Need advice on scanning PSA cards for eBay and another thing

halfcentman

Gentlemen,

I have not put up cards in a while, as I mostly deal with coins and paper money.

However, what is the most optimal pixel length or width to scan PSA graded cards at? I have four 1963 Topps Rusty Staub rookies going up in four differenty grades (6.5, 7, 8, and 8.5).

The other question is the listing format.

EXAMPLE:

1963 Topps #544 Rusty Staub, PSA EX-MT+ 6.5 No Reserve

Is this a good main line description if it fits?

Any help would be appreciated. I am getting some more decent material, and I am very dedicated to making my auctions high quality but basic.

Thanks,

Greg

msassin

1963 Topps #544 Rusty Staub, PSA EX-MT+ 6.5 No Reserve

Looks good, but if it is me I'd take out the 'No Reserve'...and put either 'rookie' or the team name in its place.

Can't help you on the pixels as most of my pics are done with a digital camera.

Probstein123

add RC too....

storm888

1963 Topps #544 Rusty Staub, PSA EX-MT+ 6.5 No Reserve


//////////////////////

Drop the comma after "Staub."

Be sure the "+" is tight to the "MT" in the title.

As noted, drop the "No Res." Insert "Rookie."

.......................

In related "news."


I met with an EBAY-employed SEO expert, yesterday.

She says that more and more traffic is coming from goog/bing/yhoo.
Obviously, most traffic is still thru EBAY as a destination, but as the
non-destination shoppers increase, it is important to "build" titles that
the crawlers like.

NO punctuation like: ,:;+=-#&$@ and such. Wrongly placed, such marks
will cause your title not to be properly indexed. Don't use them.

Never use all caps in a title. The First Letter Of Each Word In Caps Has No
Ill Impact On Indexing. ALL LETTERS IN CAPS WILL HURT YOU.

Title words like "nice" and "wow" may work on destination shoppers, but
are not interesting to the crawlers.

ONLY use title words that a searcher will use. (You can get lists of those
words online.) Titles DO NOT need to be grammatically correct; they only
need to contain the words that searchers are using.

The exact nature of the current EBAY feeds is proprietary; she would not
give me a specific number of characters/spaces in the feeds, but the hints/
smiles/giggles she issued indicate that the number "256" characters is either
incorrect on the high-side or is subject to change.

It has long been assumed that, for example, goog/bing/yhoo grabbed
approximately 256 characters; that number includes the title. IF fewer
characters/spaces are grabbed, it is critical that the WHOLE story be
told in the first 200+/- characters and spaces.

DO NOT lead with ANY "terms and conditions."

Repeat the title in the first line of the listing.

Then, add words that would not fit into the title.

Do not double-state terms/conditions within the listing. Just say them
once; if you wanna emphasize them, make the type larger and/or use
a color.

If you don't have an RSS feed, get one and use it in all of your listings.
Also, use the "Check Out My Other Items" insert. You can rename that
insert, too; eg. "More Cool Stuff," etc.

If you have a social media site - facebook/twitter - be sure they are
in your "ME" page. Read the EBAY TOS and place fbk/twt addys in the
listings, IF you can do so within the TOS. Add an email addy with your
seller name in listings, BUT make sure it abides by the TOS.


Building GREAT titles and listings is CRITICAL on non-EBAY sites, but it
is important on EBAY, too.



.......................

scotgreb

Greg --

I completely agree with the advice you've received thus far -- no two better than Rick and Storm.

My additional two cents . . .

Be sure to scan against a dark background -- unless you're scanning a black-bordered card. I've found that a dark room with the lid open yields the best results. Show scans of front and back -- especially for higher grade cards. Also be sure to leave ample space around the holder such that you do not appear to be hiding any frosting.

Good luck.

Scott

gemint

I also try to space out the .5 grades. For example, PSA 8 .5 in the title. The reason is it seems 8.5 doesn't get picked up by people searching for 'PSA 8'. So I'd rather capture the '8' searchers than the '8.5' searchers as I think most people search for the base grade. The '8 .5' will still let everyone know that it's a NM-MT+ grade.

bigreddog

I always try to scan in a higher resolution(1200 or more) then crop and reduce scan to 600



370 x 600 pixels



For optimal ebay picture zoom feature your pic needs 1000 pixels (Either width or height) I personally think that size is too big and a nice clear 600,700, 800 pixel photo works better for my needs.


939 x 600 pixels


All scanners are different, so you will have to experiment with the settings on your scanner to find the right combination that works for you.



John

Probstein123

my favorite additional keywords that I believe attract:
( use when applicable )

HOF
CENTERED
LOW POP
RARE
POP 1
BGS 9.5 w/ 10
TEAM NAME : ie Yankees
SET BREAK
HOARD
LOT
Complete Set
Rookie
RC
Signed
AUTO
COA

GIVENS ( must be included ) : card company name, card # , player name, grading company, grade, condition, etc...

halfcentman

THANKS EVERYONE!

After doing auctions for 11 years, I learned something here which is going to help my coin auctions as well.

I have the Staubs scheduled for tomorrow @ 9PM EDT. I also have a 1969 Nettles (Loop) in "9."

Much appreciated,

Greg