I won't deny the value of having mostly BIN listings with immediate payment required, the benefit there is obvious. And for most items, if you look at Solds, the BIN's tend to show higher prices than the auction win amounts, of the same item. -Part of that is just the fact that there's only so many people who will see an auction listing inside the maximum 10 days that it can run, whereas if you have an item BIN priced on the high side of reasonable, it might take longer but you'll get it eventually, just a matter of the right person finding the listing. That said, if you auction something that you know will fetch at least your minimum bid, and assuming the winner isn't a deadbeat, you won't have to wait for 'eventually;' you'll have that item sold in a matter of days.
Not all types of items are appropriate for auctioning of course. The best candidate is something that is rare and highly desirable; then the bidders can sort out how much they're willing to pay, and in SOME categories if you look at Solds, it's the auctions that fetched higher prices than the BIN's. Some examples of vintage jewelry (my main category) are like that, including mixed lots of 'dazzle' -it puts bidders in a frenzy and I've tried to list these as BIN's and it just doesn't work - something about a semi-mysterious mixed lot just arouses the gambling streak or something.
But IF you have something you think is a good candidate for using the auction format, I encourage you to get the most out of the listing by using PROMOTED LISTING EXPRESS (the promotion just for auctions), which is a flat, small, fee that you pay when the auction launches, and not a penny more afterward, no matter how high the winning bid turns out to be. Now keep in mind, this $.99 - $2.99 (varies by category) is charged immediately, no refund if you get no bids, so don't do it unless you know you'll get at least your starting bid. But if you use it, MAN do you get your money's worth. I see my auctions alllll over my competitors' listings.
And here's a side perk, which is no small thing itself -any time a buyer is drawn to one of your listings, they may check out what else you have. My recent history is a perfect example of this, check out how bad my views were getting until Sunday night. And no, the spike isn't just views on the 3 auctions I started; I'm seeing increases in views on many of my BIN listings too, and watchers, offers, and sales. So clearly these auctions were the shot in the arm that my store needed to come back from the dead. And it cost me only $4.47 (3 X $1.49).
Not saying it will work for everyone, but it's worth trying.
Yeah storewide sales haven't worked well for me in recent times like they used to. Your 'combo' idea sounds good. I usually do 7 day auctions. Really what I aim for is to have the closing be on Sunday night between supper and bedtime (U.S. time zones, so about 8:30 Central time). I don't know if it's the peak time for all categories but for vintage jewelry it seems to cause a sniper freakout, pretty often, much better than any other day/time I've tried. I picture middle aged ladies like myself, at the end of an unfulfilling weekend, the Monday grind right around the corner, and wanting just one little thrill before hitting the hay. 🤣
But this was funny, this past Sunday. I had only one of the listings fully ready at 8:30, but I went ahead and listed all 3 a few minutes apart, with the unfinished two having just this photograph, until I added the real ones in the next few hours. When I was a fish nerd and selling live fish on Aquabid ("the eBay of the aquaria hobby"), they let you set your exact closing time whenever you wanted, no need for solid 24-hour increments. I wish we had that here too, but oh well, we find our workarounds, don't we?
