Best way to price items

[rosiedarecycler]

I am completely eBay illiterate… I’ve just started listing and, taking what I thought was eBay‘s suggestion, listed a few more valuable items at low prices hoping to attract buyers…  There are only a few days left in the auctions. I will not sell the items for what they are at right now. Is my only option to cancel and be left with a bad review? I’ve contacted eBay but they were not extremely helpful! Thanks so much

[lamber9347]

@rosiedarecycler Welcome to selling. First rule for online selling is always make starting bid the lowest amount you are willing to accept. If you cancel auctions with bids on them that is against policy here. Yes those buyers can and will leave you deserved negative feedback, which will highly impact your future sales. Plus you may receive a demerit for canceling auctions with active bids on them. This platform needs buyers to function and they want the buying experience to always be great. Canceling auctions is not the way to do that. You may want to take the loss and use it as a learning experience for future. Best of luck to you....

[duncanvr]

You can cancel them if no bids before items end and should be no problem. For your type of items forget auctions!! Are you aware bidders often don't bother to pay when they win auctions? Use buy it now. Use your own pricing if you follow their suggested pricing you will sell at a loss and won't last long. Buy items in demand and list them for some profit. Check ebay listings from other sellers to see how they are pricing them. Check solds as well under advanced search. The main thing is you need to profit so you can keep reinvesting in more items to list. Also set your buy it nows for immediate payment make sure you changed auction format to goods til cancelled. Do not take ebay suggestions as they are often wrong.

[maxine*j]

The two previous posters have given good advice.

I will just note that the listing for the Key West dress, on which you had bids, is troubling, because it says in the description that the dress is  "in need of a wash!"

eBay policy on used clothing is that, "Used clothing must be properly cleaned and include a statement that the item has been properly cleaned."

Full policy here:
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/used-clothing-policy?id=4281

Likewise, the used bedding that you have listed should be cleaned and have that noted in the listing.  I hope you will take this as the constuctive criticism it's meant to be. 

=

[jayjaspersgarage]

I appreciate your advice on noting that the pre-owned clothes have been washed.  I am slowly ramping up my clothing listings and did that without needing a suggestion.

[jayjaspersgarage]

You would best let the auctions run and mail the items.  The negative consequences far outweigh a small loss on a couple items.  Your main focus needs to be on establishing a 100% positive feedback as a new seller.  

If you are desperate for quick cash ebay is not the right place to sell.  The pricing advice is spot on from the other sellers.  Start where you can accept that amount.  I would use fixed price on your items over $50.

[katzrul15]

Would not cancel bids or end auctions with bids.

[maxine*j]

I hope you don't mind, but I just looked at another of your listings, for the blue silk/rayon kimono.  Two comments that I hope are helpful:

You have a reserve on the auction.  Buyers hate reserves, and eBay charges you a hefty fee for using reserves, so you may want to rethink that if you're going to continue to use auctions.

You say the item is unisex and you don't know the size but it "appears to be approx. Medium."  No two clothing makers, and no two clothing wearers, have the same idea of "medium," nor is a "medium"  the same in men's and women's sizing.  So you will have a much better chance of selling it if you will lay the garment out flat, take precise measurements, and include those in the listing.  

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[jonathankirkland]

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@maxine*j wrote:

I hope you don't mind, but I just looked at another of your listings, for the blue silk/rayon kimono.  Two comments that I hope are helpful:

You have a reserve on the auction.  Buyers hate reserves, and eBay charges you a hefty fee for using reserves, so you may want to rethink that if you're going to continue to use auctions.

You say the item is unisex and you don't know the size but it "appears to be approx. Medium."  No two clothing makers, and no two clothing wearers, have the same idea of "medium," nor is a "medium"  the same in men's and women's sizing.  So you will have a much better chance of selling it if you will lay the garment out flat, take precise measurements, and include those in the listing.  

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Excellent advice and spot on.

@rosiedarecycler 

Before you continue here I HIGHLY recommend you read and fully understand, at the very least, the following 3 links:

ebay Money Back Guarantee (for buyers)

https://pages.ebay.com/ebay-money-back-guarantee/

Selling policies

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/selling-policies?id=4214

Managed payments

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/service-and-payments/managed-payments-on-ebay.html

Additionally, if you have any spare time, I also highly recommend just hanging around these boards and reading various articles to learn information and how to deal with problems when they arise.

I do NOT like to spread fear or advise people not to sell on ebay but it is in every sellers best interest to learn how the site actually works instead of just assuming things and hoping. Being informed is very important.

I wish you the best of luck!

[duffy4444]

   The one thing I have not yet see on this post is the concern over scams.

   You are a brand new buyer with 0 feedbacks as of right now. You are a prime target for very capable scammers of many different means.

   PLEASE read a few hundred of the posts here on "selling", until you get an idea of what to do and what NOT to do, in order to protect yourself and your money. Scammers are much more astute than new sellers, and you very well could have to take a loss on both your item AND your money if not careful, wise and proactive.

   Cheers, Duffy

[redmodelt]

Clear non cluttered background showing only what is being sold. What you see with your eyes is not what the camera or buyers see when they look at your listing.  Keep the back drop a solid color, no prints.

[biggymoe]

Lots of good advice already.

I would add that a lot of buyers don't even read the descriptions.  The look at the pic and the price and bid, or buy.  Title space is limited, so you can't always mention defects, in the title, but it can create problems after the sale.

As far as low bids right now, not a big concern yet.  A lot of bidders wait until the last minute, to bid, but no guarantee that will happen.  As previously mentioned, don't have starting price, lower than you are willing to let the item go for.

[2013grotz]

That's probably the biggest thing for your listings, @rosiedarecycler .  Don't stage your items when you take pictures, just show the item.  

As an aside, sometimes I'll take pictures of small items with a ruler so the buyer can get a better idea of what the item is, but knowing I'll probably get bit one day for not sending the ruler too. (gotten bit for about everything else possible that I couldn't have imagined before)

[fashunu4eeuh]

If you end an auction with bids, eBay may charge you the Final Value fee as a penalty. So be aware of the consequences of ending a listing. Negative feedback is not the only drawback.

The same thing can happen with cancelling a transaction because you are unhappy with the outcome. You might get a defect and/or a penalty fee.

Selling on eBay is not easy.

Below are the policies on how to, and what happens when, a seller ends a listing, and the ramifications of cancelling a transaction.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/cancelling-listing?id=4146

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/cancelling-transaction?id=4136