Create a Listing that Sells Your Shoes

A great deal of research has been done about putting together an effective listing for online sales. To save you hours of reading, we have captured the highlights of these marketing strategies.

You might think that putting together a brief description of the shoes you want to sell would be a rather simple undertaking. However, books have been written about just this topic. So we'll break it down into two sections: the title and the description.

The Title:
The title is used to help the buyer find your shoes. The buyer may search the site by name brand, color, size, or shoe style, so you want to incorporate as much of that information into the title as possible.

You can use a total of 60 characters and spaces in your headline. Most sellers do not take advantage of all the space available in a headline - it's yours, so use it wisely! Keep in mind that you want to make it easy for the buyer, so create a title that is descriptive and easily understood.

A Sample Title:
Jimmy Choo Black Pump Leather 2.5"Point toe, Womens 7.5

Notice that this title includes the brand, color, shoe type, details of shoe heel, toe, as well as the size. A buyer would have an excellent understanding of this shoe just from the title.

• inappropriate language,
• misspelled words,
• untruthful or misleading information

The Description:
Many sellers find it easier to write the description before they write the title because the description provides all the details you want to present to prospective buyers.
In writing your description, remember the 5 "Ws" - Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Be sure to give thought to each of those questions to help you describe your shoes in the most effective way.

"Who" would want these shoes? A runner? A dancer? A mom? By answering that question first, you can put yourself into the buyer's shoes (sorry about the pun), and think of what you'd want to know as the buyer.

Asking "What" allows you to be very detailed about describing the shoes; the brand, size, material, heel, toe, closures/clasps, decorative components, etc. Be sure you also provide a description of the condition of the shoes.

Answer "When" to provide information about when the shoes were made or purchased as well as when and how often you wore them.

By answering "Where" and "Why" you can connect with the buyer. Neither you nor the buyer wants a long involved narrative, but a brief interesting comment about where or why you bought the shoes provide a human touch to the description.
In addition to answering the five "Ws" you also want to:

• make sure you emphasize the positive
• be honest about the negatives
• avoid words that distract the buyer such as WOW
• use a typeface and font size that are easy to read—online useability experts recommend Verdana, Tahoma, and Arial with a point size of at least 10 or 12
• be clear about payment methods you accept
• be specific about shipping costs
• specify your return policy
• spell check your listing

Ask a friend to read your description just to get another person's point of view. Typically, when the description is complete, you can re-read it and highlight the key words that you can use for your title.

Take Pictures to Sell Your Shoes

Taking a good picture that will help your shoes sell quickly and for the best price is all about planning. Here are some helpful hints that will let your shoes shine.

Light
The first thing most photographers tell you about taking pictures is that it's all about light. Make sure you have enough light so that your shoes can be clearly seen and that the color(s) can be identified. Natural lighting is considered ideal, but only if there is a lot of it without shadows. Otherwise a good floor lamp or a well positioned table lamp can provide plenty of light.

Arrange the lighting to cover the whole shot of the shoes and be sure you are not creating shadows when you take the pictures. Also be careful where you position the light so that it does not reflect off the shoes. For example a strong light in the wrong place can cause a bright "sun spot" on a photo of patent leather shoes.

You should not use a flash. If your camera has an automatic flash and it indicates that the flash should be used, it means you need more light.

Angles
Take pictures from different angles; show the top of the shoe, as well as a side view that shows the heel. You may even want to show the soles to give an indication if shoes have been worn.

Place your shoes on a table or counter so you can shoot your pictures at eye level. Getting shots of your shoes from different angles will make it easier for buyers to make their decision.

Close Ups
Take close up shots of any special characteristics of features you want buyers to see; such as a unique buckle, a designer name, stoned accents, etc.

If your shoes have any flaws, tears, nicks, or damage, be sure to take close-ups of those as well so that your buyer knows exactly what he or she is getting.

Background
Use a background that contrasts with the shoes; a pair of white shoes won't show up if they are sitting on a white background, but that background would be great for a pair of dark shoes. Use a solid colored background to accentuate the shoes.

You don't have to spend a lot of money for a background; the most important thing is that it is clean and fresh. You can get inexpensive tri-fold display boards in different colors at office supply or department stores that work very well.
Whatever you do, keep the background simple and clean. You want people looking at the shoes you are listing, not be distracted by what they see in the background.

Focus
Keep the focus on the footwear! Since shoes are what you are selling, make sure that your adorable puppy is not in the picture with them (especially if the puppy has them in his mouth), and although some people suggest you model the shoes for photos, other people make the point that actually seeing the shoes on someone else’s foot may make a person less likely to buy them. Focus on the shoes; they ARE your picture.

Format
If you're taking pictures with a digital camera it is ideal to use a medium resolution (for example 1024x768 pixels) for your pictures. This will give you a good quality picture without too large a file size. You'll want to save your photo as a .jpeg.

If you don't have a digital camera, keep in mind that many of today's cell phones have cameras that take high quality digital photos. You may want to try yours. Just remember that you still want to take good pictures even if they are on your phone.

If you've taken pictures with a film camera, you will need to have them developed and scanned into a computer or digital file. Many drug stores and copy centers offer this service for a minimal fee if you don't have a scanner at home.

Experiment and Have Fun
Whether you are a novice or a seasoned photographer, try different things. Remember, a picture's worth a thousand words so make sure your pictures speak clearly and hopefully they'll be worth dollars as well!

Set the Price of Your Shoes

Your goal is to sell your shoes at the highest price the market will bear, make as much money as you can, and conduct a fair transaction. Set the price too high and you could scare off potential bidders. Set the price too low, with no reserve and you've lost money.

Keep the following tips in mind when setting the price of your shoes:

Value versus Cost
How much you personally love the shoes does NOT matter when pricing them. Consider the original cost of the shoes, and assess their current condition; are they new? lightly used? well worn? The amount of wear and tear on the shoes will impact the price.

Do Your Research
Before you set your price, you may want to do some research. Search the site and see what comparable pairs of shoes are selling for; you can even check other online auction sites for the price of similar shoes. Be sure to compare apples to apples; even the same manufacturer can have many price points for their various styles, so it may not be enough to just look at one item. You can also ask friends how much they would pay for the shoes.

• There is no single pricing strategy that works for everyone. There are as many pricing strategies as there are sellers; the key is to find one that works for you and your inventory.
• There are two streams of thought on where you should set the starting bid.
• Some people say that a low starting bid, such as $.99 makes bidders feel like they will get a bigger bargain. Just be sure you set a reserve price or else you could sell your $400 pair of Manolo Blahniks for a dollar!
• Other people feel that the $.99 starting bid with a reserve is a tease; they think the buyer would rather know the actual lowest price you'd take for the shoes and see that as a the minimum bid.
• Some sellers find that adding a "Buy Now" price - which is a price that allows a customer to end the auction by purchasing the item immediately at a predetermined specific price—is a great pricing tool.

On the other hand, one of the reasons people buy from auctions sites is because they want to feel like they're getting a bargain. A Buy Now price may reduce the feeling that someone is "getting a steal".

Time
You can choose the length of your auction. As with setting the starting bid, people have different philosophies about timing auctions.

Some people feel that a short auction creates a sense of urgency causing more of a bidding frenzy.

Another train of thought is to list items for a full seven days, starting late Sunday afternoon. This is because more people are likely to be home on the weekends and your shoes will be available during the high traffic times--the remaining part of that day through to the entire following Saturday.

For those who live on the east coast of the United States, listing items between 6 and 9pm will give people on the west coast time to see it as well.

Keep it Simple
Once you decide to sell your shoes, make it easy for buyers to buy them. Set a reasonable starting price that allows the buyer to feel good about their bid and let's you make money.