Has anybody had any success with loss leader type sales

[motorgirl63]

I am thinking about going around the house and listing stuff for 99 cents or 1.29 plus shipping most of the items would be under 3 bucks to ship 

Would you list at 99 cents and 3.00 ship or would you list at 3.99

I am think about doing this for a few reasons 

I have too much stuff laying around 

I have massive medical bills for myself and dogs 

I am in too rural an area to have successful yard sale 

I am thinking it will get people to view my other items 

Maybe make about 20-25 listings per day 

What say you ? Has anybody tried it?

I have tried running markdowns and listing stuff at what I feel is a bargain 

I feel like I am beating a dying horse 

Funny thing is when you rent a house use utilities people actually want to be paid 

Thank you in advance 

[sharingtheland]

I've never done the 99 cent or loss leader thing, although I have given up on a few widgets and listed them at loss-for-me prices.

The one positive thing that could happen is if you list that many new things every day, you will get a bump in visibility and could possibly sell some higher priced items, too.

[annadryl]

Kind of, but only when selling a lot in the same category. When I was selling DVD's I'd always have a few cheaper ones that might garner some interest. Then they'd see all the better ones. With combined shipping sometimes sales take off as long as they're in the door. With mixed stuff... maybe. It depends on the stuff!

Good luck

[luckythewinner]

---

@motorgirl63 wrote:

I am thinking about going around the house and listing stuff for 99 cents or 1.29 
{snip}

I am thinking it will get people to view my other items 

---

I am very skeptical that listing random items for 99 cents would somehow attract sales to other items. 

I think it will simply attract sales to the 99 cents items, especially if there is no connection between the loss leader items and the rest of the inventory. 

[sharingtheland]

I am very skeptical that listing random items for 99 cents would somehow attract sales to other items. 

Wouldn't buyers be tempted to look at OP's other listings, checking for more bargains?

Again, listing that many new items per day will produce a bump in visibility; who's to say it won't be the higher priced items that finally get seen and purchased?  Worth a try if bills must be paid.

[luckythewinner]

---

@sharingtheland wrote:

Wouldn't buyers be tempted to look at OP's other listings, checking for more bargains?

---

If you read the very next sentence in my post, you would see that I do not believe that is the case. 

[nowthatsjustducky]

---

@luckythewinner wrote:

I am very skeptical that listing random items for 99 cents would somehow attract sales to other items. 

I think it will simply attract sales to the 99 cents items, especially if there is no connection between the loss leader items and the rest of the inventory. 

---

When I am shopping on eBay, it is usually only for one specific thing that I am interested in now.  So if I am looking at your 99 cent item, then that is what I specifically searched for, that particular item.  I buy it, and I am done.  I am not interested in a random shopping spree, and likely won't be looking further at what else you have.  I searched, found what I was looking for, made the purchase, and that is it.

[solarshift7]

As another poster said "who's to say..."  Most sellers that have been around for awhile have trialed different techniques for their accounts.  In your case I'd just make sure however you try with the 99 cent sales, try to make sure your postage is enough to cover that cost.   In my early days I hemorraged badly because of postage...but everyone's got their own horror stories.  I know you're wanting to loss-leader some things but consider your listing fees, PP fees and don't forget the cost of your own time listing these things.  Maybe it would be better put "how much of a loss am I willing to take on each item?"  Take good pictures and give good descriptions for each item so that you don't SNAD and somehow lose more money in the long run.  If you're going to all this trouble to reel people in to your other items, you better make **bleep**-sure the other itmes are going to be profitable.

I have a sister that did a lot of 99 cent stuff a few years ago but the fees and postage ate her up.  She' s since found better sources for things and is getting higher rings because she's researching each item better and I think that's what's made the biggest difference for her.  Her overall sales per day may still be about the same but her stuff is better quality and most importantly she's seeing profit this time around.  Good luck with your experiment.

[ted_200]

---

@motorgirl63 wrote:

I am thinking about going around the house and listing stuff for 99 cents or 1.29 plus shipping most of the items would be under 3 bucks to ship 

Would you list at 99 cents and 3.00 ship or would you list at 3.99

I am think about doing this for a few reasons 

I have too much stuff laying around 

I have massive medical bills for myself and dogs 

I am in too rural an area to have successful yard sale 

I am thinking it will get people to view my other items 

Maybe make about 20-25 listings per day 

What say you ? Has anybody tried it?

I have tried running markdowns and listing stuff at what I feel is a bargain 

I feel like I am beating a dying horse 

Funny thing is when you rent a house use utilities people actually want to be paid 

Thank you in advance 

---

Well... I'm not sure about the "loss leader" concept... OTOH, if it's "stuff" you don't want around, it doesn't have any other potential (you can't get $4 for it, or even $2 for it, at a yard sale... doesn't have any donation / tax write off value... etc.), then I guess "loss leader" is OK.   The prevailing wisdom on that stuff here will be "throw it out", but that won't pay any bills at all. 

Auctions are dead ducks in most categories, but if I were thinking "loss leader", I might try that.   Run it as a 99¢ start auction with $3.00 shipping.   If it gets a bid, you get the same result, and you could always luck into more than 99¢ at the end.  FWIW, I still sell on eBay using this model only.  But I sell in a category where auctions work well that has a long history of auction transactions and a decent pool of bidders willing to buy that way. 

All of this assumes you've got "Free" listings to use for this project.  If you're paying Insertion Fees, I'd avoid listing the stuff in any format. 

[ted_200]

---

@luckythewinner wrote:

---

@sharingtheland wrote:

Wouldn't buyers be tempted to look at OP's other listings, checking for more bargains?

---

If you read the very next sentence in my post, you would see that I do not believe that is the case. 

---

That's why I suggested Auction format.  Most Fixed Price retail buyers won't be lured to the other listings... people who buy Auctions though are generally bargain hunting, and generally are willing to buy a broader spectrum and more quantity of items "... if The Price Is Right".  

[moon*pi]

Cheap listings bring in cheap buyers, who are usually new low feedback impatient and picky.

I checked some of your listings, the High and Tight pipes... the pictures are small. At $300/$400 buyers want to see what they are buying. Harley's are the Iphone of bikes, fit and finish are upper most in the buyers mind. Everything you sell that fits on a bike needs to have large well composed gallerys.

[luckythewinner]

---

@ted_200 wrote:
people who buy Auctions though are generally bargain hunting, and generally are willing to buy a broader spectrum and more quantity of items "... if The Price Is Right".  

---

I don't disagree.

But I suspect they will do what I do in that case - simply buy up the other desirable loss-leaders and skip the full priced items.

[zzydny]

I don't really think that 99 cents works unless you're Chinese.  I'm not trying to be awful but look at all the stuff from the China sellers who sell too low just because they can.  However, there are people who search US Only, so you need to try appealing to them.

If you're gonna sell, you need to make sure that you're getting enough to cover all of your costs (packing materials, ink for the printer, gas to drive to the PO).  99 cents won't do that for you.   You need to clear $1 minimum on anything you sell. 

Having said that, what about doing 4.99/Free Ship?  Just that little bit extra makes it look like you have something worth buying.  You might get the Fast N Free flag which helps push sales.  And you'd clear that dollar that you need.

If you can list 20 items a day, try doing this for a set period of time--give it a month or three, and do it every day.  It can't hurt to try new stuff but you do have to follow through for long enough to see if it really works.  Give it a try!  Any change can help move things forward.

I need to go on a posting blitz myself. Frankly, I'm trying to make enough to cover my electric bill, too.   I wish you and the doggies well! 

[colletpw]

What really does work are hot auctions.

High demand items which will eventually sell for $300 can create a hot auction when started at 99c.  Surrounding one of those with a few dozen lower end BINs will draw attention to the BINs.

99c BINs, and 99c junk auctions aren't very good at pulling in buyers.

[automotivepartsrecyclrs]

If you do the math selling for 99 cents might want to include a new bill besides medical. Add what you owe Ebay for sellers fees and let's not forget that rather large paypal bill.