Various Styles of Listing Photos

[AirborneAFOL]

Curious about the other's views as to the various "types" photos commonly used in listings.

It seems there are 5 distinct tactics for the main photo in a listing as I see it, particularly as it pertains to brick lots:

1. Live photo of close-up.  Listing for 50 of a specific brick where you see one large image, but the listing title calls out "x50" or "Lot of 50".

2. Live photo of small sampling.  Same as above, but the image shows perhaps 5/50 of the of actual number of bricks in the lot.

3. Live photo of the exact quantity.  Would show all 50 bricks that constitute a lot.

4. Live photo of a massive pile.  Hundreds of the brick despite on only 50 per lot.

5. Digital images of stock photos.  Sometimes with "x50" or similar text embedded.

I'm very curious as to which you prefer, be it as a buyer or seller.

When I'm buying, I tend scroll through the search results or store page and find that a live photo with a sampling of just 2-3 of the brick is most likely to catch my eye (and lead me to take a closer look at the title or full listing).  But that's because I tend to be hunting for a specific element, perhaps.

When selling, I've been tinkering with all 5 styles for about a year now, and while I have some suggestive analytics it's far from conclusive.  Using a digital image with embedded text seems to dissuade casual buyers, which results in more sales going to savvy buyers who are inclined to trust a seller's reputation and make larger/combined purchases when they recongize a good price-per-brick value to be had.  A live photo of the specific or a massive quantity seems to draw more casual Lego buyers - but that can be a challenging demographic to compete for unless you're putting some sizable effort into your SEO.

A similar variance exists when it comes to NISB sets/new-parted-out sets/minifigs (savvy sellers seem to lean predominately towards a stock image for the main photo on these, potentially following it up with some live pics of the actual item).

Anyone else have thoughts on this front?

Edited April 5, 2016 by AirborneAFOL
Typos

[yellow1x16]

Been selling for many years now and appreciate your comments on your findings. I've typically used option 3 since when I'm a buyer, I may feel the seller is lazy or too savvy if they use a stock/digital photo.  However, you may have swayed me otherwise. One would have thought a picture of the actual item is more valuable than a stock photo, but that's psychology for you.

[gregpj]

1, 3 or 5.. Description and price win me over. 3 is my favorite (if you've got 50, take a picture of them) but I feel that 1 and 5 are not dishonest or misleading. I never touched anything using 2 or 4 styles.

But being a tad wiser, I only buy bulk bricks like that on Bricklink now since I tend to add parts from other types into a single order.

[AirborneAFOL]

Don't change your approach on my account!  It definitely results in fewer sales overall - but a notable percentage of the sales you do get are in relatively high quantities.

Digital stock photos (like you find on Brickset/Bricklink) are definitely a tactic that may be a way to "hide" your listing from the casual buyers (who want "pretty red bricks!"), while the savvy buyers still find your listing frequently enough (based on design/element ID's in their searches and whatnot).

My suspicion is using a digital stock photo may signal "i'm savvy enough to locate and post a technically precise element, so trust you're buying from a fellow AFOL".

Obviously guys like us arent the typical Ebay buyer though - but personally I'm very happy to sacrifice the high total sales and better profit margins if it means I'm not wasting time filling dozens of smaller sales...