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Get The Picture?

They say that a picture paints a thousand words, but I would argue that this depends on the picture. Always use the best quality image in your listing that you can. Use a digital camera without the flash (take your item out of doors if there isn’t enough light) as pictures taken with flash invariably have unwanted glare and unsightly white reflections. Place your item on a plain background for the photograph, and make sure the picture you have taken is sharp and in focus. Some items like books or CDs respond well to scanning, but either method will usually require some editing once the image has been uploaded to your PC.

No complicated software or editing procedures will be necessary, and usually all you should need to do is crop your picture to show your item in its full glory - buyers are not interested in your carpet or table top, they want to see the thing they are buying! If you don’t have any image editing software there are quite a few shareware and even freeware ones out there. One I would recommend is “Irfanview” (see acknowledgements for a download link) as I have used it myself and it does everything I would require at this level.

Another thing you should do is to reduce the file size of the image (you should be aiming for a file size of 50kb or preferably less), as this will speed up download times and help to ensure that your picture appears on the page as quickly as possible. 72dpi is perfectly adequate for a reasonably high-resolution image on the Web, and dimensions of 550x550 pixels should be considered an absolute maximum. Use the 'image size' option in your editing software and adjust the dimensions and resolution accordingly. Always save your images in the jpg format as this is the most suitable file type for photographs on the Web.

Try to make your photograph reflect the quality or condition of your item, and therefore reassure the buyer that it is indeed a good item. A poor picture will not help to sell your item, and in some of the cases I have seen, no picture at all would be an improvement!