Price Comparison including International Shipping. Is it accurately portrayed in Sold listings

[spinkid000]

OK, here is my question.

        I'm sure like many of you I look at what current identical versions of my item sell for by searching Sold listings and listing highest to lowest.

Sometimes there may be only a few listings shown as Sold.  For Example, I'm pricing some Playmobil Sets and from sold.   I got these three matching results, same condition, etc.

$15.01

Buy It Now

+$25.66 shipping

from France

$23.13

Buy It Now

+$15.05 shipping

from Germany

$20.04

Buy It Now

+$18.26 shipping estimate

from United Kingdom

$14.83

Buy It Now

Free shipping

(This one shipped from U.S.)

How should I price my new listing?

Did Americans really pay  The price AND the shipping?  Or did it simply sell on an ebay platform locally and the buyer paid their home shipping rate.  The Item costs are similar enough.

There is one listed active at $14.99 and Free Shipping

I'm thinking that's where I'd price mine.    Thoughts?

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

I believe the shipping cost shown in those listings is what it would have cost for you to have it shipped from the seller's location to you, and do not believe it reflects the actual shipping cost paid by a buyer at that time.

Considering the prices don't vary much between 15-23... obviously I'd price within there. 

As to what to price yours at, below, above or same price as competitor, too many factors to evaluate. 

Condition, seller reliability, how do you do your listings vs them. I mean, you could command a premium if you're a reputable seller and make professional listings and the next one over looks like a schmuck.

I laugh at how people pass over the "bargains" and go for the higher priced listings for the exact same items... all because the seller and the listing looks more reliable/professional. I get the psychology, but I weigh the risks before I spend more, I'm inclined to take the bargain unless I really need a premium item or don't trust the bargain seller.... That being said, as a seller, I'm happy to present as the reliable and professional seller and accept that premium price for my item that is truly equivalent to that of my sloppy competitor. 

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Not to state the obvious, but also be aware that a "traditionally" American item in a foreign country may command a premium of it's own by being locally available as a "foreign" item relative to it's present location.

[spinkid000]

I'm finally catching up many months later, but yeah, of course some foreign buyers will pay a premium.  In the early days of ebay we would love foreign bidders on auctions, but not as winners because the shipping was a hassle.  ebay's global shipping program makes that seem as old as the stone age.

I ended up pricing them at $16.99

I go for a professional look, but many of my listings have enough of a personal touch  to let people not to expect a fully automated seller.  I think you are right about that being the rate I would pay.  The dollar amounts were within range.

btw, I love finding a lazy seller with a poorly worded lot of items that has some gems hidden in it.

[lacemaker3]

@spinkid000,

The best way to search for sold prices is on Terapeak. If you have found some similar listings on different eBay websites, you can search on that particular eBay site by changing the eBay site using the drop-down list in the top right corner.

Terapeak only shows items that were paid for, with the exact price that the buyer paid for shipping, and you can research items that were sold within the past year, which is an advantage over the eBay sold-items search..

Terapeak:

https://www.ebay.com/sh/research?marketplace=EBAY-US&tabName=SOLD

[dbfolks166mt]

     When I am doing market value research I tend to ignore the shipping unless it is free shipping since as ajszcz740  mentioned the shipping costs are based on where you are located as the potential buyer. If it's free shipping of course the seller has baked the shipping cost into the price of the item. 

     I tend to price based on the item price and since I use calculated shipping potential buyers will see different shipping costs similar to what you see in your search results. Since you are using free shipping then of course the active listing posted at $14.99 and the one that sold for $14.83 may be more reflective of a price depending on other factors like the condition of the item(s) so your decision to list them at $16.99 is probably not a bad price to start with. 

[soh.maryl]

In the early days of eBay, you would "love foreign bidders but not as winners"? Why? What does a seller gain, exactly, from a bidder who doesn't win?  

[nkpina2014]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

In the early days of eBay, you would "love foreign bidders but not as winners"? Why? What does a seller gain, exactly, from a bidder who doesn't win?  

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A seller gains more bids to push the price upwards. If the international buyer doesn't win, it's 100% to the benefit of the seller. No hassles with shipping internationally, and the domestic buyers pays more. 

But as another poster stated - this is all a stone age discussion, because Ebay International Shipping is a thing now.