The first thing that people should feel when reading your description is that they are dealing with an educated person and professional. This means checking your spelling and grammar for errors, then fixing them before your post your item. I see many bad examples that can be easily be corrected with some simple proof-reading. eBay’s online form and Turbo Lister both offer spellchecking just like MS Word. Poor spelling and grammar will always turn potential bidders away and ruins your credibility as a trustworthy seller.

        The next way to build trust and credibility when selling on eBay is to properly format your item description by using bullet points, numbered lists, underlining titles and indenting the paragraphs. Your description should not be a novel that is one really long paragraph. I like to restate the title at the top of the listing, then center, bold and underline it. Any item details can then be put as bullet points directly under the title. This eliminates clutter and allows bidders to focus on the details and not get lost in extended text.

        The last point I will cover is something that will seem obvious as soon as you read it. Include your telephone number and mailing address right in the description. Have you ever been to a company’s website and all you wanted to do was call them and ask a simple question, but couldn’t find their number? You immediately begin to question their legitimacy and lose trust and might not do business with them. You begin to wonder what they are trying to hide by not posting their contact information. The same thing happens on eBay. I always post my phone number in my listings. I rarely get a call, but it adds a tremendous amount of value because the bidders know that they are dealing with a trustworthy seller. Also, it is still relatively rare to find a phone number on eBay listings, so having your phone number posted will help you will stand out against your competition.