should you list items at really high prices and put them on sale to normal prices

[theluckycoconutshop]

I called eBay one day and told the guy that answered my call, I wasnt selling much in my store for 2 months, it actulay felt like I wasnt even online at that time on eBay. although I was being billed.  shortly after that I sold my first item in 2 months. {weird} anyhow he looked in my store and suggested that I raise my prices signifently then put every thing on a 75 to 90% sale I did try it with a few items but nothing really sold like that. so my question is, is it better to just list at good prices or super high prices with sales and discounts and promotions? 

[iart]

While ebay tries hard to value items they aren't yet able to do a very good job at it, especially when the items are harder to find or unique. They don't really know if your prices are valid or not.

What they do know is if you have a sale going, or not. Many buyers like sales. eBay likes sales. So, I think, sales give a seller a boost in search visibility and some neat little mark ups on the item page to attract attention.

[mrflintstones]

I raised prices by 25% and in one day sold $500  , the next day i put them on sale for 50% off and couldnt make $100 a day,,

[pinkrose442savings2018]

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@theluckycoconutshop wrote:

I called eBay one day and told the guy that answered my call, I wasnt selling much in my store for 2 months, it actulay felt like I wasnt even online at that time on eBay. although I was being billed.  shortly after that I sold my first item in 2 months. {weird} anyhow he looked in my store and suggested that I raise my prices signifently then put every thing on a 75 to 90% sale I did try it with a few items but nothing really sold like that. so my question is, is it better to just list at good prices or super high prices with sales and discounts and promotions? 

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There are so many variable's best thing to do is think about what you paid, then think about what you'd be willing to pay for the item, then add the cost to you from start to finish including whether or not you are giving free shipping or not.   Shipping eat's a big part of the dollar...how much have you invest in packaging, consider your time invested in preparing the item...personally I wash anything that is not new in package.  All items are cleaned before I take photo's...all time invested in taking photo's and then listing time.  So it's o.k. to charge a higher price and work it down with discounts or just revising items daily...as time goes on you will have that ball park price that is fair to you and your customers.  If you have those hard to sell items, start out higher than inch it down...those that are watching your items will see oh it went down a few dollars...I go down .50 almost across the board but I at this time don't have lots of items.  A store is a strategy that takes time but it will come to you all of a sudden...there's no right or wrong just try and be fair.  I go to google and text the item in their box and see if there are any selling on different sites...then I come back to eBay and see what they have sold in this item I'm searching...i do a middle of the line...if a customer make's a offer I try and meet them half way.  Hope this helps a little.  Asking questions is a good thing. 🙂

[coolections]

You are competing against a million others who also sell clothes. Not sure if anything will make that much a difference. You basically have to wait your turn as with every clothes item that sells there are 10,000 that doesn't. You can always give it a try as that is what Kohls does but at the same time it almost put them out of business. Buyers are a little smarter than many think and they know the price was jacked up then reduced to the original price.

[mistwomandancing]

"should you list items at really high prices and put them on sale to normal prices"  

So... like Kohl's department store?    That seems to be how they operate. 

My answer to your question would be a 'no' but you can always try it and see how it works for you.  It's into the summer doldrums for a lot of sellers here, plus eBay's usual spring-summer **tearing the place apart and redoing how lots of things work here** always throws a monkey wrench into sales for many of us.  It always picks back up at the end of summer for me when it starts off slower.

[emerald40]

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@coolections wrote:

You are competing against a million others who also sell clothes. Not sure if anything will make that much a difference. You basically have to wait your turn as with every clothes item that sells there are 10,000 that doesn't. You can always give it a try as that is what Kohls does but at the same time it almost put them out of business. Buyers are a little smarter than many think and they know the price was jacked up then reduced to the original price.

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Exactly.  Buyers are not that stupid to fall for it.

List at a good, fair price.  That is what will entice buyers.

[18704d]

"...the next day i put them on sale for 50% off and couldnt make $100 a day,,"

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My experience is

50% off sales (or higher), only attracts the bottom feeders.

Lynn

[hammersmith_decals]

well if ya raise the price 90% i would imagine it would be way to expensive. not to mention buyers can view the listings history. i just put a 5% storewide. besides if you have a store with 300 items the man hours spent wouldnt payoff in the sales. at least thats what im thinking

[slati_2013]

The problem with that strategy is many buyers check the sold items to see what comparable items recently sold for.  Most buyers already have a good idea what items should be priced at, so if you start at a ridiculous high price, I think it drives buyers away because they think your initial pricing was absurd and they can't trust any of your prices. 

[rixstuff]

Just list at the lowest price you can live with and skip the games.  Buyers are on to that idea and dont really fall for it any more.

[penguins_dont_fly]

The FTC calls that fictitious or deceptive pricing.

There used to be a policy against it, but I can't find it now 😞

[copper.boom]

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@penguins_dont_fly wrote:

The FTC calls that fictitious or deceptive pricing.

There used to be a policy against it, but I can't find it now 😞

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http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-practices.html

http://pages.ebay.com/promo/terms/pricingpromotions.html

1. By using the Pricing Tools and participating in any Promotion (as defined below), you agree to be bound by the following Pricing Promotions Terms and Conditions ("Pricing Promotions Terms"). These Pricing Promotions Terms apply in addition to eBay's User Agreement, eBay’s User Privacy Notice, all applicable eBay policies, and all applicable laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the Federal Trade Commission’s Guide Against Deceptive Pricing and any applicable local, state or federal consumer protection law. These Pricing Promotions Terms, as may be amended from time to time, take effect upon your use of any Pricing Tool and will remain in effect so long as you continue to use any Pricing Tool or participate in a Promotion.

[penguins_dont_fly]

Thank you copper, I knew it was there somewhere 🙂

And to clarify, here is the FTC rule:

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=b32527738355514464f801866ee50894&mc=true&node=se16.1.233_1...

) One of the most commonly used forms of bargain advertising is to offer a reduction from the advertiser's own former price for an article. If the former price is the actual, bona fide price at which the article was offered to the public on a regular basis for a reasonably substantial period of time, it provides a legitimate basis for the advertising of a price comparison. Where the former price is genuine, the bargain being advertised is a true one. If, on the other hand, the former price being advertised is not bona fide but fictitious—for example, where an artificial, inflated price was established for the purpose of enabling the subsequent offer of a large reduction—the “bargain” being advertised is a false one; the purchaser is not receiving the unusual value he expects. In such a case, the “reduced” price is, in reality, probably just the seller's regular price.

[pingpong517]

i don't even have to read more...

It has been done forever!  It happens all the time....who cares...if the price you pay is what you want to pay...then you buy....

$100 marked down to $10===buy

$12 marked down to $10=== buy

in the mind of some...look how much i "saved"... and it must be high quality it was $100.... you spent $10 

Is that cheating? just human nature and how buyer think...advertizing...business...whatever .

And when you receive FREE SHIPPING....it isn't free to the seller...so someone is paying in the end...so it all the bottom line...how it got there shouldn't really be an issue....

and remember : if it too good to be true...somethings its not true.