How to write a sports gear title around the spec

The number buyers filter belongs in the 80

eBay’s title limit is 80 characters, spaces included. Spend them on brand, model, the sport, and the spec: bike frame size in centimeters, ski length, club loft and hand, racquet grip, or the year printed on a helmet. “Lightly ridden” can live in the description after the size.

Mercari titles stop at 80 characters. Put the spec in the visible front half. A bicycle that will not fit a parcel should not be titled as if Mercari shipping were settled; say local pickup in the description and prefer Facebook Marketplace for the heavy frame.

What you checked, and what a shop must do

Open the Mercari description with the spec and the test. Bikes: did the brakes stop the wheel, did the gears shift, what are the tire years or cracks? Skis: length, and “bindings not tested — have a shop set them” if you did not have a shop do it. Clubs: loft, lie if marked, shaft flex, and grip wear.

Facebook Marketplace is the practical place for a bike, a ski bag, or a set of clubs the buyer can swing nearby. First lines: model, size, and the mechanical limit. Do not put the full serial number in the public text; you can confirm it at pickup. That number is how a stolen bike is identified, and it does not need to sit in a feed.

• Helmets: year if it is printed. You cannot know impact history. Say that, and point the buyer to the maker’s replacement guidance. Do not call a used helmet safe.
• Protective gear with a crash-replacement policy: say you are not warranting it.
• Balls and gloves: panel wear, and inflated or flat.
• What is in the bag: one club or fourteen, and which headcover is missing.

Specifics are the filter

Fill brand, model, sport, and size with the same numbers as the title. Hand, flex, and length are specifics on clubs and racquets. A blank size field means the buyer’s filter never shows you.

• Bike: frame size, wheel size, and brake type if you can see it.
• Skis and boards: length in centimeters.
• Clubs: hand, loft, shaft material, flex.
• Helmet: sport and size if printed. Do not invent a safety rating.

Wear you can see, tests you did not run

• Tires, brake pads, and chain rust, described or marked untested.
• Edges and bases on skis: rusty, waxed, or you do not know.
• Grips: slick, regripped, or original.
• Cracks in a frame, a helmet shell, or a racquet. A crack in a helmet is not “cosmetic.”
• Missing pins, baskets, or a pedal.

“Serviced last year” needs the receipt or it stays “not serviced by me.” Do not imply a tune-up you did not do.

The spec, then the wear

• The size or model mark: frame sticker, ski size, club sole, helmet date.
• The whole item, so scale is obvious.
• Soles, edges, tires, or grips — the surface that wears.
• Cracks and rust, close up.
• Included accessories in one photo.
• A helmet’s interior labels, without claiming a crash-free life.

Mistakes that sell the wrong spec

• No frame size, loft, or length.
• Left and right hand swapped.
• A used helmet sold as safe, or a cracked shell called cosmetic.
• Bindings described as ready when nobody set the DIN.
• A full bike serial posted in the public title.
• Mercari parcel shipping promised for a bicycle that does not fit.