Add You - eBay Photography-Insider Tips for Winning Listings

So what can you do to highlight your product and make it stand out? Show it off! At a retail store, you can pick an item up. You can see and feel the quality.

Your eBay listing can only sell with two things:

• The words you use
• Pictures of your product

eBay buyers need to be assured that the things you list are in good shape. They don't want a nasty surprise when the get the item. They need to see with their eyes what they're buying, so reassure them with images that show your product in the best light.

Keep reading to learn step-by-step how to take great pictures that will increase your chances of selling your eBay products both more often and at a higher price.

Lighting

Without good lighting, they can't see a thing. I'm sure you've seen eBay listings with poor lighting. Without adequate lighting, you won't show details of your product. Potential buyers can't see if the item is clean. They can't see if it has tears, damage, or other defects.

Think about when you go shopping at a retail store. What do you look for to decide if you should buy. Sure, you'll look at the price tag, but what else? If you're shopping for clothes, you will want to make sure there are no spots or stains on the item. You may check to make sure the zipper works on a pair of jeans or check for missing buttons on a shirt.

Great lighting must be:

• Bright Enough
• Come from More than One Source
• Be the Right Color

Bright Lighting

Probably the best source of lighting for many products is natural lighting. Especially for outdoor products such as camping equipment or yard tools, the sun provides the most natural light for these items.

The reason the sun is such a good light source for auction items is it is bright enough, comes from more than one source, and it's the right color of light all in one. It may seem like the sun is a single light source, but lighting in an outdoor setting comes not only from the sun itself, but from lit up clouds and the sky itself.

Multi-Source Lighting

Why do we care if our item we want to list is lit from more than one source? When a single light source is used, it casts harsh shadows on the object. The parts in shadow you can't see well. Lighting an object from two sources of light (or more) means you can see all of it.

What do I use for lighting when outdoor lighting isn't convenient? I picked up two halogen shop lights at my local Home Depot. Each one is free-standing, can have their height adjusted, and have two bulbs each (for a total of 4 light sources). They provide plenty of light. The bulbs are a nice, pure white as well.

Proper Lighting Color

There's only one light source I try to stay away from as much as possible. Fluorescent bulbs actually don't typically emit pure white light. Before I knew better, I'd take product pictures with this kind of light.

The items would often look somewhat green or blue, depending on the kind of fluorescent bulb. You can actually buy fluorescent bulbs that are "natural" colored, but they'll cost more.

Standard light bulbs tend to emit light with a blue or yellow hue. They work ok, but my recommendation is still natural lighting where possible, halogen light if not.

My Dirty Little Lighting Secret

If you have Adobe Photoshop, you can easily adjust the color of the picture, its contrast, and even make it lighter.

To correct your image in Photoshop:

1. Open your image in Photoshop
2. Click the Images selection at the top of the screen
3. In the drop down menu, click on Adjustments
4. Within Adjustments, click on Auto Levels

You'll be amazed how this single adjustment will correct many image lighting problems.

If you don't have Photoshop, you can get similar results with an excellent (and free!) image editor called "the Gimp." The Gimp isn't Photoshop, but it doesn't cost up to $800 either. :)

To correct your image in the Gimp:

1. Open your image into the Gimp
2. Click on Tools at the top of the program
3. Click on Color Tools in the drop down menu
4. Click on Levels
5. In the Levels dialog box, click on the Auto button
6. Click on OK.

No Distractions

OK, now that we've lit up our product, let's make it the star of the show. Effective eBay photos make it clear what you're selling. Make sure it's the only thing in the picture.

You'll want a nice background that sets your product off nicely. I've seen some advice stating flatly that you should take all your pictures with a white background. If all the products you sell are black, I agree with that advice.

You want to display your product with a background color that contrasts with your product. If I'm selling a white iPod, white's not the best background color for me to use. It won't stand out. Pick up a simple, plain white or light-colored sheet to use as a background for dark colored objects and a black or other dark color to put light colored items in front of.

Also, keep in mind the color you'll display the image on. You'll want to select a background color that goes well with the look you use for your eBay listings. For a more complete discussion on how to design your eBay listings for greater impact, click the link below.

Make it Big Enough

Since you're selling your item and not the sheet behind it, you want as little of the sheet to show as possible. Zoom in on the object or move the camera closer to the object so it takes up most of your camera's viewfinder.

If you've already taken your picture, you can use a program like Photoshop or the Gimp to "crop" the image. Basically, you'll cut off all but a fairly small border around your item. When you upload your image to eBay, if it's larger than they display it, they will reduce its size to fit their format. If you have a lot of sheet showing around your item, the shrunk image will make your item appear very small.

This is especially true for the gallery images on eBay. These gallery images are pretty small. Once your picture gets shrunk down to gallery size, if your item's too small to really see well, you likely wasted the extra listing fee to add a gallery image to your eBay listing.

Multiple Viewpoints

You may want to take two or more pictures of your object. If you're selling a car, you'll want front and side pictures. Maybe you'll want to show off the car's interior. You get the picture.

Just make sure you take enough views to show off your product well without paying a lot of extra by uploading views of your image that won't increase its chance to sell at a higher price.

Make Your Item Look "Sharp"

Another thing you can do to improve the look of your images is to "sharpen" them. Many digital cameras can take somewhat blurry images. Also, when you resize an image, it tends to get blurry. To see how much difference sharpening your image can make, click on the link below to see a before and after example.

In Photoshop, to apply a sharpening filter to an image, do the following:

1. Open the image in Photoshop
2. Click on Filter -> Sharpen -> Unsharp Mask
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Amount until the image visually looks more in focus to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

In the Gimp, do the following to sharpen an image:

1. Open the image in the Gimp
2. Click on Filters -> Enhance -> Sharpen
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Sharpness amount by moving the slider left and right until it visually looks best to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

How and When to Delegate
Delegating tasks to your employees accomplishes a variety of things. One of which is less work for the supervisor. So why don’t we delegate? Is it that supervisors don’t know how to delegate work or could it be that there are different reasons why supervisors don’t delegate work to their employees. The answer is simple, supervisors tend to think they can do it better or the employee may make a mistake or even worse the employee may do a good job and the supervisor may feel threatened. Well being a good supervisor is largely about knowing how to delegate work. Yes, they may make a mistake, which is part of the learning process. That being the case carefully choose the work you delegate. Don’t give them the critical tasks that could have harsh consequences if not properly done. By knowing how to delegate work you are able to build trust among your employees. They feel they are able to assist you in important day to day issues. Delegating is a way to grow and mature employees. How are you ever going to know their potential if you don’t test the waters every now and then.At

Bright Lighting

Probably the best source of lighting for many products is natural lighting. Especially for outdoor products such as camping equipment or yard tools, the sun provides the most natural light for these items.

The reason the sun is such a good light source for auction items is it is bright enough, comes from more than one source, and it's the right color of light all in one. It may seem like the sun is a single light source, but lighting in an outdoor setting comes not only from the sun itself, but from lit up clouds and the sky itself.

Multi-Source Lighting

Why do we care if our item we want to list is lit from more than one source? When a single light source is used, it casts harsh shadows on the object. The parts in shadow you can't see well. Lighting an object from two sources of light (or more) means you can see all of it.

What do I use for lighting when outdoor lighting isn't convenient? I picked up two halogen shop lights at my local Home Depot. Each one is free-standing, can have their height adjusted, and have two bulbs each (for a total of 4 light sources). They provide plenty of light. The bulbs are a nice, pure white as well.

Proper Lighting Color

There's only one light source I try to stay away from as much as possible. Fluorescent bulbs actually don't typically emit pure white light. Before I knew better, I'd take product pictures with this kind of light.

The items would often look somewhat green or blue, depending on the kind of fluorescent bulb. You can actually buy fluorescent bulbs that are "natural" colored, but they'll cost more.

Standard light bulbs tend to emit light with a blue or yellow hue. They work ok, but my recommendation is still natural lighting where possible, halogen light if not.

My Dirty Little Lighting Secret

If you have Adobe Photoshop, you can easily adjust the color of the picture, its contrast, and even make it lighter.

To correct your image in Photoshop:

1. Open your image in Photoshop
2. Click the Images selection at the top of the screen
3. In the drop down menu, click on Adjustments
4. Within Adjustments, click on Auto Levels

You'll be amazed how this single adjustment will correct many image lighting problems.

If you don't have Photoshop, you can get similar results with an excellent (and free!) image editor called "the Gimp." The Gimp isn't Photoshop, but it doesn't cost up to $800 either. :)

To correct your image in the Gimp:

1. Open your image into the Gimp
2. Click on Tools at the top of the program
3. Click on Color Tools in the drop down menu
4. Click on Levels
5. In the Levels dialog box, click on the Auto button
6. Click on OK.

No Distractions

OK, now that we've lit up our product, let's make it the star of the show. Effective eBay photos make it clear what you're selling. Make sure it's the only thing in the picture.

You'll want a nice background that sets your product off nicely. I've seen some advice stating flatly that you should take all your pictures with a white background. If all the products you sell are black, I agree with that advice.

You want to display your product with a background color that contrasts with your product. If I'm selling a white iPod, white's not the best background color for me to use. It won't stand out. Pick up a simple, plain white or light-colored sheet to use as a background for dark colored objects and a black or other dark color to put light colored items in front of.

Also, keep in mind the color you'll display the image on. You'll want to select a background color that goes well with the look you use for your eBay listings. For a more complete discussion on how to design your eBay listings for greater impact, click the link below.

Make it Big Enough

Since you're selling your item and not the sheet behind it, you want as little of the sheet to show as possible. Zoom in on the object or move the camera closer to the object so it takes up most of your camera's viewfinder.

If you've already taken your picture, you can use a program like Photoshop or the Gimp to "crop" the image. Basically, you'll cut off all but a fairly small border around your item. When you upload your image to eBay, if it's larger than they display it, they will reduce its size to fit their format. If you have a lot of sheet showing around your item, the shrunk image will make your item appear very small.

This is especially true for the gallery images on eBay. These gallery images are pretty small. Once your picture gets shrunk down to gallery size, if your item's too small to really see well, you likely wasted the extra listing fee to add a gallery image to your eBay listing.

Multiple Viewpoints

You may want to take two or more pictures of your object. If you're selling a car, you'll want front and side pictures. Maybe you'll want to show off the car's interior. You get the picture.

Just make sure you take enough views to show off your product well without paying a lot of extra by uploading views of your image that won't increase its chance to sell at a higher price.

Make Your Item Look "Sharp"

Another thing you can do to improve the look of your images is to "sharpen" them. Many digital cameras can take somewhat blurry images. Also, when you resize an image, it tends to get blurry. To see how much difference sharpening your image can make, click on the link below to see a before and after example.

In Photoshop, to apply a sharpening filter to an image, do the following:

1. Open the image in Photoshop
2. Click on Filter -> Sharpen -> Unsharp Mask
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Amount until the image visually looks more in focus to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

In the Gimp, do the following to sharpen an image:

1. Open the image in the Gimp
2. Click on Filters -> Enhance -> Sharpen
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Sharpness amount by moving the slider left and right until it visually looks best to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

Beating the Small Business Cash Flow Blues
Small business owners can relieve a lot of their own cash flow problems, according to Caroline Jordan, small business advisor and author. “Small business owners have more control over their cash flow than they realize.” says Jordan.To help you get a jumpstart on solving your own cash flow woes, Jordan offers a free, “Cash Flow Master checklist” that you can get by sending a blank email to TheJordanResult-110571@autocontactor.com. Jordan also suggests the following tips to help you understand why cash flow problems plague 66% of small businesses.1. Avoid the dreaded “Fly by the Seat of Your Pants” accounting method.--Businesses need to systematically track income, expenses, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. If you only know how your business is doing once a year at tax time, you’re bound to end up deeply mired in the Cash Flow Swamp.2. Developing “Strength in Numbers”—Once you have your accounting system in place you need to learn what the numbers are telling you and how to use those numbers to manage and grow your business.3. Keep tight contrre "natural" colored, but they'll cost more.

Standard light bulbs tend to emit light with a blue or yellow hue. They work ok, but my recommendation is still natural lighting where possible, halogen light if not.

My Dirty Little Lighting Secret

If you have Adobe Photoshop, you can easily adjust the color of the picture, its contrast, and even make it lighter.

To correct your image in Photoshop:

1. Open your image in Photoshop
2. Click the Images selection at the top of the screen
3. In the drop down menu, click on Adjustments
4. Within Adjustments, click on Auto Levels

You'll be amazed how this single adjustment will correct many image lighting problems.

If you don't have Photoshop, you can get similar results with an excellent (and free!) image editor called "the Gimp." The Gimp isn't Photoshop, but it doesn't cost up to $800 either. :)

To correct your image in the Gimp:

1. Open your image into the Gimp
2. Click on Tools at the top of the program
3. Click on Color Tools in the drop down menu
4. Click on Levels
5. In the Levels dialog box, click on the Auto button
6. Click on OK.

No Distractions

OK, now that we've lit up our product, let's make it the star of the show. Effective eBay photos make it clear what you're selling. Make sure it's the only thing in the picture.

You'll want a nice background that sets your product off nicely. I've seen some advice stating flatly that you should take all your pictures with a white background. If all the products you sell are black, I agree with that advice.

You want to display your product with a background color that contrasts with your product. If I'm selling a white iPod, white's not the best background color for me to use. It won't stand out. Pick up a simple, plain white or light-colored sheet to use as a background for dark colored objects and a black or other dark color to put light colored items in front of.

Also, keep in mind the color you'll display the image on. You'll want to select a background color that goes well with the look you use for your eBay listings. For a more complete discussion on how to design your eBay listings for greater impact, click the link below.

Make it Big Enough

Since you're selling your item and not the sheet behind it, you want as little of the sheet to show as possible. Zoom in on the object or move the camera closer to the object so it takes up most of your camera's viewfinder.

If you've already taken your picture, you can use a program like Photoshop or the Gimp to "crop" the image. Basically, you'll cut off all but a fairly small border around your item. When you upload your image to eBay, if it's larger than they display it, they will reduce its size to fit their format. If you have a lot of sheet showing around your item, the shrunk image will make your item appear very small.

This is especially true for the gallery images on eBay. These gallery images are pretty small. Once your picture gets shrunk down to gallery size, if your item's too small to really see well, you likely wasted the extra listing fee to add a gallery image to your eBay listing.

Multiple Viewpoints

You may want to take two or more pictures of your object. If you're selling a car, you'll want front and side pictures. Maybe you'll want to show off the car's interior. You get the picture.

Just make sure you take enough views to show off your product well without paying a lot of extra by uploading views of your image that won't increase its chance to sell at a higher price.

Make Your Item Look "Sharp"

Another thing you can do to improve the look of your images is to "sharpen" them. Many digital cameras can take somewhat blurry images. Also, when you resize an image, it tends to get blurry. To see how much difference sharpening your image can make, click on the link below to see a before and after example.

In Photoshop, to apply a sharpening filter to an image, do the following:

1. Open the image in Photoshop
2. Click on Filter -> Sharpen -> Unsharp Mask
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Amount until the image visually looks more in focus to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

In the Gimp, do the following to sharpen an image:

1. Open the image in the Gimp
2. Click on Filters -> Enhance -> Sharpen
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Sharpness amount by moving the slider left and right until it visually looks best to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

Risk Reversal
It’s something really important, and you have to pay close attention to it. There is always a risk to take. It’s easy to fall into this trap.When you are marketing there is always a customer and a merchant. One side is always asking to the other side to take more risk during the transaction. People buy from who eliminates the risk, from who gives them the best service.You have to give something for free before selling. Give your services or your advises, asking nothing for the them. In this way you are contributing to create relationships. Think how you can enrich other people lives, expecting nothing in return.These people will begin to trust you and you’ll have more credibility.You have to give a guarantee to your customers. It could be 30 days, 60 days or one year. You have to pay close attention to this point, because a 60 days guarantee outsell a 30 days one and so on, but a one year guarantee can give the idea that the product has not a good quality and you are trying to cover it with your guarantee. The guarantee can increase your sales or your refunds.l your pictures with a white background. If all the products you sell are black, I agree with that advice.

You want to display your product with a background color that contrasts with your product. If I'm selling a white iPod, white's not the best background color for me to use. It won't stand out. Pick up a simple, plain white or light-colored sheet to use as a background for dark colored objects and a black or other dark color to put light colored items in front of.

Also, keep in mind the color you'll display the image on. You'll want to select a background color that goes well with the look you use for your eBay listings. For a more complete discussion on how to design your eBay listings for greater impact, click the link below.

Make it Big Enough

Since you're selling your item and not the sheet behind it, you want as little of the sheet to show as possible. Zoom in on the object or move the camera closer to the object so it takes up most of your camera's viewfinder.

If you've already taken your picture, you can use a program like Photoshop or the Gimp to "crop" the image. Basically, you'll cut off all but a fairly small border around your item. When you upload your image to eBay, if it's larger than they display it, they will reduce its size to fit their format. If you have a lot of sheet showing around your item, the shrunk image will make your item appear very small.

This is especially true for the gallery images on eBay. These gallery images are pretty small. Once your picture gets shrunk down to gallery size, if your item's too small to really see well, you likely wasted the extra listing fee to add a gallery image to your eBay listing.

Multiple Viewpoints

You may want to take two or more pictures of your object. If you're selling a car, you'll want front and side pictures. Maybe you'll want to show off the car's interior. You get the picture.

Just make sure you take enough views to show off your product well without paying a lot of extra by uploading views of your image that won't increase its chance to sell at a higher price.

Make Your Item Look "Sharp"

Another thing you can do to improve the look of your images is to "sharpen" them. Many digital cameras can take somewhat blurry images. Also, when you resize an image, it tends to get blurry. To see how much difference sharpening your image can make, click on the link below to see a before and after example.

In Photoshop, to apply a sharpening filter to an image, do the following:

1. Open the image in Photoshop
2. Click on Filter -> Sharpen -> Unsharp Mask
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Amount until the image visually looks more in focus to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

In the Gimp, do the following to sharpen an image:

1. Open the image in the Gimp
2. Click on Filters -> Enhance -> Sharpen
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Sharpness amount by moving the slider left and right until it visually looks best to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

Electrical Lineman
What is an electrical lineman? An electrical lineman, sometimes referred to as a utility lineman, electric lineman, journeyman lineman or power lineman (after one completes lineman training and after being an apprentice lineman).An electrical lineman installs, repairs and maintains transmission and distribution electric power grids. A lineman works on high voltage wires or conductors and must adhere to the most stringent safety rules and protocols, as electrical work is inherently dangerous. It is very popular to be a member of a union, or the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers).How does one become a One can go to a lineman school or training center and work for a utility company and receive on-the-job-training as an apprentice lineman.Typically an apprenticeship lasts 3 to 4 years and contains up to 6 or 7 steps. With some companies, you must first be a groundman which is an entry level job. As a groundman, one assists linemen in their duties by driving heavy line trucks or bucket trucks and sorting and organizing line tools, sending linemans toolssted the extra listing fee to add a gallery image to your eBay listing.

Multiple Viewpoints

You may want to take two or more pictures of your object. If you're selling a car, you'll want front and side pictures. Maybe you'll want to show off the car's interior. You get the picture.

Just make sure you take enough views to show off your product well without paying a lot of extra by uploading views of your image that won't increase its chance to sell at a higher price.

Make Your Item Look "Sharp"

Another thing you can do to improve the look of your images is to "sharpen" them. Many digital cameras can take somewhat blurry images. Also, when you resize an image, it tends to get blurry. To see how much difference sharpening your image can make, click on the link below to see a before and after example.

In Photoshop, to apply a sharpening filter to an image, do the following:

1. Open the image in Photoshop
2. Click on Filter -> Sharpen -> Unsharp Mask
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Amount until the image visually looks more in focus to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

In the Gimp, do the following to sharpen an image:

1. Open the image in the Gimp
2. Click on Filters -> Enhance -> Sharpen
3. Check the Preview checkbox (if it's not already checked)
4. Adjust the Sharpness amount by moving the slider left and right until it visually looks best to you
5. Click OK
6. Save the Image

To Sum It Up

A picture's worth a thousand words. Potential buyers of your eBay products will be much more likely to buy your product when it's showcased with a good picture or two.

It doesn't take much time to take great pictures. With free image editing software like the Gimp, it won't even cost you anything to crop, sharpen, and color correct your images.

Follow the advice in this article to increase your chances of closing your eBay listing successfully. When eBay buyers see your products showcased in the best light, they'll often pay more.

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