There is no rationale for this large discrepancy.

[sakic92710]

Does anyone else feel the frustration of trying to improve sales when you do a sold search on eBay & find that prices have absolutely no consistency?  This is one of the finest examples I can see to show my meaning.  Look up National Geographic Afghan girl.  The one at the top of the list, in my search, shows it sold for $75.  As you go down the page, you will see prices greatly vary from as low as $7.00.  Several in the $15-35 range.  The one that sold for $75 was listed as new.  One sold for $10 on Mar. 8 - also as new.   Please explain this as if you are convincing a new online seller how to figure out what prices to set your items at to help gain sales.  I'm an online seller for almost 25 years & it makes absolutely NO SENSE to me!   lol  Please do not answer with the standard, "Well, list items at prices that you know will make a profit for YOU."  This does not help if a seller believes they can sell an item for $75 but is competing with others selling it for $10.

[sin-n-dex]

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@kensgiftshop wrote:

It might have sold for $75, but that doesn't mean the buyer paid for it.

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As I pointed out, it could be a seller initiated offer. I'm sure I have stuff that says it sold for 59.99 that I sent an offer for $45 and sold it for that price. (But I believe there's a way to check actual sold price, I was referring to the sold price when you look at my selling history).

C.

[reallynicestamps]

I wonder how much the young woman, now in her 30s and at last report the mother of three, got for the original portrait and for the continuing sales.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I don't worry about it at all!  It's been that way & always will be.  It was that way in 96 when I started & luckily I learned my lesson early on.  Someone in the 2000's when I made this my actual job, I had a dress to sell that was listed for $4.99.  I had planned to sell the same dress, but planned to charge $100 for it.  Having had a lot of sales training & IT knowledge, I listed it at $100.  It sold within a few days for my price, despite their being another one listed for $4.99. 

Why?  Either the person was shown/navigated to mine & not the $5 one due to algorithms or sometimes people are suspicious when items are too cheap, so maybe people were suspicious of the $5 one.  I've never let it bother me, I list at the price I want & I don't worry what others are doing.  

[chapeau-noir]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

Of course there is an explanation for traffic surges.  More people are driving their vehicles on a certain piece of payment.   😛

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But WHY are there surges?

[tobaccocardyahoo]

As long as there has been an Ebay, Ebay prices for other than high demand items have been inconsistent.

People do not spend their lives shopping on Ebay as they did when Ebay was new.

The collectors for many items have died off.

Social pressures have deterred people from buying certain items.

Ebay sellers may know less than ever before in some categories, and will price to make a small profit, leaving money on the table.

The Ebay auction is rarely an appropriate way to sell most items.

Many sellers have no space, no patience and no money so they will sell for a fraction of a reasonable price to another seller who will make a larger profit in a longer time.

[wastingtime101]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

Look up National Geographic Afghan girl.  The one at the top of the list, in my search, shows it sold for $75.

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If you're using sold search instead of Product Research then you are not seeing the full picture.

The $75 listing with free ship? It sold for $50 plus $23 ship.

The buyer was in Italy and had less options available to them. Condition also played a factor.

When we remove the few outliers and filter results to remove very low and very high price (using filter of $9-$40 range) we see the past 90 days avg sold price of $18.50. That number drops slightly when we remove items in 'new' condition.

[simba6]

Flea-market prices vary as the crow flies.  Always been that way.   Part of the fun of shopping in such places. You never know what you will find for a good buy.

[sakic92710]

lol  Really?  Same reason as why there is a shower or there is pouring rain.   MORE water.  Traffic surges = more people on the road going somewhere at the same time.   What next?  Do you want to know why the sun rises?  😛

[chapeau-noir]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

lol  Really?  Same reason as why there is a shower or there is pouring rain.   MORE water.  Traffic surges = more people on the road going somewhere at the same time.   What next?  Do you want to know why the sun rises?  😛

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You're not getting this at all. 🙄 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Oh gawd, I finally understand the title.  It only took me staring at it 3x.  OP, you mean rationale. 

[chapeau-noir]

This thread has answered a number of questions for me.

[fbusoni]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

 Please explain this as if you are convincing a new online seller how to figure out what prices to set your items at to help gain sales.  

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Let's give this a try.  

Look up at the sky.  You see the clouds?  How they come in all shape and sizes?  Some are white, round and puffy and in the eyes of some people look pretty; others are dark and menacing and there are still other people who think these clouds look scary.

The reason for all the variety is that there are all sorts of things going on in the upper atmosphere which determine the clouds'  ever-changing appearance.... things like the position of the sun, temperatures, the direction of the wind, moisture levels and other phenomena that are invisible to us here down on the ground.

Likewise, there are many invisible factors which determine how items on eBay are priced... we cannot know what is in the minds of those who put up listings with all sorts of different prices. It's so frustrating, I know!!  Why can't people just be normal and sane and rational SMH*!! 

Now, if you want to be a big cloud that looks like a hippopotamus, price your listing with a big number.   If you want to look like a cloud that resembles a mouse, price it with a little number.    We don't really know whether a particular buyer on eBay likes hippos or mice, but surely there will be some that like at least one of each. 

_______

*I just learned yesterday what SMH means.  

[meme6253]

I find it Very Hard to believe in competitive pricing here for the exact reasoning that you point out, there is such a wide price range for the same or similar items, Of course some sellers may have sourced a little better & can offer a lower price, Others are very desperate for sales that they drop their inventory to an incredibly  low price, Others have just jumped on the selling bandwagon & just don't have a clue, All this & more makes it very difficult to even come to a happy medium.

[sakic92710]

This leads me to the previous point we both have been making.  Someone said the $75 issue actually sold for $50.  Why pay $50 when you can find it online for $10?  Maybe because they do not see it?  We have both complained how some items are not available to be seen by everyone during their searches & received backlash for it.  lol  Some answer out of both sides of their mouth.  😛   This topic contributes to that situation.

[wastingtime101]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

Someone said the $75 issue actually sold for $50.  Why pay $50 when you can find it online for $10?

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As I mentioned, that buyer was in Italy and the $10 listings may not offer shipping to Italy.

That item was in excellent condition and the $10 listings may not have been in that good condition, or may not have been available with shipping to Italy.

Obviously there are items that sell at outlier pricing - very high or very low - with no rhyme or reason. I don't see anybody disputing that. Just saying for this specific item there are some plausible reasons to look at.