Neat "Receipt" Scanner

Neat Reciept Scanner


ended - Friday, September 19, 2008

Auction grade: D

Starting bid: $0.99

Final selling price: $53.00


Up for sale in this eBay auction is a "like new" hand held scanner used for scanning small pieces of paper such as receipts and business cards. The item's picture shows quite a few accessories, so since it isn't mentioned, it's believed that this is complete and not missing any parts.

In the auction's title, the seller makes the biggest mistake in the entire auction. And just what is that horrible mistake? The misspelling of "receipt"!!!

Why do I make such a big deal about spelling errors, especially in the title?

I make a big deal because poor grammar and spelling is one of the biggest problems that I constantly see at eBay and across websites of all content. It's easier than ever to construct simple sentences and through the use of word processors and sites like Dictionary.com, spelling mistakes should be a thing of the past.

Does it really matter?

Yes it does if you, the seller, want to make money!

Spelling errors are the buyers best friends. When seller cannot spell the item correctly, the auction is not going to show up in that many searches. As a result there is much less traffic to the auction. Less traffic means fewer bids and a substantially lower final selling price assuming that it sells at all.

This auction in particular already has three bids and is up to $22.49 in the bidding process. With a few days left and no reserve price, obviously this is going to sell. For comparison, I saw this same exact item for sale with a similar amount of time left for its auction, and that bidding price was already up to $75. Then again, that other auction had a slightly better title with everything spelled correctly!

The smart sellers know about this mistake and will use it to their advantage. And how does the smart seller use this technique? By using the correct version and all other common misspellings of the word(s).

For most common items and famous names & titles, you can assume that most buyers know how to spell it correctly. That's a safe bet. You can also assume that no matter what, some people will never learn the correct way and will continue to spell it however they see fit. Some people go against grammar rules (such as the famous "i before e except after c" as in this auction), and others will try to spell items phonetically, assuming that they can even say it properly.

The strategy is fairly simple to cash in on those buyers. No matter what, you'll want to have the correct spelling of the item once in the title and again in the description. This will ensure that your auction will eventually show up in the search engine (increasing the auction's search engine ranking is a different strategy).

If you still have room in the title after using good key words, the most common misspelling of the item should be added. After that, use a creative way to add the other misspellings to the main body of text in the auction's description. Taking the few extra moments to use this strategy will help your auction get exposed to the maximum number of buyers possible.

Getting back to this auction, the title could also use more key words and search terms. If this item has one, the model number should go into the title. "Accounting," "personal," and even "finance" could be good search terms. There's a lot of valuable real estate in this title, and it's a shame to let it go to waste like that.

Remember, the default search engine setting has eBay only looking in the auction's title! You have to go into the advanced settings to have it also search in the description!

The auction's description isn't bad. I don't like the grammar or wording, but seeing the selling prices of other personal, hand held scanners, this one should sell for a high price fairly easily. The seller could improve his credibility and professionalism by spelling the item's title and other official information exactly as it is printed in the user manual. Again, if there is a model number, it also needs to go in this section.

Remember - You don't want the buyer to have any doubt as to what it is exactly that they're viewing in the auction. If they're not sure, chances are very good that they'll go look at another auction. Even if they send you a question they're still going to look around while waiting for your response. You did the work to get them to your auction, so why give them the chance to look elsewhere for basic information that should be clearly labeled?

The PayPal only paying option really isn't that big of a deal anymore since eBay is really pushing buyers and sellers to use it.

Finally, the picture could look a little bit better. It looks pretty informal with all of the pieces spread out on the bedspread like that. The spread makes for a great backdrop for items, though this could use a little adjusting with the overall layout.


Overall, I gave this auction a low score because of the seller's sloppy approach to selling this scanner. Misspelling the item in the title is a big deal, and as pointed out above, it's already costing this person money. The auction's description needs to be rewritten with more of an emphasis on the item for sale and its details. The picture could also be retaken, but that's more of a minor issue.