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kinzelSigh...
I don't like Ebay all that much but it looks like the bet since we've come up with a few copies of some of the harder to find books, like I Dare and and Pilots Choice and the first edition Partner in Necessity among the miscellany I picked up ion Atlanta. We've had multiple requests for all this stuff...
so tell, do, what's the best thing for bidders? A 1 week deadline? A 24 hour deadline?
When I have multiple copies in different states (one signed/dated to a principal of the company, for example, and the others unsigned (but signable!) should I put them up at the same time or one after another...
Should I permit a "buy now" with some off-the-wall high bid?
Gah, can you believe someone's asking $127 for the Ace version of Agent of Change? Heck, I think I may have a couple Del Rey copies around here - should I put them up to?
Real questions: I find in these different boxes a couple of the out of print SRM chapbooks as well as some Meisha Merlin stuff. Should I just list one each of them as well? What kind of starting bids make sense -- don't want to scare people away...
We have a few odds and ends of other things around -- for example, I know have the (somewhat dinged up)cover - poster of Crystal Dragon and of Balance of Trade -- anyone interested in them?
Advice from experienced ebayers welcome, but as always we'll make up our own mind...
I don't like Ebay all that much but it looks like the bet since we've come up with a few copies of some of the harder to find books, like I Dare and and Pilots Choice and the first edition Partner in Necessity among the miscellany I picked up ion Atlanta. We've had multiple requests for all this stuff...
so tell, do, what's the best thing for bidders? A 1 week deadline? A 24 hour deadline?
When I have multiple copies in different states (one signed/dated to a principal of the company, for example, and the others unsigned (but signable!) should I put them up at the same time or one after another...
Should I permit a "buy now" with some off-the-wall high bid?
Gah, can you believe someone's asking $127 for the Ace version of Agent of Change? Heck, I think I may have a couple Del Rey copies around here - should I put them up to?
Real questions: I find in these different boxes a couple of the out of print SRM chapbooks as well as some Meisha Merlin stuff. Should I just list one each of them as well? What kind of starting bids make sense -- don't want to scare people away...
We have a few odds and ends of other things around -- for example, I know have the (somewhat dinged up)cover - poster of Crystal Dragon and of Balance of Trade -- anyone interested in them?
Advice from experienced ebayers welcome, but as always we'll make up our own mind...
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Building a Clientele
2007-05-10 18:17 (UTC)It depends on how much time you want to spend. More time means more money per auction. I am also looking at selling in the future. From my experience with eBay and my wife's (MBA and marketing) for maximum price I would:
Start with the most common items.
Once I discover a good seller, I set up a bot that will notify me by email when they add new items I am interested in buying.
List items in multiple spots.
To find out what gets the most response, start with the most common and list them in different areas of eBay. When you find the area that gets the highest price, keep listing items there. Bidders searching the other areas will still find your closed (finished) auctions and click on your seller ID to see if you have more interesting stuff for sale.
Start with low bids
PBS had a documentary on Amish auctioneers. One pointed out "auction fever". In a battle with other people to get a "cheap" stove, the final price kept rising. By the end of the auction, a five year stove had sold for more than the same model brand new. This is also an argument against bid reserves.
Competitive but fair S&H
If you are going to sell volume, keep your S&H low. If you are going to sell unique, price your S&H higher but make sure packaging will survive most mishaps.
Buy all the eBay extras.
There is a way to pay for small photos when someone does a search. Everyone else just gets a camera icon (telling you this item has a photo). I skip the camera icons for many reasons.
BuyItNow for local but not limited editions.
No matter what you set for BuyIt now, it will not work unless you are going for volume. Too high, it will scare away bidders (see Start with low bids) too low and you lose money. Set any and some people will bid on other auctions starting at one dollar. The best use of BuyItNow I have seen is for items limited to one geographic area like Disney Pins. The seller is near the Disney Park and is just selling to those who live further away.
Dutch Auctions for quick sale
If you want a quick sale of multiple items, take the worst of the lot and set up a dutch auction for the lot. Whoever gets the worst item will have won exactly what they bid on. Those who get better items will not complain. Like BuyItNow, Dutch Auctions can save a lot of time if you make money off of volume.
Have lots of descriptive text in the title
Closed auctions only search by title. People may stumble across a closed auction and ask if you have any more to list.
At the bottom have lots of text period.
During the action, bidders can search the entire text.
Several articles have mentioned how eBay has *lowered* collectible prices. If there is a lot of an item for sale, and little interest, eBay will knock down the selling price.
eBay has several services for those who want to pay that will let you research past auctions to help you set prices.
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