Lean and Mean Auction Design By Deb Cowden AuctionBytes.com
September 09, 2000
No one likes waiting in line, even on the Internet. One of the quickest ways to lose a sale is to create an auction that takes an eternity to download. In a world that runs on nanoseconds, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, worth waiting two minutes for. Here are some tips for a lean and mean auction
1) Check the size of the JPG file containing your photos. You can make your photos load faster by making the size of the photo smaller or changing the resolution. (The photo editing software you got with your scanner or digital camera allows you to make these changes.)
2) Do not waste bandwidth with GIFS that move. Save "cute" for your home page.
3) Avoid music - it slows down the loading process. (And is especially annoying to those who are taking an illicit peek at eBay from the office.)
4) If an item needs lots of photos to display it properly, provide links to the extra photos rather than loading them on the auction page.
5) Pick a solid color background or simply use white. Patterns take time to load. A busy pattern also makes your text extremely hard to read.
You can still create a nice Web presence without hogging bandwidth. One of the best ways is to create a uniform look for all of your auctions (or create one style for each type of auction). An added benefit is that you are not creating from the ground up each time you post an auction.
You might also create your own personal logo and insert in all your auctions. But keep it simple. You are secondary to the item you want to sell. You can also create your own page, like eBay's "Me" Page, and mention it in your auction. See AuctionBytes Issue #10 to learn more about "Me" Pages and how to create one http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/10/10.html
Remember - less is usually best.
About the author:
Deb Cowden has discovered the best way to avoid housecleaning is to rent spaces at antique malls and run auctions on eBay. This allows her to have clutter that has a sense of purpose. By day she is a corporate accounting manager, by night she is a freelance writer, bowling ball sculptress and cunning shopper-gatherer. Her eBay ID is " debracadabra" and her goal in life (this minute) is to get the ladder out of her bedroom and return it to the rightful owner. The ladder came in to help paint the walls and has served as a wonderful nightstand ever since. She keeps an odd assortment of dogs and cats to share the blame for the clutter. Feel free to write to her (hoodoowoman @ msn.com)-especially if you have an extra ladder!
