I see that crazy lamp lady, list all her stuff at 4.99 in auctions.

[reincarnated-treasures]

I see that the crazy lamp lady, list all her stuff at 4.99 in auctions. She always has great bidders. How is that possible? I'm afraid people would wait till last minute and bid on my stuff for that small amount . Then I would be in the hole.

[farmalljr]

She has a LARGE following. 

[joseh1445]

Since people know her from YT.  She brings her own traffic.  And because of that, if you get couple people trying to outbid each other, the bids get out of control.

A better questions to ask, will be how many of those bidders pay.  

[this*old*attic]

That business model works for some, and they have both repeat customers and a social media presence 

[dbfolks166mt]

     As a seller that is the one thing I love about auctions as a buyer it's the one thing I hate. I have sold and been paid for several items on auction that brought WAY more than what the market indicated they should have brought. I have also been a buyer on a number of auctions both on and off of eBay where after what I considered to be a few reasonable bids on my part I have watched the items sell for way more than what I could acquire them for elsewhere. It only takes two determined bidders to make an auction. It's like the crazy hot Christmas toy that everyone just has to have that sells for 10 times more than you can get it for 6 months later. 

[rugerskick]

This is a significant factor.  There are a lot of sellers on youtube that get a lot of exposure and that helps their online sales.

[katzrul15]

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@joseh1445 wrote:

Since people know her from YT.  She brings her own traffic.  And because of that, if you get couple people trying to outbid each other, the bids get out of control.

A better questions to ask, will be how many of those bidders pay.  

---

Exactly - how many actually do pay.....

[joseh1445]

I understand what you are saying.  In my case, I don't do auctions, or have "Best Offer", on any of my items.  I just got tired of people getting into a bidder contest, and when it comes to paying.  This people don't pay.  As far as best offer.  The back and forth, only to end up with another non payer...

Every one is different, and if doing auctions and having best offers, is working for you.  Do them.  In my case, BIN works for me.

Good luck on your selling journey!

[anjofak]

If you build it they will come...and combine shipping! 

[chapeau-noir]

How do these crazy lamps manifest their insanity?  Random on/off?  Their bulbs explode at odd moments? They talk to their imaginary friends? They use current that doesn't exist?  Or do they simply have kind of 'off' social manners?

[femmefan1946]

The thing that confuses me (besides that she picks up stuff that I consider to be kitsch on its best day) is that those followers must know what she paid for the items.

The videos are fun and she seems a very pleasant and outgoing young woman.

[chapeau-noir]

Never underestimate the attraction of kitsch! 

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@reincarnated-treasures 

Because she built up a good reputation and she is considered somewhat of a Rockstar in the YouTube- ebay world.

     She's delightful to watch, knows her stuff, willing to learn new things and teaches newcomers the art of picking as well.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques · Accepted solution]

As others have said, this is the power of social media. (which is one reason ebay keeps recommending that sellers use social media). She has a YouTube channel with over 200,000 subscribers, she has one or two Facebook Groups (not just her own FB page), and possibly some other social media outlets. It is also the power of video, which is one reason ebay recommends creating an About Store video. 

All of this is, of course, extra work, but it pays off both in terms of adding revenue streams and in terms of increasing overall ebay sales, sales velocity, and probably ASP.  She doesn't live all that far from me, and I know one of the antique malls not too far from me has had her (and a couple other You Tube "celebrities") at their shop for meet and greets.  

Obviously, doing what she does is not for everyone. But it can certainly be made to work, as she and others prove every day.

[mr_lincoln]

@reincarnated-treasures    She has a YouTube channel and makes more money there then selling on eBay and other venues.  Originally her business came from thrift stores but then she ventured out in to the world of live auctions.  I met her once at a local auction and saw her at several other auction venues.   If memory serves one of her YouTube videos was about her first live auction ...

Mr. L