Lesson Learned- DONT LIST ANYTHING FOR $1

[womensclothesandshoes]

I learned a hard lesson this week about starting auctions at $1- reccommended by eBay!

I sold:

A $275 Banana Republic dress, new with tags- $1

A pair of Authentic True religions Jeans-$1

A pair of expensive mother Jeans-$1

An $860 pair of Valentino Shoes- $1

And ...wait for it....a $1276 Versaci blouse, for...you guessed it...$1! 

Dont start your items at $1 or .99 unless you expect to get that. Granted some things will bring more but not in my experience. 

Also, if you give free shipping, you'll get killed on it. Also, eBay gets their 10% on your full sale, so if you say have a 50 item and charge $10 shpping, but put it at $60 to give free shipping, now your paying $6 in fees, not $5. Just an FYI. Maybe it does boost the listing but it can sure add up. 

I'm sure I am not the first or last person this happened to, but if it helps anyone...

[hawkwind5454]

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@kyal wrote:
That was the, this is now. Times change.


Hmmm...I thought I [essentially] said that.   

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[magicjohnsonsvariety]

Auctions are my speciality, but clothing is one catagory that has become way too overcrowded to expect good auction results. Those SRP prices printed on the tags are a figmint of someone's imagination and are not relevant on ebay.

I stopped doing 99 cent auctions years ago, although i still start everything under $10 regardless of item. Works for me but it's not for the faint-hearted. 

[castlemagicmemories]

Conventional wisdom says never start an item at less than you are comfortable taking for that item.

As you see, just one or two bids doesn't accomplish much.

[goodluckselling]

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@sharingtheland wrote:

Sounds like bad business decisions on your part. 

or

Under 1.00 pricing is a very valuable tool 

Which one is it?  Which one of your statements should the OP heed?

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Are you suggesting that the OP made a wise decision? 

Do you dispute my statement that under 1.00 pricing is a valuable tool? 

I can learn a lot about who you are as a seller from your answers.

Good Luck Selling!

Good Luck Selling!

[coolections]

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

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And also when they let new users actually bid on auctions - and show them in search.

@d-k_treasures 

Your mistaken. They still do let all users bid on items. Unfortunately for the OP clothes are a dime a dozen and there are hundreds of pages. Buyers do not search hundreds of pages so they most likely stopped before getting to the OP's clothes. The OP knew exactly what they where getting into and knew it was only a recommendation. Starting a clothes items a $1 you have to use common sense when starting auctions.

[mr_lincoln]

@goodluckselling

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@goodluckselling wrote:

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@turquoisetulips wrote:

Bummer and I'm sorry this happened to you . However I'm glad to see you won't make the same mistakes again . I purchased a paint set from a seller one time who took e bays advice and listed it begining at 1 cent with free shipping on auction.  Sadly I was the only bidder . I knew the transaction was actually going to cost her money  so I messaged her to cancel it.  I don't think e bay should even recommend pricing , it seems to fool too many new sellers .

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Under 1.00 pricing is a very valuable tool for professional sellers because it creates opportunities that a business minded professional can use to their benefit. 

It really is no different than all the free offers on the internet like free ebooks, free lists, free anything on the internet.  Although you might get something for free that is actually useful so does the other party and it can become a very profitable venture if you learn to use it correctly. 

Marketing on the internet is largely based on quantity, that has a basic set percentage of success.  Sometimes you hit a home run as well.

Good Luck Selling! 

Good Luck Selling!

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For myself I don't agree.  Can you please explain the "valuable tool" that the $ 1.00 Auction represents and how one profits from the knowledge gained from losing time & money on the $ 1.00 Auction that does not bid up higher than ... $ 1.00?

[goodluckselling]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@goodluckselling

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@goodluckselling wrote:

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@turquoisetulips wrote:

Bummer and I'm sorry this happened to you . However I'm glad to see you won't make the same mistakes again . I purchased a paint set from a seller one time who took e bays advice and listed it begining at 1 cent with free shipping on auction.  Sadly I was the only bidder . I knew the transaction was actually going to cost her money  so I messaged her to cancel it.  I don't think e bay should even recommend pricing , it seems to fool too many new sellers .

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Under 1.00 pricing is a very valuable tool for professional sellers because it creates opportunities that a business minded professional can use to their benefit. 

It really is no different than all the free offers on the internet like free ebooks, free lists, free anything on the internet.  Although you might get something for free that is actually useful so does the other party and it can become a very profitable venture if you learn to use it correctly. 

Marketing on the internet is largely based on quantity, that has a basic set percentage of success.  Sometimes you hit a home run as well.

Good Luck Selling! 

Good Luck Selling!

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For myself I don't agree.  Can you please explain the "valuable tool" that the $ 1.00 Auction represents and how one profits from the knowledge gained from losing time & money on the $ 1.00 Auction that does not bid up higher than ... $ 1.00?

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Well if I have to I guess I will.  In business there is a very important detail called customer acquisition costs.  Without going into a 10,000 word post a 1.00 auction can be a very inexpensive investment to acheive this. 

Only a professional seller with marketing talent would probably know very much about this but it is used hundreds of thousands of times every day here on eBay, by small to very large big box sellers.

A 1.00 auction or BIN listing is probably one of the lowest cost acquisition techniques used on the internet.  It is a numbers game played with predetermined (educated estimates) results based on investment costs versus the direct marketed products and or services.

Here is an example.  An ice cream man fills up his truck with gas because he knows the farther he can travel the more opportunities he has at selling his product.  He has a cost involved in the gas to acquire buyers.  The more neighborhoods he can visit the more sales he will make.  His return visits to those same neighborhoods creates repeat business and raises his profit per customer. 

Good Luck Selling!

[mrrosado]

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear that.  I put minimum bids I'm willing to take.  You can always relist an item that does not sell.

[lookng2015]

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@coolections wrote:

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

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And also when they let new users actually bid on auctions - and show them in search.

@d-k_treasures 

Your mistaken. They still do let all users bid on items. Unfortunately for the OP clothes are a dime a dozen and there are hundreds of pages. Buyers do not search hundreds of pages so they most likely stopped before getting to the OP's clothes. The OP knew exactly what they where getting into and knew it was only a recommendation. Starting a clothes items a $1 you have to use common sense when starting auctions.

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Actually they don't. eBay big wigs have clearly stated in interviews that they planned on NOT showing auctions to new to the site buyers.

[coolections]

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@lookng2015 wrote:

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Actually they don't. eBay big wigs have clearly stated in interviews that they planned on NOT showing auctions to new to the site buyers.

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That's a fallacy taken out of context from some disgruntled employee. There has never been one bit of proof on these boards so far in all these years of complaints that an item does not show up. To add, she's complaining of only single bidders so they obviously where viewed and not hidden.

[timzbiz]

Don't worry, 50% of the time buyers never pay.

[turquoisetulips]

Good information there ,, thanks

[necessaryindulgencejewelry]

I read a book about selling on ebay that recommends starting everything at a rock bottom opening bid, because, she says, the market will give you the right price for the item. That hasn't been true for years, if it ever really was.  We had a better chance of getting a good price that way when bidding wars were common, but I haven't seen many of those in years and years.

[7606dennis]

Geez!  Are you saying that eBay's best practice of starting bids at 99¢ isn't a good thing?!  Heaven forbid! 

[d-k_treasures]

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@lookng2015 wrote:

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@coolections wrote:

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

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And also when they let new users actually bid on auctions - and show them in search.

@d-k_treasures 

Your mistaken. They still do let all users bid on items. Unfortunately for the OP clothes are a dime a dozen and there are hundreds of pages. Buyers do not search hundreds of pages so they most likely stopped before getting to the OP's clothes. The OP knew exactly what they where getting into and knew it was only a recommendation. Starting a clothes items a $1 you have to use common sense when starting auctions.

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Actually they don't. eBay big wigs have clearly stated in interviews that they planned on NOT showing auctions to new to the site buyers.

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And there are many posts on the buyers board that they might be able to make one or two bids when they find an auction, but then are totally shut off from bidding by ebay. They are then told that they have to make some BIN purchases first.