Try an experiment for the masses? lol

[sakic92710]

Should I try an experiment for the masses?  Help give an indicator of what really happens on eBay?   The experiment ---> list 1000 auctions - all starting at $0.99.   Would I be able to sell 80 of them?   lol  Would it be worth the effort to earn $42?   😛   Of course, $25 of the $42 would need to cover my cost for having a store again.  I would be able to buy a 2 for 1 fish & chips meal.  Who wants to fine dine with me?   🤣

[iamalwaysright]

0.99 starting bid with free shipping?

It would depend on what you’re selling. For instance, if you’re listing one forever stamp then most likely none of them will sell.

[wastingtime101]

OP is in Canada so I'd be surprised if they offered free ship on 99c auctions.

Not really an experiment for the "masses" - more like an experiment for the small number of Canadian sellers that sell the same types of collectibles.

[iamalwaysright]

There was a time that I would throw a bunch of my one offs and clearance items as auctions with 99 cent start but like $4 shipping. Stuff that normally sells in fixed price for about $15-$20. All brand new stuff, I just didn’t want to keep track of them inventory wise or take up storage space. I’d say about half of them sold at 99c with one bid. I took it as a loss leader to draw people in. 

A lot of them didn’t even sell. I’d have to relist them and many times they still went unsold. Then I would sit that item to list others, then I’d get a message from someone asking for that item I benched and they’d pay the $15 for it.

From that I’ve learned that many things are not suited for auctions let alone at low bid starts. Sometimes your item isn’t selling not because it’s priced high, but because the intended buyer hasn’t seen your listing yet.

[wastingtime101]

There's also the pitfall of price too low and people question if you're a shady seller with shady product. Or price too low and attract the type of buyer that always has a post-sale problem.

[sakic92710]

I love how so many sellers chime in with their opinions based on not having any idea what the OP's thought process is.  You have NO idea what I would plan on listing.  What does it have to do with being Canadian, also?  What we post to sell isn't comparable to Americans' items or what they wish to purchase?   lol  

[richardwillardcollection]

No waste of time. Buy things for pennies on the dollar. I know this sounds hard, but look in thrift stores, marketplace F.B. craigs list and flea markets and garage sales. Then list the items on eBay for cheap, less than eBay sales history says they go for. And promote all the listings giving eBay 30% of sales money, use free shipping. Then you will sell plenty, you might make a little money, very little, but you will have sales and you will be busy. Or get a job.

[sakic92710]

Any other negative aspects to share?  Yep!  "Shady seller" with 4000+ FB & 100%.  You got me!  😛

[sakic92710]

If you are going to sell for $0.99 & offer free shipping, you might as well set a match to everything & save yourself $.  🙂

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

This can work, there are sellers who do exactly what you're talking about. However, I believe success is probably tied to at least a few things: One. Being choosy about what you offer on auction. Two. Accepting the fact that some items will sell for less than you would like, some might not sell at all, but this can be evened out by the fact that some things will sell for better than you expected. Obviously, you have to keep track of your numbers pretty clearly. Three. Work to develop a following. I think developing a repeat customer base, and constantly working to attract new bidders is probably very important. 

Best of luck if you give it a try, and keep us posted.

[wastingtime101]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

You have NO idea what I would plan on listing.  What does it have to do with being Canadian, also?  What we post to sell isn't comparable to Americans' items or what they wish to purchase?   lol  

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Only reason I mentioned it is because it affects shipping rates: Canada to US.

Of course your inventory is comparable, but shipping rates can be very different, depending on the items. I think that's a relevant factor when talking about a 99c listing, do you not?

You didn't provide enough info about ship costs for the 99c listings and I think it's a valid discussion point when saying it's an experiment for the 'masses'.

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@sakic92710 wrote:

Yep!  "Shady seller" with 4000+ FB & 100%. 

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That comment was not directed at you. I made no negative remarks about or towards you. That was a general comment about pricing too low. The seller I was responding to sells new product, often with big name brands, not the same types of collectibles you sell. With the type of product that person sells, pricing too low can be a red flag and a reason to not even click on the listing to check out the seller.

And generally speaking if someone were to list, say, the latest iPhone at a low price, that's a red flag for a scammer. Again, general discussion about low pricing that has nothing to do with your specific product or you as a seller.

Generally speaking, selling collectibles better lends itself to starting an auction at a low price. I expect you'd see some traffic with 99c listings unless you're applying it to long-tail items.

Come on man, I am one of the sellers around here that does not put you down. Don't read into my comments something negative just because others like to pick apart your listings.

[sakic92710]

No worries.  🙂  I wasn't taking it personally.  Just meant it as if someone thought I was a shady seller, by not believing my selling record, I don't want their business anyway.   The one person was correct in saying (if I did try) I would be going with items that did only cost me pennies, dimes, quarters.  lol  S/H would be $4.00 or more depending on if someone bought 10-20 etc.

[wastingtime101]

If you do run the experiment I hope it goes well for you. Good luck with it. 🤑

[iamalwaysright]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

There's also the pitfall of price too low and people question if you're a shady seller with shady product. Or price too low and attract the type of buyer that always has a post-sale problem.

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Yea I was also thinking that. I’ll admit whenever I see something for sale that I’m looking for the the price is way too low my gut reaction is it’s too good to be true and I just move on.

[iamalwaysright]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

No worries.  🙂  I wasn't taking it personally.  Just meant it as if someone thought I was a shady seller, by not believing my selling record, I don't want their business anyway.   The one person was correct in saying (if I did try) I would be going with items that did only cost me pennies, dimes, quarters.  lol  S/H would be $4.00 or more depending on if someone bought 10-20 etc.

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I’d say give it a shot and just see. Pretty much all of the stuff I listed in auction in the past I didn’t care if I just junked it all. They were already trash to me in my eyes. So I just spent and wasted some time to test stuff out kinda like what you’re thinking now. I also saw that I don’t utilize the 1,000 free auctions eBay gives me every month. So I thought why not. I actually passed most of the work to my employee who actually helped him understand eBay more. So I’d consider it a training session for him.

I don’t even remember if I broke even with that stuff or not. I do know I had a few buyers who bought one of the auctions at dirt cheap, loved the quality and asked me for similar but different variations and I pointed them to the full priced listings. I’ll likely do it again though when my Mt. Crapmore pile builds up again. It made me learn some new changes to auctions that weren’t around before back when I still auctioned.