It's clear that a good photo can go along way toward making a successful sale. Listings with photos get more bids and sell for higher prices than listings without photos, even if the photo in question is a poor one.
It's no surprise, then, that most sellers want to include a photo with each item listing that they post for sale on eBay. Most sellers take these photos themselves using digital cameras or even a simple camera phone—after all, photos on eBay don't need to be very big, so nearly any digital photo device will produce usable images.
Still other sellers like to use stock photos of items that are provided by manufacturers to aid in their sale. Such stock photos ultimately add slightly less value to an auction listing on average, but they paint the product in the best possible light and add an air of professionalism that can reassure buyers.
A few eBay sellers, however, engage in an unfortunate and unethical practice by using photos from other sellers' auctions in their own listings. Not only is this a violation of eBay rules (it can get you suspended or even banned if you do it repeatedly), but it is also a matter of copyright infringement. In short, you can be sued in civil court for compensation if another seller finds you using his or her image on your auction listing. So don't do it.
What To Do Instead
To put it bluntly, what you should do instead is take your own photos for use on eBay. Using your own photos instead of someone else's will ensure that you're never sued for copyright infringement based on an eBay item listing. When you can add to your listing the text "the photo below is of the actual item in question," it also ensures that buyers have the confidence in your items to place their most generous bids.If you're not accustomed to using digital images, it can at first seem like a difficult and daunting task to get a likeness of the item you're selling first into your PC and then to eBay, but in all actuality, it isn't hard. These tips can help you to accomplish it:
- Digital cameras are cheap. You don't have to spend hundreds if you just want to be able to post the kinds of small photos that can be used for eBay sales. In fact, eBay is an ideal place to search for ultra-inexpensive digital cameras for use with auction listings. Look for cameras that have an "SVGA" or "640x480" resolution for the best possible price.
- Film is cheap and it's digital, too! The average roll of film offers 24 exposures to you. Assuming you're able to get 24 item listings out of it, you're probably spending a lot less than a dollar per listing for photos. Just be sure to get your film developed at a drugstore or camera shop that can deliver images on CD, instead of as prints.
- Don't forget your webcam! Many PCs these days come with built-in webcams or with desktop or monitor-top webcams as accessories. If you've never bothered to turn on or use your webcam, now's the time, since a webcam is a great tool if nothing else is available for snapping quick, simple pictures of items you plan to sell on eBay.
Whatever the method you use to snap photos and get them into your auctions, be sure that you always follow the eBay photo rule: don't steal photos from other eBayers!
