eBay has a catalogue of information for use by book sellers.
Many use that catalogue... stock photos... and basic information
But then many book sellers.... become abusive of picture policy...... using stock photos in the "wrong" situation.... and then using the "wrong" catalogue information... because there is only one set of information for the same book that can be in many forms from different publishers.
Book sellers with thousands and millions of listings can be "very" lazy... with listings having .
--- No photo
---- Having a photo that states no photo available ... or photo to come
---- Having a store logo in their photo... not a photo of the actual book... or even a stock photo
---- The stock photo shows a dust jacket, but the book does not have one
and then
--- stating ...please ask for a photo if you wish to see the book.
--- Book description is generic and not specific to the book being sold.
Duplicates... two or three listings of the same book... all listings with books each having different condition, but all with the same stock photo..... a violation of picture policy in relation to duplicate policy.... The photo must show the true condition of the item being sold...
The two biggest book sellers with about 2 to 3 million listings each.... both have a second ID... they can now put up duplicate listings ... one per ID... and not get reported because ... Duplicates can only be reported for one ID ... not two ID's
and the most interesting listing is one where the seller uses a stock photo... uses information from the book catalogue.....
and then states.....
"The book you get may be different than the one described"
The book catalogue is a mess looking for a place to happen.
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I prepare my own photos... and my own description of the book and its content... Takes time... but my books sell.
Perhaps the most important thing I do is prepare a custom cardboard box for my books for shipping.... special packing for oversize lettermail/letterpost books weighing less than 500 grams
Many book sellers throw the book into a padded envelope.....and the book can get beat up in transit....
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Many book sellers are in violation of picture policy... or picture policy in relation to duplicate policy..
and... they are those that will list 50,000.... 100,000 and up to 3 million books for sale on eBay.
How many book sellers.... 35... 40 ... maybe as many as 50 booksellers do this on a regular basis..
Sometimes the search for a book on eBay can look like a mess..... because of what is not put in the listing.
There have been times when I have looked at a listing and asked .... What is being sold?
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What can one do if a new book seller puts up 100,000 listings... and all photos are the same and state... No photo available...