Thursday, February 12, 2009

How to List eBay Items Faster


This is a very popular question, "How can I list my eBay items faster?"

It is all about organization and time management. I find the best way to do listings is to do similar tasks in batches. Pick 5-10 items at a time. Photograph them. Edit the photos in a batch. Then sit down and create your listings at a time when you will not be interrupted. If you have kids, the best time is when they are at school, taking a nap, or after they go to bed.

Close out all internet windows (yes, even Facebook) and focus on the task at hand. You will be amazed at how much you can do when you are focused on doing one thing. Multi-tasking is a myth. Focusing on one task at a time gets the job done.

Use the same listing format for everything. Whether it is bullet points, paragraphs, or whatever - so all you have to do is change the specifics for each item. I save my template in WORD so I can just copy and pop it in and change the size, color, etc for each item.

I am not a fan of Turbo Lister so I don't use it. In my experience, it just takes longer to batch upload the photos and time is money. It is just too slow for me.

Switch to a DSL or broadband internet connection. Dial-up will take forever to upload your photos, and you will just get frustrated. Internet is a business expense that you can deduct from your taxes. If you are serious about growing your eBay business, a fast internet connection is crucial.

And it may just be time to hire some help. Maybe you are doing all one person can do in a day. Many eBay sellers are hiring helpers for various parts of the business workflow. Check out my class called, "Keep Your Business Growing," and learn how to hire help for your at-home ecommerce business. The class is taught by a long time eBay seller who was able to go from 800 items listed a month to 3,000 items just by hiring a few college students!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Suzanne!
On the mac I use iSale, which let's me use old templates for similar items and I just change the photo and minor things in the description. It's really easy to use and I'll never go back to plain old eBay to list items.
Love your tips! Keep up the good work!
Anne Z

Anonymous said...

great tips. thanks!

Tami said...

Are there any barcode scanners out there that will post a discription as well as a picture for gymboree clothes?

Suzanne A. Wells said...

Hi, Tammy,

Not that I am aware of.