If you sell cards on eBay how do you decide between auction or fixed price?

[docpatlv]

Does anyone know if eBay is still automatically relisting fixed price items?

[Fballguy]

Auctions are dead. Extinct. When I see an auction listing I salivate. If you want to maximize your sell price, don't do auction. I do buy it now with best offer option. You can set to automatically relist. I do 30 day listings.

[Topnotchsy]

I use auctions for items that are mainstream enough that I expect people will be searching for them and it won't get overlooked. For more obscure pieces I do a BIN.

I believe that there are many people who will pay more in auction because of the reassurance that their max bid will always be only 1 increment over the second highest bid (which is the science behind the auction approach that nowadays has become almost standard) but won't risk an unusual item getting overlooked.

[vintagerookies51]

I always do BIO with the Best Offer option unless I need the money fast- then I try to pick cards that I won't care as much about letting go

[drcy]

It's not an either/or. You can start with a sale, then later switch it to auction. Many big sellers have tons of stuff up for sale, then have a weekly or whatever auction of some stuff.

[T206Collector]

I just sold off about 300 T206 cards in 20 card bursts over the past week or two on ebay. I did almost every one as a 1-day auction with a .99 cent starting price. The amount of attention was more than sufficient. I did pretty well. I do think I may have done slightly better with the 3-day auction format.

I don't like going more than 3 days because people forget about listings. They get the email in the morning that there is a listing. They check it out and realize it ends in a few hours, and they get to thinking. I like to find the buyers and keep them interested in bidding on the same day.

I often do better with the auction format than I was even asking for in the BIN format. E.g., a $200 BIN that doesn't sell will sometimes sell for $225 or $250. I think BINs get ignored, even if they're reasonable.

Edited to note: This works for T206s because there are SO many collectors. If you're talking about a rare item, you may take a different approach.

[Stonepony]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

I just sold off about 300 T206 cards in 20 card bursts over the past week or two on ebay. I did almost every one as a 1-day auction with a .99 cent starting price. The amount of attention was more than sufficient. I did pretty well. I do think I may have done slightly better with the 3-day auction format.

I don't like going more than 3 days because people forget about listings. They get the email in the morning that there is a listing. They check it out and realize it ends in a few hours, and they get to thinking. I like to find the buyers and keep them interested in bidding on the same day.

I often do better with the auction format than I was even asking for in the BIN format. E.g., a $200 BIN that doesn't sell will sometimes sell for $225 or $250. I think BINs get ignored, even if they're reasonable.

Edited to note: This works for T206s because there are SO many collectors. If you're talking about a rare item, you may take a different approach.

I once had a E98 Cobb ( ratty) up on a .99 cent auction or BIN of $800. It sold via the auction at $820- go figure

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by drcy

It's not an either/or. You can start with a sale, then later switch it to auction. Many big sellers have tons of stuff up for sale, then have a weekly or whatever auction of some stuff.

I love this...try to mix it up.

[ibuysportsephemera]

This is how I run my sports memorabilia side of the business on eBay. I try auctions first at an opening price I would be OK with if it sold. If it does not sell at auction, I put it in my store at a retail-ish price but with the Best Offer option. This strategy is fine if you don't need to sell anything immediately and have the patience to wait for a sale.

Jeff