Ecommerce merchandising best practices
Ten rules that hold up whether you sell on your own store or on a marketplace. None of them need a redesign — most need a decision and an hour.
Lead with the image that answers the question
The first photo has one job: tell the shopper exactly what they get. For a bundle, that means a single shot with every item visible, not a close-up of the most attractive piece.
Show every item in a set
Sets and bundles generate disputes when buyers guess at the contents. Add an individual photo of each included item behind the lead image. eBay allows 24 images free — use them.
Write titles for the search, not for yourself
Put the words a buyer would type first: product type, brand, size, quantity, and 'bundle', 'set' or 'kit' where relevant. Leave decorative adjectives out — they occupy space the search engine could use.
State quantities and condition explicitly
Ambiguity costs you twice: in lost sales from hesitant buyers, and in returns from disappointed ones. Say how many of each item, and the condition of each.
Bundle slow stock, not best sellers
Your fast movers sell on their own; discounting them inside a bundle just lowers your margin. Bundles exist to shift what isn't moving, carried along by something that is.
Discount the bundle 10–20%, not more
That range reads as a genuine deal without giving away margin. Remember you also save a selling fee per extra sale, one set of packaging, and your own handling time.
Group by the shopper's job, not your categories
People buy to accomplish something — a complete starter kit, a full set of sizes, a matching pair. Group items around that intent rather than around your internal stock structure.
Keep stock in sync across listings
The moment a bundle sells, the individual listings for those items are wrong. Correct them immediately or you oversell — which on a marketplace costs you defect rate, not just a refund.
Retire what doesn't perform
A bundle that hasn't sold in 60 days is telling you the combination or the price is wrong. Re-cut it with different items or reprice it; don't leave it sitting there diluting your store.
Change one thing, then measure
Pick a single metric per change — conversion rate for imagery and copy, average order value for bundling and pricing — and give it enough time to be real before you judge it.
What BundleForge handles for you
- Surfaces slow-moving stock worth bundling
- Writes the title, description and bullet points
- Builds a composite bundle image plus each item's main photo
- Publishes to your own eBay account
- Syncs stock back when a bundle sells, so you don't oversell
Frequently asked questions
What is the single highest-impact merchandising change?
Bundling. It creates a new, higher-value product from stock you already hold, needs no site development, and lifts average order value immediately. On marketplaces it also reduces competition, because far fewer sellers list the same combination than list the same single item.
How many product images should a listing have?
As many as it takes to remove doubt, and always more than one. For a set or bundle, lead with a single image showing everything included, then add an individual photo of each item. eBay allows up to 24 images per listing at no cost.
How much should I discount a bundle?
Usually 10–20% below the total of the individual prices. That is enough for the shopper to read it as a deal, while you keep margin and save on packaging, one selling fee instead of several, and your own handling time.