How to write a great eBay listing title

Ever wondered how to make your eBay listing title stand out from the crowd? Taking the time to write an attention grabbing headline may be the last thing on your mind, but good item listings are important – they’re your opportunity to inform and excite potential buyers, and give you the best chance of featuring highly when a user searches for a particular item.

Ready to go? Here are a few things you can do to write a great eBay listing.

Writing an effective Title

When writing an eBay listing title, remembering these basic steps will help you to grab the attention of potential buyers. You can use up to 80 characters, but longer titles aren’t always better. Some of the suggestions here feature on eBay’s help page on writing a good title and listing, but we’ve added some explanation, and a few of our own hints and tips.

1. Be descriptive Use descriptive keywords to Convey basic but important information about your item such as the type of item and its condition. For example; Kenwood Chef Food Mixer - Mint Condition! 
2. Include the brand name, artist or designer By doing this, your item is more likely to be found by people who may be searching for a certain brand, as well as those looking for a specific item. Don't worry if the brand isn't particularly well known - there are all kinds of niche collectors who may be looking for a specific brand, however obscure.
3. Include the item's specific details Potential buyers want to see details such as size, colour and condition.
4. Don’t use variations of the same word Using several similar words to describe your item doesn’t make it more attractive to buyers, and they’ll use up valuable characters. If you’re unsure of which word to use - for example, computer monitor/screen/display, check to see how eBay describes the item in the listing category, and use that. In this example, it would be monitor.
5. Steer clear of punctuation marks and asterisks They add little information for potential buyers, and use up characters unnecessarily.  If you need to separate words or phrases, use vertical bars or hyphens. For example: Adidas Stan Smith Trainers | White | Size 7 | Brand New in box
6. Capitalise the most important words Draw attention to keywords that will catch the buyer’s eye while they’re scrolling through the search results by making them uppercase. For example, instead of; ‘Black iPhone 5 cover | premium quality + free UK shipping’, try ‘BLACK iPhone 5 Cover | PREMIUM Quality + FREE UK shipping’. Don’t overdo capitalisation though – only choose a few select words, otherwise they’ll lose their impact.
7. Avoid buzz words Words like "amazing" or "wow" don't help describe an item, and use up your character limit, so leave them out.
8. Check your spelling This is really important, as one misspelled word in the title can have a huge effect on whether anyone will ever discover your listing. Don’t worry if the title isn’t grammatically correct though - it doesn't matter if your title doesn't use full sentences.
9. Use Abbreviations You may have seen abbreviations such as VGC (very good condition) or BNWT (brand new with tags). These can be useful to convey details and keep within the character limit, but be careful not to use to many, as it can make titles difficult to comprehend.

Use our suggested format

Our suggested format to create great eBay listing titles every time;

State the item | Specify the details | Sell it! 

State the item - Include the brand name or manufacturer if appropriate and be concise.

Specify the details - This is where you details about the size, colour, condition etc of your item.

Sell it! - Call out the main benefits or selling points of your item such as free delivery, if the item is brand new or unused, unique or rare. This is where you'll want to capitalise key words as it'll help to draw the readers eye.

Examples 

Nike Trainers | White Size 7 | Brand New Unworn

Ford Mondeo | 2.0 diesel 80k miles | FSH 12 Months MOT

Vintage Desk Lamp | Industrial chic style, 240 volts | FREE DELIVERY

Apple iPhone 7 | 16gb space grey |BRAND NEW & UNOPENED

Don't break the rules

Breaking eBay rules can result in the listing being cancelled – and even account bans in severe circumstances.

• Make sure not to include false or misleading information
• Don’t include website addresses, email addresses, or phone numbers (however, there is an exception in the case of domain name sale).
• Last but not least, refrain from using the following words: prohibited, banned, illegal and outlawed. For obvious reasons.

Follow this simple advice and you should be on your way to a successful sale. Happy selling!

Important Note

The way you access Parcelforce services through eBay has changed.

If you usually access our services through the eBay shipping platform, you will find that this option is unavailable from Friday 30th June 2017. But you can still access our special eBay rates through Paypal – click here to find out more. There are no changes if you access our services on Parcelforce.com, at a Post office^® branch or depot.