posted on September 11, 2000 12:53:09 PM
Hi all;
I've been selling on eBay for over 2 years now, and usually start my auctions at an even dollar amount - $2.00,5.00, etc; I do buy as well, and see many auctions at $1.95,$4.95, etc; I always think those prices reflect a retail price, and for some reason,I don't like it; what do bidders prefer? and what do you other sellers do? Just thought I'd throw this out here today for opinions. Thanks for any responses.
Sandy
[ edited by ozgirl on Sep 11, 2000 12:54 PM ]
[ edited by ozgirl on Sep 11, 2000 12:57 PM ]
posted on September 11, 2000 01:10:15 PM
I'm really new at selling so I won't give my opinion on that. As a buyer it seems that most of my bids are on items ending in .99. Probably one big coincidence. Who knows?
posted on September 11, 2000 01:24:08 PM
As a seller, I like even starting numbers like $5.00 or $7.50 -- it just seems more honest and straightforward. To me $4.99 smacks of "Hey buddy, I'll sell you this widget for the low, low price of only $4.99!" I do occasionally use something like $4.75 as a starting bid, though.
As a buyer, I also prefer even numbers, but if it's something I really want I won't hesitate to bid on something that starts at $7.99 instead of $8.00.
posted on September 11, 2000 01:51:09 PM
The $9.99, $24.99, $49.99 are most likely designed to getting as close to the next fee increment w/o going over & paying the extra $.25-$1.00.
Maybe others just followed suit. Hadn't really thought about it. Guess I'll change all mine to round numbers for a while & see if it has an impact. Always willing to try something new.
posted on September 11, 2000 02:03:21 PM
There is supposed to be a psychological reason for doing this. Evendently many people perceive that an item selling for 4.95 as opposed to 5.00 is a big difference in savings, especially when you get to the big numbers: 99.95 rather than 100.00. On the other hand it is easier to sell a item for 24.95 than, say, 22.00. The perception of numbers and position of your items (in a retail store) is very interesting.
A good shop will always be set up to keep people walking counter clockwise because most people always look to the right when viewing merchandise. Merchandising barriers are actually put up so the people have to walk the length of the store and come back around to the other side. This way you are almost forcing them, in a nice way, to view all the items in the store.
Been there, did it, and didn't even get a T-shirt!
posted on September 11, 2000 02:27:12 PM
Thanks to all of you for responding; I think I'll experiment tomorrow and try the "99s" and see what happens on a few of my listings; I worked in retail for years, and just feel this market is SO different; I do sell vintage pieces, none of my inventory is new, so my mindset is geared towards a nice product and ad, not a "discount house-come and get it" attitude !
Sandy
posted on September 11, 2000 02:35:54 PM
My thought is that some people search by price...i.e under $25.00...so an item that is $24.99 shows up. Just a thought
posted on September 11, 2000 02:54:13 PM
About the store layout helnjoe mentioned -- I noticed that IKEA is like that. It's shaped kind of like a big racetrack, and you're funneled though the whole store before you can get out, unless you take one of the "shortcuts" into a different department. It's nice but drives me nuts on a busy day, and I always think, "I wouldn't want to be in here if the place caught fire!"
posted on September 11, 2000 03:16:44 PM
Ozgirl...I don't think it is a "discount house-come and get it" attitude. This is more based on the psychology of buying. Whether a person is in a discount house or at a car dealers or at an expensive jewelry store, a price of $9.99 will "seem" much less than $10.00...$999 will seem much less than $1000. It seems to be an unconscious perception that a consumer naturally has...and one that was discovered years ago by marketing specialists.
posted on September 11, 2000 03:50:10 PM
It's always interesting to find out little known facts ... I was watching a show on the history channel ... something about the great businessmen of the late 19th century. Apparently, the custom of stating prices as $4.99 rather than $5.00, was a brainchild of the founder of the Macy's Dept. store (John Macy????) in the 1890s. A small but interesting factoid.
El
"The customer may not always be right, but she is always the customer."
(edited to correct typo)
[ edited by eleanordew on Sep 11, 2000 03:51 PM ]
posted on September 11, 2000 08:35:20 PM
Since my shipping is often $3.75, I sometimes start items at $ ??.25. $16.25, for instance, seems to work well.
posted on September 11, 2000 09:23:54 PM
I've heard that the $4.95 as opposed to $5.00 got started to prevent theft by the sales people. If the customer gave the clerk $5.00 and walked off the clerk could put it in their pocket, but if the clerk had to ring up the sale to get the 5 cents change there was now a record of the sale.
I like to think if someone says $5.00 or $4.95 I'm not going to get too excited over 5 cents and I'll look before I decide which one to bid on.
posted on September 12, 2000 05:45:41 AM
One of the hardest things to watch is the total cost of the auction with shipping. If the starting bid is low enough, people will bid.
posted on September 12, 2000 07:27:30 AM
The Less than amounts have been psychologically proven - why do you think all the major stores do it?
Regarding where I start an auction, I use to start at about 1/4 to 1/2 of my reserve - when eBay decided to start charging for reserves, I went to a NO Reserve system - I am not pleased with it, but I am not really pleased with eBay any more. The bidding and prices it brings are hardly worth the cost and often aren't.
Last week I posted 7 eBay auctions, and had the same on ones on Yahoo. The auctions that were the same, closed at approximately the same price, which means I made more on Yahoo because I didn't have to pay the ridiculous eBay fees.
The lack of early bidding on eBay is a killer - in past years on eBay I worried about an auction that didn't have bids after the first day - now I know that there will probably little to none (regardless of the uniqueness of the item) till the last day.
I realize September is the 2nd slowest month in retail sales, but think I'll sit this month out on Yahoo, I do more, sell faster, and it is FREE.
No, I'm not a newbie, I just past my 5th year on eBay, but about 6 months ago started moving my auctions to Yahoo and have done more business and certainly with less cost than eBay.
posted on September 12, 2000 08:14:37 AM
Its taken some guts initially,and time to prove it (two years) but I start all of my auctions at $1.00.For one,people hit them early and then track their progress,similar to the watch feature,I guess.And,when that outbid notice hits their inbox,some take it personally and rebid.But I recieve more bids,and final bid price this way.The free market works wonders.Fellow collectors are a competitive bunch,who wants their online rivals to "steal" something?
I think I've lost money (never over 5 bucks)about 2-3 times,but I'm sure my auctions are bookmarked because of the fact (or so I'd like to think!)Try it...
posted on September 12, 2000 09:31:22 AM
I've also started many auctions at $1.00, and have been pleasantly surprised at the final bid; I usually do it on re-lists, though...too chicken to do it the first time!
posted on September 12, 2000 10:02:13 AM
I do a lot of $9.80 or $14.50. I look at what I pay for something and add a percentage. If it comes to $9.83 say I will always round to the nearest dime. I don't think that looks like a store. If I am competing with a person who sells for $16.00 I may sell for $15.80 -
and I think even 20¢ makes a difference.
posted on September 12, 2000 11:19:41 AM
I don't know, but the .99s sort of smack of trying to play head games with the buyer. I've felt that for a long time, and have made a habit of automatically rounding up the number. More recently, I was in a store one time, asking for a series of prices. The clerk said something like,
"12.99, 19.99, 29.99, 49.95"
To try to remember them, I repeated them aloud, half under my breath, as these:
"13, 20, 30, and 50"
She said:
"No, 12.99, 19.99, 29.99, 49.99"
I said:
"I round up."
"But those are the actual values."
She was now arguing with me over something very pointless, I got annoyed, and said, "Please, I don't like silly number games, and am wise to why it's done."
She looked a bit peeved (yeah, I know, maybe I should have left it alone), but held her tongue.
Ever since then, I'm even more firm in my dislike of the "nines" games. Not that it stops me from buying, but it still strikes me as being dishonest, and I was a little annoyed to see it on eBay too. It makes me (mentally) question the seller more, to take a much closer look at feedback, because if they're trying to play games with the prices, what about the rest? Yes, those prices remind me of those stupid ads on TV too, and there is also something very, VERY, un-auction like about it too. Most live auctioneers disdain "unround" numbers. Yes, "unround" numbers don't slow anything down on eBay like they do in real life, but the feeling lingers.
It doesn't annoy me that much, but it is a minor irritant, and does make me a bit more suspicious off the bat, and may have had some minor effect on my bidding. I can't really say.
posted on September 12, 2000 02:35:48 PM
well, I'm really cheap & don't like to pay ebay fees so I start most items at $9.99. If you start at $10.00 you're paying more in fees- not worth it!
Lately I've been burned many times starting items worth far more than $9.99 at $9.99. I agree with jwpc that Yahoo has been better. Ebay has not been wonderful for me lately at all.
Anyway, have you noticed that bidders bid odd numbers lots of times? When I bid on Ebay I often use my lucky number as the "change" part. Lots of my Ebay auctions as both bidder & seller end in totally un-round numbers.
I use 11.25 (plus $3.75 shipping = 15.00) where I use to use 9.99 .
Yes it costs another $0.25 BUT it sets the auction apart from the others. I know my bookmarked searches are often 'highest priced items first' and I'm betting other buyers search this way too.
I sell quality items and I expect top prices. The extra $0.25 is a small price to pay.
I do use $24.99. It is still unique enough
Bill
[ edited by cdnbooks on Sep 12, 2000 06:57 PM ]
