Thoughts??? The joy of the 99 cent starting price auction......

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by DHogan

I've seen and won auctions on Ebay where the seller had the starting bid of 1 cent. One auction where I was the only bidder. The seller had a fit. He tried everything he could to void the auction. I forwarded all the emails to Ebay. I finally did receive the item. And the person was gone from Ebay soon after.

I bet - although he probably quit on his own accord because he was forced out of business.

[thecatspajamas]

For 1-cent (or 99 cent) auctions to work consistently for a seller, they have to have a kind of critical mass of bidders actively bidding. Some are able to achieve that through their own promotional efforts, large base of repeat customers, etc. It used to be that there were enough collectors scouring ebay auctions on a weekly basis that the only advertising effort you had to put forth was to write an accurate/catchy title. With ebay's push for fixed price listings and virtual elimination of up-front listing fees, much of the sense of urgency on the part of both buyers and sellers was removed, and that necessary mass of buyers that was once a given became more of an exception. A few diligent sellers are still able to pull off the 99-cent auctions, but for most, the "good ol' days" of running 99-cent auctions are a thing of the past.

[Runscott]

nevermind….

[bobbyw8469]

No ...speak your peace. This is one of my favorite topics! There are no right or wrong answers. I just know what works for me.

[Runscott]

Bobby, there actually IS a right answer when it comes to the type of selling strategy that a seller uses, but there is no way that a Net54 buyer can possibly know the 'right answer' for any particular seller, unless he analyzes the seller's business plan. The seller is in the best position to know what the 'right answer' is for him personally. For me it used to be .99 cent auctions with no reserve. It no longer is.

[Thromdog]

I agree with Scott. To each their own!

I posted this thread because I can't understand a 99 cent auction that has a reserve on it......not at all questioning the ethics of the seller or think he has some devious plan. It just didn't make sense to me as a buyer, but I'm guessing the seller has a valid reason.

In my mind, the 99 cent auction is a "you got 7 or 10 days to put out your best price, and I will accept it". I think setting up a reserve cancels that.

One of the newer approaches that I've seen that I like is having a a start price that you are fine selling for with no reserve set. If you only get a single bid, you are fine with that, and you can potentially get more.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by Thromdog

I agree with Scott. To each their own!

I posted this thread because I can't understand a 99 cent auction that has a reserve on it......not at all questioning the ethics of the seller or think he has some devious plan. It just didn't make sense to me as a buyer, but I'm guessing the seller has a valid reason.

In my mind, the 99 cent auction is a "you got 7 or 10 days to put out your best price, and I will accept it". I think setting up a reserve cancels that.

One of the newer approaches that I've seen that I like is having a a start price that you are fine selling for with no reserve set. If you only get a single bid, you are fine with that, and you can potentially get more.

You would be surprised how many times I listed an item with a start price of X and got no bids..but when started at .99 cents..the bidding got it above X...people think that a start price is inflated....that's why sellers are doing the .99 cents with a reserve...

[tschock]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Bobby, there actually IS a right answer when it comes to the type of selling strategy that a seller uses, but there is no way that a Net54 buyer can possibly know the 'right answer' for any particular seller, unless he analyzes the seller's business plan. The seller is in the best position to know what the 'right answer' is for him personally. For me it used to be .99 cent auctions with no reserve. It no longer is.

Agreed, and maybe even a step further. Not only would it be different from seller to seller, it might be different from item to item for the same seller.

I can price BINs for tobacco cards, but how do I price a "set of 4, ceramic, cork bottom, George Sauer NY Jets coasters in wooden holder" that was also in the box of cards I picked up if I want to get rid of it ASAP?

T cards - BIN
coaster set - auction with low (99 cent) opening bid

[vthobby]

I have started running Buy it Nows with some surprising success but if an item sits for a month or so with no great interest, I will run it at a penny with no reserve for 7 days. I have over 4000 100% feedback so I have a bit of experience in this field.

On a rare occasion, I will get beat up on the penny auctions but it happens rarely. I distinctly remember a Yellow HOF Postcard signed by Boggs which I got in person went for $1.75 or something crazy like that. After fuming a bit, I realized that I had paid $1 for the postcard and gotten the auto for free so I actually made money (so I tell myself....not counting opportunity cost of course!)

If you list items for a penny you can also back out of them anytime outside the 12 hour window so there really is little risk.

peace, mike