posted on August 22, 2001 11:29:36 PM new
Congrats on your sales, but .........
A widget that averages $120-$150 on eBay that I started for $1 NR sold last weekend for $182.50.
.... proves nothing.
I've sold items that average $250 on eBay, for $450, and I didn't start them at $1 NR.
eBay is a fickle market, and what sells for $120-150 one week, could a few weeks later sell for half that amount, or double that amount, with no rhyme or reason as to why.
eBay is really no different than most RL auctions. Numbers go up & down & can vary drastically from one sale to the next depending on numerous factors involved.
I've witnessed this phenomena on eBay over the years time & time again.
posted on August 23, 2001 06:19:14 AM new
That is very true kiawok. Even searching completed auctions is almost a pointless endeavor, since you never really know what will sell and when.
posted on August 23, 2001 06:36:56 AM new
I beg to differ with kiawok's conclusion.
The lower starts generate MORE bids, so strickly speaking for myself, when searching out a particular widget I ALWAYS look at the item with the most bids first, even if there are 4 or 5 of the same thing on at one time.
Its a mentallity thing. All those bids leads to the thinking ... "WOW" "There is something there that someone sure wants." "I think I'll get in on this action." There by driving the price UP. And once your hooked, you gotta have it or else. And its like all those other ones listed and going for a lower price don't exist anymore.
I've been there done it.
I've proven time and again that my $1 NR starts have ending prices higher then my competition.
But it should also be noted that I have many GOOD clear pictures and a complete descrition, where some of the other auction are lacking in.
It really is a combination of things that can and will affect an auctions outcome.
Sometimes, and sometimes not. Your own auctions prove this statement as true. Does $1 NR work, yes, does it always work, no.
More bids does not always = higher ending prices, and MY research proves this. I may have only 1 or 2 bids, but my item will have finished at double of what the competitions item just ended at a week earlier. I'd say that has more to do with timing [or luck?], TOS, feedback, quality images, etc-etc, than anything else.
I've proven time and again that my $1 NR starts have ending prices higher then my competition.
So have I, and most times I open with a price where I need the item to sell, or I use a reserve.
I'll admit I haven't looked at your auctions closely for a few months, but last time I did the one thing I noticed is that the early low ball bidders seldom came back at the end & upped their bid. In other words, a NEW player came in & took the booty. Bidding wars are great for sellers, but IMHO one can achieve a bidding war just as easily with a $49.99 opening bid, as they can with a $1 NR auction.
I have nothing against sellers that want to run all their auctions at $1 NR, but I'd hate for a newbie seller to read a thread like this & lose their shorts because they felt it was a 100% success story.
The reality is it's not, unless of course you purchase all your merchandise for next to nothing to begin with.
posted on August 23, 2001 07:18:35 AM new
I must admit that I also took a leap of faith, listing my books at $1.50, and putting a higher BIN price on some.
I'm pleased with my results. Some items are selling for much more than I'd hoped, some for less than I would formerly have put them up for but higher than the opening bid, and others do go for the $1.50. A few do go with the BIN. My sell-through since summer started has more than doubled, so I anticipate even better results when sales pick up shortly next month.
I've learned a few things from this and keep in mind that this might just be particular to my category of selling.
1. I get more lookers and bids when the starting price is $1.50 vs. a few dollars higher.
2. Some of the books sell for much more than when I'd originally listed them at a few dollars higher.
3. I'm saving valuable time by not having to relist items so frequently.
4. I'm saving on fees by not having to relist so frequently.
5. I'm getting more buyers making multiple purchases.
6. When I tally up the total for a group of auctions ended, it's often higher than what I might have gotten had I priced the items a few dollars higher to start with, provided they'd all sold that is.
7. I can more accurately judge what items have a decent demand behind them vs. those that I might just be "lucky" to get rid of.
So, thanks to you, packer, I took the plunge and I'm not looking back!
posted on August 23, 2001 07:55:05 AM new
As a bidder, my methodology differs from Packer - while I always look for the lower $1 or .01 start price, I usually watch the auction and return to see what the price has risen to in the last hours. If there are a high number of bidders listed, I will choose not to compete with them. 90% of the time the number of bidders has already driven the price up above what I would consider paying. But every once in awhile I find what I consider a good deal and place a bid. Usually another bidder will outbid me, and in the final minutes my adrenalin starts pumping and I end up paying more than I would normally have considered. One-up-manship is powerful thing. I bet I’m not the only one this happens to. Lower start price = more bidders = bid war = happy seller.
What doesn’t work for me: I rarely (if ever) open auctions that start with a price near market value, and I also don't usually bother placing bids on items that have a reserve price. I sometimes take advantage of "Buy it Now" if I feel it is a fair deal, especially if I know it is a high demand item. I never look twice at an auction with a BIN price AND reserve -because I assume the reserve is near the BIN price, which is (most times) set at more than I consider the item is worth.
In summary, it's the $1 NR type pricing that pulls me in - and I feel that's true for many bidders. But, as many of you have stated, it really all boils down to the merchandise you are listing, and how much in demand that item is with the public.
If/when I start selling (and I'm learning so much on these boards in preparation for that time) - I will definitely take the leap early. Over the years I've noticed that this approach seems to do very well by sellers, in comparison to others with same item, different start price approach. Of course, that only involves the type of items I usually pursue.
Thanks for listening - Rosie
*There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
posted on August 23, 2001 09:23:30 AM new
In most people's mind auctions=bargains. This has been the equation for hundreds of years. Ebay auction buyers are no different...they are looking for bargains.
A $1 NR auction is a gimmick that holds out the promise of that "bargain", but it is not the only pricing stategy used on ebay that holds out that same promise. Starting an item out at a fraction of its retail value (be that book value for antiques and collectible or the price one would buy new merchandise for at a full service real world store) also gives the promise of a "bargain".
I do think that all the claims of "I always get more than my competitors", 'I always have more bids than my competitors", etc are overblown. None of these claims are backed up by any type of "scientific study" to prove the claim. The claims are based on perception...a perception that is self serving.
We are all human, we see what we want to see. We remember that which proves our beliefs and forget that which doesn't. The only one of these type of claims that I will take as probably true is the ones that say "I make a profit doing it this way"...but then the question is, how much of a profit?"
If the $1NR seller bought a lot of 25 items for $100, started them all at $1NR and sold them for $165, then after basic listing fees (no gallery, no extras at all) and FVF they made a profit of about $50. If they turned this merchandise in 30 days from their original acquisition then they made a 50% return on their money...not bad for a 30 day period!
But not every seller wants only a 50% return, some want 100%, 150%, 200%. So, for those who want a higher return the return this $1NR seller is getting doesn't show the $1NR pricing strategy works...it proves it wouldn't work for their business plans.
My feeling is that $1NR only strategy works for those sellers who sell in volume and deal in items that have a low initial investment. A $1NR will also work for those sellers who use this price stategy on the items that have a strong consumer demand at ALL times on ebay...these sellers only use the strategy for that type of item though, not on all their merchandise.
Other pricing strategies also work, and work JUST as well as the $1NR. The key is that the customer must have the expectation of a "bargain"...that expectation can be satisfied with many different pricing strategies equally well. What DOESN'T work equally well is starting the item at or above "retail".
posted on August 23, 2001 09:25:06 AM newBut every once in awhile I find what I consider a good deal and place a bid.
Thanks for your input Rosie, and I'm sure the vast majority of eBay buyers are looking for a "good deal". I know I am when I'm buying, who isn't?
There's nothing wrong with wanting a good deal, but many buyers [myself included] soon realize that on eBay what appears to be a good deal today, can go through the roof in the final moments. That's why so many buyers wait until the final moments to place their bids. Why waste your time & money on any one auction early, when you can take your best shot near the end & know one way or the other if you win or lose? That way your shopping funds are never tied up for long.
Also, I can list an item with a reserve of $2,000, that IS a VERY good deal, for the right buyer.
Actually reserve auctions work very much like $1 NR auctions. If I opened that same auction up at $2,000 NR, chances are I would get far less bids than if I used a reserve. I might even end up with 0 bids, even though the fair market value for that item is closer to $4,000. It's psychology 101, and it works much the same as $1 NR auctions. The only real difference being I know there's no way that I'm going to take a bath if on that particular week only bargain hunters are looking for that particualr item.
I suppose if the majority of what I sold was $5-$50 items I might feel differently about running everything at $1 NR?
BTW - I never open my items at near "market" value, but I do open them up at a price where I will be making enough money to make the process worth my time. For the amount of time & effort that goes into placing an item up for sale on eBay [and dealing with shipping etc-etc] I most certainly don't want to deal with all that for a measely $1.00
If & when you decide to start selling you will soon find out that on "some" months you will indeed have items end with no bids, and items that close at $1.00, or just slightly above $1.00
I'm sure Packer will tell you the same.
So, if in your opinion the end results justify all the work for the items that do indeed dud at $1.00, then I guess that's all that matters.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:50:36 AM new
Well, it is official:
1 week after auctions ended, I got the first one:
[b]I am sorry for the confusion but i bid 120.00 on this item and somehow it
said that i bid 12,000.00. I am really sorry and i meant to get back to you
sooner but my computer was down and i could not email you any sooner. Once
again i am really sorry for the mistake.[/b]
thanks
Auction ended for $182.50, and accounted for 1/3 of my total auction sales for that weekend. Underbidder has already turned down offer to buy.
posted on August 26, 2001 12:01:20 PM new
A few weeks ago I changed my strategy from opening all book auctions for $1.99 to starting them at $2.99, $3.99, and $4.99.
My results:
I still have most auctions closing with a few bidders - in many instances only one bidder. BUT I am ending up with more money because the bidding started higher.
I don't know what to guess on this ... I think there really is no true best senario, just what works best for each seller.
posted on August 26, 2001 06:32:49 PM new
Becky, I too have tried something for the month of August. I usually start most items at $9.99 with listing fees of 30 cents. Most items end at $9.99 or $15-20. So in August I started them at $14-16.99 with listing fees of 55 cents.
I have come to the conclusion that I get the same final bids as before except in the cases of only one bidder. I had more bids at $9.99, less listing fees, much better sell through rate and overall a better profit!
September opening bids go back to $9.99 on items that I still make a little profit if it ends at $9.99. On items that $9.99 will not bring any profit I will have to test the water.
My listing fees verse final sales were too high.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Auctions are all about 2 people wanting 1 item. The trick is having it listed when the 2 bidders are looking.
posted on August 26, 2001 07:28:56 PM new
I enjoy reading these threads because of the many perspectives on how to succeed on ebay. There are so many variables at play: the desirability/rarity of the items....the number of bids....the presentation...the price. Maybe there truly are multiple roads to success, though it seems strange that the different methods appear to contradict each other.
For myself, I sell books, and I used to have a routine of listing paperbacks for $3 and hardcovers for $4. These days I normally list for higher than that, though rarely more than $9.99, and decide what to do about changing the price if I have to re-list. My impression is that I am making more money this way, but maybe I am just selling different [better?] books. Or maybe by using a better camera and more photos I am getting more folks to bid the higher amounts?
I do know one thing, I am not motivated to list for less than $2 because I don't want to have to ship for that, given the bite ebay fees and packing supplies take from the profit. But we've had more than one seller here report satisfaction with bargain-price/high-volume sales, so I can't knock it!
posted on August 26, 2001 07:43:05 PM new
On the first page of this thread, wondell said:
"I would say, if you don't get a bid by the 6th or 7th day, you should close that auction. I would hate for someone to sneak up at the last minute and purchase the item for a dollar.
If you had no bidders, then you can close the auction out early, but if you do, then you cannot and are stuck with the results."
Does everyone agree with him that a seller can't close his auction early once a bid has been entered??
posted on August 26, 2001 08:40:38 PM new
Sometimes buyers wonder if the item is defective or not. I listed a vintage curio cabinet at a bargain price and that was the question that I got from the person that eventually bought it. They wonder if the condition warrants such a low price. I never would have thought of it till I got that question.
I wish you the best of luck with the auctions. We have all taken a leap of faith in starting our own businesses. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:51:39 PM new
daleeric,
Well that may be true if you list ALL your other items at a higher price or more to the valued price.
BUT for ME I list EVERY THING at a $1 NR whether I paid $1.00 or $300.00 for it.
The buyers can see a scam, and I think that those that list a $1 NR amongst(sp) a lot of higher dollar items or items with a RESERVE are only fooling themselves.
posted on August 26, 2001 10:19:10 PM newThe buyers can see a scam, and I think that those that list a $1 NR amongst(sp) a lot of higher dollar items or items with a RESERVE are only fooling themselves.
Say what?
Why would a buyer see this as a scam? I list items priced from $1 NR to reserves of $1,000+. Why would a bidder on one of my items care what I'm doing on another completely different item? IMO most buyers are focused on one particular item, and could care less what the seller has on page 4 of their list. I rather doubt bargain hunters care if a seller has other items with reserves, or high opening bids. I know I certainly don't.
I had a reserve item [reserve of $200] end at $1,000+ today, and at the same time I have a $1 NR auction that has 7 bids on it. [with several days to go] One of the bidders on the $1,000+ item is also high bidder on the $1 NR item. He's also a dealer, as is bidder number two, as is bidder number three.
I hardly doubt any of the bidders on the $1NR auction see it as a scam? It was an item that I knew would do fairly well, and that I picked up for next to nothing at a yard sale.
I would imagine most potential bidders would see it as just that, a low dollar investment item that I was willing to let fly for next to nothing.
IMO your theory of "IT JUST DOES'NT WASH!!!!!!!!! ", is nonsense.
