Buyers really like pictures. The more pictures you have, the more they'll feel like buying their item from you, and not from your competitor. In fact, there are plenty of buyers who will literally leave your auction within 5 seconds of arriving if they don't find a picture there waiting for them.

A little extra work on photography can pay off massively, especially if you're working on slim profit margins. But why is it so effective?

It shows you're serious. Sellers who take the time to take good pictures and present them carefully are surely more likely to go to the trouble of providing good customer service, and buyers know this, at least on a subconscious level. If you can't even be bothered to take a photo and upload it to eBay, are you really going to pack their item properly? Are you going to post it on time?

It makes them trust you. Your buyers will feel more comfortable that you actually have the item if they can see that you have your own photo of it. It also reassures the buyers that your item isn't a beaten up and broken piece of rubbish.

It makes your auction stand out. When your picture is displayed on the search results screen, people can see your item right there instead of having to read your title. People prefer to work visually, and are more likely to pay attention to a result with a picture.

But if you want the benefits of the response pictures can bring, then what should you do? Here are a few simple tips to make your pictures better.

Bombard them with images. eBay might want you to pay for the privilege of adding more than one picture to an auction, but if you have your own web hosting then you can do it for free. Just take as many pictures as you want, upload them to your webspace, and then add them to the auction using HTML.

You might not know how to do this, but it's very simple. Just write this in your description each time you want to insert a picture:

Take better pictures. Use an image-editing program to touch up your pictures. There are plenty of choicesIfranview (http://www.ifranview.com) is good, and free. Adjust things like brightness and contrast to make sure that buyers get the best view of your items.

Improve picture quality. Get a good camera, and pay attention to technique and composition when you take the photos. Don't just throw them on your bed and take photos. If you're not sure of yourself when it comes to photography, an empty, lightly coloured table against a white or nearly-white wall is always a good place to put things when you take photos of them.

Another good way to get more people to respond to your auctions is to find the best price points, including starting prices, Buy it Now prices and shipping. The next email will give you a few pricing strategies.