posted on August 31, 2001 05:05:41 AM
Here is the scenario: you have an item that you do not want to sell for less than $15. More would be nice, but less would be a loss. Do you:
A. List for under $10 and hope for the best, with or without a BIN
B. List for $15, with or without a BIN
C. List for under $10, but use a Reserve of $15, with or without a BIN
D. Open a store and list it for $15 there.
I am puzzled because I normally deal in books that I get for pretty cheap, so I can list for up to $9.99, with or without BIN, and do fine if I sell for the minimum.
But if I start investing more, sometimes significantly more, in individual books, I am confused about whether to just pay a higher listing fee, use a Reserve, or what.
posted on August 31, 2001 05:24:28 AM
I normally list any item at a price where I will make an acceptable profit with one bid. On ocassion, I will list a 1.00 start, just to move an item.
As a seller I know I do NOT bid on items with a reserve, so I do NOT list items with a reserve.
Sometimes if I'm pretty darn sure that the item will do well I will start at $9.95 and let it go. I almost never use a reserve and for sure wouldn't for a $15.00 item. Reserves scare a lot of people.
posted on August 31, 2001 05:41:08 AMAs a seller I know I do NOT bid on items with a reserve,
I always find that a strange statement for a buyer to make.
Why assume that a sellers reserve is too high for you?
It may well be that the reserve is set at a level for the seller to break even, and not to realise an items potential value.
Take a seller who has bought something for $100.00 and that item would normally would fetch $250.00. It could well be that the sellers reserve is set at maybe $110.00, just to cover their outlay if bidding is slack or an outage prevents bidding.
If you were the high bidder with a bid of $110.00, you would win the auction and buy the item well below the usual selling price.
Reseve or no reserve, I don't see that it should make any difference to you. Just bid the most you'd be willing to pay and see what happens.
If your top bid was below a sellers reserve simply move on. On the other hand you might just find that you can win more "reserve" auctions than you realise.
JMHO.
posted on August 31, 2001 05:42:15 AM
Depends of if you are willing to take a potential loss.
I start the bulk of mine at the minimum profit level I'm willing to take, especially the first time out. But there are the occasional items I want to clear out that I may start lower in hopes of sparking interest.
posted on August 31, 2001 05:52:57 AM
Check out some similar items in your area and then decide. The right answer will be a function of the kinds and number of buyers in that particular area. In some categories, you are lucky to get one bid, so that would dictate one pricing strategy, in others multiple bids are common so you could choose a different one.
Bitsandbobs:
This isn't necessarily true in all of ebay, but in a lot of computer categories (where I mostly buy/sell), I've noticed that a huge proportion of sellers with reserves have unrealisticly high ones. Whether that is due to the seller playing the "never meets reserve, but I will sell it to you under-the-table" game, or doesn't understand that computer stuff loses value every minute, I don't know, nor care. My experience is that most computer auctions with reserves are a waste of time, so I avoid them as well. This becomes even more true when you consider that many computer item listings don't answer all potential questions (its pretty hard to write a listing that does in that area), why spend time emailing the seller only to discover their reserve is unrealistic?
In other categories I would tend more to agree with your "bid and see what happens" advice.
posted on August 31, 2001 05:59:17 AM
We would price it at $9.95 and hope - pray that the auction gets bids to or beyond the $15.00 target. This is what we generally do on our antique & collectible smalls.
However, this probably would not work on books based on what we have seen as they seem to generally get just one bid. With books, we would price it at $14.95 with a BIN of a few bucks higher.
posted on August 31, 2001 06:05:17 AM
Hi all - thanks for the helpful replies! I tend to think that the items I have in mind [they aren't one of a kind, far from it] don't warrant a reserve anyway. I've just been a wuss about forking over a higher listing fee. I think the only time I've ever had a minimum over $9.99 was during Free Listing!
posted on August 31, 2001 07:24:38 AM
recently i have a few items listed with reserve,and several bidders will bid high enough to exceed the reserve,it turns out that they are sophisticated dealers who know the items and are sure they can resell them at a good profit.
other than that,individuals just bid whatver they feel they want to pay.
reserve can work rather well in some categories,one lady who sells meissen from germany said if she sets the opne bid at 1000,no one will bid.if she starts low with a reserve,she gets multiple bids and sometimes reserve will be met or exceeded.
if not,she will email them and negotiate a price.
with computers,i dont think any of us really believe we can get a computer with a few dollars,reserve or no reserve??
so if i want a good computer and i see it on ebay from a reputable dealer,i will bid high enough,may be a little less than the store,whether the item has reserve,it makes no difference to me.
posted on August 31, 2001 08:27:01 AM
Hi Keziak, its only like 55 cents to list the item up to $24.95 or so, well worth the extra change for the insurance on not losing your hindee.
Only time I'll take the plunge and list well under value, if I know its going to go high & I'm making a Very nice profit! Then, I'll kick it off with a penney opening bid!
Always good to check the ongoing and completed items, sometimes gives you a good place to start on opening bid and catagory.
posted on August 31, 2001 09:00:24 AM
"with computers,i dont think any of us really believe we can get a computer with a few dollars,reserve or no reserve??
so if i want a good computer and i see it on ebay from a reputable dealer,i will bid high enough,may be a little less than the store,whether the item has reserve,it makes no difference to me."
I'm not really talking about a new, "good" computer from a reputable dealer (whatever that means on ebay...) that currently has a high bid of "a few dollars". Of course I wouldn't expect to win something for 99% off current retail price.
However, if you look at MOST of the computer items, they tend to be one (or more) generations old. They originally sold for hundreds/thousands of dollars, but their realistic value is now "pennies on the dollar", because the latest, greatest versions are now selling.
So, if I see, say, a 300Mhz machine that would have sold for $1500 two years ago with a current high bid of $50 and a reserve, would I bid? Nope, since, as I've found, all too often the person is remembering the $1500 price...not the $129 price that you can now get the same thing for on places like computer geeks. Or they are hoping to sucker in people who also have no idea that they can get that "old" technology for a mere pittance.
Its even worse in software, where old software on ebay barely sells, so a reserve price is almost ludicrous. I see all kinds of "Original price of $89.95" statements there....which are completely meaningless now that the next version has come out, but which are a good sign that the seller is still hoping to somehow get a high bid on the item.
Sorry, reserves on most computer items are a good sign to "run away, run away" (for you monty python fans). There is no need for me to waste my time emailing the seller to confirm some detail only to find out that they have an unrealistic reserve price. There are plenty of other sellers with the same item who don't use reserves, so I have confidence that a reasonable bid will have a decent chance.
As I said, this is *my* experience in the categories that *I* usually buy/sell in...which may not apply to any other categories, but does illustrate why someone may choose to avoid reserves on purely logical, business reasons (as opposed to some people who just don't like reserves...).
posted on August 31, 2001 02:49:57 PM
List at $15.75. It looks like you have given it some thought. And who won't bid $15.75 if they were prepared to bid $15.00?
Use a BIN that is just under the highest amount that you would expect to sell it for. There are buyers out there that prefer BIN auctions.
Starting an item above $9.99 sets it apart from the 'junk', IMHO, and often attracts quality bidders.
My $0.02 Cdn
Bill
typo, opps
[ edited by cdnbooks on Sep 1, 2001 01:30 AM ]
posted on September 1, 2001 08:59:31 PM
If you're going to start lower than you need to start to make a profit, then start at $1.00 or a penny to get the bidding going. People are much more likely to check out auctions that have multiple bids, and skip over auctions that don't have any bids. ONLY recommended for items that have a pretty broad base of interested bidders.
A book listed at $9.99 (if it sells at all) will usually only get one bid, and then you've taken a loss on it if you needed $15. It is much safer to just start where you need to be to make money, but it's a catch-22 since you lose money each time the book doesn't sell and you have to relist it...
I agree with the "don't use a reseve" school of thought. It's overkill on a low-priced item.
posted on September 2, 2001 04:00:45 AM
Depends on items. I sell a lot of new books and for those I set a price I can live with if there is but one bid.
No my collectibles where I know I will get 5-30 bids, then I will usually start it off at under $9.99 even though I expect it to sell in the $100-600 range. No I did not pay $3 for it, but I have confidence that the activity will bid up the price beyond my actual cost.
My expensive items (over $500) or items that may not generate a lot of activity, I will often use a reserve or a starting price I can live with if only one bid. For me, it really depends on the item. Consignment items, I have to use a reserve or start it at their min. price.
Example, an item I paid $200 (on ebay) for and listed it for $9.99 no reserve sold for $575. I tried for months to sell it privately to collectors for $275 with no takers so I put it up on ebay and got a great price!
A consignment item with a owners reserve of $180 (he paid that amount on ebay) I listed at $9.99 no reserve, but in my ad I stipulated that it was a consignment item and I reserve the right to purchase the item as well since I don't own it... This gives me a safety net to place a bid of $180 and if it doesn't go above it, I buy it or relist it. Happily, I've never had to exercise that option as the item sold for $485... One bidder offered to buy it direct for $325, I countered at $350 since there was so much activity and he declined so it went for much more.
New items: starting expensive items at a price below cost is risky and I don't do it anymore as I've lost money a few times doing so.
posted on September 2, 2001 05:33:40 AM
Always set a minimum bid that you can live with. No regrets.
Reserves are fine with me. If someone has a reserve on something I want I will bid even if I don't meet their reserve. If the reserve is high, I've lost nothing. I've had a few sellers sell to me below reserve.
