posted on April 5, 2003 09:05:24 AM new
I have a rare t-shirt up that is ending tomorrow. No bids on it. The other shirt is the exact same size, but the description is not as well written, the photo is dull, etc. My presentation is alot better than the other auction that ends in a few days. I have a gallery photo, you can see the entire shirt in my auction vs. the other one which is folded up. The color of mine is more vibrant, especially because I use a black background and the shirt is vibrant green. The only difference is I have a buy it now price that is somewhat high ($100- based on the fact a similar shirt sold for over $125 about a month ago). The starting bid for my shirt is $8.50, while the other shirt has 3 bids for $10.00.
Anyone have experience with a buy it now price screwing up a better auction listing?
posted on April 5, 2003 10:12:37 AM new
a low startin price like yours combined with a BIN of $100 is going to keep me personally from even looking at the auction because surely yo u have a reserve in that $100 area so. my thought would be....
Bid on the $10 hirt and see what happens, if it ge ts ridiculously high, I may check yours out to see if I can grab it up but that BIN on a T Shirt is going to be a caution sign.
posted on April 5, 2003 10:38:22 AM new
I never start an item for that low with a high BIN. If I have a high BIN I start the item higher. i.e. Item $50.00 BIN $100.00. I checked to see what the item went for before and also what other buyers had their prices that is how I selected the BIN. It sold in 4 hours. Another seller got $125.00 for the same item but had to wait 7 days. Mine was bought, paid and sent and buyer received it in 3 days. I think with your low starting and a high BIN will discourage buyers. Maybe you will be lucky and there will be some sniping at the end of your auction. What you need to see is how many bidders were on that auction for the $125.00 T Shirt. Maybe is was a bidding war between two people.
posted on April 5, 2003 05:35:46 PM new
This doesn't just happen with B
This doesn't just happen with BINs. I am having the same problem with a cell phone. I had a low starting bid-no reserve-no B
IN and extra accesories.
Several of the exact same model, no box, no manual almost double the starting bid and started after mine are getting bids-I have had 70 lookers and only one bid.go figure!
posted on April 6, 2003 12:39:32 AM new
I have noticed that when I use a Buy It Now price the item never seems to get a bid until the last hour of the auction. Even with a low Buy It Now. For the most part I do not use them.
posted on April 6, 2003 01:10:03 AM new
I just read your post and it just hit me..! how stuff like that happens.... I was an auctioneer for about 12 yrs and there is an old saying the goe's.. " It takes 2 people to make an auction.".. Well thats what happens sometimes. when two people or more like the same item, the get into this bidding thing and dont even look sideways!! I know because Iv'e been there, dont that!. On the other side, many times more often they dont get hardly any bids. Its kind of a roller coaster but its a fun ride. If yours doesn't sell, raise the price to what the other one sells for and tell your audience about it.
Good Luck.
Sincerely,
Carol
Carol Allison
posted on April 6, 2003 05:07:46 AM new
I don't know what your auction looks like but when I am buying and there are more than 1 of the same item to choose from, I choose the auction with as many of the following attributes as possible:
NO reserve. Low starting price Reasonable BIN I am not cheap by any means. I know the value of the items I buy and I don't mind paying a reasonable price, but the close the BIN is to the highest I would pay, the more i prefer to bid on it and take my chances.
States shipping costs in the auction. Accepts PayPal. (if no PayPal, then acceptance of checks is a must. But even then I will look at the other auctions before bidding)
No mandatory insurance No mandatory delivery confirmation No mandatory check-out SHORT TOS I don't like long winded bullies. Nor do I want to consult a lawyer to make sure I comply with a someones 3 page TOS. Either you want to sell me something or you don't.
The above are some of the reasons why I might/will bid on one auction over another if everything else is the same.
posted on April 6, 2003 01:29:22 PM new
I have no reserve. I don't use reserves for the reason of scaring off people. I've seen way too many reserve auctions get no bids, even with a Buy It Now that is pretty reasonable.
Anyhow, I checked the auctions, and both shirts now have 3 bids, mine is at $11.50 and theirs is still at $10.00.
I have used BIN quite successfully. The reason why I chose to use BIN is because often times I can get a buyer to jump on something right away, and that often leads to about 25% more than what the auction would have made me if it went full term. I generally base my BIN on what other people have sold the same item for, and what my experience selling that item has been.
Do you think there may be any learning curve for buyers? I have my share of very intelligent buyers. At the same time, I also have a bunch of moronic idiots (or at least they want me to believe they are helpless). With Auctions, Buy It Now, and Reserves, I often wonder if many people truly understand the difference.
posted on April 6, 2003 07:20:27 PM newneonmania sez...
...are you aware that a seller is only protected from chargebacks if the orderwas shipped using delivery confirmation?
Do you really weed out sellers who choose to follow PayPal regulations to protect themselves from fraud?
First of all I sell also, not "big-time" but about 50 items a month over several ID's, half of which are in the $25 - $100 range usually, with the occasional "big money" item. I accept and prefer PayPal on all transactions (but I am happy to take checks, money orders & cash...) so I do know PayPal "regulations".
But as a buyer, why do I want to pay extra to protect a seller... against ME? IMO, if the seller is worried about being defrauded, S/HE can foot the bill for the insurance. Heck, they might get into an accident on the way to the post office, should I also be charged for their car insurance also?
Here's the deal, if the seller is so insecure that s/he needs protection let them bury the cost in the starting bid or the shipping and "handling" costs.
To answer your question, re: do I weed out those with delivery confirmation? Not if they state the shipping charge up front so I can take ALL the costs of bidding on their item into consideration. If my bid + shipping + "handling" + delivery conf. = a price i am willing to pay, then I'll bid. Assuming of course they take PayPal. OR, if I really want it, take checks. No "money order only" auctions need apply.
Either you're in business, or you're not.
- Tim
[ edited by TomSwift on Apr 6, 2003 07:30 PM ]
Did you check the category both items are listed under?...Maybe if they are different the prospective buyers looked for the item in the other sellers category...
