Storefront Essentials, Part 3 of 4: Fine Details of Inventory Photos & Descriptions

“You want to make sure that people understand what you are selling and why they should want it.  Unfortunately that’s where many site owners get things wrong.  They display the product but neglect to provide sufficient detail about why the consumers would want it.  This is perhaps based on the assumption that their product is so great that it needs no explanation.” – eCommercePlatforms.com

Photos/Item Description:

It is vitally important to be detail-oriented in product photos and descriptions, because this is how you compensate for the customer’s inability to assess the item in person.

Above all, photos must be totally in focus, and taken in good light–preferably against a plain background. The more consistent the background is, the more professional the photos appear. The more photos you offer, from all angles, including flaws/labels/details, the more the shopper can trust he has enough information to buy your item.

The online sales experts at Ecommerce.com tell us that, “Most users prefer to have as much detail as possible about anything they are considering buying.  They will never hold it against you for providing too much detail, but they could avoid buying from you if you don’t give enough details. Often when a customer declines to buy from you, they won’t tell you why, and often they won’t even know why.  But the reason is you left them with unanswered questions, and so they didn’t commit to making a purchase immediately.  Once a customer has left your site, it will often be their last visit.”

In your item descriptions, give all the details you would want if you were buying that item, making up for the fact that the shopper cannot see or handle the item as they would in person.  Include product functionalities, dimensions, payment terms, minimum orders, packing options, etc.

“Most (buyers) prefer to have as much detail as possible about anything they are considering buying.  They will never hold it against you for providing too much detail, but they could avoid buying from you if you don’t give enough details.”

While it is sometimes effective to make a brief pitch that plays to emotions, be careful not to oversell.  When you go overboard, readers feel it’s gimmicky and may lose faith. Pay attention to the keywords you use. Be accurate, be clear, and do not exaggerate. Be careful of inaccurate style terms. And again, proofread to ensure a professional tone.

Note: This is not the place for long descriptions about your own possible inaccuracy. In general, disclaimers like that should be clearly stated in your Storefront Policies page.

eBay warns its sellers is to avoid adding text that could be viewed as negative by buyers:

“Harsh or restricting terms of service — requests to do, not do this, do not do that, you must do that — that kind of language doesn’t work in any marketplace, and on eBay it’s actually an effective way of getting rid of customers.”

 Pricing: