Published: 01 July 2026 by Dan Williams – edited 09 October 2026
Category: Selling Stamps: Tools, Systems & Decisions
Every field has a job.
When I create an eBay stamp listing, I’m not trying to optimise one field in isolation. The title, scans, category, item specifics, condition box, description, price, postage and returns all contribute to the same job: helping the right buyer understand the item and make a confident decision.
This is the process I have arrived at after listing thousands of specialist Great Britain stamps through Apollo’s Lots Stamps.
Before I touch the keyboard
Before I start creating the listing, I ask myself one question.
What is this listing trying to achieve?
Not every listing has the same job.
Some listings are there to maximise profit. Some are there to create liquidity. Some introduce buyers to a particular stock area. Some support related inventory. Some test demand. Some are straightforward Buy It Now listings, and others are better suited to auction.
The answer quietly influences almost everything that follows.
1. Listing from desktop
I almost always list from a desktop.
It is easier to see everything at once: images, item specifics, similar listings, catalogues, references and drafts. I can keep several windows open and make fewer compromises than I would on a phone.
Most of my listings begin with Sell Similar. Much of my stock sits in related categories, so it gives me a convenient starting point with many of the basic fields already in place. I still check every field and replace or edit the title, images, item specifics, condition, description and price as required.
Occasionally I create a listing completely from scratch.
I no longer use Relist. Despite common advice that it preserves the history of the previous listing, it does not retain the old item number or URL, watchers, views, sales history or other listing metrics. It also does not give the replacement the same Newly Listed treatment as a listing created with Sell Similar.
For the way I sell one-off stamps, Sell Similar therefore gives me what I actually want: the convenience of copying an existing listing while creating a genuinely fresh one.
I also use Drafts when it suits the workflow. If I’ve had a productive listing session, I may save a few and publish them over several days. I don’t treat that as a ranking tactic. It’s simply a practical way of managing the work.
When creating a listing from scratch, I don’t rely on eBay’s automatic suggestions. I would rather make deliberate choices myself than accept defaults I haven’t checked.
2. eBay listing images and stamp scans
If the title helps a buyer find the listing, the images help them decide whether to trust it.
For most of my stamp listings, I don’t use photographs at all. I use a flatbed scanner.
Mine is a Canon CanoScan LiDE 400, usually set to 600 dpi. That’s enough detail for almost everything I sell. Occasionally I increase it to 1200 dpi if I’m trying to show a particularly small or important detail, although scanning becomes noticeably slower.
Before every scanning session I wipe the scanner glass with a microfibre cloth. Every so often I clean it more thoroughly with an alcohol wipe.
Inside the scanner lid I’ve replaced the standard white backing with matt black card. That sounds like a tiny change, but I think it makes a noticeable difference. White perforations disappear against a white background. Against black, they’re much easier to see.
Single stamps are usually scanned directly on the glass in batches of around ten to twenty. Larger collections or groups are normally scanned on stock cards so they stay aligned and organised.
After scanning, I use a small Python image cropper I built to separate individual stamps from the master scan, straighten them and leave a consistent black border. I have made a public version of the Stamp Image Cropper available free on alstamps.com.
For sets or groups, I also use an Image Composer I built to place the individual cropped stamps into a clean combined layout. It takes only a few seconds and keeps the spacing and black borders consistent.
For most listings I upload two images: front and back.
For listings that need an explanatory image, I use a separate Listing Card Maker to add short labels or visual cues without altering the stamp itself.
The stamp image remains untouched. The extra layout or annotation is there to explain what the buyer should be looking at, not to make the stamp appear better than it is.
What I don’t do is just as important.
- I don’t enhance the scans.
- I don’t remove backgrounds.
- I don’t use AI image tools.
- I don’t alter colours.
The purpose of the scan isn’t to make the stamp look better. The purpose is to show the stamp as accurately as I can.
For me, the scan is part of the description, not decoration.
3. Writing the eBay listing title
If the images provide the evidence, the title provides the first explanation.
I don’t try to squeeze every possible word into it. I try to prioritise information.
For most of my listings, the beginning of the title is reserved for identification. Typically that means:
Country → Reign → Catalogue reference
For example:
GB QEII SG U3966
or
GB QV SG34
That isn’t just habit. Partly it’s because buyers often search that way. Partly it’s because eBay’s own search suggestions frequently begin with country and reign. And partly it’s because I naturally think about related inventory in collecting areas rather than isolated listings.
Once the identification is established, I add the details that make this particular example interesting.
That may be:
- denomination;
- colour;
- watermark;
- variety;
- plate;
- postmark;
- issue name;
- condition.
Not every title contains every one of those. The order changes depending on what is most important for that item.
An inverted watermark variety deserves to appear early. A particularly attractive postmark may be worth mentioning. Some commemorative issues benefit from including their official Stanley Gibbons issue title. Others don’t need it.
One practical point is that buyers don’t always see the full title. On mobile search results and recommendation placements, only part of the title is usually visible before it gets cut off. The same happens, usually harsher, in parts of the seller storefront.
That means the beginning of the title often carries the greatest weight for human readers.
I also use Stanley Gibbons catalogue reference numbers wherever appropriate. Collectors understand them. They provide a precise identifier. More importantly, they reduce ambiguity.
For me, a title has one simple job: help the right buyer recognise the listing quickly enough to think, it’s worth clicking on and viewing the listing.
The title doesn’t need to tell the whole story. It needs to make the right person want to open the page.
I also keep similar listings written in a broadly consistent way. It makes related stock easier for me to manage and gives buyers a predictable title structure.
4. SKU and stock control
The SKU isn’t for the buyer. It’s solely for me.
Every listing gets one because it helps me organise stock and find the right item quickly later.
I don’t use SKUs because I think they help search. I use them because they help me work.
5. eBay categories
Categories are another way of helping buyers understand what they are looking at.
Most of my listings only need one category. Occasionally I deliberately use two.
For example, a Machin stamp may sit naturally in both the Machins category and the wider QEII decimal category. Official stamps often fit comfortably within both the Officials category and the relevant reign.
If the listing benefits from appearing in both places, and the pricing makes sense, I’ll use both categories.
When I use Sell Similar, the category is often already correct, but I still check it every time. A previous listing is a starting point, not something to copy blindly.
I try to place the item where a collector would reasonably expect to find it.
6. eBay Item Specifics and structured discovery
Item specifics are one of the clearest parts of an eBay listing where structure matters. My approach is straightforward: if a field genuinely helps describe the item, I complete it. If it doesn’t apply, I leave it blank.
For stamps, useful specifics often include:
- denomination;
- colour;
- era;
- quality;
- grade.
Other fields depend entirely on the listing. A set of stamps doesn’t usually have one denomination, and some items don’t have one obvious colour. I don’t force information into a field simply because it is available.
Item specifics have practical uses beyond describing the listing. They help buyers narrow down results using eBay’s search filters. A collector may search broadly, then filter by condition, denomination, colour or era.
They also feed parts of eBay’s higher-level browsing structure. Some /b/ and /shop/ pages use these attributes to group listings into broader product or collecting areas. Some act as category-discovery routes for buyers, while others function more like search-facing landing pages.
A relevant denomination, era, colour or other attribute can therefore help determine where a listing appears within eBay’s wider browse structure. The point is not to fill every available box, but to give eBay accurate structured information it can use.
One omission still surprises me: eBay does not provide a dedicated field for catalogue numbers. For specialist material, that can be one of the clearest identifiers. That is one reason I include catalogue references in my titles where appropriate.
7. eBay condition description
The item “condition description” box sits between item specifics and the full description.
I use it whenever there is something important the buyer should see immediately.
That might be:
- an important fault;
- a notable feature;
- something unusual about the item;
- or a clarification that helps avoid misunderstanding.
For multi-quantity listings, this is also where I normally state if a generic stock image is being used.
I don’t use this box to repeat the title.
I use it to highlight something that genuinely changes the buyer’s understanding of the listing.
If there is nothing worth adding, I leave it alone.
8. Writing the eBay description
By the time a buyer reaches the description, I hope most of the important work has already been done. The title identifies the item, the scans show it clearly, and the item specifics and condition box provide the relevant detail.
The description fills whatever gaps remain.
Sometimes that is only a couple of lines and other times it is a little more. It depends entirely on the item.
For specialist material I might explain:
- a variety;
- an important printing detail;
- provenance or identification;
- something that isn’t immediately obvious from the scans;
- or simply confirmation of exactly what is included.
I use the same postage and packing text in the description for every listing.
Postage and Packing:
Sent in a hard-backed envelope, including suitable packaging, i.e. protective card & cover.
On listings where postage is charged, costs are automatically combined into one fee at checkout.Visit our store for more items (linked)
Thank you for your interest!
I keep this as an eBay description template, and with Sell Similar it is often already in place.
I also copy the listing title to the top of the description, usually in bold 18px with the main text below in 14px. It keeps the listing visually consistent, while the description itself can also be indexed by Google.
I don’t use eBay’s AI description tool. For the material I sell, I prefer a short description that adds information not already obvious from the title, scans or item specifics.
I don’t write descriptions for algorithms. I write them so that a buyer has fewer unanswered questions than they did when they arrived.
I also avoid using the description to argue with buyers before they have bought anything. Long warnings, unnecessary rules and defensive policies create friction where the listing should be building confidence.
9. Pricing the listing
I don’t think of pricing as simply choosing a number.
Price is another signal to the buyer about how I value the item. It tells the buyer what sort of item they are looking at before they read another word.
When I price a stamp, I don’t rely on one source. Depending on the item, I’ll usually look at some combination of my own previous sales, current live listings, completed eBay sales and Terapeak.
Sometimes one source tells me enough. Sometimes I compare all of them. It depends on how familiar the item is and how often it appears on the market.
For lower-priced items I often finish prices at .95 or .49, particularly under £10. Between about £10 and £20 I usually become a little rounder while still often ending in 50 or 95. Above that I generally prefer simpler, round numbers.
There is no magic in those endings. It is simply the pricing style I have gradually settled into.
Sometimes I’ll enable Best Offer. Usually that is because demand or market value feels uncertain, or because I’m happy to exchange a little margin for faster liquidity.
The important decision isn’t whether to accept offers. It is deciding what job that listing is trying to do.
10. Postage and delivery
I want buyers to understand postage immediately.
Most of my Buy It Now listings include free Second Class postage, even very inexpensive items.
Buyers can upgrade to First Class or Signed For if they prefer.
For higher-value items I include free Second Class Signed For, with the option to upgrade to Special Delivery.
Auctions are slightly different. I currently start most auctions at £1 with postage at the current Royal Mail rates, which gives me a small amount of cover if the item sells at the opening bid.
I sometimes think about whether completely free postage might work better for auctions. But have yet to experiment with this.
For me, postage isn’t just a delivery charge. It is part of the buying decision.
If buyers have to stop and work out what postage really costs, that is another piece of unnecessary friction. I’d rather make the decision easy.
11. Returns and buyer confidence
I offer 30-day free returns, including genuine change-of-mind returns, with return postage paid by me
I rarely need to use the policy, but it removes another reason for a buyer to hesitate. It also helps eligible listings meet eBay Premium Service requirements.
For me, the bigger benefit is buyer confidence rather than treating returns as a search tactic.
Before I press list
Before I publish the listing, I usually scroll back through it once as though I were the buyer.
Can I understand what the item is? Would I trust the scans? Is the condition clear? Does the price make sense? Would I know what the postage costs?
Have I accidentally made the buyer work harder than necessary?
If the answer feels right, I list the item.
Closing thoughts
Every part of the listing has a job.
The title identifies the stamp, the scans provide evidence, the structured fields help organise it, and the description fills whatever gaps remain. Price, postage and returns then shape the buying decision.
None of those elements needs to be clever on its own. Together they should make it easier for the right buyer to understand the item and decide whether it is for them.