Why does eBay push auctions so hard?

[Anonymous]

I hate auctions - always have, always will. The worst thing is when you click on something on your feed that's $4.99 only to find out that's the starting price. WHO wants to auction watch for 7 freaking days? Dealing with a sniper site is just as much a pita because you're still having to check on the item. I mean, I'm a housewife that doesn't exactly have an active lifestyle. This is literally all I have to do, and I still miss out on auction items because they get lost on my watched list. eBay sends reminders, but it's 24 hours behorehand.

I feel like this is a failed format, yet eBay is pushing it on us more than ever. Do they really think they're going to make more money? I guess I get it if it's something that you're not that familiar with and don't really care what it sells for. But, I see auctions for stuff all the time that I know no one is ever going to bid up. It's so annoying now that we have to de-select "auction" on every new listing now. That is the only reason people even do auctions any more. I regularly offer sellers more $ on an item to let me buy it now. Especially if it's a seller who's in the midwest, they usually agree to it because of how bad shipping has gotten. I feel like it's time for eBay to ditch this failed format. Begin your counter-commenting now: 

[karthok.of.daolodus]

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@pikabo-icu wrote:

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@sales_sales_sales_sales wrote:

& I didnt mention Politics LOL

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Well no you didn't LOL

But it's been mentioned just the same.. 

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the fringe is obsessive and drags politics into everything - annoying everybody else of whatever party or no party. 

[inhawaii]

I wasn't aware that ebay pushed auctions hard.

[soh.maryl]

Me neither.

And I don't understand the OP's stance.  I no longer sell, but I never felt that eBay pushed auctions.

And isn't it still the seller's choice whether or not to use the auction format?

I do still feel that, for hard to find collectibles, auctions are probably the best format.

For those who can't wait 7 days to find out if they won or not, then simply don't bid on auctions.

Seems simple to me.  

[2013grotz]

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@kds99 wrote:

So you think I was wrong to list my auction when my starting bid was $9.99 and the Japanese postcard sold for a winning bid of $562.00? Hmmm.

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Indeed.  I've had similar but not that stunning sales in auctions.  Often I'll auction something that I'm not sure how much is worth.  And very occasionally I'll be surprised at what they go for and would have never imagined them to be worth that if I set a fixed cost on them.  The reverse has happened too, where I've set a fixed cost only to have it go very quickly because I undershot what I have would asked for.

Really, it's nice on ebay to be able to have the options.   (I see they're offering "Classified Ad"s now on their system.  I wonder how long it'll take for people to be complaining about that.)

[varebelrose]

"..or people trying to scam the system because they ran out of freebies on their BIN allotment. Instead of paying for a BIN listing,.."

LOL, how is it "scamming the system"? A seller who pays for a store gets X number of listings, both auctions and BIN. There is absolutely nothing wrong with listing an item under either format.

[21thegreatone]

LOL.  Err, um. ok.  YOU tell me how then, Mr/Mrs/Whatever "how its done then".

No worries.  We of the world, shall await.

Nexxxxxt

[chapeau-noir]

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@coolections wrote:

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@21thegreatone wrote:

They push auctions so hard, because auctions on Ebay are dead.

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@21thegreatone 

That would be true for people possibly such as yourself trying to auction off common items, or people trying to scam the system because they ran out of freebies on their BIN allotment. Instead of paying for a BIN listing, they use a freebie auction listing and start the auction at their BIN price expecting bidders.

It would be a completely false statement for everyone else who has the knowledge of what to list at auction, and the price to start an auction to attract bidders.

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That's not a scam.

[dbfolks166mt]

One reason is the more an item sells for the more eBay makes in fees. No chance the sale price is going to increase on a fixed price BIN item. I have seen auction items sell both here and at in person auctions for 2-3 times what the market value is. I saw an item at a live auction, for which t the average market price was $900-$1,000, bring over $3,000 and tacked onto that was a 23% buyers premium. 

[kh-vince]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.