The title of your listing should be clear, relevant to what you are selling and attention grabbing all at the same time. Clarity: always make sure you spell the name of the product you are selling correctly and NEVER try to make the title "cool" by deliberately misspelling words. (Instead of basketball sneakers "b-ball sneakz")

If you do that, your listing won't show up in anyone's search results because most people don't search for "b-ball sneakz". They search for basketball sneakers (or shoes). You might understand slang but older people looking to buy a present for their grandson probably won't know what you are talking about.

You won't look very professional and will only catch the attention of those who understand what you are saying. Save the slang for bragging to your friends about how much money your making.

Relevancy: make sure you include the name of what you are selling in the title! If you are selling a Sony PFM 50C1 TV your listing title should include "Sony PFM 50C1" or "SONY plasma TV" you can also include the size of the television, screen type (projection, plasma etc.) or even a couple of the features.

Your listing title should be a short abbreviated description of the item you are selling. The name of the product in the title has to do with the search results. If people want to buy your TV they will search plasma TV, plasma television, SONY plasma TV, Sony PFM 50C1 etc.

That is why your title should describe what you are selling so it is easy for the people who want to buy what you are selling to find you. You can also include more than one name for the item you are selling. If you are selling a Sony PFM 50C1 TV you can include the full name of the TV and other names that appropriately describe the item: "SONY PFM 50C1 TV, PLASMA TV, SONY TELEVISION, FLAT SCREEN"

This technique will make your listing show up in more peoples search results. So keep your title relevant to what you are selling, try not to get too creative with this part of your eBay business, it is better to stick to basics here. "BIG IDIOT BOX, you will pee your pants when you see this monster" might sound funny and cool but no one is going to find your listing with a title like that.

People simply don't search "BIG IDIOT BOX" when they are looking to buy a TV. Attention grabbing: a crazy, zany title will definitely grab the attention of most people who see it, but that is the problem. If your title is abnormal no one will be able to find your listings.

So how can you grab people's attention? First of all make sure you have the title of the product you are selling in the title of the listing. If someone is looking to buy something and they see it in the title of a listing, it will grab their attention. Another great way to grab people's attention is by using common abbreviations that most eBay buyers are familiar with;

NIB = new in box
NR = no reserve
LNIB = like new in box
$1NR = $1 no reserve
NWT = new with tag

There are many other abbreviations to use, it all depends on what you are selling. I f you are listing something and you are starting the bidding at $1 with no reserve, make sure you let people know buy putting the abbreviation $1NR in the title. This abbreviation is very effective in catching people's attention and getting good search results.

When searching for an item, many people put abbreviations right after the title of the item they are looking for. To see how effective the use of abbreviations can be, go to eBay and run a couple of searches using nothing but the abbreviations as the key words.

You will find that listings with these abbreviations in the title have a lot more bids than the listing without them. You can also include words like "NEW", "MINT", "SAVE" and other catchy words that grab people's attention. For a list of 1,079 other words that will make your auctions sell, check out the ebook titled “1,079 Online Auction Words And Phrases That Sell Like Crazy” which you can find in The Ultimate eBay Library when you sign up at: www.auctionsprofit.com

Remember to make sure that everything you put in your title is relevant to what you are selling and your listing. In other words, don't put $1NR in the title unless the bidding actually starts at $1 with no reserve.

The title has to be short (eBay policy), so make sure you include the name of the item and abbreviated descriptions, and try not to waste any space on words that are not needed. By the same token, always use the ENTIRE allotted space to write your title. In general, the longer the title, the better; as long as all your keywords are relevant.

Next we’ll look at the listings themselves…