posted on January 6, 2001 09:31:23 AM
My reason for using BIN is that I depend on Ebay income to pay all my Bills, For me and I am sure lots of other Sellers also depend on Ebay for income.
Buy It Now helps me have income quicker then waiting for the auction to end. I consider it just like when I had my Shop, I know what I want so why not say so, and leave it up to the bidder.
Out of all my auctions that I list, 50% of them end with BIN, and it has been helping me a great deal.
I do know that it is not like Ebay Auction Site should be, but it has helped me.
How do you feel about BIN? Some items end with BIN right after I list the item.
Personally, I don't want to see BIN leave.....
posted on January 6, 2001 09:43:48 AM
Don't worry... they're gonna keep BUY IT NOW, the question is.... "Will it be completely FREE for sellers to offer the Buy It Now price on their listings?"
It is my understanding that it is not likely (at this point) eBay will be charging to OFFER the BUY IT NOW feature... but, will they attempt to collect a nominal fee (saaay... a quarter?) if the listing ends successfully through BUY IT NOW?
OR... would they consider offering potential BUYERS "Search BUY IT NOW Listings" feature for a nominal fee? (hey, I'm just speculating...)
Personally, I'd much rather them charge the BUYERS for the benefit of BUY IT NOW than the sellers. I don't think Sellers would offer the Buy It Now feature if eBay ever attaches a fee to it.
Besides, Sellers can put "BUY NOW" in the TITLE of their listings and suggest in the description that they will end the auction early upon notification of First Bid.... effectively accomplishing the SAME THING without any "help" from eBay.
BUY IT NOW is a great feature, but I don't see folks PAYING for it.
posted on January 6, 2001 09:48:29 AM
My biggest concern is that some sellers may not be getting the most from their auctions. I've seem more than a few items where the "fixed price" is far lower than fair market value (even the eBay market value). If a seller wishes to include a fixed value I think they need to be careful that they know the true value of the item they are selling. This is particularly true for collectables. I collect stamps and have seen items in the listings with a fixed price less than 50% of the price they normally sell for on eBay. Typically the sellers doing this are new to eBay or listing items which they don't normally sell...
posted on January 6, 2001 10:10:04 AM
I believe that sometimes the seller didn't pay too much for the item and would be happy with whatever they get. Also if it is a great piece and you don't know what the buy it now price should be, don't use BIN, Let the auction go on it's own.
For myself, I know that if an item books for
100.00, there is no way you are going to get that price unless it is rare and hard to get, maybe it will go over the starting bid, well when it comes to something like that I let the auction do it's own thing.
But, on the other hand if it is not hard to get, I would list it for 25% of book, and my BIN price would be 50.00, and that would make me happy, I do that all the time and it sells,
The bottom line is, don't use BIN, when you just don't do your homework.
posted on January 6, 2001 10:50:12 AM
As a seller and a buyer I love BIN.
As a seller, I know what goes for my opening bid, and what gets bid up, so I gauge the BIN price by that. Why wait a whole week for something to sell when you can sell 3 or 4 in a week?
As a buyer, I hate waiting and watching an item for it's duration. And hoping the seller won't end auction to sell to someone else. Or hoping computer doesn't crash at end of auction.
I search alot more now, to get the BIN before the first bid is placed. And I hope the other buyers are doing the same.
The only thing I hate is when I see an amazingly high price for the BIN. It's Buy-It-Now not Gouge-It-Now.
posted on January 6, 2001 11:20:05 AM
I agree that a seller needs to do more research before setting a fixed price for his/her auctions. I just started my first auctions last night. About a year ago, I bought a bunch of stamps because I was thinking of expanding my stamp collection in new directions. Changed my mind and had no idea what the stamps I bought were actually worth. Started all my lots at $1.00 and will let the market decide. I may even find out that I paid too much for them...
I've got some better items I'd like to sell as well, but thought I would start off with a few easy auctions and learn the "ins and outs" of selling before I start setting reserve prices and BIN options...
posted on January 6, 2001 02:24:06 PM
I used it before Christmas, because I couldn't get out to do Christmas shopping. I used BIN four times within about 12 hours, paying for them immediately with PayPal. Three of the buyers were great, and I received my packages within 3 to 5 days. But, one seller didn't send hers out for 8 days. If sellers aren't ready to get the package out within a reasonable time, they shouldn't be using BIN! It isn't Buy-It-Now, ship when the auction would have been over!
LabRat4
posted on January 6, 2001 03:45:54 PM
I do like it. I have had many sales and only one deadbeat. The problem is - If a person had many negatives, they can use BIN and close the auction down. At least with bids on running auctions, I can remove a bidder. I usually contact a bidder first before I remove them.
