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16 replies

50 cent starting price, foolish or worth the risk?

W wesmMember
I have listed my last 4 or 5 auctions with a 50 cent starting bid and though one of them did sell for what I expected, the others didn't fair so well.

I know ebay sellers have seen a drop in sales due to their changes and the best match feature among other things probably is contributing too.

I wanted to start low to attract bidders and the items I've listed seem to be wanted going by present and closed auctions. I feel I did a good job of listing them with great pictures and descriptions other than a few key things like no return policy, no international shipping, and rather high (Priority Mail) shipping for the inexpensive items up for auction.

I just am wondering is it foolish to start auctions this low? I mean I have seen sellers start items worth more than mine as low as a penny. Maybe they sell way more and can afford to get a low ending price. I had a 50 cent auction end Monday with one bid. The item regularly sells for $15+. It feels like I wasted my time/money, and I did.

I originally was going to list items around what I paid for them. Like if I bought some vhs tapes for $3 I'd put them up for 2.99 or something like that so even if it ends with only one bid I still am somewhat in the green.

Opinions welcome. Thanks
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choochooguychoochooguyMember
When collectors will fight each other like hungry wild animals start it low and the price will rocket, if it is a slow moving item everyone sells it needs to start higher.

On smaller sites with low buyer visits you need to start it at a realistic minimum price to ensure you make a minimal profit at worst or just price it in BIN type format.

So it all depends on the scarcity of the item, demand, i.e. the amount of prowling buyers there are, seasonally and on a particular site. Smile
M member8880Member
Ah yes, Choo used a key word...'seasonally'. Pretty soon (Aug & Sept) things will be really slow for everyone. At least that's what every year so far has been like.

My items too, are seasonal, and during the spring months I started everything at .99 and did extremely well. I can see things starting to slow down already tho so I raised my prices.

Starting low can be a great incentive to bid, especially since you did your research and you've seen that your type of items have been selling for much more than that. But you've always got to be prepared that you may have to accept the starting bid. Raise your prices so you'll come out even. If it's something people really want, they'll bid on it regardless of starting price Smile See what your competitors are charging for shipping and try to bring yours dow a little if possible. Buyers that compare will usually pick the lower price.
B blavannMember
From what I have heard (and this does not represent every ebayer that lists at minimum value and gets a good price) the sellers who list at 99c and then get massive amounts of cash are usually shill bidding.

If ebay catches them they will probably be banned.

For me... its a gamble I'm not willing to take, I get a good price for my items on buy it now, and am happy with the profits I'm making (when I can list to make them) I'm not going to list something at 99p instead of £18.99 to save 50p....
choochooguychoochooguyMember
Hi, well my stuff was all collectable items and well over 90% sold whilst buyers ID's were still visible here in the UK. Sought after collectables will always climb high and often jump up in the closing minutes and even seconds.

The present scenario does leave shill bidding hidden from the other buyers but technically greedbay could still identify patterns if they wished to.

Price items in the way you think best for your wares but bare in mind that the higher the start price slower is the bid take up and the higher is the insertion fees, lucky greedbay.

Golden rule when bidding is always stick to what you think is the maximum value the item is worth soley to you, then you will not be carried away by shill bidders or newbies on greedbay going barmy Smile
M member8880Member
quote:
From what I have heard (and this does not represent every ebayer that lists at minimum value and gets a good price) the sellers who list at 99c and then get massive amounts of cash are usually shill bidding

This is actually a myth (if this were true, I'd have been kicked off years ago SmileI mentioned in another post that I sold a shirt for $97, starting bid price was .99)...of course shilling DOES go on, but not nearly as frequently as people think. What makes it worse is the masked identity of the bidders, it's really hard to tell now. But even a suspicion should be reported and let Ebay figure it out.
C cjackcMember
I have had much success with starting out my listings at prices that are as low as possible. I start most at 99cents, but it doesn't make sense to start all of my auctions that low. It is wise to make it proportionate to the item value or what you expect/want to get for it. Do a completed item search to see what others are doing...specifically the higher sellers.

On another note, I believe that setting a Reserve Price hurts auctions, but it makes no sense to me why some sellers will have a have a high start price that equals their BIN. Confused hmm...?
W wittlebillMember
quote:
Originally posted by cjackc:
On another note, I believe that setting a Reserve Price hurts auctions, but it makes no sense to me why some sellers will have a have a high start price that equals their BIN. Confused hmm...?


The only thing I can figure is that they think they are giving the buyer 2 options for making the purchase. But your absolutely right..thats just plain stupid! Unless I am missing something here, I can see no logical explanation for doing it. Go Figure!
B blavannMember
member8880 you have more guts than me.

I sell all my items BIN, except for the odd random item I pick up, I may list it as Auction.

At the moment I have 10 auctions all starting at 99p, but its really because I don't care what I get for them, anything will be a bonus.

I know there are genuine honest people out there that get good prices without shill bidding, it all depends on your photos, wording of your auction and of course what you are selling.
S silkMember
I opt for fair market value. Selling so low makes people think you are selling inferior products. Also you are paying eBay far more if you consider your LOSS of the price of goods sold. Condier you are also paying the fee to eBay AFTER the item is sold and Paypal. I got royally taken over with eBay fees of $391.00,I sold fra less than that and I never even got my cost of th goods. Hard, Hard lesson
B buynselllionelMember
I've always started ALL my auctions at $.99 NO Reserve. It's an auction. Not a garage sale. If you do your job: write a correct accurate description, take top quality photos and maintain stellar feedback, your items will bring fair market price. Some will go high some will go low. During the winter months I'm usually listing $1,000.00 to $10,000 worth of trains each week. Low starting opening bids does not mean or imply your selling junk. It implies the opposite, that they are truly up for sale and that someone is going to own this item. eBay stated some where once that items that get bids early sell for more than items that don't get items until close to the end. People get excited that they may get a bargin, but repeat buyers know you and bid higher with confidence. Best of luck to everyone that reads this. Some People Dream of Success While Others Wake Up and Work Hard At It! by unknown
suzysuzyMember
It does seem off doesn't it?

I have started auctions at the lowest amount I was willing to take for the item/items and had the auctions end with NO bids.
Follow that up with the SAME auction starting at a mere .99 and gotten 4/5 times what I was originally willing to take.

For some odd reason, more so now on ebay since all the Feedback changes.... a .99 starting bid attracts the buyers.
Within the first few hours the "watchers" pile on or as I tend to say "the vultures hover".

It's not just about the "title" to draw the buyers in...the starting bid is a major draw as well.
G gratefulMember
I've had success with .99 cent auctions, and also $1.99. Some items sold for double or even triple retail price (!), I guess people do love winning, once they've entered a bid.

But there were some items that only received the 1 bid at the last minute, and I lost on those.

There is a strategy no-one has mentioned yet, and that is ENDING YOUR LISTING EARLY.
The policy is at http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/end_early.html.

Basically up to 12 hours before the auction end, you can end the listing, even if it has bids. The listing fee is still payable, though if it started at .99, that's not a lot.

The trick with this is keep an eye on the number of watchers, and the number of bidders. If one or both of those is still low the day before the auction end, then it's likely the ending price will also be low. In which case, you can end it if you want.

This is not a foolproof strategy, as a lot of the action in an auction is right at the end, so by ending early, you may miss out. However, it's good to have that choice.

Hope this helps :-)
C cjackcMember
quote:
Originally posted by rubberduckproductions:
Every market is different, and what works for collectibles is different for clothing which is different for H&B items...

Know your own market. Research research research! Don't rely on what someone else says and think it will work for you.


I agree with the duck. You need to be specific to your own market/product niche and item popularity. This research involves searching RECENT completed items to see what the most successful sellers are doing and also experimenting with different pricing strategies of your own. Every auction is different...
C cjackcMember
quote:
Originally posted by grateful:
There is a strategy no-one has mentioned yet, and that is ENDING YOUR LISTING EARLY...

you can end the listing, even if it has bids...

The trick with this is keep an eye on the number of watchers, and the number of bidders. If one or both of those is still low the day before the auction end, then it's likely the ending price will also be low. In which case, you can end it if you w


Like ChooChoo said, this is a great way to self sabotage your own business in the long run! This is a tactic that is abused by so many sellers. There are valid reasons to justify using this option, but it shouldn't be used to hurt the buyer's experience because you didn't do your homework, as a seller.

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