my solution to the forced "Good 'Til Cancelled" (aka eBay getting money from sellers with no sales)

[thexfactor42]

I'd like people to check my thinking here, but first I want to give a quick rundown on my approach so you can make sure the NEW approach will accomplish the same thing. I have two batches of 50 items each, and for the past few years now I've been alternating listing them every other month as a BIN with a 30 day listing. The way an items gets onto the A or B list is that anything new gets three auction-based listings (7 days), and if it's still unsold then it's gets switched to BIN and it sells whenever it sells. Most important however is the fact that I only pay something (to eBay and Paypal) when there's an actual sale, and there's no additional fees because I stay within the 50 monthly free listings (or whatever the amount of listings are for any listing specials that I'm offered). With 30 days no longer being an option, I'm just going to bump them back to 7 day auctions and the items will be available for 7 days every other month instead of 30 days every other month. This way, I'm always still within the 60 days that listings stay in the 'Unsold' section (heading, text, and photos are saved, in other words) so I don't have to start over from scratch. More to the point, it might actually help move more of the OOAK/rare items because they won't always be readily available for a 30 day period. For example, a buyer who's been watching something forever (without actually making the purchase) misses out and writes to ask "Hey, are you going to relist that unworn NOS concert shirt from 1984 again that no one else has listed?", and I can respond "Sure. In June. It'll be my last time listing it as well so that'd be the time to grab it". I realize that I'm a small-time seller in terms of items actually sold, but to a large extent that's largely eBay's fault for continually inching up their FVF (on both the item and the shipping) and then I have to compensate by increasing the price on the item. I used to move a lot more, but it's been on a slow decline for a few years now and the only reason I've stuck around is because it didn't cost me anything if there weren't any sales. That will be my approach moving forward as well, and if they find a way to counter that then there's always iOffer. Who- I believe- can import both all your eBay listings as well as your feedback ratings.

[dhbookds]

a buyer who's been watching something forever (without actually making the purchase) misses out and writes to ask "Hey, are you going to relist that unworn NOS concert shirt from 1984 again that no one else has listed?",

I've had that happen a couple of times over 15 or so years, but not often........how often does it happen to you?

[thexfactor42]

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@dhbookds wrote:

I've had that happen a couple of times over 15 or so years, but not often........how often does it happen to you?

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Until 2019 it was only a few times over the course of 18 years, but now it's been once a month since January. No idea why, other than (probably) just a weird coincidence. BTW, the concert shirt was just an example. One time it's a CD, the next time it's a comic book etc etc. Though it's always items that have had watchers from the day they're listed until the day the listing expires, listing after listing, but never someone who can actually follow through with a purchase.

[thexfactor42]

Bumping this to the top because I'm curious to hear some other opinions. I really do think it's a good way to beat the forced GTC while still utilizing the 50 free listings per month, but I'm always happy to hear other thoughts on the matter.

[fuzzymae]

Please, please, please don't go to that offer place!  It is a scammer's paradise.  Buyers call themselves lucky if they actually get their item.  Personally, I don't want to be associated with that kind of atmosphere.

I have been having good luck with my extra things on the "moon."  They have a strong community of sellers.  It reminds me of this place in the early days, except with pictures! I am moving lower priced items there because of the lower fees. 

[mcricket74]

Personally, I wish they would not change the BIN option at all.  They should leave it as is, with the choice.  I believe they are changing it to help the mega-sellers and really don't care about us small sellers even though we are the people have been selling on here for years.  As far as changing my listings to Auctions, I really don't want to do that because it has seemed the past few years I sell less when something is in an Auction rather than BIN.  Not happy about this change at all.  

BTW - I have found out that when you have watchers for a long time on your BIN its usually another seller checking to see if you sell the item because they have one to sell too.

[thexfactor42]

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@fuzzymae wrote:

Please, please, please don't go to that offer place!  It is a scammer's paradise.  Buyers call themselves lucky if they actually get their item.  Personally, I don't want to be associated with that kind of atmosphere.

I have been having good luck with my extra things on the "moon."  They have a strong community of sellers.  It reminds me of this place in the early days, except with pictures! I am moving lower priced items there because of the lower fees. 

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Thanks for the advice, and I guess that I won't be offering anything for sale there after all. I do have to admit a need to break out my decoder ring for the second clue though. "Moon". Hmmm, "moon"...

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

Moons have craters, right?

[thexfactor42]

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@mcricket74 wrote:

Personally, I wish they would not change the BIN option at all.  They should leave it as is, with the choice.  I believe they are changing it to help the mega-sellers and really don't care about us small sellers even though we are the people have been selling on here for years.  As far as changing my listings to Auctions, I really don't want to do that because it has seemed the past few years I sell less when something is in an Auction rather than BIN.  Not happy about this change at all.  

BTW - I have found out that when you have watchers for a long time on your BIN its usually another seller checking to see if you sell the item because they have one to sell too.

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For me, I can't really compare auction sales to BIN sales because everything goes to BIN after three auction listings. Of course, that kind of proves your point when you get right down to it. Like a lot of sellers here, I have both auction style listings and BIN listings scheduled to end on a Sunday, and apparently switching back to auction is really the only way to still have control over that. With forced GTC, it really is just another Amazon.

Your point about other sellers data mining my sales makes sense. I can't tell you the amount of time I've listed something either here or a site like Discogs- primarily because there isn't a single other one for sale, nor has one sold in the past 90 days- only to find four of the same to pop up over the course of the next several weeks. I've even had to create & submit a listing at Discogs for a CD I wanted to sell because there wasn't an entry for it, only to have four or five lazy (you know what) people list their copy for sale 24 hours later.

[thexfactor42]

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@myjunqueyourtreasure wrote:
Moons have craters, right?

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You know, I actually found that on a search a few minutes ago but thought there was no way the info was going to fall into my lap that easily. So, yay Google!! Off to check out the Sea of Tranquility now...

[femmefan1946]

@thexfactor42 

I have both auction style listings and BIN listings scheduled to end on a Sunday, and apparently switching back to auction is really the only way to still have control over that.

I understand why you would want your auctions to end at a time when you can deal with them.

But  Fixed Price/Buy It Now can happen at any hour of the day or night.

With those it makes more sense to space them out over the month so that something is closing ever day -- and getting that About to Close* bump both with Searches set up that way and in Best Match.

*GTC items do not get a Newly Listed bump.

[thexfactor42]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

I understand why you would want your auctions to end at a time when you can deal with them.

But  Fixed Price/Buy It Now can happen at any hour of the day or night.

With those it makes more sense to space them out over the month so that something is closing ever day -- and getting that About to Close* bump both with Searches set up that way and in Best Match.

*GTC items do not get a Newly Listed bump. 

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My thinking is based on two thing. First is that I've read on multiple sites online (here in the Community forums, in those "Ten Tips For..." type articles etc etc, that the best time to have a listing end (auction or BIN) is on a Sunday. So with 50 items ending on a Sunday, I have 50 items ending with the About To Close bump that you mentioned on the day that the most people are one the site to potentially search said items (also, anyone watching those items will get reminders as well). The second reason goes back to the 50 free listings and the way I batch inventory together. Start them on a Friday one minute apart from each other, they end on a Sunday one after the other, and then they're in the exact order I need them to be in for relisting. At the same time, anyone who comes across an item that they want immediately will make the purchase right away (Fixed Price/But It Now happening any hour of the day or night like you said) and not think "Hey I definitely want that!!" followed by "Oh man, I have to wait until the auction ends to see if I even win it?". To my thinking, I've covered both types of buyers as best as I'm able to.