How to write a listing title and description buyers actually find
A buyer finds your listing by typing words into a search box. If the words they type are not in your title, your listing does not exist for them. Writing a good title is not creative work; it is putting the right facts in the right order.
Checked on 14 November 2026.
The title pattern
Brand, then what it is, then the model or style, then the things a buyer filters by: size, colour.
Example: “Nike Air Max 90 trainers, white, UK 9”.
Put the brand first, because that is what people type first. Leave out words nobody searches for: “lovely”, “bargain”, “look!”. Do not write in capitals. Every marketplace has a length limit; the important words go at the front so nothing that matters is cut off.
What the description must say
A description answers the questions a buyer would otherwise have to message you about:
- The condition, in plain words.
- Every flaw, each one named: a mark on the toe, a pulled thread, a missing button. A buyer who is surprised sends it back.
- Measurements for clothes, because sizes differ by brand.
- What is included: the box, the charger, the dust bag.
- Nothing you cannot stand behind. Do not call something authentic, rare or unworn unless you know it.
Write in the buyer’s language
On a marketplace in another country, write in that country’s language, or at least put the key words in it. The search box there is typed in that language.
One item, several lengths
The same item needs a short title on one site and can have a long one on another. Write the full version once, then shorten it. Never let a site cut it for you: the cut lands in the middle of a word.