Posted an item for 1¢ and Free US Shipping and guess what...

[sinoue96xd]

Hi eBay'rs,

Put my toe back into the world of eBay selling. I created a handmade product that is basically a knife bar for holding men's grooming tools in their bathroom or closet. 

My biggest costs are time and a few dollars for the magnets and grooming tools. I looked up pricing strategies and several folks recommended the 1¢ and free US shipping as a good way of determining your product's true market value.

Do any of you do this? If my item sells for 1¢ should my take away be that there really isn't much of a market for simple male grooming tools? On Etsy I list it for $30 and it doesn't sell either. I suck at online marketing, but I'm not convinced paying for Google or Facebook ads would be any more profitable if there is no real demand. Thought about doing a local Arts & Crafts fair, but the fee is $300 and I'd have to create a lot of inventory just to find out that it might do just as poorly.

A friend recommended that I do a YouTube star product placement for a large fee, but that seems too fake to me. I'd rather get real user feedback and organic growth.

I love making stuff, but my current take away is that there isn't much of a market for hand made male grooming items other than as gifts to friends!

Thoughts?

Thanks for reading - Stephen

[omgitlightsup]

How are there three bids and it's at 1 cent?

[coolections]

Personally I doubt much demand and believe you will get any bids. Not sure how or why one person bid 3x for that unless it was your friend. If you really want more than 1 cent I suggest raising the price to around $5 which seams reasonable for that item.

[bonjourami]

Dont ever start your items at a penny with free shipping..thats a strange photo of your item..sorry..is it nailed to a tree?

[partial*eclipse]

All 3 bids are from the same member. So each bid must be higher than the previous one, but that won't show up until somebody bids against them.

[sg51]

Do any of you do this?

I have.  But I've replaced that with a different technique: list it for say $5.99 with $4.85 shipping.  See how long it takes to sell four of them.  If you sell fewer than 4 in 30 days, you have your answer.

If you sell 4 in a week, you might explore a higher price.

If my item sells for 1¢ should my take away be that there really isn't much of a market for simple male grooming tools?

Correct.  Time to move to a different product.

[1786davycrockett]

Well, how much money are you willing to lose, selling each item for 99 cents, plus free shipping?  

[coolections]

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@omgitlightsup wrote:

How are there three bids and it's at 1 cent?

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Same person. Price does not go up until there is a second person.

[sinoue96xd]

LOL - Maybe the photo is killing it!

Thanks for the no penny no free shipping advice.

The listing has a few other photos, but basically it is a strip of wood embedded with 4 strong magnets. It holds the tweezer, clippers and comb to the wood strip (the same way a magnetic knife rack works). The magnets can hold to a fridge or metal medicine cabinet, but come with 3M Command Strips (basically non-destructable removalbe sticky tape) that lets you put it to bathroom walls, closets or in this case a tree.

As for why the ManBar has 3 bids from the same person I'm not sure, but one of the other member's comment that it is probably the same person increasing their bid amount is probably accurate. It just hasn't gone over 1 cent since he is the only bidder (and no it isn't a friend as far as I know - they all have one already and said I should sell them online!). 

[bonjourami]

Good luck!

[omgitlightsup]

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@sinoue96xd wrote:

LOL - Maybe the photo is killing it!

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Actually, come to mention it....

I think your construction photo takes away from it. It gives the impression that it's just a hunk of wood and some magnets. 

I realize that it is just a hunk of wood and some magnets, but not everyone has a drill press and a 1" forstner bit, and a place where they can stain and varnish things. You do deserve credit for your work. You just shouldn't put photos like that in your listing IMO.

I would also ditch the outdoor one, manly as it is (and I appreciate outdoor grooming having served over a decade in the military)... and try to get a well-made shot of the thing hanging up in an actual bathroom.

[zzydny]

NO.  I made the mistake of listing an auction item for .99cents/Free Shipping only ONCE.  And you know what it sold for:  .99 cents.  The shipping hit me for about $10.  Never ever again.

I only do auction items 2 or 3 times a year.  And I never list any item for one penny less than I am willing to accept.  I still offer Free Shipping but I make sure the cost is absorbed into the price of the item.

You've made something really nice there.  It would be better to list it BIN for a reasonable price and then just wait for the right buyer.....but that's just my opinion.  (I'm still bitter about that .99 cent sale, after all.)

[ersatz_sobriquet]

Agreed. This auction is not going to end well for the seller. 

[beautiful-4-you]

I don't understand what it is. It looks like a piece of wood with holes in it.

You definitely need better pictures.

[dtexley3]

Redo the photos.  Seriously, redo them.  Don't do outdoors, it's a bathroom or bedroom product.  Don't show the construction.  Show different stains, maybe some simple edge routing or rounded corner version.   Emphasis the use, not the structure, "can be hung almost anywhere with the included command strips", etc.   

The comb is a bit off for me as well... who the heck uses a metal comb?

If at auction, set a reasonable minimum bid, don't lose money and think you'll make it up in volume or future sales, that never works.   I would echo the other posters that you should list it BIN at a reasonable price and shipping.  If it weighs less than 1 lb in a shipping package you can have shipping in the $4-$5 range, otherwise you're at 5.95 or 6.95 whatever the current small priority box rate is.