Online Sellers: How to Describe Color Shades in Listings

If you love learning how to sell more we have an absolute ton of content for you to read on our Online Seller blog, specifically in our Online Selling Advice and How To Guides section. On our blog you can learn pretty much everything from Writing the Perfect eCommerce Listing to Secrets for Writing Online Listing Titles (stuff you’ve never been told), How to List the Most in One Day and more. Today we are going to discuss a commonly overlooked way to not only sell more but to also curve Buyers Remorse by simply using descriptive words to inform the buyer of the exact color of the item.

One thing all online sellers need to remember is that you, the seller, has the actual physical item to look at whereas the buyer is looking through a screen. Based on the buyers screen setting the color of the item can greatly vary. If the buyer has their screen brightness turned up the item could look pastel whereas a dark screen can make the item look bold. Check out these different shades of the same color, based on a variation in screen settings:

The problem for the seller is that if the buyer *thinks* they are purchasing the pastel yellow and the bright shade of yellow arrives, it can lead to the buyer wanting to return their purchase. However, by using descriptive words you can curtail the amount of returns due to “inaccurate description” related to color.

By explaining the color to the buyer it helps them understand what specifically they are purchasing:

It also greatly helps to use a Color Guide:

If you look at the color guide above you will notice each color has a “color code”, such as “#FFF200”. These color codes are very valuable because it allows people to get the EXACT color they are wanting because the specific code assigned to that specific color NEVER changes. This means I can tell any web designer, anywhere in the world, that our logo color is #0080FE and they will know the exact shade to use regardless of their screen settings or language spoken.

The color code chart shown above doesn’t feature every color in the world, so if you need an exact shade that isn’t listed you can use an awesome, totally free tool like RapidTables.com. This site is amazing because all you do is drag your mouse icon to the exact color you need:

When you find the exact color you need you will see the little color swatch and the color code:

Including the color code in your listing is a wonderful idea if you have a lot of duplicates to sell or if you have a high end item that is very specific, such as a pair of Gucci shoes that a buyer might be purchasing in hopes of matching it with their Gucci handbag.

Or, you can totally cheat and buy a 120 count Crayola Brand (<--must be Crayola brand) crayons or colored pencils set:

The side of each crayon has the color on it. Yep, this is a very easy way to cheat!

Since not everyone knows about HTML Color Codes you should also always use descriptive words to explain the color. Here’s a couple you can use on a regular basis:

DESCRIPTIVE COLOR WORDS

Super light shades