8 tips to help eBay sellers increase their listing efficiency

Listing on eBay can be time-consuming, especially when it comes to taking photos of your items and creating product descriptions. We spoke to some of the biggest names in the eBay community to get some tips and tricks to help you list faster and more efficiently. Here are some of their time-tested strategies to help you list more smoothly and quickly.

1. Classify and process similar tasks

"Categorize similar tasks. Take photos of each item first, process the pictures, and then weigh them. I glue and open the boxes or envelopes of each size I will use so that I can determine the best delivery size for each item. Finally, make yourself a cup of coffee, sit in the office or on the sofa, hahaha, and list your products. Use the photos you took before, the weights you calculated, and the delivery boxes. Use custom labels to mark the inventory location of the products. Then put all the products together so that you don’t make a mess around you. Regardless of the order of these steps, categorize similar tasks first and then arrange a plan for yourself." - Seller Janet W.

2. Don’t duplicate work

“When I list a large, heavy item, I take a picture of it on a scale (the picture needs to show the exact weight) and save that picture with the rest of the photos of the item. Then when I list it, I can refer to the weight directly without having to go and pick it up.” - Janet W., seller

3. Use the sell similar feature

“I use 'sell similar' on every listing I make so I don't have to create a listing from scratch. This saves time and I don't have to enter all the information again. I search by brand or style and create a new listing based on an existing listing.” - Emily M., seller

4. Use templates or files to create your post

“I use a listing template for each type of product I sell. I group similar items together, get ready, take all the photos, crop all the images, and start listing. I sell small items so I can sort the items by the order I took the photos. Templates allow me to quickly complete several listings at once. Templates are universal and easy to navigate.” - Seller Barb W.

“I have a word file (with previous listings in it). So if I have a new product to list and it’s similar to something I’ve listed before, I can start with this word file and list it.” - Seller Mark S.

5. Grasp the focus of the conflict

“I don’t take photos of the brand or size of the product. Very few people ask for this information, but if they do, I send them a photo. The time I save taking extra photos can be used to take more photos and list more products.” —Seller Emily M.

6. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

“I take photos of a lot of items at once, and once I’ve taken 15-20 photos, I sit down and write a few descriptions in a document and then save them and the document in the pending folder. When I list an item, I move the document to the listed folder and add the listing date.” —Mark S., seller

7. Use your free time wisely

“When shopping at a thrift store, a lot of my time is spent waiting in line. I use that time to research and price using the 'sell similar' feature. When I get home, all I have to do is take pictures and list my listing.” —Melinda D., seller

8. Remember, more haste, less speed

“I take photos of everything I want to list first. Once I process all the photos, I sit down at my desk and list each item. I use the 'sell similar' feature, which saves me a ton of time, but I find I need to be careful so I don't make mistakes with the attributes of the items. I stock every day and list every day. I'm a very driven, independent person, so I stick to my plan and wait and see.” —Seller Jacqueline D.