When selling online, one of your biggest sales tools is the photograph. A good picture will sell your item for you a bad photograph will send a potential buyer looking elsewhere. These days there are many ways to take a good or even great photograph. Let's start with items you may already have for photo taking your iPhone or your Android phone. The cameras on the newer models of these smartphones are awesome. The pictures are easy to focus if you point the center of the screen at the object.

It's easy to crop your pictures right on the spot. They will be saved in your photo app and can be added to an eBay listing in a flash. No room on your phone. Then what about your tablet, the iPad and other tablets also have great cameras on them. Snap a couple of pics as long as you hold the tablet steady. It's easy to see close up markings and details when you add the photos to your descriptions.

EBay has mobile apps that work on phones and tablets. It's free to use and list with that will save you time and money. A best practice for taking pics for a listing is to remove a cluttered background. Place the object on a clean surface and get in real close. I've used a light colored towel or sheet so it keeps the background neutral. My preferred background however is the three sided science project cardboard background, and you can get that at stationery stores or even on eBay.

I have also used photo light boxes for taking jewelry pics and other small item pics with light coming in from three sides to object will have few shadows and will look great Sometimes a tripod for steady shots is recommended if you see blur in your practice shots. Your pics are like the eyes of the buyer, since they can't actually hold it, or pick it up as they would in a store setting. Be sure to take a photo of every side of the object, as well as any markings like the point nine to five for sterling silver jewelry, or signatures on an autograph item or markings on dinnerware China. Your buyer will be thankful to see any imperfections the item might have, so they can make an informed decision on whether to buy or not. The more picks the better for expensive things. Not too many for more mainstream items if not needed.

Here are a couple of tips I always like To mention, don't forget pictures of the front and back cover of a book, the publication date page, and signatures if assigned addition. Also markings on jewelry or pins if they have them. It gives confidence to the potential buyer that you know it's important to provide this pictorial information. Also, if there's a chip or a crack in a fragile item, or stains on a blouse or other clothing, please disclose it with a photo. I always show the sole of a shoe that I'm selling and people like that too. You can also take photos if you have a digital camera, either a point and shoot or a DSLR are both good options.

If you can get a close up on details. There may be some need to go over the basic settings of the camera if you're not familiar with them. I personally love A big LCD screen on the back of my camera so I can properly frame the object and remove as much of the background as possible before shooting. If your pics are on an SD media card, you can take the card out of your camera and put it into the slot on your computer, then download them to the desktop after a photo session. Taking pics and batches will save you time and will give you an edge by repeating the same task to get quick results. Recently, we had a power outage at my home.

And the only device that wasn't connected to electricity or the internet was my digital camera. So I was able to keep working on my online selling business by taking a slew of pictures at the same time without being connected to the internet. Putting a reference point in your images can help show the scale of an object. For example, I was listening A bunch of tiny vintage animal figurines. So I put a penny in the photo to show how its size compared to an object we all know about the penny. One longtime eBay seller always use the can of soup and their listings, since everyone knows just how big a can of soup is.

Others use rulers and tape measures if dimensions are important to their object. Taking pictures of labels on clothing is great to show sizes and care instructions or material composition. Many people have all in one USB printers scanners these days. I often lay photographs or magazine covers on the flatbed and scan the object. The image will come out very clear and it shows all the close up details. potential buyers like this is also great for postcards front and back.

Many clothing sellers like using mannequins for shirts and blouses as well as styrofoam heads to photograph hats and beanies. There are many different displays one can use for jewelry as well. Try to make your photos stand out from the crowd and perhaps roll up a men's tie to look like how the department stores display their clothing. It only takes another minute or so to fold your piece of clothing and make it look its best for the photograph. You can get many fun photography ideas when you do a quick search on a similar item you're selling and see how other sellers arrange and display their items for sale. Also, there are apps that take backgrounds Add the picture if you really want a professional look.

After taking your photographs, you will want to do a quick cleanup on the Image and Crop them a bit. Not taking all the background out but a good portion that allows the potential buyer to focus on just the item you're selling, and not the background. If you have done any searching on eBay, you can see the many poor photographs out there. One problem is that people just don't get close enough to their object. Another problem is photo blur. retake a picture if necessary, since blurry pictures are a real turnoff to buyers.

With all the new equipment out there, your pictures will look stunning. If you pay even a little attention to what the images look like through a stranger's on When you have finished putting up your listing, you can remove those pictures from your photo library or storage. I usually remove photos once the item has sold, or I've been paid or received feedback. clearing out more room for pictures is a constant task for online sellers. I've tried to take off a huge batch every week or so. YouTube can take good pictures for selling and you don't need to be ancel atoms.

If you produce close up clear images for your listings