[intro] When you have completed this guide, you’ll be able to understand the differences between selling on eBay and retailing Products on an ecommerce website, and will be able to adjust your content accordingly. [/intro]

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Product Images

Product Descriptions

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If you have only previous sold items on eBay prior to opening your EKM online shop, there’s a number of differences that you need to be aware of so you can amend your content accordingly.

Technically eBay - and the other auction sites out there - are e-commerce, but in a different sense to an online shop. eBay is an auction site and your Product Listings are not Product Pages on an online shop. The biggest differences you need to be concerned with are design and content and you need to edit these accordingly.

On eBay, you are competing with other eBay users that sell the same (or a similar) Product to your own, who are also displayed right next to your listing in eBay search results. On an online shop however, you are competing against other shops on the internet which sell the same Products as you; customers won’t always see your Products listed next to those of your competitors, and some customers will find your online shop without realising that your competitors exist.

In short, although both platforms retail products to customers, the two are very different in their look, feel and behaviour; what works well on one platform does not necessarily translate well onto the other. With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the obvious differences between what works on an auction site Product Listing and what works on an online shop Product Page to help you edit your content accordingly.

Product Images

Product Variants

If you have a product that is available in different colours, on eBay this is typically signified by having a Product Image that displays all of the colours available:

However, one drawback to this is that with some much in the Product Image, it detracts from the detail of the single Product, and it is that which encourages a customer to purchase. With this in mind, there are different ways to display this Product on your online shop which would be more beneficial:

1. You could list the most popular colour as the default Variant for the Product, so the Product Image would be for a single pair of leggings. You could amend the Product title and add ‘More colours available’ (or add this to your Short Description if you have added this feature), and customers would be able to view the different colours by selecting them from the Variant ‘colour’ drop-down menu on the Product Page.

2. Alternatively, if the Product is really popular, consider listing each colour as a separate Product - you would still need a drop-down Variant for Size, but by listing all of the colours in this way customers could see all of the available colours by glancing down the Category page. However, bear in mind that if the Product Images for each colour are nearly identical, go for the first option as this looks more professional.

Watermarking

It’s common practice on auction sites to watermark your Product Images, however, this is bad practice on an online shop, as the watermark detracts from the image itself. If the watermark is a logo or text, often the font and colours will not match the design of your online shop either. If you have any watermarked images, be sure to replace these on your EKM online shop so customers can view the Product Image in all of its glory.

Additional Images

On an auction site, you can add additional Product Images as well as the main Product Image, which are displayed as thumbnails on the Listing. However, it’s also common practice to add additional Product Images into the Product Description too. On an online shop, this is not recommended; it drastically affects the length of the Product Page and delivers a bad shopping experience as the customer has to scroll a long way down the Product Page to digest the entire Product Description.

To combat this on your EKM online shop, be sure to only add additional Product Images with your main Product Image (you are allowed one main Product Image and four additional images per product/variant of a product), and not within your Description.

Image Quality & Size

It’s also worth mentioning too that you need to ensure that your images are the right size and quality for an online shop. On an auction site, there’s a certain amount of leeway that is given as the Products on sale are mixed between items being sold by companies and items being sold from people clearing out their spare rooms.

Product Images on the EKM platform need to be 1024x1024 pixels square ideally and look as professional as possible. You can read more about Product Image quality here and if you intend to take your own Product Images, this guide should help you. Finally, if you need a to edit your Product Images straight from your camera, you need this guide.

Stock Images

Don’t use Product Images taken from elsewhere, including Google and other eBay sellers. The chances are that someone else is using that Product Image too, so in Google Shopping results, your Products will look identical. Aim to take your own Product Images so you can be assured that your own Product Images are unique. You can read about how to take your own Product Images using this guide.

Product Descriptions

Fonts in different colours and sizes

On your eBay Shop, making the text more visible by using fonts in different styles, colours and sizes works a treat and really helps your product descriptions stand out. However, in an e-commerce shop, this practice should be avoided as the colours, styles and formatting of the fonts will clash with the rest of the website design. Instead, choose headers where necessary, and keep the font style universal across your entire shop.

The same rule applies to any images within Product Descriptions or Product Images where fonts have been used- if there are any fonts that do not match the design of your EKM online shop, remove these entirely to make your online shop more professional and to encourage brand continuity.

Capital Letters, Spelling & Symbols

On an auction site, capital letters are a good way of making your Product Listing stand out in a search, but on an online shop, we do not recommend that Product Titles are written entirely in capital letters, as online, this is often read as ‘shouting’.

Equally, you need to ensure that you don’t have any hearts, stars, @, £££s, or other symbols in your Product Title or Product Description. Whilst this is useful for catching people’s attention in the results of a search on an auction site, this is not recommended on an online shop.

You also need to check your text for spelling mistakes too, as bad grammar, spelling and punctuation can make your online shop appear unprofessional. Keep your Product Titles short and concise, and use Product Descriptions to provide comprehensive details of the Product so that the customer can easily decide whether they want to purchase the item.

Links within Product Descriptions

On your Product Listings, it’s a good idea to provide links to the other Products within your eBay Shop to encourage the customers to view the rest of your range, however, this is not recommended on your EKM online shop. The Menu will be able to let customers know about the other Categories you have available, and by installing the Related Products feature on the Features page, you can select a range of related Products to encourage customers to make additional purchases.

Design Images in Product Descriptions

Although headers like this can look fantastic on Product Listings, ensure that this code is not imported, as what looks great on an auction site listing will not necessarily go with the style of your EKM online shop.

Tables, Slideshows and Scrollbars

If you have added custom code and designs to your Product Listings, you may have some extra functionality in there to help show off your Products, including slideshows, scrollbars and tables to display the vital statistics about the item. Whilst this is a normal practice on eBay, you need to ensure that this code is not imported into your EKM online shop when you import your Products. Slideshows and scrollbars within a product description will clash with the Theme of your EKM online shop, and HTML tables are not mobile responsive, so these would be difficult to read for any customers viewing the Product using a tablet or mobile device.

Your eBay Score & Feedback

Whilst your eBay score and feedback is essential to your success on the auction site, this information should not be displayed on your EKM online shop. Why? Because you want to encourage people to shop on your online shop, and not click through to your eBay Shop. Therefore, your eBay score and any feedback you’ve received from eBay customers is not required on your EKM online shop.

On the EKM online shop, you can use the Customer Reviews feature which will allow customers to leave feedback on Products that they’ve purchased, but don’t use feedback from the platform that the customer is not currently viewing.

[tips] To ensure that you do not accidentally transfer any unwanted code when importing Products from your eBay shop, ensure to adjust the Import Settings of the eBay Import/Export feature accordingly. It’s also worth setting the imported Products to be hidden by default, which will allow you to edit them before making them live. [/tips]

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[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account-specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in the EKM Community. [/contact]