am i the only one that see's that the prices that ebay seller's start with are at or above retail prices,it seems lately that most seller's are using ebay as a retail store not an auction like it used to be it's no wonder that there are so many other real auction sites popping up , i think ebay should take a long look at these practises before they loose creditability asd an auction site and be labled a retail selling site !
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Interesting post. As a buyer, I have seen really high spikes in item price and shipping from some of the sellers I used to buy from regularly. It's very disheartening when you've found a seller that carries the collectibles you buy and then they stop you from buying from them because you can't afford the price they're placing on their items now. But, there are other sellers out there to buy from. There will always be another seller who can offer more in one way or another.
As a seller, and this is just my opinion so please don't jump all over me for it :), I use auctions, but for seven days, my item sits with no bids and then two hours before auction closes, three snipers zoom in and bid. If there had been more time, they would have bid against each other and I would have made more money. So to combat snipers, I use my watchers count and for highly prized items, if no one bids up to 12 hours before the auction ends, I end the auction and relist it for seven more days, taking the hit on listing fees as opposed to taking a huge hit on monies earned. It's not the best solution, but it tells snipers "not today." My great regular buyers, are glad for the auction setting and bid days in advance, often still winning because the listing appealed to only their needs, but they use the auction listings as I feel they are meant to be used.
In equal fairness, I use buy it now listings for high end items I refuse to come down on and the watchers count is always high lol dreamers or competitors, who knows. But when the item sells, the buyer/collector got what they really wanted for their collection and I got back what I paid and made a bit of money too.
Like everything, there's always one person who doesn't give a damn about anyone else and finds loop holes to abuse a system and ruin it for others. That is what snipers do, in my opinion. And if they keep it up, you'll see less and less auctions, well used by us. 🙂 Others may have different situations and not agree, but that is what I've noticed with our sales. We still do well, real well. But we are here to make money, not give sneaky buyers product at little profit. We are not providing a service, but vintage/collectible items for sale. If you want it, bid or buy it, if not, then many other sellers out there might offer you what you want, but as a buyer, I've been seeing this change as sellers grow tired of taking a loss after doing all the work.
We are not trying to compete so much as we are trying to earn some extra cash. If buyers want something for a steal, then maybe they need to visit yardsales. Most online auctions I've checked out want the value and the shipping out of their listings or why bother.
Janet and Paul
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