lindajean
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posted on March 7, 2003 12:38:14 PM
OK, maybe someone here is one of THOSE sellers and can help me out here.
I know why people start items at a penny or a dollar when they know they will generate much more before the end of auction.
What I don't understand is WHY sellers continually start items at $1.00 in categories where they hardly ever go higher? Most are casual sellers with less than 100 items, but why even bother? They do sell 90% of their items, but they could get more by selling less....
I'm talking about categories like lp's, 45's, postcards, movie posters...all the categories I sell in so I look through ads daily to see what is working and what is not.
Most of these type items attract only a single buyer (unless it is a rare item, of course) so the seller usually only gets their opening bid. I never open anything less than $3.95 and usually start at $5 (postcards only) or higher. My lp's I put out in groups of 6 to 10 so I can start the bids at $9.95 or higher. The cheaper ones are just to get people looking at my other offerings.
Even then, I don't make a lot of money...but these people are losing money! Most accept paypal so it costs them 35 cents to Ebay and 35 cents to paypal so they make 30 cents! Well, kinda, they still have the cost of the item in the first place. And, they do this week after week and many have been doing it for years. A few items will get more bids, but the vast majority sit there at a buck. I know these are low end listings, but why would anyone go to all the trouble of making an ad, packaging an item, putting up with bidders, all for less than 30 cents?
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neglus
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posted on March 7, 2003 12:52:46 PM
I agree linda..i tried that .99 auction thing with a batch of my postcards when eBay offered free listing and I will NEVER EVER do that again! I specified NO PAYPAL in my TOS and WBN notification but of course there were still people who paid through PayPal..! what a worthless endeavor that was and the listing fees were free! can't even imagine people will think they will make money that way in the postcard biz! even a 100% sell through rate would be losing proposition if your time is worth anything at all!
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:04:16 PM
lindajean: It's as you suspect: these people have no business sense.
They're probably thrilled just to be selling on eBay.
There are a lot of uneconomic practices out there and you've put your finger on one.
--
"I find myself having to apologize for being an American." --Belinda Carlisle, ex-Go-Go
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Roadsmith
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:04:30 PM
I agree--no paypal for cheap postcards.
Are you guys saying that every postcard (old, of course) should start, say, at $3 or more?
Is it possible the postcard sellers are making money only on the shipping, low as that must be???
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neglus
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:11:33 PM
Heavens no! I don't make any money in shipping - I start my cards. like Lindajean at $5 and up...i charge $1.50 for s/h which just about covers postage, materials and trips to the post office...starting cards at $3 is just spinning your wheels! As linda said, there usually is just one person out there who wants a given card and they will pay $1 - $3 - $5....and up for it...silly to sell for $1 when they will pay $5 ..as FLuffy says THIS IS BUSINESS!
[ edited by neglus on Mar 7, 2003 01:15 PM ]
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toben88
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:25:11 PM
just list it for $1 plus $9.95 s/h
That works well
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neglus
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:37:31 PM
then there is the postcard seller (newbie) i ran into a couple of weeks ago - she paid $ 19.99 to feature a postcard with starting price of $ 4.95...i emailed her and said probably none of my business but did she realize that that feature was costing her $19.95 and that i had erroneously checked a box back when i used mr lister and all 30 of my listings that day came out as "featured listings" ..i didnt discover it til the end of the week when i went in to my account to see why my ebay fees were so high and ebay kindly adjusted it for me (and told me that was a one time kindness that it had better not happen again)..told her she should contact ebay to fix it...she said she was hoping that it would generate some spin off business for her and that she did it on purpose! YIKES!!! the subject postcard wasn't even anything special!
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lindajean
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:42:27 PM
I see several waste their money on featured...and for plain postcards. I also love it when they say "vintage" "estate" etc and they are continental cards from the 80's.
I did have a potential bidder email me last time I used the FLD for fixed price. I had the card listed at $5 and he wanted to know if I was going to lower the price to "true" auction format when fixed price ended without a sale.
I politely told him that was my starting bid regardless of format so he emailed back and told me "I hope you enjoy your card you will have it a while".
I did relist, and it did sell for the $5 but he had included the link to the $1 sellers and that was why I was checking them out, and discovered lots of others starting (and ending) at $1 besides.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:43:56 PM
neglus: Omigod. I can see why someone might think that.
Part of the problem is that new or inexperienced sellers don't have the information they need to make wise decisions about buying extras. All they have is what eBay tells them, which is crap like "pay $2 extra for bold and you'll get 44% more money!"
There's now a mind-boggling array of extra fees you can pay eBay for an auction, and who's to know what works and what doesn't? The data simply isn't available to any of us.
--
"I find myself having to apologize for being an American." --Belinda Carlisle, ex-Go-Go
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neglus
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:51:45 PM
I don't think postcard buyers are bottom feeders..if they want a postcard they will pay for it...those $1 sellers may be congratulating themselves on their sell through rate but on a normal day they'd have to sell a WHOLE lot of postcards to meet my $ volume and i still have all those wonderful unsold cards to relist or stick in my store (when i get a chance)...I am just hoping things will get back to "normal" soon! everything dead as a door nail since press conference last night!
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neglus
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:56:18 PM
linda..i've been known to call an 80's pc "vintage" (not estate)..not saying WHAT VINTAGE! and it is 20 years ago! many people buy pc's for nostalgia reasons and the 80's is wayyyyyyy back when for some people...
fluffy - i can say that i had nearly 100% sales on all those pcs that were accidently featured..but one bid on each item (probably averaging $5.00 back then) NO WAY would that recoup the fees..and while i have several repeat buyers i would not say that the pc biz is the kind that relies on customer loyalty, they buy what they collect and if you have it they buy from you..but if linda has it they will buy from her...no reason to try to generate seller name recognition..and the best way to get spin off biz is to list a lot of items (can list 60 pcs @ .30 listing fee for the cost of the "feature" and get a lot more spin off biz IMHO)
[ edited by neglus on Mar 7, 2003 02:04 PM ]
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lindajean
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posted on March 7, 2003 02:24:18 PM
neglus: You are right about postcard buyers. They will pay whatever (within reason of course) for the card that brings back some special memory or has a sentimental attachment. And, if they get it for $1 they are pleased but they are just as happy to get it for $5 or $10.
That was the first time I ever had anyone question my price.
My sell through rate isn't wonderful, about 30% on a good week, but I love the old things I sell and as long as I make enough to make it worth my while I am happy. I agree about just keeping the item if they don't want to pay what you ask. Because, the next time, or the next time after that, someone will see it and want it! That is one good thing about older collectible items. Isn't nostalgia great!
I'm not listing this week because it is housekeeping time for me. About every 6 months I have to go through the closets and rearrange and re-evaluate what I have on hand and rediscover all my lost (really buried) treasures. This is my week to do that, so I hope bids will pick up before I get back into it.
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MAH645
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posted on March 7, 2003 02:45:32 PM
Maybe these are the same Sellers that Cancel their auctions a few minutes before they end. I don't know,but I think I'm hurting a few of those that start their items at $1 in the area I'm selling in, my sales are way up.
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meadowlark
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posted on March 7, 2003 03:06:02 PM
Fluffy is right. The $1.00 sellers aren't making any money. These are sellers who are selling for the status of being an Ebay seller, or who are not considering their overall costs at all.
I have discussed this at length in earlier threads.
Patty
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neglus
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posted on March 7, 2003 03:18:09 PM
STATUS OF BEING AN EBAY SELLER??? Oh my! ya think?? Here I've been kinda hiding what I've been doing this past year..you mean i can get STATUS from being an eBay seller??
It's out of the closet for me then!  (no not THAT closet!)
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meadowlark
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posted on March 7, 2003 03:36:39 PM
neglus,
Only if you are a bored housewife or retiree that has nothing better to do than boast to your friends that you are a "successful Ebay seller" and secretly don't care or don't know if you are making a profit.
Patty
[ edited by meadowlark on Mar 7, 2003 03:38 PM ]
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