I've never found auctions effective.

[singular-source]

Buy it now sells for two to three times more.  Unless you have a super rare item with no sales to gauge value.  Why do people even use auction format anymore?  Well beyond huge inventory and need to sell fast...your losing a lot of money doing that...

[reallynicestamps]

According to Collectibles dealers, auction works well for them.

There is no point in it for mass produced items or impulse items (like used clothing) where there are a lot of comparables available.

EBay defaults new sellers into Auctions, because online auctions are part of eBay's brand. More experienced sellers have found the Advance/Business selling form and have learned to avoid them.  EBay is your landlord not your friend.

And another problem with auctions, they have ten times the number of Unpaids. And because so many are run by newbies who don't know how to open a Dispute, the deadbeat buyers don't get Strikes.

There is some hope that the new automatic Cancellation of unpaid purchases after four days will give those deadbeats a Strike and help the sellers who couldn't figure out Disputes.

And buyers have moved on. Why wait for seven days to learn you have been outbid by a last nano-second snipe?

[heckofagame]

I will use auctions when I have multiples of a certain item that I'm sure will have multiple bidders. It usually gives me the opportunity to send second chance offers. 

[singular-source]

Most people want an item NOW!  Auctions are dead.  The few that are left are newbs.  Friends and family are like auction on eBay.  NO!   Fixed price on eBay!

[stackers_xag]

Some sellers enjoy the auction format, it's a hobby for them, same as some buyers who enjoy biding on items.

Some will start their auction at a cheap price just to get rid of an item they don't want while still making a couple of bucks.

A lot of different reasons.

[flo_mingo]

Some items get stale with the auto relisting. I put items in auction at the end of the month to clear out dead inventory. I use up my remaining free listings for an end of the month sales. It gets items up in the forefront and clears out some slow moving items. Why would you be concerned about why others use auctions?

[southern*sweet*tea]

I sell collectibles and yes, auctions stink.

I set a higher price and use best offers. Far better results than auctions that just....end with no bidders at all, but will sell full price or my price otherwise.

[divwido]

I have the opposite problem.  BINs don't work well for me.  Auctions work great.

Who knows why.

[cajmere1]

Some items do better on auctions but not many, the good thing is auctions get you a guaranteed sale on the day you know it is going to end, not inventory piling up unsold.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@cajmere1 wrote:

Some items do better on auctions but not many, the good thing is auctions get you a guaranteed sale on the day you know it is going to end, not inventory piling up unsold.

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ummm, no.  That may be true for items that auctions are actually GOOD for - high demand, hard to find items - but not most stuff, unless a seller has a following.

I ran my first auctions in years a couple of weeks ago. ALL ended unsold.  There is no guarantee of a sale with an auction.

At least with the stuff I list, I know at some point in time most of it will eventually sell. It always has, it just takes time. Long tail stuff has to be available 24/7/365 so when that one right person comes along it's there and ready to buy.

[cajmere1]

I'm talking about starting an auction at $0.01, unless you have junk, the product will sell.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@cajmere1 wrote:

I'm talking about starting an auction at $0.01, unless you have junk, the product will sell.

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Can you even start an auction at a penny?

I once listed an old RMS Olympic timetable at auction, started it off at $5. Did that three times, never sold.  Junk I guess, something most people would throw away.

Listed at a fixed price of $110 with best offer.  It sold for $75 in about three weeks from listing. It cost me nothing - I found it between the page of an old book.   Looks like some  junk doesn't sell at auction, but will bring a pretty penny with fixed price or best offer. 

Guess I should have started at a penny and been happy with a $10 final bid lol

[u_cant_take_it_with_u]

Ebay auctions used to be very effective; But in order for it to be effective, you need at least two bidders who want the same item. Today, unless the item is reasonably rare or desirable, (or cheap) there is a good chance that will not happen. Personally, I find that today's eBay does not support a consistent, brisk, auction gambit.  And generally, bidders dislike to see a reserve on an item. If they're going to utilize their time bidding, they want a chance to get it at a reasonably cheap price.  And starting a listing out at a high "what-you-need-to-have" for it price can be an auction death sentence. 

[iart]

We almost always use auctions first, and then when they don't sell, relist as BINs with an increased price.

Most of our items don't have good comparable and prices can vary widely. But we consider in a lot of metrics including return policy, feedback, and professional listing practices (like proper condition descriptions).

Very few sell at auction but the prices are driven up enough to more than pay any extra fees. And we don't go for fast sales as much as we go for good prices.

[nidiatrodr0]

For rare items, the auction will be more reasonable than common items. Because each customer has needs and the value of the product lies in each person's preferences. LOL...