I very recently posted an auction for my old Dell Inspiron 6000 (take a look if you like). She’s obviously old and has seen better days, but hopefully somebody will find it useful as a parts laptop.

The challenge here was to make an older laptop look half-way decent in an eBay listing photo. How to do it? Here’s how:

Yes, I know the laptop is old and you can clearly see the paint rubbed off the palm rest from years of use (this is common to the older Inspiron series), but the blue backdrop makes the overall presentation look much more appealing.

Do I have some ritzy photo studio to make a product photo look good?

Hardly:

It’s a blue piece of fabric purchased from Wal-Mart and tacked up on the wall. I smoothed out the fabric in the area where the laptop is.

The camera I used? A cheap point-and-shoot. Nothing fancy.

Here’s some tips on using a proper backdrop and other things you can do to make what you sell more attractive in a photo:

1. Blue, black or white backdrops only

Even the cheapest of digital cameras "like" the color blue. Black is good also, but sometimes may not serve well if what you’re showing is also black. White works well as long as it’s actual fabric and not a towel from the bathroom (whenever I see that I laugh because it’s so obvious).

Red is bad. Psychologically this says, "WARNING!" Not good when you’re trying to sell something.

Green is bad because it tends to "fuzz" when you take the shot. It doesn’t matter how good your digital camera is because on upload to eBay or like service your photo will be downsized and compressed, resulting in a seriously crappy look (you will actually see the JPEG artifacts in some instances.. very bad.)

Patterns are also bad, because the first thing potential buyers will pay attention to is the pattern and not the product.

2. Angle it

For laptops or anything with a screen on it, shooting on an angle is always better. It literally eliminates the big white spot a camera flash creates due to reflection.

A very common mistake is that people will shoot products with screens on them from dead center. This makes the product look horrible. If you angle it, it gets rid of the aforementioned flash and you can actually show the screen turned on and in use.

You will notice that for any – and I mean any – dead-center shots of something with a screen in use, the screen will always look dim even at the brightest setting. But when you angle it, it looks proper.

3. Show what it comes with

You’ll notice in my photo that the XP Pro operating system recovery disc and the power brick is clearly seen. This lets any potential buyer know that yes, it comes with those items included. Both items are a big deal to anybody who purchases a laptop new or used.

Per my photo above, showing the power brick not plugged in while the laptop is turned on proves the battery still works.

4. Show it turned on

Many people also make the mistake of showing an electronic device not turned on in a listing. The immediate thought (at least for me) when I see that is, "Oh. I guess it doesn’t work." This is obviously not the impression you want to give. You want to show that yes, whatever you’re selling does work. So show it.

5. Don’t try to hide the flaws

In my example, the rubbed-off paint on the palm rest is a huge eyesore. But there was nothing I could do about that, so I left it as-is and in my description noted it. She’s an older laptop, anybody that looks at it will also know it’s older, and she’s nowhere near mint condition. Any attempt by me trying to convince a potential buyer otherwise would be a fool’s errand. Being honest with your product photos goes a long way with buyers because it establishes confidence, i.e. the buyer knows up front what he or she is getting with no guesswork.

Did you also know that your thumbnail will also look much better shooting product photos like this?

The blue really separates this from the other listings you would see for like products, and is done so in a way that’s not garish/tacky.

Will any of my tips above guarantee the sale of anything? No, because nothing is guaranteed no matter how good you make it look. But the likelihood of people actually looking at what you post does increase, and this may give you a better chance of selling whatever it is you have.

What photo methods do you use (if any) for the stuff you sell online?

Are there any "tricks" you use that have proven to be successful? Let us know in the comments.

Said honestly it’s amazing that if you ask someone, "Where’s the best place to buy or sell stuff online?", the the typical answer is "eBay".

I disagree with this. The best place is Craigslist (abbreviated commonly as just "CL").

First, a few facts about CL:

• It’s been around just as long as eBay has (since 1995).
• It’s far easier to use than eBay overall.
• It loads way faster than eBay does.
• You can place ads for free.

I don’t know about other countries, but in the United States people genuinely appreciate being able to conduct business on a local level. eBay has never really been able to accomplish that, but with CL you can quite easily.

For example, my local is tampa.craigslist.org and chances are your local is listed here somewhere.

My reasons for preferring CL over eBay when buying and selling items are as follows:

Staying local works

As noted above, with eBay it’s a challenge at best to go local and stay local. Sure, you can set options on your item when selling it to keep it regionalized – but why bother forking over cash just to post an auction when all you want is a quick local sale?

PayPal is annoying

I’m sure there are more than a few readers out there who can say how much PayPal sucks at times. With eBay it’s more or less required to use PayPal just to buy or sell. How many auctions have you seen that state very loudly "PAYPAL ONLY"?

If you use PayPal, you only do so because you have to, not because you want to.

Better for the bargain hunter

Are you cheap? No, seriously.. are you really cheap? You’re in luck because CL has a "free" category for every local. Here’s an example from the Tampa local. You’d be surprised at the stuff people are willing to give away.

Some quick Q and A

Can you get scammed on CL?

You can get scammed anywhere, be it online or in person and CL is no exception. You know the old saying "let the buyer beware". If you think something sounds like a scam, it most likely is.

CL states very clearly to deal locally with people you can meet with in person, never wire funds, don’t do checks or money orders, don’t give out any of your personal fiscal information, avoid deals involving shipping or escrow and so on.

Even if you decide not to use CL, you should go to that link anyway just to get educated on how to spot scam stuff. It’s a good read.

Can you meet "scary" people from CL?

Of course. But CL has tips on that also.

Can I really post an ad for free and sell using straight cash in person?

Absolutely.

Can I get everything I want from CL?

Possibly – but I don’t know what you want to buy or sell. CL is free to use so you have nothing to lose by checking it out.

Are you doing your holiday season shopping now?

If you are you should definitely check CL out for yourself whether you’re buying or selling.

Most of us have a trail of old cell phones, computers and other gadgets in our nerd wake. Personally, I have several old cell phones that I personally have no use for any longer. And I just added another one to the list now that I switched to the Iphone 3G.

What do we do with these things? My closet is full of old hardware I have no use for.

Continued