10 photography tips that make your listings sell

Buyers cannot hold your item in their hands — your photos have to do the holding for them. After analysing thousands of successful listings, the pattern is unmistakable: listings with clear, honest, well-lit photos attract more watchers, more bids, and higher final prices.

The quick wins

• Shoot in soft, indirect daylight — next to a window beats any lamp.
• Use a plain background: a white wall, a sheet of card, a wooden table.
• Fill the frame. The item should take up 80% of the photo.
• Show every angle: front, back, sides, top, underside.
• Photograph flaws close-up. A honest scratch photo builds more trust than a hidden one destroys.
• Include one photo with a common object for scale.
• Wipe the lens. Seriously — it is the cheapest upgrade there is.
• Keep the camera steady: lean on a chair or stack of books if you have no tripod.
• Avoid filters. Colour accuracy matters when money changes hands.
• Lead with your strongest image — it is what shows on the search results card.

The first photo decides everything

Your primary photo is your shop window. On a busy search results page it has less than a second to earn a click, so make it the cleanest, most complete view of the item — and save the detail shots for photos two through six.