Do You Think It's Time to Eliminate Auctions on eBay?

[jt-libra]

Sometimes the juxtaposition between how eBay sees itself in the marketplace and how it expects its sellers to operate, and buyers’ behaviour is so vastly different.  eBay wants to take its place alongside big retailers in the on-line marketplace but yet, in some ways, there’s very little progression since the time eBay began – from the buyers point of view.

Of course, eBay is unique in that it includes auctions on their site, which I believe should be a thing of the past.  I use them because in my selling category, my 50 + 50 free listings do not include fixed price.  And I pay for a certain number of fixed price listings. To use the auction with buy it now is not feasible any longer, with the 30% variance required.  With fixed price, you can stipulate immediate payment – no problem.  It leaves the buyer no room to negotiate shipping charges or the price itself after the fact, and if he attempts to, we can refund and claim the buyer changed his/her mind.  With auctions, after the purchase, the buyer can try to negotiate all sorts of terms and you’re not sure after your response to them, whether or not they’re still interested, so you wait and eventually file the unpaid item claim which takes your product off the market for 8 days.

What facilitated this post is the buyer who after winning the auction last night, said, I’ll pay you next payday (10 days from now) – not “is it okay if I pay you next week?”  A lot of sellers probably don’t think this is a big deal but, quite often, the 10 days goes by and there’s no payment, requiring more communication and often a delayed UID.  I know that I can respond that this isn’t acceptable and cancel the transaction ….. and I probably would if it was a big-ticket item.  In this case, the $25.00 is not a hardship but I think about items that sell for, say, $100+, with more than one bid.  The winning bidder delays payment and may not pay in the end, whereas the second highest bidder would have paid, the item would have shipped and the seller would have the money in his/her pocket.  It’s not hard for me to keep track of unpaid items, because on each of my selling accounts, I only have about 100 to 150 items for sale at any given time, but how about the sellers who have thousands.

I believe it was Pierre who said that he used to even accept Canadian Tire money from buyers in the early days.  Well, in many respects, that mindset of buyers has not changed much.  If eBay insists on keeping auction listings, then for efficiency purposes, buyers should be required to pay within 24 hours of an auction end and, if they don’t, the transaction is automatically cancelled.  Surely, with all sorts of mobile devices now, they can check to see if they’re the winner.  Sellers who have a long-standing, constant customer base are likely listing fixed-price only, so this wouldn't be an issue for them.

If eBay wants an efficient operation, doing away with auctions would go a long way to achieve this goal.

[Anonymous]

Why would you want eBay to eliminate auctions on eBay?  Either auction-style or fixed-priced auctions work for many sellers like myself.

If you don't want it, eliminate yourself from eBay.  Leave it for others who need to use it to sell our items.  Thanks.

[jt-libra]

Thanks for your post.  I wanted to hear what other people think.

I don't intend to remove myself from eBay because fixed-price listings work for me.  I don't know what you sell but, in my category, I can only use my 100 free listings for auctions and I'm not above taking advantage of this opportunity to gain more exposure for my items.  Auctions have been both beneficial and problematic for me.  99% of my auctions do not get more than one bid; therefore I used that experience to determine that if I used that same starting price as my fixed price, I would be better off.

[pjcdn2005]

I don't run a lot of auctions but my husband sells now and then and always uses auctions. He also loves bidding on auctions and I think that there are many who enjoy doing that. Auctions are one of the things that does set ebay apart from other sites so I really don't think that eliminating them would be in anyone's best interests.

I do think that auctions work best for certain type of products but because in certain categories ebay does allow free listings for auctions only, I think that there are tons of auctions listed that really aren't auctions...they are started at a buy it now price but the buyer has to wait to 'win'.   I don't think those type of auctions necessarily benefit the ebay 'auction experience' but I admit that I do those once in a while too.

I can understand your frustration in people not paying right away or at all but I don't think that the solution for that is to stop allowing auctions.

[pjcdn2005]

99% of my auctions do not get more than one bid; therefore I used that experience to determine that if I used that same starting price as my fixed price, I would be better off.

I'm sure that you've already experimented with this but thought it would mention it anyway. If you did use fixed price only, would your sales increase enough so that the difference in a fvf of 9% rather than 10% would pay for a store?

[bb_cool_stuff]

I do think that auctions work best for certain types of products.....

Of course they do, its just procuring the right items.

I will list, what I think are unique items, on auction during the Free Promos, but generally have about a 3% Sell Through Rate during the Promo Period.

Not much better during a Non Promo either.

[rcrawford34]

It depends on what one sells here whether auctions or Fixed Prices  are effective or not

some list auction style and get very few results others list auction style and do very very well with their items At times they get alot more than they could imagine with Fixed Price

at times some posters here suggest that people should concentrate on Fixed Prices.   

Great if it works for them and what they sell but it does not apply to all

items that have set prices benefit from Fixed Prices  but many items like antiques nostalgia  etc can at times benefit from auction style

it's hit and miss in that field right now whether the items will sell or not whether they will get high prices or not etc  This is true on and offline

Offline auctions are all over the place right now just as they are online

Personally I very rarely use Fixed Price I do better with auctions. Sometimes better than others but that's the nature of selling   

did use Fixed Price last special and while not going gangbusters I did sell a number considering Fixed Price Specials the last few years were  uneventful for me

ebay offers both options of selling items and people can choose what is best for them people have the option and use what what is best for them

[jt-libra]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

99% of my auctions do not get more than one bid; therefore I used that experience to determine that if I used that same starting price as my fixed price, I would be better off.

I'm sure that you've already experimented with this but thought it would mention it anyway. If you did use fixed price only, would your sales increase enough so that the difference in a fvf of 9% rather than 10% would pay for a store?

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I did have a store for a few months but I found that the 1% difference in FVF did not really make a difference.  With a non-store, paying 30 cents for a fixed price item, above any fixed price promotion during the month, actually left with me a bigger profit.

[jt-libra]

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@rcrawford34 wrote:

...... many items like antiques nostalgia  etc can at times benefit from auction style

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You're right .... I did forget about these types of items.  On occasions, I've come across vintage china or jewellery that I absolutely could not determine their worth.  In those cases, I did start with an auction ..... and soon found out

[jt-libra]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I can understand your frustration in people not paying right away or at all but I don't think that the solution for that is to stop allowing auctions.

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Although there is some frustration, of course, this really isn't the mitigating factor.  I just think that, overall, in today's on-line selling reality, the purchasing/selling process on eBay should be more streamlined.

[pjcdn2005]

You're right...it should be more streamlined.

[recped]

Get rid of Auction? Well I would be vehemently opposed to such a concept.

Auctions work for me, they work for me even for the items that only get one bid. they work for me on many levels. Auctions are the one remaining thing that separates eBay from the rest of the pack, getting rid of them would be a very bad move in my opinion.

If they don't work for you then don't use them!

[jt-libra]

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@recped wrote:

If they don't work for you then don't use them! 

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That goes without saying! 

The intent of my post was simply to learn what others thought ..... whether they felt as I did or whether I was in the minority.  Nothing in the post should have been construed as being combative.

[msmaggie060]

I use both auctions and FP. I love it when I list something as an auction for an amount I would be okay with and then watch it climb to 10 times the listed amount! Auctions are fun - for a seller at least!

I never ask or expect payment to be made immediately, I can always wait for a week or so. I usually state 7 days. The only time I ask for faster payment is just before Christmas when I know I need to ship before the holidays. Still, I'm grateful when the payment is made right after buying so I can ship right away and don't have to worry about UPIs.

[reallynicestamps]

One way to manage the slow payers, without Immediate Payment, could be to restrict bidding to those with active Paypal accounts.

Paying with a credit card, through Paypal, means you can settle up at your leisure, while the seller gets her money right away.

Bonus- your item arrives sooner and extra Buyer Protection from the credit card.

But of course, we are all sellers here. The slow payers won't understand.

[pjcdn2005]

Does a buyer have to have a paypal account to pay with a credit card when the seller does not have a merchant account with a cc?

If they don't need to have one then you would be eliminating potential buyers by insisting that buyers have a Paypal account.

[cumos55]

In the days before fixed price listings and stores, people came to eBay once a week to find something  and bid.

Today it is fixed price,  and they come here,  once a week, once a month or even once a year and find what they what

That is the difference.

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I know several people who use auctions on eBay... very effectively.....  They know how to make it happen.

In contrast there are people here that  do it  and walk away totally unhappy..... 

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Auctions are not for all types of inventory today on eBay...  too many sellers  do `not understand that.....

Auctions should be specific to a category of item.....  or a specific type of inventory in a category....but not for everything in  that category..

First edition books do very well with auctions.....  Darwin's ...Original of the Species ....sold for close to $100,000

and that Superman # 1 comic or 3 million....

But someone primed those for good sales...

These were the tops... but I am sure that other situations also produce good to super auction results.

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Many of the people who list at auction on eBay... have never been to a live auction..  Neither they, nor many of the buyers  understand the reality of an auction..

If you are the top bidder... you must pay....A local auction works with the crowd of bidders...

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Unfortunately   today....  only in certain categories on eBay does one find a crowd of bidders...

eBay should not eliminate auctions...  but...  there has to be something more than starting the bidding at 99 cents!!!!!

Or....Auctions in certain  categories   should be restricted  to one time period each month....  and with not all categories being sold in the same week....each month...  

Or even limit auctions ... only to certain categories... or type of item within a category.

with the intent of creating a "crowd" of bidders...

Auctions will continue to work well on eBay, if and only if eBay becomes creative in their promotion of auctions....  and how they should be run by a seller..

[jt-libra]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

Does a buyer have to have a paypal account to pay with a credit card when the seller does not have a merchant account with a cc?

If they don't need to have one then you would be eliminating potential buyers by insisting that buyers have a Paypal account.

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That's very true.  A couple of years ago, when someone suggested this on the board, I blocked buyers who did not have a PayPal account.  I had no idea how many that would exclude, until I checked my Buyer Requirements Activity Log.  This is something I only do occasionally and I saw that there were about 2 dozen buyers in one month who had attempted to make a purchase but were unable to do so.  I had always assumed that most buyers on eBay had a PayPal account .... but not so.

It's possible that one or two may have been problematic buyers, but that would be the case in any two dozen transactions.  So I quickly removed that exclusion.

[jt-libra]

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@cumos55 wrote:

eBay should not eliminate auctions...  but...  there has to be something more than starting the bidding at 99 cents!!!!!

Or....Auctions in certain  categories   should be restricted  to one time period each month....  and with not all categories being sold in the same week....each month...  

Or even limit auctions ... only to certain categories... or type of item within a category.

with the intent of creating a "crowd" of bidders...

Auctions will continue to work well on eBay, if and only if eBay becomes creative in their promotion of auctions....  and how they should be run by a seller..

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You summed it up very well.  eBay should become more creative in their promotion of auction sales.  These thoughts had run through my mind as well.  Msmaggie stated that she's had a selling price that was 10x what the starting price was.  She has some very lovely, unique items and this category of item would do well to remain at auction.

But for many of us who are in competitive categories, we would never in a million years see an item sell for 10 times the starting bid.  For us, as I said, the winning bid is the only bid.

[cumos55]

I know of a person that searches for first editions... books.... and is very successful.

Right now he is a collector... but eventually will become a seller..... I have seen him do a search through a mass of books in boxes at a live auction.....  and find great value...

For him fixed price in association with auctions will work well... where  he can set  up a system, a balance between fixed price and auctions that would be advantageous for him.

eBay's advantage is the presence of auctions.... in association with fixed price..... something no other major book selling site can offer on the internet...

This person already has a very good grasp of the relationship between book value...  and in turn ... Fair Market Value...  the end price for an auction...

He also has an interest in comics... and then sports cards.....  as well as stamps ....

and ... Above all ... he is very good at wheeling and dealing to advantage.... something he will have to apply to selling on the internet...

This is a situation where auctions will work well.... as they already do so on eBay.... first edition books.....