When it comes to selling second-hand goods, possessions or unwanted items cluttering your life, there may be a way to get a quicker sale. How? By putting a little bit of extra effort into writing your ad

Work less, earn more, isn’t that what everybody secretly wishes for at the beginning of a New Year?

If you follow our advice below, you can make a quicker return on your €3 investment on your DoneDeal ad.

Your time is worth something – if not money, perhaps it’s time well spent doing things you like to do. We all have better things to be doing than answering phone calls and texts from potential buyers looking for information we could have put in the ad in the first place.

Here are 10 basic tips for writing your DoneDeal ad

1)    Research and plan
Look at ads selling similar items. Figure out how you can better them by planning what you’re going to write. Think about what you’d like to know if you were the buyer or ask friends for their opinion.

2)    Get the spelling right
Having the correct spellings for the brand or name of your goods for sale will make it easier for it to come up in a search.

3)    Make your writing easy for people to read

•    Don’t use all lower case letters and don’t use all CAPITALS.
•    Write proper sentences. Insert full stops between sentences.
•    Space out the paragraphs or sentences so it’s easier to scan.

4)    Be precise in your ‘Brief Description’
This is the first thing you will have to write. Name what it is that you are selling including the brand name or anything relevant to a potential buyer.

5)    Don’t give your life story
You’re under no obligation to tell people why you are selling. ‘Genuine reason for sale’ is a popular term, but everybody has a genuine reason for selling something: they want the money. If you’re emigrating/leaving the country you don’t need to tell people either. If anything, it may result in buyers offering you a lot less as they know you’re desperate for the money.

6)    Include a useful description
Ensure all the information a buyer needs to know is in the ad to cut out time wasting calls.

7)    Don’t waffle
Less is more (once you have the basics in, of course!)

8)    Be honest
If there’s something wrong with what you’re selling – no matter how small the problem – admit it up front. This will save you time dealing with calls or meeting people who wouldn’t otherwise contact you about your ad.

9)    Use lists
Lists are easier for people to scan through than one big block of text. List off all the item’s features to help people make a decision before contacting you.

10)    Edit, edit, edit
Are you getting enquiries with the same question about the product? Go back into your ad and include the answer to the most common questions.

Don’t forget to watch out for further articles on how you can make even better use of video and photos to sell your items on DoneDeal.