My name is Aaon and I am making this thread to help out some people so they can sell their gear easier. Everyone likes to see what their buying, so pictures are always a plus when trying to sell stuff here on NS, or anywhere for that fact. In this tutorial I will show you step how to take pictures of your gear, how to host the pictures, how to post it on NS and how to describe your gear. Enjoy!
Step One - Taking pictures
When your taking pictures of your gear you want to get quality clear pictures. Try to avoid using a camera phone if possible. Set your camera to high quality for the best resolution. If your like me and on dial-up you can get away with low quality so upload times are faster. Or if your good you can use high quality and downsize the pictures. To get the best pictures make sure there is enough light, but not so much that there's glare off of your item. For mirrored goggles this can be hard. To create a nice backdrop for the gear get something square to lay the item on, that is, if your item is something small like a helmet, goggles, headphones or anything of that nature. For this example I'll use my chair. Also when taking pictures you can use a tripod to steady the camera, or rest it on something.
My chair
My tripod
After you find something to place the item on get a blanket or curtain that contrasts the item (ie white background black item) I'll use a sheet to contrast my wisdoms. All you need to do is toss it over the chair and have it sort of loose on there, or tuck it in, your choice. And Wallah.
A cheap background!
Next place the item your selling on the chair and centre the camera. Try not to get glare on it and hold the camera steady (tripod is good, or lay the camera on something)
First picture the goggles were a bit crooked but it can work. It had no glare as well and I used a flash.
Second one was better.
And last was the back of them.
Make sure to photograph all sides of the gear, the good parts and the bad (damage, scratches, edge cracks, etc.) For bigger items like skis stand them up against a wall and take
pictures of the top sheet and the bases. And if you have bindings take a few close ups of them. Also stick them together so people can see the chamber (how much they curve).
Step Two - Description
Here you want to be really specific. The main things to list are the size, the condition, the year, model, colour and brand of the gear your selling. Also include what comes with what your selling and what condition it's in (ie carrying bag, warranty card, glove liners, etc.)
For example
"I have for sale a pair of Oakley Wisdoms. The frame is a matt black with a fire iridium lense and they are in perfect condition. There is one small black scratch about a 3 mm long on the right hand side. The foam is also in mint condition with zero damage. They come with a carrying bag and a micro cleaning cloth, works good."
Usually with goggles you don't need to include the year, same with most clothing. With skis you do. One other important thing to do is list All of the damage to your goods! People don't like being sold something that it's as the description lists. If you lie about it and try to sell something again you'll have a hard time because that person will most likely tag you on the "Official Good Seller/Buyer List"
Step Three - Title
This is what will catch the attention of buyers. You can take the stupid root and do "OAKLEY WISDOMS FOR SALE!1!!!one!1!" or do it right. "Black Oakley Wisdom with Fire Iridium" Something short and sweet. And I'm not sure if I spelt iridium right, so don't bash me. And if you have multiple items for sale list the big item first "06/07 Ar6's, and Oakley Wisdoms" and get the other stuff after that. Also include what you want to do with the item or weather or not you want an item. FS = for sale FT = for trade WTB = want to buy. Or you can do a FS/FT meaning you will sell or trade the item.
Step Four - Uploading Pictures and Posting
Due to a much needed update NS is now more user friendly then ever! First what you do is open up a new thread by clicking "Create Thread" which is at the top of the page in blue lettering. Make sure you are in the Ski Equipment forum too. Once you get in here you will find a nice menu with a bunch of different features. It looks something like this;
Below the Title line there 10 buttons which can help you do some things. I'll explain them from left to right.
1)Bold - click this button and type to get bold text, or type what
you want, highlight the text and click this button.
2)Italics - You can use this feature the same way as bold, click
and type or type and highlight. This makes your words slant.
3)Underline - Like the others, and pretty self explanatory.
4)Insert Media - This is one way you can post pictures, I will talk more about it in the next section.
5)Insert Link (also called hyperlink) - This is a neat button. If you want to post a link to another website, but in the form of a word you click on this button. This menu will pop up;
The mouseover space is the word you want to appear. This word can be clicked on and it will bring the person to the site you enter in the "address" space. Make sure you only put in www. not http://www. The little box before that puts in the http:// for you so you don't have to. And it works like https://www.newschoolers.com/web/forums/readthread/thread_id/273181/
6)Insert Special Character or Code - I'm not 100% sure, screw it.
7)Un Link - Dido, mess around it with and find out for yourself.
8)Undo - Undo your last action.
9)Redo - Redo your last action.
10)Remove Format - Use this to remove a format like bold.. I think.
So you can type you description in and make the price or size bold and underline stuff that you want to emphasize. Also the hyper link button can be used to give reference to a site with info on your gear, great stuff!
Step Five - Pictures!
This is the key part! Once you have taken your pictures and loaded them onto your computer you have two choices to get them into your thread. The first and favoured by me, Image Shack.
I) When you have your pictures loaded on your computer go to this site http://www.imageshack.us/ Once there you will see this menu;
Click on the "Browse" button to navigate through your computer and find where your picture is. Once you find it double click and the picture will start to load. If not click the "host it!" button below. After it loads this menu will pop up;
Highlight the last line on that page which I highlighted, this will be your image link. To do that drag your mouse across to highlight it, right click and select copy. Then go back to your thread listing and description and type [IMG] After that right click and hit paste. Your image link will appear and then you type [/IMG] after it. Make sure there are no spaces between the [IMG][/IMG] tags and your picture or it will not work! That's it for that method. You can do the same thing to post the rest of your pictures.
The other method is using more of the NS features. It works much the same way but is all done internally on the site.
ii)You do the same thing as the first method. Unload the pictures onto the computer. Then you go to your new thread and click that image button I talked about in the previous step, this menu will appear;
You will see the same item bar where you can click "Browse" and look for the picture on your computer. Do this, find it and double click. Then choose a category. Find one that your item matches. Next you have to put in a Title for the item, like the item name. Next there is a optional description box where you can type a description. After that there are three other ones, photographer, skier, and location, all of which are optional. The last thing is where you want to send the picture, to your own private gallery where no one can view or in the public one, your choice. Once the info is entered you can click "Add Picture" and your done.
Step Six - Sum It up
This last step isn't a must but it makes it look good. Check your spelling and grammar! do't tpe like a fuking idiot w/ dum abreverations. Type right. Also include your email address if
you wish to. Or if you want just tell people to pm you for questions or comments if they need to. List the ways you will accept payments such as paypal or money order. When the deal is done be sure to go to the Good/Bad Buyer list and leave some feedback for others to read.
That's about it! It's a lengthy read but that is how you can make a proper thread to sell your gear. I might have forgotten something which I will post after if necessary, so check back for updates. If you have any questions just drop me a pm and I'll see how I can help you. Hope it's useful, enjoy.
Cheers,
-aaron
