gfd11442
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posted on May 3, 2001 07:07:46 AM
In the past few months I have started to list my Ebay auctions at $1.00.I have mixed feelings as to the overall outcome of my profit margin since there is not much past experience with these listings. I need some imput from anyone who has done this...Thanks
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on May 3, 2001 07:17:24 AM
I have tried it, but lately, a low starting bid doesn't really seem me get a higher ending bid- all I get is a lot of bids in 25¢ increments.
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sulyn1950
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posted on May 3, 2001 07:44:07 AM
I have 3 very sucessful sellers that I "watch". I am very impressed with their ability to garnish closing prices well above the norm for their category! They all 3 use a start of $9.99 NR. It works very well for them.
They have very established records (FB above 500). They sell in a crowded category, but still have almost a 100% sell-through! They also have a "following".
I think it probably also depends a great deal on what you sell and how long you have been selling.
I tried it myself and it failed. My closing prices were a real disappointment. I have decided it is not something I will try again for quite awhile. I have very good quality items, but I have a FB rating less than 125 and I don't list consistantly. I think that makes a difference too.
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nofishing
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posted on May 3, 2001 08:00:17 AM
I have tried low starting bids and have been disappointed with results.
I just price the item fairly and do much better. I have been receiving bids on 100% of my listings lately. And.......I don't take Paypal.
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kittykittykitty
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posted on May 3, 2001 09:14:12 AM
i totally agree: it depends on the category in which you sell.
in mine, forget it. even listing well below what you know you should get, to generate interest, doesn't usually work. people assume there must be something wrong with it and either won't bid or will snipe and get it for the very low price, figuring what the heck; if something's really wrong with it, they didn't pay much anyway. my new strategy is to use my opening price as my reserve, keeping it low enough to attract bids, but high enough to be satisfied if i only get one bid. so far, it's working great!
kittyx3
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nefish
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posted on May 3, 2001 09:14:14 AM
I tried the 99 cent and no reserve thing a few months back.
It was a disaster for me. I wanted to cancel auctions like crazy on the last day when some had no bids and others were sitting at very low amounts, but my spouse convinced me to wait them out and hope for snipers. Ha! Big mistake. I don't have the stomach for that game and won't give away my stuff like that ever again. I do better pricing it at a mid-range amount...
Good luck if you try it - perhaps you will have better success than I! 
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holdenrex
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posted on May 3, 2001 10:42:32 AM
It all depends on what you sell. Best thing to do is check completed auctions for the same item. If the item tends to attract a lot of bidders and get a lot of bids, then start low and you'll likely end up with a bidding war.
OTOH, if the item attracts very few bids, then it's best not to lowball the opening bid. I'll check out every item that I post - frequently, I'll see people lowballing the item and getting a buck, while other sellers start it higher and also only get one bid, but they get $5 or $10 or $15. If you're likely to get only one bid, but if the market shows that the one bidder is willing to pay a few bucks for it, then by all means just start the item at a higher price. Low starting bids in and of themselves can NOT get a bidding war started unless there is sufficient demand.
The key comes down to this: research ebay's closed auctions to determine your strategy. I'm amazed at how many people don't seem to do this. Having a cache of thousands of closed auctions at your disposal is a priceless tool to help you market your own stuff. Launching lowball auctions without researching the current market is like diving into a swimming pool without knowing if it's the deep end or the shallow end.
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dealtyme
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posted on May 3, 2001 04:19:40 PM
I sell electronics like digital cameras and MP3 players and I always start my auctions at $.01. I've never lost money so far. Most auctions end with 30-50 bids. Just for an experiment, I tried auctions with starting bids at my wholesale cost. Over the course of a few weeks, the auctions with a $.01 starting price sold for 12% more on average than the identical auctions with the wholeslae cost starting bid.
My $.02
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thepriest
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posted on May 7, 2001 07:21:32 AM
good insights - thanks
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tomwiii
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posted on May 7, 2001 08:00:11 AM
My! Aren't we the INSIGHTFUL one this AM!!??
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jrb3
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posted on May 7, 2001 08:10:19 AM
I sell vintage & estate jewelry. 90% of my items cost me very little since I buy in such quantity at estate sales and auctions. I normally start my auctions much lower then I know it is worth always $9.99 and under.
If it doesn't sell the first time I relist for $1. Since I charge relatively flat rate shipping many of my bidders (70% are multiple purchases) will bid on the $1 item figure it's not costing them anything extra.
Every Item I relist for $1 sells 40% of the time for less then my original starting bid 40% of the time for arounfd the same amount and 20% of the time for a good deal more.
Often at $1 or $2 more then 1 person is attracted at a low price then when outbid AUCTION mentality sets in.
Well if the guy who outbid me is willing to beat my $1 bid by $.50 I can up it $.50 also.
I often have these items close at 5 or 6 times original listing price.
It works for non-new items especially when you need to move inventory.
Joe B
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GreetingsfromUK
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posted on May 7, 2001 09:03:49 AM
I was starting all my lots at .01c and was very happy that I was getting a good price. Then the US went to sleep and I found that I was selling to UK buyers for .01c! I sell low value lots and now start at about half my cost. My motto is "Win some, lose some" and I win more than I lose.
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mballai
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posted on May 7, 2001 09:15:35 AM
Low start prices often won't even attract a bid. Add the fees, and you may have to make up the differnce in your shipping and that gets you into having to justify to the cheapskates why you charge what you do.
If you aren't making a profit with your opening bid, you are likely to be very disappointed.
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gdomain
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posted on May 7, 2001 09:22:57 AM
I start all my items at $1.00 and use the Buy It Now as the "reserve" (since it's free to use BIN). The average price of my items are $5-15 and I always make a profit. There's an occasional low bid items, but since I sell in volume it makes up for it.
I also start my auctions on thursdays and put them up for 10 days so it goes through 2 full weekends before it ends. If people are desperate and want the items right away, they'll use BIN, but if they decide to wait the 10 days, I get alot of hits.
Alot of times is just trial and error, and checking out 1) your competition and 2) past closed auctions of the same item. Keep a track of the items you're going to put up for auction and check how it fared in the past by other sellers.
Good luck everyone.
-gdomain
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Microbes
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posted on May 7, 2001 05:38:16 PM
My opinion is that you don't want to do this on low end items, but on higher value items that attract a lot of bids, it sure draws the bidders in.
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jadejim
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posted on May 7, 2001 07:16:16 PM
I am sitting here in a state of shock. An item I started at $5.00 just sold for $412.50. Nothing collectible and worth about $5.00 to me. But two bidders got in a raging battle over the item and I am going to be the beneficiary. We call it auction fever!
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