posted on July 19, 2003 05:40:44 PM new
If I post an auction for a set number of days can I indicate in the post that" If there are no bids by a certain time I reserve the right to end the Auction at my discretion" I am tired of having 100 people look at the item but no bids-each one waiting to see what someone else is going to do-Unlike a live auction where hands are raised and so is the level of excitement- EBAY is boring- This should take care of the snipers too-Ebay will still get its listing fee and commission if the item sells so what would be their problem?
posted on July 19, 2003 05:54:37 PM newCAN you do it? OF COURSE you can...but: SHOULD you do it is the real question!
If you're having so many qualms about yer auctions, perchance the auction format ain't such a bowl-of-cherries for you!
Ye might want to use the FIXED-PRICE format instead! Or take up a more relaxing hobby such as Celebrity Naval-Lint Collecting or maybe yer into le cinema?? Do you have any strong emotions concerning: MONKEES??
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
posted on July 19, 2003 06:41:59 PM new
You can end an auction any time you want for any reason. Whether you should post your intentions of doing so in your description is another matter. It might not set too well with some prospective bidders. Sort of like a warning that you will leave negative feedback if payment isn't received in X number of days.You'll probably lose more bids than you'll gain with this tactic. I see this happen quite often when browsing the big ticket category, and the wording of the statement of some of those auctions looks as if they are actually soliciting a behind the scenes offer to avoid Ebay final value fees. If you go that route, choose your wording correctly so as not to give the wrong impression to anyone, especially Ebay.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on July 19, 2003 06:42:23 PM new
I agree with Tomwii - BTW, thanks for the link to TinyUrl.com - I wasn wondering how you were doing that - a great service to all!
I've had auctions that have 100 or so hits and I get a bit anxious - can't say I get frustrated by selling things at auction... However, I have had a little experience that has been very positive recently. Here's one story:
I posted a listing for butter pat dishes - tiny little china dishes used to place butter upon in early 1900s. Got an immediate bid for $19.99 - the amount I started the bidding at. WOW! That's great, I thought... then days went by.... the hits have been climbing... climbing....As a matter of fact, there are 98 as of this writing... But no advance on them...
Today was live auction day - so left at the crack of dawn and traveled to my favorite haunt... back to the house 10 hours and a few hundred poorer -- sit down at the computer...."Honey, guess what the butter pats are up to?" Five more bids later and the bidding is up to more than $50.00 and there's still a day left. More than 6 days and only one bid - then wham, more than double the initial bid.
I've also had experience last week where a tea pot was the subject item. I think I listed it for 10 days and the hits climbed like crazy....but NOT ONE BID until the last day... and then there were 7 bids in the last 21 hours - and 5 different bidders were involved. It sold for almost $52, more than double the opening bid.
I would never end a listing if no one bids until close to the end... Make sure you start the bidding at what you'd be happy getting if only one person is interested. Don't try to play the game of starting low and hoping that will generate interest. It works for somethings and the more experienced sellers can work that very well. You might want to stick to listing it for what you want (within reason, of course).
Wayne
Trying to Make a Difference - One Satisfied Customer at a Time....
posted on July 19, 2003 08:51:26 PM new
After bidding early and being outbid on everything under the sun at the last minute (in nearly every case), I have become a confirmed sniper. A lot of of other people are doing the same now too. Anyone who closed their auction early loses the sale from me.
I have noticed it doesn't matter WHAT I have bid on early, there are people that look to see what other people have bid on in a category and unless it is truly hideous, they think "Oh, if someone bid it must be worth having - I'll look and see what it looks like and see if I might want it."
They may be lazy, (it may just be the overwhelming number of items in a category)but I think some people look only at the items that already have bids, thinking the item "must be worth having" so they actually open the item and look. they think they are "letting someone else do the work".
So if an item has bids, it attracts competing bids. That's why so many sellers start the bids at $.99. One bid attracts more. Sellers have to entice bidders to bid early these days.
Ending auctions early is shooting yourself in the foot and throws away your listing fee.
posted on July 19, 2003 09:11:56 PM new
If you were selling an item I was interested in and it was ended a few times, I would never bid on another one of your auctions. It isn't worth the time to watch it hoping it will finish.
Why would you want to get rid of snipers? I don't like it when I don't get any.
posted on July 20, 2003 03:32:31 AM new
Patty, I agree with 100% percent. The market is so overflooded with same items, the tendency is to click on the ones with bids because you figure someone else saw it as worthwhile. Its really a rough place for a seller to be in competition wise.
Sap is right about snipers. Getting impatient about an auction and ending it early is really foolish.
