I don't get it

[yanks12025]

While searching through ebay almost every day you see alot of the same items. I've noticed several times one item won't sell for X amount, so what the does the seller do? The next day they list it for a higher price! I don't understand, if it didn't sell for a lower price, why do you think it will now sell for more. Anyone else see this and have a theory.

[obcbobd]

Two theories

1. They want to punish you for waiting to see if they relist at a lower price. You better buy it now cause next month it will be even higher.

2. They really aren't interested in selling. "Yes dear, I'll clean up the den once all my BB Cards sell on ebay"

[jimivintage]

I personally have put a couple things on auction before near the price I thought it would get, but then got no bids. Lets say $19.99, but was hoping for $24.99. I then reluctantly decided to put the card as a BIN for the $24.99 (as i really didnt want to keep it) and then just hoped someone bought it for the price I personally thought it would go for...and sometimes I've been lucky.

[tonyo]

My theory:

They would like to sell, but don't need to sell and thus aren't in a hurry. They shrug their shoulders and say "I can list for free so why not try it at a higher price for a week to see what happens?" It may be that the person who would pay more just didn't see it last week, or the random ebay surfer sees it this week, likes it, bids on it or buys it without checking completed listings or comparables. That's probably what the seller is hoping for.....? Like a game of roulette.

[ctownboy]

As a seller on eBay, I have another theory: the dumb buyer theory.

When I list things, I take great care in describing what I am listing and also to take good quality pictures (or scans) to show what I am selling. I then think about how much I have in an item, how much I hope to get for it and start the auction at a price a few steps down from what I expect (hope) to get.

I start the price a little lower than what I want to get because 1) the economy (I would rather start an item a little low and have it sell than start it high and not sell at all) and 2) I, like some of the big auction companies, would like to get a bidding war started and by starting the price lower it might get more people watching the item (and bidding).

The problem I sometimes run into is that people are leery of an item with a low starting price. Even though I have good Feed Back, have described the item well and taken good pictures, they STILL think something is WRONG with the item since I started it out at a low price. They think there is some hidden problem (based on the starting price).

So, when this happens, I answer the people's questions. If the item sells then great. If not, I wait a little while and jack the price up. If people are too dumb to take advantage of a good deal then so be it....

David

[Runscott]

To me, this is an easy one. You have an item that is not in high demand (like a Red Cross, etc.). So you start it off at a fair price (in your mind, anyway) and you get typical offers of 25-50% below your asking price. It's obvious that the buyers who are interested also aren't sure about the market value. So you raise the price 25%, get offers the same percentage below your new price, and you sell it for close to what you would like to get. That's the thinking anyway - it has worked for me, and it has failed, but it's better to try something new than to let an item get so stale that no one will touch it.

To me, it's better when you get to a point of feeling you need to do something odd like this, to simply throw the item up at $9.99 and let it run - take your losses and move on.

But, yeah - I get it.

[sycks22]

You'd be surprised how many ebay buyers out there will offer ridiculous amounts on cards. A lot of buyers just compare prices on ebay and don't subscribe to the bigger auction houses or don't have a VCP membership.

[E93]

Ebay and almost everything associated with it does not make sense to me. I don't understand Ebay rules and how they get away with things. I don't understand what sellers are thinking half the time. I don't understand the actions of many buyers. It is a huge mystery. I was hoping there would be a replacement venue, but so far nobody has stepped up to fill that void.
JimB

[drc]

I've listed an item at a cheaper price to move it and when it doesn't sell I put it up to what I think is a more accurate price.

Whether or not that was a good way to do it I don't know, but I did it.

[Exhibitman]

The reasoning behind how people sell things on Ebay is as varied as the people who sell things on Ebay. It could be anything from a reasoned plan to the seller relisting the item from an older expired listing at a higher price and forgetting to reset the price [I've done that a few times when Ebay didn'd let me use the "relist" shortcut from the unsold items menu because the expired item was itself a relist].

For most casual sellers, I think it boils down to the randomness of Ebay. You just never know who is looking and when they are doing it. I recently offered an item several times at a specific opening bid. Nada. I then offered it at a higher opening price on a BIN/Best Offer and sold it on a Best Offer for more than the opening bid that no one had made. I assume the buyer either didn't see it the last time out or rethought it.

Sometimes it makes sense to escalate the price , especially if it has been a while since you last offered the item for sale, again because you never know who is looking. I know I've relisted items and had them sell for more than the older offer price. It also gives me margin to accept a Best Offer.

I've also offered items well below their prior sales prices and gotten no bids at all. Just depends on who is looking.

One thing I always try to do with a tougher or oddball item is to use the BIN/Best Offer tool. I think it generates better results than either a straight BIN or a straight auction, I assume because I am willing to pay a bit more for an item when I know I can close the deal immediately and I assume the sort of collector who is interested in those sorts of cards would do likewise.

[drc]

My lesson on eBay years back was when I sold a Cal Ripken Jr rookie, the buyer didn't pay, I relisted the same card and it sold for substantially more. Made me realize that buyers aren't efficient.