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Buying & Selling Thru Ebay & Other Auctions/Good little digital camera for eBay

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Expert: Rob James - 1/1/2008


Question
Hi rob - What's a good little digital camera for taking indoor pictures for eBay
listings?  Nothing fancy, expensive or difficut to use - I only sell one or 2
items a year but need to take some pictures.

Answer
Hi Michael,

Happy New Year!

Quite honestly, any inexpensive digital camera will do fine for eBay photos. Typically you will want to use a resolution of no more than 800x600. Photos with higher resolutions are larger in size and quality but eBay adjusts the size for their listing displays so any benefit is lost.

I've used many different cameras for my listings. Some of the Casio Exlim models offer an eBay mode which is optimized for taking listing photos. I have one of those and it works very well. I also use a larger Kodak model which does a fine job also.

The key to remember when taking photos isn't so much the camera as it is making sure the item is shot properly. Use good lighting and try to avoid the flash reflection off the item if you can. Also try to display the item on a neutral background such as white or black so the details stand out as opposed to the background. I've seen some people photograph items on patterned blankets etc and the item almost gets lost in the design. I would also recommend an inexpensive tripod for steady shots. The clearer the photos the better.

The best thing is the photos are digital. If you don't get it right, delete it and try it again. Once you are happy with the shot, use it. After awhile you will get the hang of it and you'll be taking item photos quickly.

One more quick piece of advice, if you have an item that requires several photos to really show the details, you may want to try using Auctiva (www.auctiva.com) to list your items. The key advantage to using them is the ability to place up to 15 photos in your listing for no additional fee. The service is absolutely free and works seamlessly with eBay. I've been using it for a couple of years now and it works great.

I hope that helps you out. Good luck with your photos and listings!

Rob

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Rob James

Expertise

Hi there! After being a member of the eBay "community" for the past ten years, I have decided to look elsewhere to sell my items. Ebay has, and will agiain in the next month, instituted rediculous policies and fee increases that are not beneficial to the small seller. They are positioning themselves to be another site such as Amazon and are forcing sellers to reduce or eliminate shipping charges (even when they must pay to ship items) as well as preventing the acceptence of checks or money orders as payment. This is all geared to improve eBay's bottom line. I will still be happy to help answer most any question you may have regarding the buying and selling experience on eBay based on my experiences. However, I am looking at sites such as ebid.net that are much more favorable to us small sellers and buyers. You may want to check them out as well.

Experience

I've been an active member on eBay for almost ten years. I started buying and selling as a hobby and turned it into a business that I ran from home for a time.

Education/Credentials
Nothing special here. Some college. Went to work in the computer industry when the PC was just rolling out to the desktops of the world. I'm streetsmart and self taught in most things I know. Especially with eBay and online selling.

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