posted on June 13, 2001 09:47:58 AM new
I am! Almost 75% of my auctions are ending this way on eBay. Even had Yahoo users use their Buy It Now option for some purchases. How long before the sites start charging for this feature (in which case I'd no longer use it!) ? Is it instant gratification or something else???
posted on June 13, 2001 10:17:04 AM new
It is OK for something that you know the value of pretty close - but for the unique item you could not find any closed sales to compare it is a good way to lose a shot at much higher bids than the opening bid and possible bidding wars. I will use it for something I can buy lots of at wholesale but not the one of a kind auction or garage sale item.
posted on June 13, 2001 10:30:25 AM new
I only use BIN on very common collectibles, set at the price that they normally close at. People like the convenience of just ending the auction at a price they're likely to pay anyway, only now they can trim off a day or two waiting for a non-BIN auction to end. However I don't use BIN on most of my auctions, because quite often you never know when a bidding war might take off on more unusual collectibles. If nobody bids, however, I will almost always use BIN on the relist.
posted on June 13, 2001 12:56:32 PM new
i really haven't. in fact i've had fewer bin sales in the past few months. i'm wondering if, at least in the category i sell in, if buyers are getting more savvy and realizing sellers are usually putting bins on their lesser items. at least that's my theory.
posted on June 13, 2001 01:33:46 PM new
We've also enjoyed success with the "Buy it Now" feature. It accomdates the impulse buyer who wants instant gratification and is willing to pay for it.
We look forward to opening our eBay storefront in order to grab additional immediate sales.
posted on June 13, 2001 04:56:53 PM new
Most of my auctions end with Buy It Now. I rather move my wholesale items rather wait days for the auction to end. So far, I've listed at x.77 with a BIN price of x.99. I had ten end with BIN yesterday!
The average auction price of the items are lower, but I move more which keeps my supplier happy.
posted on June 13, 2001 08:10:24 PM new
Most of my auctions end with the BIN I also can't wait until the storefronts open this should make a huge difference in sales. I will be able to sell alot of my items in the storefront that I don't run actions on all the time. Save me alot of money too.
posted on June 14, 2001 06:30:47 AM new
Well, I must be doing something wrong, although I have been selling full time for 6 years.
I had left eBay for a year for Yahoo where we sold like crazy via their “BIN” program. When Yahoo committed suicide in January, we returned to eBay and were thrilled to see they were using the “BIN” approach.
UNFORTUNATELY, we posted the same items on eBay that we regularly sold like hot cakes on Yahoo via a BIN, and didn’t move hardly anything. We pulled the BIN off and left them as “regular” auctions, and they sold beautifully.
We have not found BIN to work well for us on eBay AND our BIN price and opening price are normally only a few cents difference. Since we sell in many different categories, and the items sell fine via a standard auction, it appears to us that at least for us BIN is useless. I wish it did work for us I prefer to take a set price, sell and move on to something else instead of waiting days for an item to sell.
We use the BIN approach on other auctions and it works fine - just doesn't work for us on eBay.
posted on June 14, 2001 05:13:56 PM new
First, let me say that I am an occasional seller, usually in the computer section. I have used BIN on some items that are:
a. new (or at least current technology)
b. fairly common and high demand
c. higher priced (at least for that area, $50 - $150)
I usually survey recent closed auctions and try to price the BIN at least a little over average, but still a ways below max. I have had excellant luck. I had two units I was going to sell - one last weekend, one this weekend. I listed the first on a 5 day auction for my target close day - second day I get a PayPal notice! Did so well, put the same ad back as a 3 day auction. Next day I get another PayPal notice! Now maybe I really under priced these babies, but I am not even going to look. I got the profit I wanted and the total auction time from listing to shipment including money in my bank account was 7 days for both items. Doesn't seem to work as well for older items tho (unlike collectibles, older computer items loose value at an astounding rate).
Thanks, I really enjoy the discussions!
P.S. Actually the items sold three times - the first gave me a response of "I dont have a bank account or CC - hopefully when my folks get home in a few days they will buy it for me" Jeeeeezzz. How do these kids get registered, anyway. Don't you need a credit card to sign up?
posted on June 14, 2001 05:23:56 PM new
Great insights!
I sell mainly collectibles and virtually every one gets sold using the Buy It Now feature on eBay. Sell-through has been real nice on eBay for the last month as well using this feature, over 75%! I might be shortchanging myself but at least the inventory is moving and putting a few $$$s in my pocket! Like dennis said, don't even think about looking back! Be happy with your profit.
[ edited by eSeller004 on Jun 14, 2001 05:24 PM ]
