posted on April 26, 2001 07:38:08 PM
I have been out of the country for a few weeks and remember hearing that ebay will start charging for BIN. I cannot find anything on ebay regarding fees for BIN.
Is BIN still free? I can't imagine ebay offering anything for free.
posted on April 26, 2001 07:58:30 PM
It's still free and I imagine it will stay free unless ebay "tweaks" it. No one will pay for something that can disappear in the first two seconds of the auction as BIN will if someone places less than the BIN price.
If ebay allows the BIN price to stay in place even though bidders have placed bids and someone can come along and buy the item at the BIN price and thereby close the auction, then they may have some sellers willing to pay for the feature.
posted on April 26, 2001 10:51:51 PM
I use the BIN option on all my auctions but I would not pay a fee to use it.
I don't know why they drop the BIN price with the first bid, but I wouldn't pay even if they left it.
posted on April 26, 2001 11:07:44 PM
I'd only pay for the BIN option at the end of the auction if the auction ended using BIN. You'd be silly to pay up front for something that may never be used. Don't care if they leave it or not. It would be best left free, that way seller's get one option for there auction at no additional cost.
posted on April 26, 2001 11:43:40 PM
Ebay has already announced that they will be charging for this feature. They're just making it free during the introductory period.
Given its placement on the "sell page", my guess is they will extend the free introduction for BillPoint payments only, soon.
[ edited by ecom on Apr 26, 2001 11:45 PM ]
posted on April 27, 2001 04:52:56 AM
I was browsing the other night, and came across a BIN auction that had a reserve. It had a bid on it that did not meet reserve, and the BIN option was still there, with a caption reading something like "The BIN option will disappear once the reserve price is met."
I might have been dreaming, but it looks like they are already 'tweaking' it now.
posted on April 27, 2001 06:02:37 AM
We have used it on almost all our auctions as a test case until recently. Realizing that the "free lunch" will be ending soon, we have decided to go without BIN except on larger items (antique furniture) where it has been most beneficial. Once they charge, we will probably ditch it entirely.
Just wonder how these additional fees work for Ebay? They raised fee rates months ago and we pulled the plug on all Gallery listings (actually has saved us money without any noticeable difference in results). They charge for BIN and its adios BIN. Go figure?
Harmony Grove Antiques
"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking to you do suck seed." Curly Howard
posted on April 27, 2001 10:04:52 AM
As a buyer, I've put in at least one BIN-ending auction-style bid because I don't want to restrict payment mechanism to just Billpoint or give eBay CC information. I much prefer the auction format on eBay.
Just twenty minutes ago, I was annoyed to see an item ended by BIN just five minutes before I even first saw it listed. Its starting bid price was $30 and it was ended with a BIN of $40. The item in question, for its quality, is easily worth more than twice that, and I myself would have likely bid three times the BIN to get it. Both of us (me and the seller) missed a great opportunity by five minutes (auction was up less than three days before BIN'd).
I really shouldn't grouse, though. BIN gives sellers options of selling an item more like it is sitting with a tag at an antique shop, ready for sale, then an auction, and thus offers the sellers more options. I'm just disappointed missing something I haven't seen once in over a year of looking for similar items, and would have happily paid a good chunk of money to get, because a seller wouldn't give the item time to find its true worth.
If eBay made the BIN option hang around even after a bid was made, I wonder what would happen if several people not willing to go through the hoops of BIN got in some hot bidding, slightly above the BIN, then someone else BIN'd the item?
To be used well, BIN is something that requires something more out of a seller, namely for the seller to be more certain about their asking price, and more willing to sacrifice the chance of one or more eBay buyers feeling the item is worth even more than market value (pressing need, convenience of finding it on eBay as opposed to having to hunt all over the country or find the right contacts, and so on).
----
What's being done in the name of direct marketing nowadays is crazy.
The above are all just my opinions, except where I cite facts as such.
Oh, I am not dc9a320 anywhere except AW. Any others are not me.
Is eBay is changing from a world bazaar into a bizarre world?
posted on April 27, 2001 01:06:56 PM
It also has to be made more buyer friendly.
For example, why do I have to have a credit card to use the BIN feature? I don't need this for other eBay purchases, even if I end up bidding the same price as the BIN.
For example, why do I have to have a minumum feedback rating of 10 to use the BIN feature? I don't have to have this for other eBay purchases, even if I end up bidding the same price as the BIN.
If I were a seller, I would be a little disappointed that the BIN rules cut out a lot of potential buyers like me who are more than willing the bid the BIN price right at the very beginning.
I found a tape that I wanted. It had a starting bid of $1.99 and a BIN price of $7.99. I placed a bid of $7.99 (eBay wouldn't let me use the BIN feature as I am a newbie with a feebdack of only 8 so far so I had to click the submit button on the left side of the screen). I was the first bidder. The BIN icon disappeared and my bid registered at $1.99. Lucky for me, the item didn't get any more bids and I got it for $1.99 (even though I was willing to pay $7.99).
