posted on April 18, 2001 03:29:55 PM new
Thank you for your post. I'm glad to know that things will get bids on eBay for less than the price of a gumball
[ edited by ecom on Apr 18, 2001 03:31 PM ]
posted on April 18, 2001 07:01:39 PM new
I guess I've been missing the point these last 5 years !!!!
It is bids we want, not profitable sales !!!
How many bids does it take to make a car payment and how do I transfer them to my bank ?
This reminds me of the guy who was buying hay for $2 a bale and selling it for $1.50 a bale. His sales figures were huge. But when he figured his profit, he decided what he needed was a bigger truck. I think they call it the Amazon business principle.
posted on April 18, 2001 07:14:00 PM new
Ooh, tough crowd
celebrityskin - I couldn't agree with you more. Ebay is alive and kicking for me too. I had 3 auctions finish tonight. I start them all at 0.99c with No Reserve. All had Retail values of around $180.Two finished at over $200 and one item finished at over $300 !!!!! All 3 had over 20 bids each. All of these items are easily available at the retail price.
Starting auctions at a low price, especially with No Reserve is definately a risk but it always pays off for me (touch wood). Bidding fever seems to take over. If I could get over the guilt I would enjoy eBay.
posted on April 18, 2001 08:40:46 PM new
Right On Celebrity! In January, I started listing all of my auctions at $1.00 no reserve. Same stuff I have been selling for the past three years. My final bids are higher than they have ever been. I still can't figure it out, but for whatever reason, it does work.
Example: In November I listed a vest at 9.99. It sold for $32.00. Deadbeat. By the time I got around to relisting it, it was January. Listed it for $1.00, sold for $119.00. Go figure!!
posted on April 18, 2001 09:25:55 PM new
Celebrityskin has the right idea (except for the reserve). Bids almost always begat more bids, which equal more auction interest, tons of hits, and more $$. But only if you're not trying to sell junk. If you're selling junk, better to put it at the price you need and hope for the best.
I put a good item on once that I figured would bring $800 to $1000, for a penny, no reserve. It brought 30 bids and over $1400. But it wasn't junk. I knew they would be fighting over it.
Now, if I had started it at $750 or something like that, it may have brought only $800.
posted on April 18, 2001 09:59:23 PM new
teddybuyer, you said, "I had 3 auctions finish tonight. I start them all at 0.99c with No Reserve. All had Retail values of around $180. Two finished at over $200 and one item finished at over $300!!!!! All 3 had over 20 bids each. All of these items are easily available at the retail price."
Am I the only seller who reduces the sales price to buyers who bid MORE THAN RETAIL on readily available items?
If something is no longer being made (antique, vintage, out-of-production) or is currently being made but is in short supply (like PlayStation 2 last Christmas or Cabbage Patch Dolls years ago), then whatever people bid, regardless how high, is fair market value. But if the item is "easily available at the retail price" elsewhere and people overbid, how can you take more from the bidder for something than the item is WORTH, regardless how much they overbid? You accept $300 for a $180 item that can be bought anywhere?
Not only would I feel guilty overcharging people (as you apparently do, from your last comment, "If I could get over the guilt I would enjoy eBay."), but I'm sure the buyers would feel CHEATED by me, sooner or later, though THEY were the ones who set the price too high.
posted on April 18, 2001 11:40:36 PM new
Trey: Oh I make a profit.. just start auctions at a RESERVE.. but I thought I made that clear.. low prices to start... a TON of traffic! And that is important.
Had 40 auctions end tonight... final count... 1091 bids!! (over the 158 auctions total)
katzname: Under $9.99 to reduce the insertion fee to as low as possible.
reamond: Well I want people to see my auctions.. and come back as well. To see next weeks auctions... so... would I want one bid at $40 or would I want 40 bids to make it $40. Give me 40 bids any day. That means many more people were interacting with my auction. Which means great things for future auctions!!
loosecannon "Celebrityskin has the right idea (except for the reserve)"
Sorry... I can not afford to sell items below my cost so I must use a reserve.
pOcOno: What Part of "reserve" didn't you understand?
Traffic is good in Ebay land. "You've been outbid" e-mails are even better.
[ edited by celebrityskin on Apr 18, 2001 11:42 PM ]
posted on April 19, 2001 05:56:58 AM newgranee - See, I knew you were a tough crowd. I use Auctions, eBay and real world. I buy items at what I feel is a good price and then I auction them with No Reserve and a 0.99c starting price. It is then out of my hands. In an auction they go to the person who bids the most - easy. Most of the time people get themselves a real bargain, sometimes, for whatever reason, they bid above retail. This may be because they would rather buy from me than hunt around shops and websites. I don't know but it is their decision. They, the bidders, decided the price. I have never had a bidder tell me they heve paid too little and offer more money. Always searching for Heffalumps
I have been on eBay 5 years, and years ago I use to do the same thing. If an item went way out of line, I'd refund the money to the winner. I felt bad about someone over paying so much.
BUT, what I learned was no one appreciated it, no one said "thanks," and in fact some were totally miffed!!! They felt I had insulted their evaluation of the value of the item!
My husband told me that to many, the price they were paying, which seemed extremely high to me, was to many merely pocket change and that I should stop doing refunds and I have.
Occasionally, if an item goes way out of line, I ship the items free, and/or send the person an extra item, or something else extra in their package, but I don't refund any longer, it just didn't seem appreciated to me.
posted on April 19, 2001 06:57:51 AM new
eBay is alive and kicking for me!
My sell through rate is still over 90%, profits are up including increased fees.
RE: low starting bids/no reserve
After an item has been re-listed two or three times, I often will list it starting at $1. At that point, it is just taking up space to me so why not? I've done this about 50 times now. Once the item closed at $3 (valued at retail $30, I had paid $7). The bidder is now a repeat customer. Once, the item received no bids(I relisted it and made a profit a few months later).
Of the remaining auctions, over 3/4 have exceeded what I thought the item would originally sell for. Works for me, but not everyone.
....I love the thrill of gambling.....
edited cuz there were waaaay too many s's around here!
posted on April 19, 2001 09:25:52 AM new
I don't understand what the point is of getting tons of bids on an item that started out as a penny. Maybe I'm missing something. I remember it used to be good if you got more than 30 bids because you would get a "hot" icon next to your item, but I don't think they do that anymore. Someone wrote that bids beget more bids. Can someone please explain what I'm missing?
posted on April 19, 2001 09:28:38 AM new
Goodbuys ..... The Hot icon still shows up next to the listing, you just don't get a special place on the category page like you did in the past.
posted on April 19, 2001 09:53:22 AM new
Granee: I also consider that some people may live in a rural or high-cost location, and items that we could buy for a certain price are not available to them at any price.
posted on April 19, 2001 11:06:46 AM new
zypher....I think you are right. I used to sell more of a variety of things than I do now. Regional prices and/or availability I'm guessing is a factor. Also, coming from a family of miners and rockhounds and such, I know there are people out there that live out in the boonies that really would rather not go into town and shop around for something unless they have to.
One very small example could be this;
Right now I want a good carry case for my GPS to protect it in the woods. I see them in stores for about $15.00 and they are okay but haven't bought one yet. Now, if I see one on ebay I like, I could probably bid up to 30.00 or 35.00 dollars and maybe even more. Why? It could take me HOURS of shopping around, spending gas, money on "extras", and time and still maybe not find that style. So what if I receive my ebay item and there is a price tag on it half what I paid. I figure I am still ahead. I'm happy and the seller is happy.
>can you take more from the bidder for something than the item is WORTH, regardless how much they overbid?
How much is it worth WHERE? I sold a bunch of stuff to a guy in Kodiak Alaska that brought MORE than the retail around here, but he swore he was getting a good deal...
