posted on November 21, 2000 02:19:31 AM new
My first BIN listing! I have a vase exactly the same as one recently sold on ebay except for the color. The one sold went at over $100. I waited to list mine until their auction was off so as not to lower their bidding. I started mine at $2 with a $90 BIN. Not even a $2 opener. Now I wonder if the BIN is scaring them off and the bidders think that is a reserve? Maybe I just haven't given it enough time but I've had enough hits to warrant at least a $2 opener!
posted on November 21, 2000 02:51:31 AM new
This is just me psychologically as a buyer, but when I see a 2 dollar opening bid with a sky-high BIN (or stated reserve) I basically think the seller is trying to pull some kind of a fast one. As in, no way am I gonna be able to get that for 2 bucks so why start the bidding there? Start it someplace reasonable, like 15 bucks.
Also, look and see how many people bid on the last vase. If it was only a couple, and one got the vase, the other one might be on holiday or might have found one elsewhere OR there might be something special about that color...
________
I never had one, and I didn't want one, and I don't, so now I do...
posted on November 21, 2000 03:26:30 AM new
Deco100 - This is just my opinion, but if I saw the $90.00 Buy It Now price, I would assume that is the least amount you would take for the item.
So I guess the answer is yes, in a way, I would know that was not a reserve but would see it the same way as a reserve price.
posted on November 21, 2000 03:41:23 AM new
I just bought an item using BIN but the difference between the starting price and the BIN price was only $7.00. The auction would have ended while I was out of town and I wanted to make sure I got the item. I did have a friend ask me if the BIN was the same as a reserve price and I explained the difference, but most arn't familier with it yet. Of course, I'm one of those strange people who actually read things like TOS ect.
[ edited by december3 on Nov 21, 2000 03:42 AM ]
posted on November 21, 2000 05:16:41 AM new
deco100
Having used a similar system on Yahoo for months - my opinion of what you did ISN'T the intended approach for success with BIN - You are trying to use the BIN for a reserve and that just turns people off.
From my experience to make BIN work well the opening bid and the BIN price should be fairly close or the same -
Our BIN auctions on eBay have been turning over very well but our opening bid and BIN price are the same.
I think when you have such a huge difference in opening and BIN, it just turns a bidder off.
posted on November 21, 2000 05:57:20 AM new
With my aging eyesight, I don't see the point of having the Opening and BIN the same.
If you have been using the opening bid as a 'retail' opening, and you have been getting bidders who were willling to wait for a week, shouldn't your BIN be a little bit higher for those that might pay a little more to buy it NOW?
posted on November 21, 2000 02:38:12 PM new
Acctually the thing that scares me off of BIN auctions is not the price, but the fact that eBay wants a Credit Card to even use BIN.
Get Real, I might be willing to give a seller my credit card number, but there is no reason eBay needs it.
posted on November 21, 2000 02:44:18 PM new
I've gotta say...if I want to buy for a fixed price, I'll go to a store. I like auctions, where I can at least kid myself I have the chance for a bargain. There are places like TIAS, Amazon, etc. for that kind of retail shopping. As a buyer, I just don't see the point.
posted on November 21, 2000 02:59:19 PM new
If you are going to use BIN, it is DEFINATELY in your best interest to explain exactly what it means within the text of your auction. And even then, most people won't have a clue because they won't read it anyway. It will take a while for Ebay bidders to get used to this.
Also, on Ebay, the buy price disappears if there's a lower bid, so if you do have an explanation of BIN, many of your buyers might wonder what the hell you are talking about.
If anyone is interesed in techniques for using Buy Price effectively, check out the Yahoo board here. There are many people there who are VERY successful using Buy Prices (or more specifically, "First Bid Wins" formats.
posted on November 22, 2000 05:36:43 AM new
Thanks all for your input. I can see BIN is not for me as right now I am selling vintage china, glass and pottery. Sometimes it really takes off and it's not my specialty so by using BIN I would be either overpricing or underpricing it. I like "start it low and let it go". Works for me anyway.
I think BIN might work better on new stuff and I certainly will try it on books that I want to get rid of.
Oh yeah, thankfully overnight I got a $2 bid and that erased the BIN. Now it will be interesting to watch where it goes. Sometimes I think I get more kick out of watching than selling. And I don't mean the Watch feature either!
posted on November 22, 2000 01:53:55 PM new
I think the whole BIN thing knocks the fun out of E-bay, I might as well shop at any of the other e-business sights or go to a real store without risk.
