Do you know everything there is to know about selling women shoes?  Can you explain the various styles and features of high and low heels?

eBay sellers understand that knowing their product inside and out gives them the advantage of becoming an expert that buyers can rely on.  They know that the product description gives them further leverage to seal that trust by providing more detail and accurate information that convinces the buyer to purchase.

Item specifics plays an important part of the “Sell your item form” on each eBay listing. The shoe category includes a “heel” section. This guide will help you not only identify your heels but give you ideas which item specific to choose. Which one will be right for your shoes?

Keep in mind the word “accurate” when entering details in term of specifics and product description.  Research is king! Why?  The goal is to make your customer feel comfortable buying from you, thereby establishing the seller and buyer trust needed for postive feedback and repeat purchases.  It’s a win win for everybody!

Psst….

Here’s the Secret to Listing Women’s Shoes Correctly

When listing your shoes for auction or buy it now, you will need to describe the product condition. Basic product details include shoe material, maker, brand, and size.

The heel style is not a required feature to list but it is a necessary benefit to include. The more details you include the better picture you paint for your customer. Down below are other suggested tips to include in your listing. A keyword rich, catchy, and informative title.

• Custom label or SKU number for simple product tracking
• A product category so buyers can find what you are selling
• Product variations for ease of product listing and buyer selection (when needed)
• Universal Product Code (UPC) for an easier product discovery
• More information about product description allowing more product detail
• Up to 12 photos of the high heel shoes you’re selling

Along with the information above, you will need to add specifics about the high heel shoe such as:

• Size
• Brand
• Style (Heels or Enter Your Own)
• Material
• Manufacturer Parts Number (MPN) if applicable
• Original or Reproduction

New or Used
• Decade the shoes represent age and style
• The “look” of the heels when a person wears them.
• You’ll also list the country of origin for the shoe manufacturer.

eBay lets you add more specific information if you have it with a “add your own item specific” function (Take advantage of that and add more specifics that match your shoes)

A second category listing to reach more buyers. Fees might apply when choosing this additional feature. Such as: Unisex or vintage.

The Benefits of Including High Heel Shoe Descriptions Other seller listing options:

Offering as much accurate information as possible establishes buyer trust. It increases the buyer’s confidence in you the seller. Remember, your title and photos have to make the sale pitch for you!

In addition, you’ll give the buyer another way to discover your listing through an eBay search query. Think of it! If you take the time to list the heel, you will appeal to the fashionista who is seeking that style.

Types of High Heels

So, listing heels is easy right? Not so much! If you are listing one or more pairs of heels, the huge selection of heels might confuse you. There’s a myriad of categories under eBay’s item specifics. Heel size plays a huge role in the shoe style, fit, comfort, and functionality.

When choosing a pair of heels, it’s no longer a matter of three simple choices: low, high, or no heel.

Demanding consumers and fashionistas everywhere need an eBay seller to be more descriptive! Take a journey with us as we introduce you to the many silhouettes of heel choices, direct from the eBay list.

Shoes with block heels are a very popular  style women seek due to their moderate height and comfort. They emerged on the fashion scene in 1965 when Roger Vivier revealed the Pilgrim pump. It featured a silhouette comprising of a square toe and heel. It is the Pilgrim pump later serving as inspiration for wider platform shoes in the 1970’s.

Block heels also allow for better weight distribution because they are wider than slender stiletto shoes. Block heels are slender and short and come in several styles. Their heel shapes vary between low, square and cylindrical.

The most common block heel is rectangular or square. Its popularity is due to its sturdiness and thickness compared to others. So when choosing this heel style to sell, keep in mind that the size of the heel will vary due to the manufacturer’s design.

Classic Pumps with Heels

This shoe style is also the classic heel or court shoe. These shoes feature a silhouette with a closed-toe tip. The material of the shoes in the court shoe is often patent leather. They accompany formal wear or suits. They also have a broad description due to its variety.

Classic pumps often feature a top line cut out right at the toe box. They are absent of ties, straps, or buckles. But, that doesn’t mean they do not come with ornamentation. The Classic Pumps vary in heel design too such as wedges, stacked or kitten heels. There are even classic pumps with block heels and long slender stiletto heels.

Column High Heels

This heel is thick and much like a block heel. The main difference is the column heel features a “column-like” appearance. It is long and cylindrical with a flat bottom. The thickness of the heel lends to an even weight distribution providing support.

Common Sense High Heels

This heel features a wide thread and low structure comprising of wood or stacked leather. This lends to its primary benefit of preventing wobbling when walking and evenly distributing ones weight.

Once the rage during the Victorian era, they have evolved from being called the safety first wood heel to now being known as the “Common Sense” heel.

Cuban High Heels

The Cuban heel is a design that emerged in the 1900s and gained considerable popularity in the 1930s.  It’s the same style appears on some cowboy boots for men.

The silhouette is often a low block heel with a tapered back and straight front. The material is made of wood or leather materials while other heels use paint or layer other material as a covering. Its heels are “knock on,” meaning the sole features leather ceasing at the shoe’s bottom.

While shopping or sourcing, keep in mind this interesting fact that the Cuban heel is constructed separately which is later added to the body of the shoe by the the manufacturer.

French High Heels

When you think of French shoes, think of the shoes King Louis XIV wore with a slim and curvy heel silhouette. The “Louis Heel”, as they are commonly called, are a common vintage shoe design.

The heels have a flare at the bottom-most portion of the heel and the breast of the heel (front-portion under the foot’s arch) features a curve moving inward. The sole of the shoe covers the ball beneath the the foot, the arch, and the breast in a single piece.

Interesting fact – The French Heel emerged as a popular choice during the 17th century and became popular again in the 1920s. Who knows, you may be the seller who brings it back in style.

The Lace Up high heels are best for describing heels with a single lace shoe. The lace is for strapping the shoe on from the toe to the heel. Sometimes this term applies to shoes with more than one strap. But, the term “Strappy” is more popular.

Whether you call them Lace Up or Strappy high heels, the key to remember is that their laces form a crisscrossing pattern over the wearer’s foot. As an alternative, the lace or strap might wrap around the ankle as well. Strappy shoes and lace up options often feature an open toe design with the heel varying in thickness and height.

Kitten High Heels

This style grew common in the 1950s which gained popularity after Audrey Hepburn and other young actresses wore them. It hit the fashion scene in the 1780s in which the shoes featured a base with a slight flare and slender heel. The arch get its support from a large wedge.

Its predecessor was called the “Italian Heel,” but fell out of use in the 18th century.

The appropriate name for this heel is kitten because its design is the midway point between a low and high heel shoe making it the perfect choice for teens who aren’t “all grown up,” but want something more than a low heel or flat.

Key features include that Kitten Heels measure between 1.5 and 1.75 inches. Some are even as high as 2 inches. Their slight curve moving inward draws the heel inward from the shoe’s edge. They are also known as stilettos but on the shorter end of the spectrum.

Mary Jane High Heels

The height of these heels will vary depending on the shoe maker. They can be several inches high or with no heel at all. Nevertheless, the Mary Jane shoe design is a low-cut style featuring a closed-toe tip with one or more straps that lay across the instep.

Military High Heels

While often thought of as Cuban heels, this is in error. Military heels and Cuban heels differs in both shape and height. Cuban heels always have more height than Military heels while the Cuban heel features a smaller surface area than the Military heel with a straight-line backing.

Military heels emerged in popularity during the Victorian Era. They feature a broad structure out of stacked wood. The heel features a straight side with a low profile.

Mule High Heels

This shoe is a sandal or a shoe with a closed-toe silhouette and backless heel that varies in height. The heel of a mule can be high or flat.

Interestingly, these shoes were worn by both men and women during the Baroque Era. The style was common among the elite as the Mules are not the typical work shoe but a luxury style. By the 18th century, Mules were common for wearing indoors and became a favorite style of Marilyn Monroe.

Opera High Heels

Like the Louis or French heel, the Opera heel is similar in design. However, these heels are like Cuban in that they are”knock-on heels” meaning the shoemaker adds them to the body of the shoe after making them.

The Kidney heel has the greater height than the Opera height. Both types of heels feature curvatures at the waist or neck and a breast portion that is straight. NOTE: Opera shoes are also a type of formal shoe worn by men according to: Keilkari.com.

Open Toe High Heels

An open toe shoe is any heel or no heel shoe with open toes. Using this keyword word in your title is essential to making sure your shoe shows up in search query.

Platform High Heels

In the 1940s, platforms were shoes featuring Spanish or Cuban heels which later became popular in during the 1970s.

Now, modern platform heels feature chunky big heels, wedges, or joining with stilettos. They can be seen on regular shoes, sandals, boots or heels with a thick sole ranging from 1-4 inches high.

As a high heel, the heel is raised higher than the ball of the foot, thus raising part of your foot up off the floor.  Some even have chunkier heels given the shoe a higher elevation.

Slingback High Heels

This backless shoe is very versatile.  Its key feature is that the strap wraps around the ankle connecting at the heel of the foot. The style can be formal or casual and vary in height from high to no heel at all. It can also be a slender stiletto, thick bulky wedge, open toe or closed toe.

Spanish High Heels

Once called “spike heels” in the 20s, Spanish heels are thinner and higher than Cubans. The heel features a leather or a textile covering the entire heel structure that tapers. A key feature is that its tall and has a straight edge.

Stiletto High Heels

Roger Vivier is the creator behind the stiletto heel which emerged on the fashion scene in the 1950s. The heels can be slim, tall, or tapered with a minimum of two inches reaching as high as eight inches! Anything less than two inches is considered a kitten heel.

The diameter of the stiletto is what makes them challenging to wear with a one-centimeter wide point covering the surface of the ground. In making the heel, a steel spigot gets put inside wood or plastic to give the thin heel strength. Its key feature is a platformed front for added comfort.

Tapered Cone High Heels

These shoes resemble a tapered  ice cream cone. It is sometimes flat on one of the heel’s sides and might feature a triangular construction. These heels help in contributing to a lighter weight distribution. Its key feature is that it offers a greater comfort.

Wedge High Heels

Wedges are like platform shoes as they elevate the foot off the floor. The main difference between the two styles is the Wedge runs the entire length of the foot. Platforms do not. The heels comprise of wood, rubber, plastic, or cork. The heels made of wood are on clogs.

The wedge heel is great for adding height and better comfort for long-term wear. These shoes emerged on the fashion scene in the 30s, but grew in popularity in the 40s and 50s. Still today, they remain a popular heel in modern shoe designs.

Conclusion

Women wear high heels for a variety of reasons. Some might choose a heel based on its aesthetics. Others might choose a heel style based on how it makes the entire body look when wearing them.

Still others like to invest in high heels to gain a few inches of height. Thankfully, old and new designers give great variety to the design of high heels.

Including the type of heels when listing your shoes in eBay makes it simple for a buyer to find what they seek. It also informs the buyer of the shoe silhouette style.

Identifying the heel design also gives the buyer full information about the shoes they are purchasing instilling full confidence in the seller. When the buyer knows what to expect, based on your details, you win in profit, reduced returns and positive feedback.

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