How do you feel about Buy It Now?

[cindiwat]

I'm thinking to put all my auctions as "Buy It Now," because then I will get immediate payment. How do you feel about this, and what has been your experience?

[nowthatsjustducky]

My biggest reason for putting fixed price items on my watch list is because I am comparison shopping (yes, there are places other than eBay where things get sold online); and adding to the watch list makes it easy to get back to if I decide to buy.

Usually though, I do end up finding it elsewhere, or I decide I don't need it after all, and then I will likely forget that it was on my watch list until I get a notification about it; after which I am like, "Oh.  Forgot all about that.  Better take it off my list next time I am logged into that account."  And of course, when that time comes, I forget about it until the next time a notification comes up.  Rinse, repeat.  🙂

[penguins_dont_fly]

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@cindiwat wrote:

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

Since you are either a new seller (0 FB) or using a posting ID, it's hard to know what you plan to sell.

But as others have said, Fixed Price/Buy It Now is the norm on eBay.

I suspect the only reason auctions still are available is because eBay brands itself as an auction site, and this differentiates it from most online sites.

I moved most of my listings to Fixed Price and Stores* almost as soon as they came available, around 2002.

At that time Store items were not in Search, but it was still worthwhile.

You get up to 30 days of visibility for the same price as a seven day auction.

Most buyers are using mobiles these days. They want immediate gratification.  Fixed Price is for these buyers.

You can add Immediate Payment Required. Most of the complaints we see here about deadbeat buyers are from auction sellers.  With IPR your listing stays available until someone actually pays.

BTW, while listing on a computer is a Best Practice, look at your new listings on a mobile to see what your customers are seeing. You may be surprised. You can revise most easily on a computer, though.

*Don't open a Store until you have at least 100 unique items listed and know what DSRs are

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I want to sell my husband's mass collection of dvds which he's not using anymore. (with his permission, of course.) So it's getting frustrating for me to figure which dvds are going for good prices, but maybe i'll learn. It seems that fixed price is different than BIN, but I'm not sure how yet.

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Cindi... You seem to be confused about some terms that we are using here 🙂

BIN = Buy it Now = The button that eBay shows the buyer

You can list an auction (not fixed price) and add an option for BIN 

Auctions can not require IPR (Immediate Payment Required)

You can list with a Fixed Price (no auction, no Best Offer) ... this is what most folks mean when they say they list as BIN. There is no "make bid" button, only the "Buy it Now" ... the price is set by the seller when the item is listed.

BIN listings can require IPR

You can list with a Fixed Price with Best Offer Enabled (BIN with BO) ...the buyer has the option of hitting "Buy it Now" or making an offer

BIN w BO can require IPR, but IPR is only enforced if the buyer hits the BIN ... it is  bypassed if the buyer makes an Offer

[cindiwat]

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@penguins_dont_fly wrote:

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Cindi... You seem to be confused about some terms that we are using here 🙂

BIN = Buy it Now = The button that eBay shows the buyer

You can list an auction (not fixed price) and add an option for BIN 

Auctions can not require IPR (Immediate Payment Required)

You can list with a Fixed Price (no auction, no Best Offer) ... this is what most folks mean when they say they list as BIN. There is no "make bid" button, only the "Buy it Now" ... the price is set by the seller when the item is listed.

BIN listings can require IPR

You can list with a Fixed Price with Best Offer Enabled (BIN with BO) ...the buyer has the option of hitting "Buy it Now" or making an offer

BIN w BO can require IPR, but IPR is only enforced if the buyer hits the BIN ... it is  bypassed if the buyer makes an Offer

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OK, thanks, you're right, I am confused. but I'm trying. 🙂

So. I am trying BIN only (no auction) and pricing as I would like it. We'll see how that works. As I said, it's because of the nonpayers that moved me to do this.

Because Best Offer permitted, I am reluctant to use that now because of the deadbeats I have encountered lately. So right now I'll see how BIN with nothing else works. Thanks for your help. And yes, I can be (am) confused a lot. But repetition can make success, just like memorizing a new address or phone number. 🙂

[vintageantique77]

Ditto. Auctions are so easily shilled and manipulated. I always try to use BIN when BUYING. Selling....I'll swing for an auction to get people looking at it. If you let your item sit too long on the BIN format, it will get lost in the depths of eBay after about a week. IMO

[divwido]

I prefer them for buying and I"m liking them more and more for selling.  with the billions of items on eBay-I'm not sure seven to ten days is long enough to get your item seen.

[cindiwat]

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@divwido wrote:

I prefer them for buying and I"m liking them more and more for selling.  with the billions of items on eBay-I'm not sure seven to ten days is long enough to get your item seen.

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I appreciate that. I started one out with 10 days thinking I'd just like to get rid of the item asap, but I appreciate the thought to wait longer. I have one up for 30 days BIN, the other for 10 days BIN. I'll have to be patient, maybe take more blood pressure pills. (joke)

[cindiwat]

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@vintageantique77 wrote:
Ditto. Auctions are so easily shilled and manipulated. I always try to use BIN when BUYING. Selling....I'll swing for an auction to get people looking at it. If you let your item sit too long on the BIN format, it will get lost in the depths of eBay after about a week. IMO

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uh oh -- now I have a different opinion about the length of time which is best. So how long do you keep the auction going for? But that isn't my problem with auctions -- it's the bidders that are not paying -- that's my problem. 😞 sigh.

[magicjohnsonsvariety]

Why not try adding Buy it now to some of your existing auctions. Not many do this but it works for me. 

Auction lovers tend to place their bids earlier to erase the BIN option....

and sometimes the BIN crowd will buy fast before that first opening bid comes in. It's a race and it all depends who sees your item first.

[yuzuha]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@vintageantique77 wrote:

All of my BIN listings have watchers....Why?...Why?..If you want it.....buy..it.......now.

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I watch dozens of fixed price listings. And generally speaking, I watch them because I do not want to buy them ... now.  Here are just a few of my reasons why I watch items without buying: 

• I am searching eBay for similar items to compare price or quality
• I am searching local stores for similar items to compare price or quality
• I have no idea whether your asking price is reasonable, so I am researching it
• I can't remember if I have it already, so I'm watching it while I check  
• I want my wife have a look at it and see if she likes it
• I can't afford it now, but if I sell something I might splurge
• I'm waiting to see if I win one at auction, if not I might buy yours
• It's too expensive, but if you ever lower the price I might buy it
• It's too expensive, but I want to see if some fool will actually pay your price
• I'm just not sure I want it

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To add to that:

• I want it, but there are other things I want more and I only have so much money
• I'm keeping it in mind for a gift for a friend but I might get them something else instead
• I'm not sure if it's what I want/need
• I'm deciding between two things
• I have one that I want to sell so I'm keeping an eye on the going price
• I'm trying to see if I can find it cheaper somewhere else first
• It's not quite what I want, but it will do if I can't find the perfect thing

[reallynicestamps]

@cindiwat

Used DVDs are a hard sell.

A few years ago, the thrifts put the cases out, but you picked up the disc at the counter. Now the cases include the discs, because the shoplifters don't have a market for them.

I list some (sealed/new) DVDs but they don't sell well for me. I find punk and heavy metal bands do better than most and country is pointless.

You may do best lotting them by artist and selling that way. Watch the shipping cost on that.

I would suggest that you use your old ID for selling. As you probably know, sellers with low FB are scammer magnets.
Use this ID for future buying.

FB is meaningless for buyers, who can only get positives.

And really negs are few and far between if you photograph as if you had no words and describe as if you have no pictures.

BTW- if you have a scanner, flat things look better when scanned than photographed and you can get better detail.

[reallynicestamps]

@sandytexas1961

I feel like my store items are sometimes not shown very much over the course of 30 days.  I get most of my sales immediately after listing and right before they are ending

I tend to agree, but there is no extra cost and less work in putting up a 30 day listing than two seven day auctions.

Also, while Best Match may prefer newly listed and about to close, and those are also popular Searches, many people also use Lowest Price or Highest Price. The latter is my preference because it moves the misdescribed carp to the bottom of the list and I can quickly sift down to my price point, fairly confident that the sellers are more knowledgable about their products.

[cindiwat]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

@cindiwat

Used DVDs are a hard sell.

A few years ago, the thrifts put the cases out, but you picked up the disc at the counter. Now the cases include the discs, because the shoplifters don't have a market for them.

I list some (sealed/new) DVDs but they don't sell well for me. I find punk and heavy metal bands do better than most and country is pointless.

You may do best lotting them by artist and selling that way. Watch the shipping cost on that.

I would suggest that you use your old ID for selling. As you probably know, sellers with low FB are scammer magnets.
Use this ID for future buying.

FB is meaningless for buyers, who can only get positives.

And really negs are few and far between if you photograph as if you had no words and describe as if you have no pictures.

BTW- if you have a scanner, flat things look better when scanned than photographed and you can get better detail.

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Thank you for all that. I will try to follow your advice. All that money spent on new dvds. sigh. I told my husband not to do it, but -- you're right, I can't deal with a few dvds at a time. I'll be working on lots. Thanks.

[chapeau-noir]

I list some (sealed/new) DVDs but they don't sell well for me. I find punk and heavy metal bands do better than most and country is pointless.

You may do best lotting them by artist and selling that way. Watch the shipping cost on that.

Are you meaning DVDs or CDs?  DVDs can do very well - I sell every single set of DVDs I list for a good price (a nice price for my buyer and a little space made in my library).  But CDs go for next to nothing on eBay unless they're rare. I have hundreds of CDs to sell to clear out my library but I'll take them to the local buy/sell store.

For DVDs, I sell fixed price. I used to sell VHS on auction, but they were hard to find title and collections.

I would price the DVDs in a general way (i.e., not by title so much as genre) fixed price, roll in the shipping so it's free shipping and see how it goes. You can always price adjust.

[postype]

Without getting into all the technical details, the bottom line is to do both. Items you know will sell at a good price, should be at a fixed price for what you think it's worth considering condition. However, there is nothing wrong with auctions. One thing to remember is that there is nothing wrong with waiting for an auction to end and waiting for payment. The question is, do you want to make a sale? If so then wait patiently for it to sell, then wait patiently for the buyer to pay. The buyer will do one of two things, pay for it or not pay for it. My personal rule is after waiting for 5 days, send a message to the buyer with a friendly reminder and do it again after a few more days if the buyer still doesn't respont. If after a certain point the buyer just isn't responding, then file an unpaid item case against the buyer. 
Don't worry about being paid, the bottom line is making the sale, people are generally honest and 99% of the time they will pay. For instance a buyer after getting reminders to pay from you for let's say 3 weeks, finally gets back to you and says something like, "Oh I am so sorry, I was out of town and just wasn't aware, I will pay it today".  So you made the sale and your buyer finally paid, all is good.
Don't take it personally, it's business, just be polite and professional, regardless what happens. There is always the rare instance you have to report a bad buyer, if so, then just report them.
Over time you will learn what to sell at auction and what to sell at fixed price. It's really not rocket science, it's just common sense. Remember don't ever have a starting price at auction for less than what you think the item is worth or less than the minimum you want. If the item is worth it, then someone will bid or you will get many bids.
If you know an item will sell at a profit for you or a big price, then start at 99 cents, high demand items you know will sell without a doubt, then start the auction at a high price you think it's worth at the minimum. But you have to know your stuff or do your research on an item beforehand. Knowledge is power.
Good Luck.

[bigdeals.etc]

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@cindiwat wrote:

I'm thinking to put all my auctions as "Buy It Now," because then I will get immediate payment. How do you feel about this, and what has been your experience?

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