Guidelines & Best Practices: Item Descriptions

This article contains guidelines and best practices to use when drafting descriptions of the items in your catalog.

This article contains the following sections:

• Guidelines for Item Descriptions
• Best Practices for Item Descriptions

Guidelines for Item Descriptions

Allowed:

• Describing only the item being auctioned in the listing.
• Providing a complete and accurate description of the item.
• Specifying the condition of the item.
• Describing any defects or flaws in the item.
• Including accurate measurements and weight of the item.

Not Allowed:

• Intentionally using vague language to misrepresent the item.
• Intentionally withholding item information and encouraging bidders to directly contact you for more information.
• Including conflicting information in a listing- such as saying you have an artwork by one artist in your title, but another artist in the description.
• Including comments that discourage bidders from bidding on LiveAuctioneers. For example, we don’t permit statements like “Participate in our auction via Telephone or Absentee bid and receive a discounted buyer’s premium.”
• Listing an item and stating the item listed may not be the one that the winning bidder receives upon auction completion.

Best Practices for Item Descriptions

Make sure your lots get the attention they deserve and grow your online auction sales. An online bidding study at LiveAuctioneers finds that items accompanied by descriptions of 70-90 words see a 51.41% higher hammer price than equivalent items with only 10-20 words. 

Our fool-proof checklist for representing your brand and items at auction can be found here.

Additionally, our team of experts has designed templates for various item categories to make cataloging easy. Click here to access these templates.

1. Make sure your item title and descriptions are accurate in order to set proper expectations for the bidder.
2. Provide all of the item information in advance to help bidders make a decision without the need of reaching out to your team.
3. Help bidders visualize the item by providing item specifics, such as: 
   • Dimensions
   • Weight
   • Condition
   • Time period
   • Artist
   • Manufacturer
   • Number of items available per lot
4. Tell the full story of the item by filling in any gaps about that item. A good item description should provide relevant details to convince bidders of its value. When it comes to telling a story in your item description, try to answer these questions:
   • Who originally made this item?
   • What inspired them to make this item?
   • What was the journey of making this item? 
   • When was it made?
   • Did it belong to someone known?
5. Be transparent about the item condition so bidders know exactly what they’re bidding on. Bidders don’t mind blemishes as long as they see them described in the item description.
6. Make the item description easy to scan by using bullet points and/or short paragraphs to help bidders find the information they need.
7. Optimize your item description for search engines to drive more traffic and reach more bidders. Ask yourself what words bidders are likely to use when searching for the types of items in your catalog.