A Look at Descriptions

By: Brian Sheldon

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As a bookseller I'm finding more and more that I'm purchasing books online from independent sellers just as easily as I'm selling them. Searching through what sometimes can be hundreds of listings, I tend to limit how much I'm willing to look through and pick from which ever is on that first page. Much can be said the same in considering yourself in a search engine. If you don't make the first page, you are going to lose a very significant portion of sales. And as much as it is important to be on the first page, it is equally and even more important to present each product in a clear and direct manner.

Being that I list so much more than I browse, it isn't until just recently that I've realized just how poor many descriptions are. I was looking for three books in particular and as I always do I buy them from independent sellers to save money and to pay patronage to the independent selling community. At some points I had to laugh at some descriptions. To me I didn't mind if they were used or new, I only cared if they were in good condition. The first types of descriptions I will describe as wrong are ones that I find the most. Often I come across these descriptions that contain the phrase "this may or may not come with a black mark" or "might have publisher mark" in the listing. I chuckle though, because as a bookseller it is apparent to me that they are most likely remainder sellers.

For those who don't know what remainder sellers are, they are sellers who buy wholesale distribution lots that have been returned to the publisher and couldn't be sold in the stores. Most publishers mark them so that they know what has been sent back or retailers mark them for return. Sometimes it's a black pen mark along the edge of the book, sometimes it's a stamp of the publisher's logo. Without getting into it too much, that's what "marks" are about. The remainder business is HUGE for online book dealers, so it's easy to find those phrases in listings. Generally remainder sellers push a ton of weight, but in my opinion they work entirely too hard for their money. (Quantity not quality)

These phrases seem to be used either because the seller deals with too high a quantity to accurately check and describe each item they list, or because they are hiding defects in the product itself. Now I don't want to sound hypocritical in case any of you ever do come across my listings, but I have a word document with commonly used descriptions for each category. For example, if it has highlighted areas, I have a few sentences that I just copy and paste. It saves time, but I don't hide anything, it just allows me to list faster but still gives that personal feel. I just wanted to make that clear distinction between saving time and accurately describing and just saving time. In my short (feels like ages) time as a bookseller, I've found that buyers respect honesty and if they see that you are honest about your description, that the rest of the transaction will go quite peachy. Just because a seller chooses to phrase a description in a general or deceiving way doesn't mean Amazon won't hold them to that mark in an AZ claim; the chances of losing are still there. However, you could always argue that if you are general than it's the buyer's responsibility to ask questions, but I like to eliminate that because it could mean the difference between a bad AZ claim or not. Plus, it's time consuming. And if it means the difference between selling it used or new and used is a penny book and new is over $20, than you should probably change how you scout for inventory and consider setting a margin for yourself.

I don't want to tell you not to sell or pick certain types of books, but as the saying goes "honesty is the best policy" and your buyers will respect you for that integrity and that will lead to higher sales volume. Remember, you only get so much time to get a buyer to choose you before they decide your competitor's description is a little clearer. Let me give you an example that I ran into recently. I purchased a book from a seller and the lowest priced one was really general, didn't state the physical condition and more or less just promoted the seller. Even though it's guaranteed new by Amazon (to an extent), I decided that I would pay $3 more to by from a seller that was clear and described that it was never read and so on. I wasn't shopping around with auctions; the listings were below and above each other, so it's not exactly hard for me to sway my decision within seconds.

Sometimes though, being over honest or giving too much information is just as bad as giving false or little information. I see a lot of sellers including descriptions of the book and what it's about; critiques and reviews, or self promotion of their business. It's all irrelevant, and you want to sell the buyer with minimal but superior wording. Remember, they have a whole spread on the product page of reviews, summaries and more of the book. If buyers want to hear that stuff, most people I know read it there. You have to be quick and to the point. If something in your listing discourages the sale in any way, they may feel inclined to just pay a dollar or two more just to avoid that just as I did in my experience recently.

Especially with venues such as Amazon and Alibris, you have to have good descriptions. You can see in the first image at the beginning of this article that the seller included information such as "top notch service" and listed expectations probably hoping it would increase the chance of the sale. To me, it just seems out of place as the description area is where you describe what they are getting. They want the product and they want it in the condition and price they are scouting out for. If they want to see your policies and such, they can; there is an entirely separate page for that. In my listings, the only thing remotely close to shipping is that I state I ship same business day and expedited shipments ship in 2-3 business days because it's relevant to that individual listing. You don't want to overwhelm them; you just want to provide accurate relevant information to that sale. Imagine that it is the only book they are purchasing from you, and that's it. If they want to see what kind of person you are they can simply see your seller rating or check out your seller profile.

In the second description in the image at the top, you will also see that the seller thought it was in their best interest to include squiggly marks and asterisks to draw attention. I think it is common on venues such as eBay to do this to draw people into the listing. As a buyer and I know many people who would agree that it is not only tacky, but it gives the potential buyers a chance to reconsider what kind of seller you are. If they see you are unprofessional with the description, they might not give you the sale and go for a smaller seller who will be more personable in the transaction. As much as they want to just read the book or whatever the product may be, most buyers don't want to have to call a large company and enjoy dealing with more traditional mom and pop operations.

There are many things to do to increase your chances of return business or increased sales volume. The most important is to simply think about how your buyers see your products and get in their shoes, so to speak. Go ahead and search for one of your books and see how it appears to people. Have a friend or family member do the same and see which one they would choose out of all of the independent sellers offering the same book at different prices. Ask them if there is anything they don't like about certain listings and do it anonymously (don't tell them your seller name) and get their honest feedback. Then work off of that feedback and improve certain areas where you may be weak in.

The point is, I'm not trying to directly tell you that you are wrong or that you are right. I'm merely suggesting that you might want to consider and look deeper into how you describe your products on your online venues. I gave a speech recently on alternative fuel and one thing I really pressed on was that I didn't want people getting the idea that I was biased and towards one side and one side only; but that I was suggesting the idea of alternative fuel and not telling them that any one alternative was the best. Just as I talked about here, I hope that you take it in a positive and constructive way to increase your sales revenue. I have made these mistakes countless times. Hey, we are only human! But if I can help you rethink the way you do things in your book selling career it might help you increase your earning potential and after all, that's what this website is all about.

The Roundup

Things to Avoid:

Filler symbols: IE: asterisks to grab attention.

Lengthy descriptions: KEEP IT SIMPLE and to the point.

Questionable Phrases: IE: "maybe" or "might have" BE CLEAR!

Too much information: Describe the product, not your business!

Too little information: Take the time to accurately describe it.