Monday, April 28, 2008

Lot of original trilogy Star Wars action figures


14 Original Kenner Star wars Figures


ended - Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Auction grade: D

Starting bid: $19.99

Final selling price: $19.99


Up for sale in this eBay auction is a small collection of sealed Star Wars characters from the original Star Wars trilogy. These figures were manufactured by Kenner at the height of Star Wars' main wave of popularity. My own research shows that they are all part of the Green Card version of the "Power of the Force" series.

The auction's title doesn't look bad, but I would still make some changes to have this auction appear in more search engine results pages. "Kenner" is good and "Star Wars" is always good, but I would add the word "Action" in front of "Figures" (more people will search for "action figures") and also find ways to add in other key words such as "vintage", "toy", "OT" (original trilogy), and even "lot".

The auction's description is going to need quite a bit of editing to make it easier to read and a little more professional. First of all, the large font needs to go. It may look cool if you've never listed an auction before, but it really shows the person's inexperience and inability to make good decisions. The red font is fine, but the size of the font needs to be cut in half. Unless it is one, don't make this auction look like a scam.

The next major area of correction in the description is something that I harp on for a lot of these auctions that I criticize --- spelling and grammar. This seller needs to learn how to make complete sentences and proofread what they type. Read it a few times and make sure it makes sense and sounds somewhat professional before publishing the auction.

"every ting" --- everything

"every ting you see in the 4 group lots plus as you can see" --- Yeah. It's actually one lot with three close-up pictures of some of the action figures. Not all of them in the main picture are also photographed in the other pictures.

"in the action display photo there are also an aditional Han Solo, and a Luke Skywalker in white Storm Trooper disguise" --- Perhaps it would read better if it was types something like: "As pictured, this set also includes a Luke Skywalker in a white Storm Trooper disguise and an additional Han Solo." With the seller writing it the other way around, it sounds like you're receiving both Han and Luke in their Storm Trooper disguises like they wear in Episode IV.

"all Items are new in there bubbles." --- The "A" should be capitalized instead of the "I", and also it's "their", not "there". Learn the difference!

"bene" --- been

"some one" --- someone

It's good that the seller mentioned in simple words how his uncle cut away the packaging for easier storage. That move severely devalued the action figures, but at least we know that the original packaging isn't complete.

In addition to correcting the entire text in the description, the seller should also make a bullet point listing of all of the characters and costumes in this collection. Why should somebody do that much extra work to earn the sale? Three reasons:

1) Some of the fans are looking for specific characters and that's how they search on eBay and Google (eBay listings are conveniently indexed by Google).

2) Most people want to know exactly which characters and variations are included in this auction.

3) The pictures are small and it's hard to see most of the details.

When selling items in lots, be prepared to take the extra steps to provide good, accurate pictures and descriptions. Many people have been scammed by items that were misrepresented or assumed to be in lots. Take the extra time to list the lot properly to protect yourself and aid the buyers. Don't make them guess or write you an e-mail to confirm whether or not something is included in the auction.

By making these changes and learning how to type sentences, this auction will attract more buyers. Whether or not it sells is still determined by the starting bid, shipping costs, and overall trend in the market. For an auction like this, it's also important to note that most of the serious buyers only want the action figures in their original, complete packaging. In this case the figures are still sealed and apparently brand new, but that's it.