I've come to the conclusion a lot of people don't actually want to sell things.

[bargainsandbaubles]

Besides buying and selling I also collect many things.

So many people aren't actually interested in selling things.

Allow me to explain. The auction format is best for either two cases. Either you are not sure of the item's value, or you wish to start things low to get rid of it. Traditional in-person auctions operate on this principal, the bid is lowered until someone wants it. eBay used to have this feature, called "dutch auctions", but got rid of it in 2009.

So what do I see on the auction format 99% of the time?

Items with a starting bid of their retail price. This is totally nonsensical. If you look the item up and see 3 exact items selling (completed listings) for $200, $210 and $215, why waste 5-10 days listing it at auction with a starting bid of $199.99 when you could just list it for $199.99 buy it now and be done with it?

Two different sellers of an item I was interested in, started an item at say $199.99. Both items didn't get a bid on them. So what do both sellers do?

Relist the item at fixed price, but with a HIGHER price. If no one bid $200, what makes you think someone is going to pay you $350? These are not slow moving items I collect, a lot of what I buy is very popular and sells quickly (when priced within reason).

Or they list it in auction for $199.99, and then the same price when it doesn't sell. Again and again. Gee, here's an idea, maybe lower the price $20 and it will possibly get a bid? I watched an item a seller relisted for the same, completely overpriced starting bid for 14 **bleep** months. I messaged them twice asking if they would consider relisting a bit lower, no reply.

So that leads me to the conclusion that a lot of these sellers must be old antique dealers, used to items sitting in a dimly lit booth for months on end. 90% of what I list is gone within 30 days. A fast nickel beats a slow dime. That's more money in my pocket to buy more inventory. You can talk to some of these sellers who complain they aren't making money, yet have upwards of 10,000 items listed. Well if you are sitting on inventory for upwards of 2-3 years, no wonder you have no money to buy more inventory.

In that case, they aren't even sellers. They are hoarders who happen to have an eBay store.

Look up completed listings, find a low average and list it for that. That's all I do, and my inventory moves. The real estate market runs off "comps". Homes move quickly when they are priced at what the market will bear. No different in listing items on eBay.

Getting back to the premise of my point, so much of what I collect, is years of very slow buying because 1-2 sellers will have an item priced within past sold prices, and a half dozen or more will want 50%-100% or more of that. It...never..sells.

Worse yet is when they have best offer. Ok, fixed price of $199.99, I offer $180 or $185. More than fair. They come back with $198.99. What? Why even bother having b/o if you are going to knock a whole dollar off a $200 item.

[the_memphis_mark]

I use eBay mostly to buy niche items that I can't find locally. First, I do a Google search for the specific item. If I find there are listings on eBay, I check for items nearest me, prices, quality of a collectable, and seller feedback. If an item interests me, I place it on my watch-list, regardless of price, distance, or seller reputation.

Astute eBay sellers will send me a lower price offer. I usually end-up buying from seller offers if the price + shipping is within my price range if the seller has good feedback. Seller offers show me that the seller is interested in not only selling the the item at an acceptable price, but also in interacting with the people who visit his digital store.

It's like going around a mall to check the prices of items, then coming back to the store with decent prices but more importantly with great customer service.

Hence if you are a seller, actively make discount offers to buyers who are watching your items. We are not only watching your item but are actively shopping around for similar items from other sellers. If you make us an offer while we are in the process of shopping around, we will likely look up your feedback, then check your other items as well as accepting your offer.

[yuzuha]

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@glasser wrote:

Good point. Some items take a while to find the right buyer. when I sell books--infrequently--this is my strategy. It's gonna take a while.

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I've had some rare collectibles sit for over three years before they found their buyer. But, when said buyer came along, they were happy to pay my asking price because the items WERE rare. They just didn't have a ton of demand.

[autopartspuller]

As someone who sells in several categories, both new and used I can say that I use a different method of sales for every category

I only use auctions for items when I am trying to get people to notice a good sale that I am running.  It definitely gets the attention of people looking for a good deal and my sales always pick up.

Auto Parts are their own beast and I have some items I know I can price at top dollar and they will sell every time.  Others will be the absolute cheapest and not budge for 4 years.  But they do eventually sell.  Just had an item sell that had been listed for 6 years.  The part just doesnt break often but, I like to have everything available as much as possible.. so it sits.  That same buyer purchased two other parts for combined shipping but started with that one extremely cheap, long sitting item.

I have a specific type of collectors item which sell extremely quickly when I list it at the absolute highest price range (using recently sold items, highest price mark).  I rarely keep the item in stock more than a month.  If I price it lower, it will sit for months.  That's because it's easily damaged but, the damage isnt easily photographed so people assume if it's priced low, it's damaged.  In the same store, I sell other collectables,  Some have sat for years but, they are those items that need the "right" buyer.

I use Best offer on everything that it not new.  New items have a very specific price range for profit which is not a large margin so there is just no room for offers.  It's priced at the best price I can offer.

[mr_lincoln]

@bargainsandbaubles   Thanks for posting.  I sell a lot on the Auction format but eBay's version is not a true auction like the live ones you mention or some of the other online auction formats that use a Soft close to extend bidding time if folks are still bidding at the end.  If anything eBay should adopt the soft close feature.  because of these differences auction on eBay SHOULD be priced closer to retail and if 2 Bidders really want the item it will bid higher.  I price the starting auction amount the same way I would a Fixed priced listing so if it sells on one bid I make a profit, more bids then more profit.

Sadly, eBay encourages Sellers to start their Auctions low and we read here how Auctions get cancelled and Buyer think it is because the Seller did not get enough bids on their item ...

[glasser]

I don't think eBay encourages low starting prices on auctions. I don't think eBay encourage auctions at all 🙂

I agree about soft close. Snipping is a relic of the old days. Most auctions have soft closes.  Brick and mortar auctions go until the bidding stops.

At the end of the day you have to know your market in terms of value and what sells. I like auctions because I am fairly confident of what things will sell.  I find that when I put thing up BIN even below what I think is the value I get few watchers and no sales.  You need to be ready to lose a few and also be pleasantly surprised on others. Like item you think will go for around $600 and sells for $1100.

[glasser]

@linus.hux72fe agree with what you say. Fresh merchandise and stuff selling is what makes the market dynamic. If every time I come bac I see the same stuff. yawn and move on.

[go-bad-chicken]

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@bargainsandbaubles wrote:

Look up completed listings, find a low average and list it for that. That's all I do, and my inventory moves. The real estate market runs off "comps". Homes move quickly when they are priced at what the market will bear. No different in listing items on eBay.

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You do realize that when you look at sold items here on eBay that you are not going to be shown everything that has actually been sold. Sellers who use the out of stock function have the ability to hide the items that they have sold if they choose to. They also have the ability to show the the item as sold but manipulate the price that is shown in either direction both higher or lower than the item actually sold for.

That is why solely relying on what eBay shows as sold is not a very accurate way to determine an items market value. 

[coolections]

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@glasser wrote:

Snipping is a relic of the old days.

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Most items I watch are in high demand and rarely does an item ever not get a snipe at the end. The only exceptions is if the seller already started the bid higher than market value and no one bids, or if the item started low and has already been bid up to, or higher than market value. It all depends what the seller is selling. Someone trying to auction a common household item, clothing, etc. should not be using auctions in the first place.

[coolections]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

What concerns me about this is that the OP apparently believes that he has already won this boat. when what he has won is the chance to possibly win the boat.  

He apparently believes that by filling out the form and sending it in he will receive the boat.

Reading comprehension issue? 

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Hooking one of the fifty (50) MTN DEW Golden Fishing Cans will score fans exclusive outdoor prizes and experiences, including MTN DEW branded sweatshirts, T-shirts, coolers and spinning rods. Plus, ten (10) lucky fans will have the chance to win the ultimate jackpot: a 2021 Phoenix Bass Boat 818 Pro, with a grand prize virtual meet and greet with Pro Bass Angler Gerald Swindle. 

Correct, the OP has not won the boat but he does have a chance to win the boat. He may have just won a T-Shirt.  😀  He really needs to fill out the form and find out what he actually won before  doing anything.

[ou8124u13]

Ok what i see and seen is people post an item like a 1962 D circulated Lincoln cent,for $500 and they'll do a few of them and then they'll fake sell it, not everybody looks at how many bids were bid, repost the same item for half price so people think they're getting a deal and buy it.And there doing this alot, I collect coins if you want to know what a coins really worth,go to P.C.G.S Web site will tell you what a coins really worth believe me I've disappointed myself many times thinking a coin I had waz worth a lot more than what it was really worth. In conclusion I think eBay is getting taken over by a bunch of scammers and it sucks because now I'm forced to go somewhere else.

[ou8124u13]

Oh and yes a 1962 D Lincoln cent the circulated it's worth $8,000 to $10,000, but circulated $1 to $10 if it's nice.

[kh-shakhib]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.