Are those extra-charge feature options worthwhile?

The answer depends on what you are selling and the kind of buyers you want attracted to your listing. The less unique your item is then the extra options are less important; just remember these features are designed to increase exposure of your item by making it stand out when potential buyers are looking at lists of auctions to identify items they are interested in.

There are things that have to take place before you ever consider paying for extra features. The first thing is to make sure you are using the best possible keywords in your listing titles and the item is in the best categories, since many buyers might search by category. The two ways buyers find auctions are by browsing categories and by searching keywords, and if your keywords are misspelled or just wrong for the item, the item you are trying to sell will never make it onto the search list and any money you spend will be wasted. I highly recommend that you understand and fine-tune your basic listings before trying any of the extra features.

Counters are the only way to measure results, so if you haven’t used counters on any of your auctions, start using the feature right way, besides it’s free.

Effectively using word editing features like bold, highlight, italics, colors, and other various features specific to the presentation of narrative item description is to research and pay close attention to what your “competition” is doing, emulate what you identify as effective. You have to be able to differentiate your listing from other like items in some way to attract potential buyers on a consistent basis, and if you don’t, your item will be buried, unnoticed by customers. It is important to know that the majority of the time you will be able to accomplish successful auction listing without spending any money on extra features.

The only real exception to what I just stated has been the Gallery. The Gallery is important because it is visual in nature, the first thing a buyer sees in a listing of items, and a clear gallery thumbnail picture can make the difference between a buyer opening your item detail and ignoring it, making a huge difference in your auction results. Always remember your goal is to get the potential buyer to click through your auction item, so you have to make sure the image you choose will catch the eye, and the title provides enough information to reinforce the image. The Gallery is the one feature where you can make a difference by making sure your gallery images are always better than anyone else’s.

Finally, you want to test, experiment, and find what works best for you. Keep note of your click-thrus on your item listings to track how many people view your items, and “watch” them as well. Be mindful of other auction variables (auction length, ending day/time, etc.) for what gives you the best results you are looking for. Search closed auctions (completed listings) and compare your results to the competition to see if your selling price is in line with others, check the features and options they use, and if the selling prices aren’t improved by your use of the optional features, then drop them.