posted on June 25, 2001 06:28:35 AM
From the low bids I'm seeing for high ticket items I'm wondering how the heck someone can remain in business selling those types of wares to the bargain hunters on eBay? eBay's basically a low priced flea market. Is anyone having any success selling high dollar items and making substantial profits??? I figure you'd be out of business in a flash if you tried it! I figure 95% of eBay sales are the $20 and less variety.
posted on June 25, 2001 06:44:33 AM
hi - we sell antiques and collectibles
plain vanilla - everything starts below $10.00
no gallery - no ipix - no feature - no store - no buy it now
many start at 1.99 - our cost price is considerably more
offer wide variety - sell thru about 65-70% (give or take a point or two)- once in awhile we lose money, but usually make it up.
posted on June 25, 2001 06:49:00 AMAm I off my rocker???
yes, you are. J/K
If you averaged it out, I think you would find that the average selling price is much higher than $20.00
Most of the people who start high ticket items for next to nothing are paying next to nothing for them. They take the risk to offer an attractive price and get more bids. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, they offset their losses by either eating the loss with profits from other items, or tacking on handling fees to offset their costs.
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This is my sig file. Deal with it.
[ edited by revvassago on Jun 25, 2001 06:52 AM ]
posted on June 25, 2001 06:49:41 AM
if you have something very nice,true antiques in very good condition,you have to place a reserve ,otherwise you would be giving them away .
there are many bidders who are looking to resell,so they will bid low,ridiculously low .
it is better to take it somewhere else to sell than ebay,yes,ebay is turning into a flea market,if you acquisition cost is high,you will lose your shirt if ebay is your only venue.
posted on June 25, 2001 07:53:06 AM
I would guess high ticket antiques would command better prices if sold out of a boutique shop situated within Yahoo's online shopping mall. Higher rent district, and the perception of classier establishments. Then again, what the heck do I know???
posted on June 25, 2001 08:09:47 AM
Yeah maybe, but I meant 95% of eBay auction listings end under $20. It could be more like 99%. Who knows??? I wouldn't trust the #s eBay provides!! The few high dollar items that are sold may skew the average ending price on the whole a bit higher, but most individual listings end up selling for peanuts. I don't think I'm off my rocker on this!
posted on June 25, 2001 08:14:53 AM
While many of the items on ebay are low-end (hence the average selling price is less than $50), and there are many bargain hunters here, all of that is irrelevant to your question.
Look at the completed selling prices for similar items at ebay, "real" auctions, and brick and mortar stores, then subtract fees, and see how you do. Presumably ebay has the lowest overall cost structure (fees, costs, and time) of the 3 options, so even if selling prices are lower (assuming they are) you still might come out ahead. Or might not, of course.
A lot depends on your alternatives. Many of the people on ebay live in rural areas where, for example, alternative employment is painful to get to and pays poorly, but on the other hand, their cost of living is low, so ebay may work quite well for them.
posted on June 25, 2001 08:59:32 AM
Hi ticket items (at least into the low thousands) sell on eBay just fine, as long as there is a general demand for what you're selling. You really need at least three serious potential buyers.
Of failed high ticket auctions, I've observed:
-0 feedback seller, forget it.
-large items demanding pickup in place, or a huge fee to deliver it to a shipping service
-obsolete item which was worth $100,000 at one time but may or not be worth scrap today.
-sellers who simply don't understand what their stuff is worth, and persist in trying to get $2000 for an item which sells three times per week at $1200.
For truly unique items with limited demand(unique on eBay, not unique in seller's advertising), sometimes it makes sense to list the item on and off for a while with a large starting bid/reserve.
posted on June 25, 2001 09:38:01 AM
high feedback is an asset for selling highticket items,also bidders will check to see how you earn this high feedback,from buy or from sell and if sell,what price range.
if you sell a few dollars items many times and all of a sudden you have an item asking 3000,well bidders will tak eit with a grain of salt
posted on June 25, 2001 10:35:56 AM
I've recently sold two moderately high ticket items - my first two auctions as a seller - and they both sold well. My strategy was to set the price at the lowest I was willing to accept, write very good detailed descriptions, and use more than one high-quality photo in each auction. I also listed in two catagories. I don't accept any payment but money orders or personal checks but that didn't seem to be a problem for those who did bid. Each auction received over 200 hits, possibly if I had used one of the cc payment options I would have had more bids.
I figure 95% of eBay sales are the $20 and less variety.
J/K