASA (doesn’t hurt to note you are a member of a trusted organization and can often help), S Bar (also known as Wave) design, the S Bar is considered a "Classic" popular design, faceted (the stones have many cuts), round stones, sturdy clasp. Ok, I don’t want to bore you, so that’s enough for this writing but should not be enough for you when you do it for real. Now use those search words to see what your competition is using for the same or similar items. Add to your list the words you should of thought of yourself and any you find interesting (All of this will also help you later when you write up the main body of your listing). Now it’s time to pare them down, remember at eBay you only get 55 characters/spaces unless you are willing to pay for more (a whole additional discussion for another time) and that at Overstock you only get 2 lines of 55. I’m going here with the Overstock 2 lines and using the list I made earlier only for this. Try to set aside words like new and beautiful as they are not really used in Key Word Searches often (new is sometimes but it is unlikely beautiful ever is). Hmmm, the item is 24K yellow gold electroplate. The 24K electroplate indicates it’s costume jewelry, not a great selling feature. Yellow Gold as opposed to white gold is definitely a distinction prospective buyers are going to want to know. YG stands for Yellow Gold but we may be better keeping the full word in if we can (this is something you can experiment with YG vs Yellow Gold). Overstock requires that if you use the word Gold, you must state it’s K and type such as filled, electroplate, etc. So if we are going to use Yellow Gold or even YG we have to put in 24K electroplate. Now the stones are rhinestones and that is bad and good at the same time. Rhinestones are inexpensive and wanted for the costs but certainly are not CZs or diamonds. But these are clear diamond like, not a color, so why not try to attract people who are interested in buying CZs and diamonds? The cost is cheap enough that they can buy this and what they are looking for too. So lets use the term simulated diamonds. Overstock requires a choice of a couple of different words to be used when you are using the word diamond and it’s not an actual diamond. We will of course use rhinestone to attract those buyers and Overstock again requires the type of actual stone when not a diamond. So far we have "24K yellow gold electroplate" and "rhinestone simulated diamonds". Need the length, 7 inches (may be useful for key word searches and is definitely useful for list searches) and of course that it’s a tennis bracelet. The S bar / Wave is such a popular design that they are good Key Words. TOASA is a must if we can get it in. So we now have "24K yellow gold electroplate rhinestone simulated diamonds 7 inches tennis bracelet S bar Wave TOASA". That’s 100 characters and spaces. We have a total of 110 over 2 lines to work with. At this point we do want to fall back on our grammatical teachings and make this look as good as possible and now use the extra 10 characters and spaces to "punch it up" as best we can. This will take some time and thought. What I ended up with is:
New 7 inch Simulated Diamond Rhinestone Tennis Bracelet (count of 55)
Classic S Bar Wave 24K Yellow Gold Electroplate TOASA (count of 53)

Was what I used the best possible? Maybe, maybe not, but it is sure a lot better than some I’ve seen such as:
~~ L@@K~~ Beautiful NEW Rhinestone Tennis Bracelet ~~ (This one will draw your eye in a category search but only has 3 good Key Words)
and the every horrible
~ Clear Rhinestone Bracelet ~ (Note; both of these examples didn’t use the 2nd line available to them in Overstock that is searchable [remember, eBay's 2nd Title line is not searcable]. Being lazy is a sure way to not have sales.)

Tip: most word processors have a "count" function to make the character space count easy for you.

Enough for today. Please understand that this just barely scratched the surface on this topic.

If you are interested in purchasing the bracelet, just click on the button in the left column for viewing my Auctions.

A little about myself.

I live in a suburban neigborhood north of Detroit, Michigan. I'm married with three children (two boys still at home and one daughter married and out of the house) and one grandson and I like my son-in-law. I still work for the man, am a Land Lord (gotta put the kids through college somehow) and sell things part time on Overstock.com Auctions and eBay. I started purchasing things via internet auctions in 2001 and began selling in a small way via internet auctions in late 2001. In 2004 I started to branch out from selling excess items from my gaming hobby and odds and ends items in my home to selling various computer programs. Since then I have been slowly turning Internet Auction Selling into a main hobby of mine that I expect to eventually turn into a full time business when I retire from my day job. Currently you'll find I have computer programs, jewelry and well, still some odds and ends listed for sale. My auction ID name on Overstock is wings3 and on others it is leemcguire2001. I'll be using this Blog to promote my wares, talk about the Internet Auction Business in general and specifics, answer questions to the best of my ability about internet auctioning, give advice to newcomers to selling and buying on internet auctions, show pictures of my new grandson (Ok, so you'll have to put up with a little bit of my personal life.), talk about the benefits and pitfalls of internet auctions (profit margins, scam artist, auction fees, friends that are made etc.) and I'll probably get into a little bit about politics from time to time (I'm a main stream Republican who is married to a Rabid Democrat, my talk about politics may end up being rantings and howling at the moon ).

As you can see from above, Ramblings is not too inappropriate of a word to use in this Blog.

Anyway, bear with me and feel free to ask any questions you may have about Internet Auctions and anything else that I bring up in my ramblings. When asking a question, please be as specific as you can or you'll find the answer to something you may not have been looking for. The first question of "Who the heck are you to give advice and info about Internet Auctions?", I'll answer right now. I'm not the world's formost expert on Internet Auctions. I'm a man in his early fifties who has been around the block a bit. I've owned and operated my own successful electrical contracting business, been a Land Lord for over 30 years, dabbled in Mail Order, am curently selling things at internet auctions and am reasonably computer literate. Do I know everything about internet auctions, no, but I can help people to get over some of the newbie humps and do know a lot of general advice (whether I take it myself or not). Having been there and done that with setting up auction accounts and posting auction listings, I certainly don't know everything but I know enough to be helpful and point you in the right direction when not. So read this blog when you can and don't be afraid to ask questions.