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...

[d-k_treasures]

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@buynwtnow wrote:

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...

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If you charge 50.00 + 10.00 shipping, you are still paying the fees on 60.00, not 50.00.

[swenson8781]

Sorry that happened to you, that's a hard lesson to learn that way.  The 'recommended starting price' is almost always wrong, and clothing/shoes don't do well at auction anymore, so even if the watchers are there the bids don't usually come in.

Stick with fixed price, or if you do run auctions (which isn't a bad idea at all), ALWAYS start them at the lowest price you are okay with selling them for.

[goodluckselling]

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@buynwtnow wrote:

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! 

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Sounds like bad business decisions on your part.  I get it though to blame someone else for your mistakes.  After all, it is the world we live in.

Good Luck Selling!

[sockmonkeydave]

@womensclothesandshoes

Never EVER take ebay's suggestions, bad things happen.

Sell your i-phone is on the front page, the number one scam target.

It is easy to make money on ebay...

List it..ship it... get paid...NO that is not how it works.

You set your prices at what you want.

Auctions are a thing of the past.

I need printer ink, but I am not going to wait for a week to see if I won.

I buy it now, I need it now.

[mr_lincoln]

@womensclothesandshoes  eBay & PayPal Fees are based on the TOTAL for both Item and Shipping.  If shipping is listed as Free then the Fees are just on the item.

Sadly many new sellers get caught in the 99 CENT Auction ploy and lose their shirt ... any price listed, be it Fixed Price or the Starting Auction price, should cover FEES & Profit, the cost of the item (if any), shipping cost if item listed with Free shipping, etc. 

[pantlandia]

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@buynwtnow wrote:

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 -- $6.00

A pair of Authentic True religions Jeans-$1 -- $1.00 (You finally got one right!)

A pair of expensive mother Jeans-$1 -- $4.25

An $860 pair of Valentino Shoes- $1 -- $13.50

And ...wait for it....a $1276 Versaci blouse, for...you guessed it...$1! -- $7.50

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...

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I fixed what things actually sold for. Don't get me wrong, they sold for ridiculously low prices, but you lose a lot of credibility when you come trying to prove a point and lie about stuff. 

Good luck to you.

[billythekid16]

As others have mentioned, never do 99¢ auctions unless you are happy to get rid of it at that price, worst case scenario.

Always do bare-bones math before listing it at 99¢... the buyer pays both the shipping and the fees. Make sure you get 99¢ in the end. Never do free shipping in this instance.

So far this year, I had 14 99¢ auctions sold on the first bid. I have no complaints as I do take home 99¢ literally on each of them. And I knew what I was getting into. I'm fine with it.

[turquoisetulips]

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 .

[goodluckselling]

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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!

[zzydny]

Oh, that is seriously painful!  Sorry that happened to you.  I did this once, too.....and only once.  It's an expensive lesson that is never forgotten.

I never ever accept eBay's pricing suggestions--they are buyer-biased and far too low.  My personal rules:  Never list for a penny less than I am willing to accept and Always earn the minimum of  $1 on any item I sell.

[hawkwind5454]

The sad thing is, there was a time when one could have stared out @ a $1.00, and, likely, would have been fine, enjoying an escalating price, as bidders bid.  Ebay simply does not have the bidding fire, it once had, for a number of reasons.  It's the luck-of-the-draw, if your listings even get seen.  Then, you need at least two bidders (who aren't super-cheap) who both want your item.  Anymore, that's a lot to ask for, here on ebay.  

[nowthatsjustducky]

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@hawkwind5454 wrote:

@The sad thing is, there was a time when one could have stared out @ a $1.00, and, likely, would have been fine, enjoying an escalating price, as bidders bid.  Ebay simply does not have the bidding fire, it once had, for a number of reasons.  It's the luck-of-the-draw, if your listings even get seen.  Then, you need at least two bidders (who aren't super-cheap) who both want your item.  Anymore, that's a lot to ask for, here on ebay.  

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That was back in the days when all listings were auction format.  There were no fixed price listings, and there was no Buy It Now to tack onto the auctions.

[d-k_treasures]

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@nowthatsjustducky wrote:

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@hawkwind5454 wrote:

@The sad thing is, there was a time when one could have stared out @ a $1.00, and, likely, would have been fine, enjoying an escalating price, as bidders bid.  Ebay simply does not have the bidding fire, it once had, for a number of reasons.  It's the luck-of-the-draw, if your listings even get seen.  Then, you need at least two bidders (who aren't super-cheap) who both want your item.  Anymore, that's a lot to ask for, here on ebay.  

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That was back in the days when all listings were auction format.  There were no fixed price listings, and there was no Buy It Now to tack onto the auctions.

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

[mistwomandancing]

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buynwtnow wrote:

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

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

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Well, as you say, you learned your lesson.  That is a good lesson TO learn... figure the money that you didn't get as the cost of your education.

Now, use your OWN head in the future to plan and execute your business.  You are responsible for your decisions, so if you're going to listen to anyone else, including auto-bot programs that run on this site or any others, think about whether the advice you are hearing is remotely sensible and smart.

Good luck in the future.