eBay Product Listing Optimisation Checklist

Ordered by impact on visibility.

Item specifics

• [ ] Every required specific filled
• [ ] Every optional specific filled
• [ ] Values match what buyers would filter by
• [ ] Brand, model and compatibility correct
• [ ] Condition specific accurate for used items

The optional ones are where most sellers stop, and they drive the sidebar filters a large share of buyers use.

Title

• [ ] Under 80 characters, using most of them
• [ ] Leads with what the item is
• [ ] Brand, model, size, colour, quantity included where relevant
• [ ] Buyer vocabulary, not internal product naming
• [ ] No "L@@K", "RARE", "WOW", "FAST POST"
• [ ] No unrelated brand names
• [ ] No repeated words

Photography

• [ ] Primary image on a clean background
• [ ] Minimum four images; more for used items
• [ ] All angles a buyer would want
• [ ] Any flaw photographed honestly
• [ ] Good lighting, in focus
• [ ] Meets eBay's minimum dimensions

Price

• [ ] Checked against sold listings, not active ones
• [ ] Postage priced in or charged clearly
• [ ] Free postage considered — it is a filter buyers apply
• [ ] Repricing floor accounts for fees and postage, not just cost

Description

• [ ] Answers the questions that otherwise become messages
• [ ] Dimensions, compatibility, what is included
• [ ] Condition described specifically for used items
• [ ] Mobile-friendly — most buyers are on a phone
• [ ] No huge template banners that push content down

Postage and returns

• [ ] Handling time you can actually meet, every time
• [ ] Postage cost visible before checkout
• [ ] Returns accepted — it affects both ranking and conversion
• [ ] Dispatch within the stated time, consistently

Account health

• [ ] Defect rate well inside threshold
• [ ] Late dispatch rate low
• [ ] Tracking uploaded on every order
• [ ] Messages answered quickly

Then: why are people not buying?

• [ ] Does the listing answer the obvious question?
• [ ] Is anything in the photographs raising doubt?
• [ ] Is the postage cost a surprise?
• [ ] Is the price genuinely competitive against sold listings?

Conversion is what Cassini rewards and what compounds. How to optimise eBay listings covers why.