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...

[tunicaslot]

I agree - Months ago - I started a listing at 99 cents with free shipping in the clothing category. I did my research and found that these particular items often brought more money at auction vs sitting in a store at BIN. 

I was willing to loose the originally cost of the item if it didn't pan out - but the auction actually ended much higher tham similar BINs even tho I had free shipping. It was fun because it was like the old days! Looking to try and repeat it soon as I have another lot to sell. And my overall sales improved after this lot sold - you have to know if it makes sense tho - so research before listing anything that low and be willing to accept the consequences if it doesn't.

[plumbingspecials]

It seems maybe you do not know how FV fees work, nor what a reserve is.

Research policies before selling anything else.

[castlemagicmemories]

FWIW you are NOT the first seller this has happened to, and probably won't be the last!

99 cents might work for SOME items, and might have worked well in the past, but all too often now any item will just go off at ninety nine cents, as you found out.  It's sad because I think this contributes to sellers cancelling and re-listing, which disappoints buyers and erodes confidence in Ebay.  So while Ebay made a sale, it is at great cost as the seller and buyer are both disgusted.

Many posts reference a seller who did exactly what you did; some then say they will never use Ebay again; some buyers say the same thing.

Wish that suggestion was not out there regarding starting at 99 cents.

Sorry this happened to you.

[nowthatsjustducky]

eBay's pricing suggestions are the equivalent of the hired sign flipper suggesting to the store owner how to sell their merchandise.

[iart]

We never listed at a buck, but we've listed at 9.99.

We found that that was a very good way to sell valuable items for 9.99.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

Whatever happened to common sense? Everybody knows that you start auctions at whatever price is acceptable to you if there is only a single bid. Years ago, multiple bids were common on eBay but not any more. A starting price of $0.99 or $1.00 does NOTHING for the seller. In fact, it smacks of being a vendor of Chinese counterfeit items even if you aren't.

~~C~~

[faithandbutterflies]

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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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It takes a lot to make me angry and this ticks me off. eBay has been doing this for years and I see many new users fall for this including friends. Yes, of course people should take time to educate themselves before jumping on sites like eBay to sell things, but eBay makes it seem so simple. I get the same emails as everyone else. "Turn your phone into easy cash!" Then you go to list it and eBay suggests you list it for $1. Of course a new user is going to listen to eBay. Sigh It's just wrong. 

But, then again you have to think of our world today. Do many people take time to read help pages or terms of use? How often do we quickly scroll down just to check the box that we agree? How many times do we open a new computer program and toss the instructions aside? Same goes for board games? We are in a world today where we want results NOW. We don't want to take time to learn or read. 

I joined eBay over 15yrs ago and lost a lot of money because I jumped right in. I didn't know how to figure out shipping, the value of things or fees. I ran up over $100 in fees when I first joined! It was a hard lesson to learn to slow down and educate myself before I sold again. 

[plumbingspecials]

That is no excuse.
One cannot be mad at eBay for one's own laziness and naivety when it comes to TOS, fees and policies. If you do not understand, chances are you will lose money, so wouldn't it be in one's best interest to know before they leap into that "make easy money" spiel?
Just because one doesn't READ the rules, that does not nullify the rules.

[tunicaslot]

You're right - this is a seller with over 1000 items listed - they tried something that failed - they have a lot of very nice sales to make up for that. Lesson learned.

And as far as reeks of Chinese whatever - if you do your homework and are willing to accept the risk - those 99 cent auctions can pay off.

[kyal]

That was the, this is now. Times change.

Don't list a single item for less that you're comfortable getting - after taking into account the fees.

[bubbleman2010]

I like doing penny auctions with free shipping if you're going to lose might as well lose big,but I cheat because I study market demand prior to making the leap....

[rixstuff]

DEAR GOD NO!  OUCH!  You never list an item for less than you can live with.  You must be new.  Many of us learned that years ago - maybe as buyers, maybe from watching other sellers suffer.

My first sale on Ebay was an antique clock that Ebay advised me to start at 99 cents!!  I ignored them and started it at $100 and it went to almost $500!  Lesson learned.

Super low bids only work if there are tons of other bidders.  These days items dont have more than a couple of bidders.  Those couple of bidders may get into furious competition but maybe not.  Long gone are the days when you got $1200 for a Beanie Baby.  Now it is just a big old electronic yard sale.

[rixstuff]

One one of the spectrum is the seller of a $1200 item for 99 cents. On the OTHER side is the seller offering a used $15 Mart item for $100 because it is "vintage".  The rest of us are somewhere in the middle.

PS - Please tell me you didnt REALLY pay $1200 for Versaci - because that would make it counterfeit.  Versace now, that's a whole nother matter.

[sharingtheland]

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?

[stoneledge]

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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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Nonsensical question.