It seems everybody and their dog are selling things on ebay these days. Although it is very simple to get up and running with an ebay sellers account, there are so many listings that could be vastly improved upon. Some of the most important secrets to ebay selling are a lot simpler than one would think.

What are the ebay selling secrets that so many ordinary men and women use to make themselves a full time income (or significantly more) on ebay these days?

It is obvious that you will have to be serious about your business if you are going to make it big on ebay - just like in any other business activity. As such there are a lot of things to consider, like a good business proposition, marketing, customer service etc.

However, for anyone trying to sell anything on ebay there are actually two "secrets" that will make a world of difference.

The ebay selling master knows that...

I remember hearing a Chinese story once, about a master doll maker; His most talented apprentice had become a very skilful doll maker himself. But, although his dolls where technically just as good as the masters, there was still something missing. Something so obvious that anyone could tell the difference, yet no one could put their finger exactly on what made the masters dolls so much more impressive.

Finally, on the masters deathbed, the apprentice asked the master what his big secret was. The master then took one of the dolls that the apprentice had made, gave it's face a gentle push so that the mouth and eyes lifted into a friendly smile.

This was the whole secret.

Now, like I said there is obviously more to it than this when it comes to selling professionally on ebay. But the two most critical elements to any ebay auction are

• The item description

• A good picture of the item

Getting these right sounds simple enough, but as a customer you will still se a great deal of poorly written descriptions and non-representative images, or no image at all. This will, in most cases, make you as a potential buyer think twice before placing any bids with this particular ebay merchant.

An item description that sells

The most important part of any eBay listing is the description of the item. Get this right as a seller, and you have already won half the battle.

It is easy to understand that the description should "sell" the item for you, but don't go overboard and write a "shopping channel" style sales pitch. In fact, the most important thing is that the buyer gets as good a picture as is possible about the product, without holding it in his or her own hands.

Think about it for a moment, if you where going to bid a lot of money on something. you would definitely want to know that it's wort bidding for in the first place - right?

You want to know exactly what model, year, manufacturer etc. the item in question is. Is it used or brand new? Perfect condition or slightly damaged? If it's some kind of clothing, is it definitely your size etc.?

For whatever you are selling you want to place yourself in the customers shoes and ask yourself: "what would I want to know about this product?". Then be as thorough and honest as possible about your items peculiarities in your description. And if someone emails you with a follow-up question, be quick to respond. If you are selling a certain type of product on a continuous basis, it is naturally also a good idea to keep track on what additional questions you get, in order to further improve your item descriptions.

A great description will bring you the right kind of customers, who feel comfortable with buying from you. Make a really cryptic or outright deceitful description and you risk end up being regarded as another ebay con artist.

A picture sells more than a thousand words?

As an ebay professional you will definitely want to brush up on your skills in photography. A good picture will by no means cover up for a poor item description, but it will definitely help tip the scales even further in your favour. Leaving the picture out is simply not an option in most scenarios. Trust me, the additional effort spent on this will pay you back in spades.

It is no coincidence that most ebay PowerSellers are also pretty skilled photographers. Buing that shimmering dress or antique vase feels so much better, after having seen a picture of tha actual product.

The only situation where you could use some type of stock photo, is if you are selling some kind of brand new product that will look the same no matter where the customer buys it. Still, if the manufacturer can't provide you with attractive and detailed photos, you might want to take your own pictures anyway.

Good digital cameras are cheap these days, so every ebay entrepreneur should definitely have one.

If you are aiming for long term success on ebay, there are definitely many other things you will need to learn. But mastering the item description and photo will definitely be one of main the goals on your journey towards ebay selling mastery.