Get More Money On eBay By Taking Good Photos Of Your Item

A picture is worth a thousand words. When selling items online on auction sites such as eBay this saying becomes more relevant. A picture is worth money and a lot of money. A good set of pictures can make the difference between an item that is sold and an item that is not sold. It can also make a big difference in the highest bid price received for an item.

It is not enough to just to take a photo of an item. A good photo can raise the value of the item and help sell it. This article provides a few rules to follow in order to take better photos of such items.

The first rule when taking photos of an item is to take more than one photo. Show the item from many angles show it zoomed in and zoomed out in different positions – for example if the item is a car show it with doors closed and with doors open. If it is a DVD show the front cover the back and the disc itself.

The quality of the photos must be as high as possible. Make sure that you have the right lighting. It is always better to take photos during the day time with natural light rather than with flash light. It is also better to take pictures when there is overcast rather than when the skies are clear and the sun light is strong. If the skies are clear try to take the photos either at the beginning or the end of the day. Follow the rules of good photography, use a tripod if long exposure is needed make sure the photo is not overexposed or underexposed and that it is not blurry.

When taking the photo make sure that you stage the right background for the item. Usually you would want to stage a background that is in contrast with the item and that has no details or interesting objects that can steal the viewer's attention. Also make sure that the background is a matte color and that it does not reflect light. For example when taking a photo of a black computer mouse and keyboard use a white or light gray background.

Emphasize the value and the details of the item. Every item has unique features or important details that you would like to draw the viewer's attention to. The best way to do that is to take close-up photos of those details. For example when selling a car that has very low mileage take a close-up photo of its odometer. Another example when selling a known brand product such as shirts or pants take a close-up photo of the tag or the logo to emphasize that the item is genuine.

Take photos that support the textual description of the item. For example when selling a high end brand purse if the description says "perfect stitches" take a close-up photo of the stitches to prove that the description is right.

If your item size is important you can use a known size object in order to help the viewer visualize the item's size. For example when selling a miniature spy camera take one photo of the camera side by side with an object such as a quarter or a matchbox. The viewer will find it much easier to visualize the camera's size when looking at such a photo rather than reading the camera's measurements.

And last but not least remember to keep the photo file size small. When viewing a photo on the user's screen a low resolution is more than enough. In most cases a VGA (640X480) picture is all that it takes and such a photo can be as small as 50Kbytes. It is important to keep this in mind and not be tempted to put high resolution photos that are big. Such big files load very slowly on the viewer's computer. In most cases the viewer will get frustrated and would just skip to the next seller.




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Indian Tandoori Cooking

Traditionally, tandoori dishes are cooked in a tandoor, an oval shaped clay oven with a small fire in the bottom. The heat rises gradually but ultimately reaches a much higher temperature than a barbeque.

A tandoor is normally used to cook naan bread, meats and kebabs (meat or paneer). The bread is stuck to the sides, the kebabs stood vertically and whole chickens rested on a grid over the fire.

For domestic cooking, a tandoor is not really convenient but the meat dishes can be reproduced on a barbeque or in the oven. The bright red appearance of tandoori meats which you may see in Indian restaurants is produced by a food dye which really isn't necessary to enhance the look of your tandoori dishes.

I have a great fondness for tandoori style food. It has flavour, without being "hot" or high in calories or too filling. In fact it's an ideal dish summer or winter, if you fancy something a little different. As a bonus, it doesn't take hours to prepare. Of course you can take all the effort out of it and use a pre-prepared mix, but I think they have less flavour and you can't use them for anything else, whereas if you use the individual spices, you can make other dishes as well.

You can easily make tandoori chicken (whole), tandoori lamb chops (pork would be more unusual, but there's no reason why you shouldn't use it, if you prefer) and lamb tikka (kebabs) but my personal favourite is chicken tikka because it's so quick so here's my own recipe.

This recipe serves two people - multiply it for as many people as you want.

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken breasts


• 1 small tub Greek yogurt


• 1 tsp ground cumin


• 1 tsp ground coriander


• ½ tsp ground turmeric


• ½ tsp ginger powder


• ½ tsp chilli powder (or to taste)


• 1 small clove garlic, crushed


• salt to taste


• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Cut the chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes and set aside.
Mix the spice powders and garlic into the yogurt. You can use low fat yogurt if you prefer. You can also use fresh ginger or ginger paste from a jar rather than ginger powder but go easy on the quantity as it can be quite over-powering.

At this point you can also mix in the salt and lemon juice but if you do so, don't leave the chicken to marinade for more than about 20 minutes or it will become very dry when cooked. If you want to marinade it for a longer time, add the salt and lemon juice just before you cook the dish or sprinkle on to serve.

Thread the chicken onto skewers and either barbeque or cook under a grill using medium heat until the chicken is slightly browned and cooked through.

For a light meal, serve with salad, pitta or naan bread and lemon wedges or for something more substantial with rice and dahl.

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Gift Basket Ideas for the Man in Your Life

Are you looking for a good gift idea for the man in your life? Are you never quite sure what to get him? Does he have t-shirts and ties you have gotten him hidden in the back of your closet? Even if your man is hard to buy for, there are great ideas out there. If you cannot think of a good gift for your man or are tired of giving him the same old thing, consider a gift basket. Most men have some type of hobby. It might be hunting, fishing, golf, or grilling out. No matter what your man likes to do, chances are you can find a gift basket that will make him happy!

You can purchase gift baskets online, but if you do not have enough time for it to be shipped, you can check your local stores. There may be stores that specifically make gift baskets listed in the phone book. If not, you might contact a local florist as many of them also make gift baskets for special occasions. If you cannot find a local shop and you do not have time to order online, do not panic. Making your own basket is easy enough. You can purchase a basket at any crafts store, use a blanket, apron, or paper to line it and stuff it full of goodies for your man!

Here are a few gift basket ideas:

Grilling Gift Basket - Most men love to grill out. If this describes your man, a grilling basket is a great gift idea. You can fill it with many things but you may want to start with a cute apron. You can go with one that is a cute pattern, like fish, chili peppers, or camouflage. On the other hand, you may be able to find an apron with a cute saying like "Kiss the Chef" or one a little more risqué like "Barbecue Naked - Show Off Your Buns." On top of that, you can place grilling utensils such as a fork, spatula, brush or tongs. You can also throw in your favorite bottle of barbecue sauce and a nice bottle of wine to enjoy when the grilling is done.

Gone Fishing Gift Basket - If your man likes to fish, he will love a customized Gone Fishing gift basket. Not only will he enjoy the items in the basket, but also know that in giving him this, you are also giving him a day of fishing! You can line this basket with paper and pile in all his fishing favorites. One nice item to add would be a portable fishing scale/tape measure so he can see exactly how big his catch is. You can also load the basket with scented bait, a trout blaster hook, lures, a bait dip net, a pair of Titanium Pliers – the possibilities are endless. You might even throw in the new reel he has had his eye on! You can also fill his basket with snacks for your angler like toasted sesame seed crackers, beef jerky, salted peanuts, and Oreo cookies. If you can find some cute fabric with fish on it, use that to make a bow on top of the basket.

NASCAR Gift Basket - NASCAR fans love almost anything NASCAR gift related. You can fill your man's basket with his favorite driver's toy replica cars or a coffee cup with his favorite driver's number and colors. You can add to the basket a hat, t-shirt, bumper stickers, coasters, magnets, or a key chain. Does your man like to play darts? There are even NASCAR darts! If you really want to give him something extra special, order tickets to his favorite NASCAR race ahead of time and hide those in his basket.

Hunting Gift Basket - If your man likes to hunt, many things can be used to fill a gift basket. Look for picture frames of ducks, deer – whatever he likes to hunt. You may be able to find a clay pigeon letter holder, a bullet box he can keep on his desk to store paper clips, or a DVD on how to be a more successful hunter. You can peruse your local hunting goods store to get plenty of good ideas.

No matter what you man likes, he will love a basket filled with goodies of his favorite hobby or sport. He will also love knowing that you took the time to get him something you knew he would really enjoy! 

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