posted on April 14, 2003 10:09:17 PM new
I WAS looking at one of my best weeks in months.
Every one of my auctions had early bids. Several had buyers who were already engaged in a bidding war. I was waiting for the last minute snipers to make my week.
I was shocked to discover no last minute bidders on ANY of my auctions.
Instead of being one of my best weeks, most items ended well below what I would of expected.
All my auctions ended between 18:50 and 19:32 ebay time.
From ebay announcement board:
"From 18:44 PDT to 19:32 PDT, some users were not able to access the View Item pages, use the Sell Your Item form, or view the Announcement Board. This issue has now been resolved."
I stopped listing on Sunday evening because they alway seem to go down on Sundays!
posted on April 15, 2003 03:16:32 AM new
Two Words:
"Fixed Price Listings."
OK, Three words, but they solve this problem entirely. I tried the half price fixed listings last week. I AM HOOKED. Sold more last week than any week since before Christmas.
A) Outages don't hurt
B) Opening/Closing Times don't matter
C) Day of the week they end on doesn't matter.
D) You KNOW how much you'll be getting when the item ends.
It's not so good for collectables and rarities, but for regular items, it is absolutely fantastic!
posted on April 15, 2003 07:35:04 AM new
I agree with you on the fixed price listings.I ran 45 auctions on FP half off promotion, I could believe the results, my sales doubled this week.I would have run 100 but I was bad low on merchandise as it was a very busy week at the flea market.
posted on April 15, 2003 09:43:36 AM new
I've become a firm believer in fixed priced auctions as well - I got hooked on selling fixed price from my store and the fixed priced listings do seem to generate lots of sales...
I did the 50% off thing as well (they're closing later tonight) and have already covered all the fees with the sales I've made already..
posted on April 15, 2003 10:31:09 AM new
OK, I've calmed down this morning and can see a little more clearly.
I worry I might lose out by using fixed priced items, so I almost never use BIN in my auctions.
I once bought a box lot of stuff at an estate sale for $10. There were lots of antique dealers at this sale and they all looked at this box like it was junk.
Couldn't really find any info about the stuff, so I just listed a couple test items for $3.99 each to see what they would do.
Next thing I know the price of one of the items is shooting up to $100, then $200 and ended at almost $400.
If I would have listed these items with a BIN I would have put a BIN of $10 or $15 on each item. By using the auction format for these items, I made an addition $2,000 above what I would have gotten using BIN.
I also wouldn't have know to ask one of my buyers what I had. They explained what made these particular items valuable (there were more in the box).
I had 4 or 5 serious collectors fighting over these things, it was great.
posted on April 15, 2003 10:38:04 AM new
I agree with greatlakes. No fixed price listings for me. With postcards, it didn't seem to help my sales any when I tested it last free day.
And, I have had some postcards that went for over $50. I would have listed them for $9.95 BIN. One of them was even listed for $6.50 last FP FLD but didn't get a bid. The next time around, two people found it and wanted it and up it went! So I will just take my chances with the outages
posted on April 15, 2003 10:48:33 AM new
Greatlakes, I think you misunderstood me and the other posters. I didn't mean BIN on Auctions, I meant straight fixed-price. There is no bidding at all, they just buy the item.
But I agree it doesn't sound like a good idea for the things you are currently selling. If you aren't sure what to ask, a regular auction style listing is probably the way to go.
posted on April 15, 2003 05:41:40 PM new
ahhh, At the risk of l@@king really stupido, Where is this place on e bay I l@@ed under site map but maybe I missed it. I wanna sell my stuff at a fixed price ,,,,,,,too.....Thanks!
I did have late bids just before my auctions ended thank goodness.
