These days, used equipment is mostly sold online. It comes as no surprise. Online classified marketplaces like Quipdealio makes selling faster, safer, and more secure.

Getting started is as easy as 1-2-3! All you need to do is create an account and list your first product for sale. Then, the site would ask you for basic information; to add pictures with your equipment and write a short description of what it is you’re selling.

That’s all there’s to it. While it sounds easy, not everyone has sold online — let alone done it with a written word. Some people find writing very intimidating and it keeps them far away from it. It’s very unfortunate because it robs them of many opportunities.

So, in this article, I’ll make an attempt to help out those people. My goal will be to show that anyone can write a great used equipment ad, including you!

On with the article.

Know What You’re Selling

You have to know something about your product before you begin to write an advertisement. I have observed that best writing comes from personal experience.

Ideally, you have gone to the store to buy the product yourself. You remember the excitement and emotions that took over you that day. When you’ve gone through it, it’s much easier to ‘’put it down on paper’’. You will understand what to say and what not to say; what people want to hear and what’s important to them.

Bonus points if you have been using the equipment yourself! You know all the ins and outs of it. You know its strengths and weaknesses — to whom it is more suitable and why.

This all combined together will serve as a foundation for your writing.

A Typical Structure of an Ad

As with everything, advertisements also have a structure. The structure helps it flow better. With it, It’s easier to read and even easier to understand your text.

Normally, an advertisement (for second-hand goods) is made up of five key components, give or take — image, headline, description, location, and price.

In a few words about each:

Image – the picture is probably the most important part of your ad. Have you heard a saying that people buy with their eyes? It’s true to this day. People are more likely to click through your ad if you’ve chosen a good ‘’front-end’’ photo.

Headline – a headline (also known as title) is what people see next right after the picture. In it, you write what you sell basically. The text is then highlighted in bold by the website to grab readers’ attention and lure them into your listing. But, more about this later…

Description – this is the heart of your ad — in this section, you describe what you have for sale in greater detail. You can mention how long you have been using the products or whether there are any significant defects. Anything you want to say can be said in this section.

Location – it’s all about location, location, location. Why? Because it matters. People prefer to buy from sellers that are close to them. First and foremost, it takes less time to get to them. And secondly, the equipment can be viewed at the site.

Price – people buy used goods because of the price. The lower the price tag, the more people will be interested in what you have for sale.

Now that you see the big picture, let’s go ahead talk about each component in greater detail… and see how it all comes together to form an ad.

Attention-Grabbing Images

When you browse online… are you self-conscious about what you click on? I’m willing to bet that a large part of your online searches and clicks are made out of sheer curiosity; to see what’s behind the other side.

Am I right?

Something caught your eye and the next thing you know, 2-hours have passed and it’s dark outside. I bring this up because it demonstrates the power of images. Featured images act as a lure and catch customers’ eyes. You can use them to your advantage.

So, for the first step, take photos of your equipment. We have an article ready to help you with this. If you want to have a read of it, please tap here.

When you’re done shooting, you want to pick the right image to use for the thumbnail. It’s important that the photo is eye-catching and the equipment looks good in it. Of all the photos you’ve taken, choose the single best for the featured image.

Next, let’s take a look at the second most important advertising component — the headline.

How to Write a Headline

A headline can mean different things to different people. For students, it could mean one thing and for journalists, it could mean another. And for you… well, for you it means you get to tell others what you have for sale.

The best part is, you don’t have to be clever, creative, or smarter than others to write a good headline. In fact, all that headline is (when selling second-hand) is the model name for equipment.

You’re sure to find that information written on the packaging or the equipment itself. When you find it, all that’s left is to put in the headline. For the sake of an example, your headline could look something like this:

OKI 9541 Digital Heat Transfer Printer – LIKE NEW!
Used Spangle Elite Bling Machine
Refurbished -8432 Digital Heat FX – Factory Certified

Doesn’t look that complicated by the looks of it, right? When you pull it apart and analyze it… you can spot a couple of things; make, model, and condition all added into the headline. That’s all there’s to it!

Now it’s your turn!

How to Write Product Description

The photo (and headline) alone won’t sell your stuff, unfortunately. You need to tell people more about what they see in the photo. And you can do that in a ‘’description’’ section of the listing.

It’s a place specifically designed for you to describe your offering in more detail. Personally, when I write descriptions, I like to imagine questions that might come to people who have seen my ad. This is a great exercise because it helps understand what needs to be said.

In principle, the description consists of a few things:

Bundle – What’s included in the kit you’re selling?
Condition – Are the products new, used, or refurbished?
Warranty – Is the equipment is still under warranty?

Your job is to answer those questions for people reading your ad. No need to write an essay — you can accomplish this with 150 words or less. Keep it short and to the point!

Forward.

What’s Your Location?

We touched upon this just a few paragraphs ago… if we go back and revisit… we can recall that people give preference to sellers located nearby.

It comes with perks; primarily it takes less time to get to them and secondly, the equipment can be viewed at the site. Buyers also have the privilege to touch and view the equipment from all angles. And if absolutely necessary test it right then and there.

So, as you can tell… location plays a significant part in second-hand sales — add it to your ad!

How to Price Your Equipment

Price is a very important concept in second-hand sales. And now the question begs: how to set the right price for your products? Should it be sold at a loss… or… should you sell at a price higher than you originally bought it for?

The answer to that is not an easy one. I want you to do a little research on your equipment online. What you’d be looking at would be advertisements posted by other people. See how they price their equipment… and then… price match yours against theirs.

Summary

In summary, this is my opinion how you write an ad for equipment you no longer need. I would also add that there is no right or wrong way to write it — just stick to the structure I have laid out in this article and you’ll be golden.

Last of all, thank you for sticking until the very end! If you enjoyed this post, be sure to read others on our blog.