At a loss for keywords? Here’s a list of popular fantasy-related searches–if you can find a way to include these words in your titles, you’re well on your way:
fairy (if your art doesn’t have any fairies in it, “fairy tale” works fine!)
gothic
fantasy
gryphon (this is the most popular spelling)
unicorn
knight
hero
cute
costume
corset
starry OR stars
kitten
anime
manga
Since I began describing every single one of my auctions as “gothic”, “fairy tale”, or “fantasy”, my sales have more than tripled. I would not recommend spending the extra fifty cents on a subtitle (a secondary title that appears under the first in searches), unless you’re selling a very pricey item and want to be sure it stands out in the search results. The subtitle is not included in the basic search function, so for most auctions, you might as well just put any extra keywords you can think of in the image description.
Once you have chosen a title, you can enter some item specifics, and you should always do this, because it means people will be able to find your work using the Product Finder (point-and-click category searching, essentially).
Finally, you get the opportunity to enter a detailed description of the product you are selling. You can either type in a description and have it formatted automatically, or enter your own HTML, which I would recommend very highly. It’s important to give your auctions a distinctive, professional layout so that they stand out from the crowd. You’ll also want to link to any images on your own webspace if possible, so you won’t have to pay for eBay to host them.
My auction will look like this when it’s finished:
In the description, I let the buyer know a little bit more about it, in this case that it’s an 8 x 10 matte photographic print by “well-known fantasy and wildlife artist Socar Myles”. (”Fantasy” and “wildlife” are good keywords, and will be picked up on in-depth searches–I’m tooting my own horn in more ways than one, there!) I’ve also included information on shipping charges, my policy on refunds and returns, and what payment methods I accept. Buyers like to know all these things up front, to avoid confusion later on.
