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?   🤣

[chevymontecarlo88]

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@hartungcards wrote:

If you list a Lions Club banner for $0.99, I might bid on it.

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I second that @hartungcards !

If @sakic92710 starts a Lions Club banner at .99 cents, i will bid on it as well. 

I am sure if you list it @sakic92710 a few of us may bid on it to show support of our Canadian brother.

Are you including shipping for it?

[az93]

I'll watch!

[sakic92710]

$0.99 & free shipping?  Of course - because I want every sale to cost me $10-15.   lol

[yuzuha]

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@iamalwaysright wrote:

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.

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Yep, I've had items sit for years and then one day out of the blue they sell for my full asking price. They just needed the right buyer to come along.

[chapeau-noir]

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@hartungcards wrote:

If you list a Lions Club banner for $0.99, I might bid on it.

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Three things will survive the Apocalypse: Cockroaches, Twinkies and Lions Club banner jokes.

[foster9]

Why would you want to fritter away your time performing this experiment? There are many more

meaningful and exciting things to do in life.

[chevymontecarlo88]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

$0.99 & free shipping?  Of course - because I want every sale to cost me $10-15.   lol

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Don't think of it that way @sakic92710 .

Just do it for the masses. Besides, i don't think it should cost $14.01 to ship a banner (Folded in Poly mailer). Are you padding your shipping charges?

[conservitvs]

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@yuzuha wrote:

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They just needed the right buyer to come along.

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And the right buyer has to be able to find it in a sea of irrelevant, garbage listings. 

[sakic92710]

***1*** banner shipped in a bubble mailer, to the US, would cost about $12-14.00 Cdn. minimum.  Canada Post is the one padding the charges.

[sakic92710]

"Just do it for the masses."   Yes!  Because - who needs things like food & a roof over their head?   lol

[sin-n-dex]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

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?   🤣

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I have 100 auctions running weekly (sometimes) at 99 cents. They are trade dollars, they have an approximate $1.50-$3 value.

I sell every single one. There's one guy who places a minimum bid on all of them, anything that is wanted by someone else, there's some bidding.

I would do 1000 auctions, but trying to pack that on a Sunday evening is too much work. I had 270 auctions a few weeks ago and my minimum bidder won 247 of them. I spent two hours packing is order.

C.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@sakic92710 Obviously, you would have to consider the shipping costs when choosing what to offer on auction. 99 cents sounds like a bargain, but buyers will also be looking at the total cost, and if shipping is $14, and the buyer can buy the same item locally for $10, well, then that 99 cent price isn't all that inviting. On the other hand, if the item would cost the buyer $100 locally, well then 99 cents plus $14 looks pretty good. 

Obviously, what makes the 99 cent auction attractive is the idea that the buyer might get a really good bargain. And that means the seller has to have the nerve to list really good items at 99 cents, knowing he could lose out. 

[sakic92710]

I wouldn't post items for $0.99 that costs $14 for S/H.  Someone else brought up the topic of Lions Club banners & asked if there would be free shipping.  Also, they would not be items that people can just go out & pick up locally.

[sakic92710]

I would post items that are similar & hope for 1-3 buyers who want several of them.  1 buyer bidding on most or all would be great.  I would not list for $0.99 & expect bids to go to $6, 7, 10, 15.  If something did, even better!  🙂

[simply-the-best-for-you]

What would be the point of the 'experiment' & how would the 'masses' benefit from the experiment?  Are you simply wondering if you would sell 80?  I can already tell you the answer, it depends on what you're selling.   Also, even when auctions were in their prime, I never did well with them,  if I did that experiment, I'd probably sell 10.   The few times I tried mass auctions, almost always a 1% STR and that was when auctions were big.  I haven't done an auction in WELL over a decade.  Auctions are really not where it's at, so unless you are in a catergory where auctions do well (there are some), I'd say you'll be lucky to sell 10.  Not sure your experiment would benefit me in any way.  But then, I don't consider myself a part of the 'masses' either.  

You must have already sold the Van Halen pins or stickers, whatever they were.  I would buy one of those for 99 cents.   Oh, which reminds me, when I did have my 1% auction sales, they sold for opening bid 99% of the time & I probably ran 5-6 of those experiments, on another ID with my entire inventory of approx 1000 back then.  Maybe you'll have better luck, but auctions are not the way I'd go for most items.