Two sellers list the same item on eBay at the same price. One sells in a day. The other sits for three weeks and eventually gets relisted at a lower price. The difference isn't luck or timing — it's how the listing was written.
eBay's search algorithm decides which listings appear first. Buyers decide in about 3 seconds whether to click on yours or scroll past. Everything — from your title to your photos to your description — either helps or hurts your chances. Here's how to get it right.
Your eBay title gets 80 characters. This is the single most important element of your listing because it determines whether you appear in search results at all. eBay's search engine (Cassini) matches buyer searches to listing titles — if the words aren't in your title, you won't show up.
Bad: "Amazing Pokemon Cards Bundle Great Gift!!! L@@K"
Uses 52/80 characters. "Amazing," "Great Gift," "L@@K" are wasted words nobody searches for. No set name, no card names, no condition.
Good: "Pokemon TCG Prismatic Evolutions Booster Bundle 6 Packs New Sealed SV8.5"
Uses 73/80 characters. Includes brand, set name, product type, pack count, condition, and set number. Targets multiple specific search queries.
eBay allows up to 24 photos per listing — use at least 8-12. After the title, photos are the biggest factor in whether someone clicks on your listing and whether they buy once they're there.
Your phone camera is fine. You don't need a DSLR or a lightbox (though a £10 lightbox from Amazon helps for small items). The difference between good and bad eBay photos is lighting and background, not camera quality.
eBay descriptions matter less for search ranking than titles (Cassini primarily uses titles for matching). But they matter enormously for conversion — turning a viewer into a buyer.
Pricing determines how fast your item sells and how much profit you make. Get it wrong and you either leave money on the table or sit on dead stock.
Always check eBay sold listings before setting a price. Search for your item, click "Sold items" filter, and look at the last 10-20 sales. This tells you the real market price — not what people are asking, but what people are actually paying.
Look at the condition of sold items too. A "used — good" item selling for £30 doesn't mean your "used — poor" version will get the same price. Match condition, match price.
Buy It Now (Fixed Price) — better for most items. You control the price, buyers can purchase immediately, and the listing stays active until it sells. Use this for anything that has a clear market value based on sold listings.
Auction — better for items where you're unsure of the value, or for rare/unique items where competition between buyers drives the price up. Also useful for clearing stock quickly — start at 99p and let the market decide. Risk: it might sell for less than you wanted.
Understanding eBay's fee structure is critical here. A £30 sale after 13.45% fees, £4 postage, and £1 packaging leaves you with about £21.50. If you paid £15 for the item, your actual profit is £6.50 — not £15.
eBay's item specifics (brand, size, colour, model, material, etc.) are used for search filtering. When a buyer searches "Nike trainers" and then filters by "Size 9" and "Black," only listings with those item specifics filled in will appear.
If you skip item specifics, you become invisible to any buyer who uses filters — and most serious buyers do. Fill in every available item specific, even optional ones. It takes 2 minutes and dramatically increases your visibility.
Category selection matters too. eBay has very specific subcategories. A Pokémon booster box listed under "Toys & Games > Trading Cards" will perform differently than one listed under "Collectible Card Games > Pokémon TCG > Sealed Booster Boxes." More specific = more relevant search results = more sales.
Offer free postage where margins allow. eBay's algorithm favours free postage listings in search rankings. You're not actually eating the cost — you build it into the item price. A listing at £34.99 with free postage outperforms one at £29.99 + £5 postage in most cases, even though the total is the same.
If you can't offer free postage, be accurate. Overcharging for postage is one of the top reasons for negative feedback. Use Royal Mail's online price finder to get exact costs.
Accept returns. This is counterintuitive, but listings that accept 30-day returns rank higher in search results and convert better. Buyers trust sellers who stand behind their products. In practice, return rates are low — typically 2-5% for accurately listed items. The increased sales volume more than offsets the occasional return.
When you list matters less than it used to (Buy It Now listings don't expire like auctions), but there's still an effect. eBay gives newly listed items a brief search boost — the "new listing" bump.
To maximise this bump, list during peak browsing hours:
For auctions specifically, ending time matters more than start time. End your auctions on Sunday evening for maximum bidding competition.
Before hitting "List item," run through this:
This checklist takes about 10 minutes per listing. That 10 minutes can be the difference between a quick sale at a good price and an item sitting unsold for weeks.
For more eBay-specific strategies including our top 12 selling tips and a complete breakdown of eBay fees, check the rest of our eBay guides. And if you want to spend less time finding stock and more time listing it, ResellRadar handles the sourcing side — automated alerts, profit analysis, and a community that tells you exactly what's worth listing.