Why auctions attract more sales than Fixed Price ?

[dipmicro]

Anybody can explain why if there is identical FP and auction, the latter is more likely to sell? And I am not talking about rare or collector items, but regular repeatable items.

[recped]

Is the starting price identical?

[dipmicro]

Is the starting price identical?

Auctions: 330312216230, 220375961143

I accidentally listed two one after another. Both sold. Nice!

This one has been sitting in there and not a bark: 220376547970

From psychological view - why people prefer to compete than just get it instantly?

I also noticed that sometimes my items sell higher than available in my store. I send 2nd chance and they still buy it.

[recped]

I'm a little confused but it looks like the Fixed Price started when the auctions finished but maybe I'm reading he dates wrong.

Is the FP one in your store? Auctions appear in a basic search but store listings do not.

By the way shouldn't those be in the smoking accessory category?

[modemoutlet]

Can't remember when is the last time I used auction. Maybe I should try this weekend 🙂

[dipmicro]

I have had no luck with FPs. Something sits in the FP and no bite at all, then I list it to auction and then it goes. I am not sure, but FP and store listings perform the same.

Btw. some niche items can perform same in store the same as they would in core because if there is too few results, eBay actually mixes store listings into search results in core.

By the way shouldn't those be in the smoking accessory category

What? What are you smoking? 🙂 These are electronic components 🙂 What would a smoker do with an alligator clip?

[coxengines]

What would a smoker do with an alligator clip?

Probably mistook it for a roach clip - You need better descriptions Roman 🙂

Bernie

[dipmicro]

Probably mistook it for a roach clip - You need better descriptions Roman

Too spartan, eh?

You see with most of things what I seel the description means nothing as long as you get the P/N.

Btw. check the stuff from this guy: 120351597379

[coxengines]

I was just joking with the clips.

As to the machine, we once helped a local business sell a whole commercial photo lab on eBay before everyone went digital.

3 tons of pallets went to Paraguay 🙂

Bernie

[ds2286]

That must have been costly to ship.

I' not familiar shipping large items. How did you ship it? I don't imagine UPS ships large items like that.

[dipmicro]

I' not familiar shipping large items. How did you ship it?

I suspect this is the route - forklift, truck, 20/40-foot container, crane, ship ... Hire a logistics company, but it will cost few thousand. I have a friends who was moving his shop with one huge machine and some small ones from one town to another, 20km and he says it cost him $5k. This is the theory, I never done it before.

And this brings me to my question. My imports cost me more on air freight fees than goods value. Anyone here is importing goods by palettes?

[coxengines]

Pallets - forklift - truck - 20' crane - ship - crane - truck -forklift. $11,000 took care of it 🙂

Anyone here is importing goods by palettes?

Yes but not air - mucho dinaros!

Bernie

[dipmicro]

Anyone here is importing goods by palettes?
Yes but not air - mucho dinaros!

How do you go about it? Freight forwarder or self-clear? If self, are you by the sea to claim it?

[coxengines]

I get a broker and pay the $200 or so (for a $10,000 shipment). I make more than that in the time it takes me to take care of all the paperwork.

Bernie

[dipmicro]

I get a broker and pay the $200 or so (for a $10,000 shipment).

The broker will take care of customs. I am more interested in the logistics. Who gets the palette off the 40-footer, how does it make it from Vancouver port to Ontario? Don't tell me $200 also takes care of that.

[coxengines]

Don't tell me $200 also takes care of that.

Of course 🙂

Most of my shipments are automobiles so my carriers would not apply to your situation but when I get merchandise on pallets I just hire local trucking outfits such as Clark Freightways.

For overland to Ontario I use rail companies such as SeaRail or J Simons for motor vehicles but I believe they both do LTF containers as well.

A full container from East to West is only about $1,000 and less if LTF.

Bernie

[recped]

Dipmicro

Where are you importing from (Asia I presume) and what sort of weight/volume?

It's been awhile since I was importing by Air but I don't imagine the business has changed much. Most of my experience was from Europe but the major players are International operations. I imagine your stuff suffers badly with dimensional weight which can really hurt with Air Cargo where space is at a premium.

Sea freight could be a good option, I know it's in a bit of a turmoil at the moment especially from Asia, there are a lot of container ships parked, many of them fully loaded with goods nobody wants. I imagine under normal circumstances you can get deliveries from major Asian ports to Toronto in about 3 weeks. It's 12 - 14 days across the Pacific, unloading and then 3 days by rail to Vaughn.

[dipmicro]

Recped, I am importing mostly from China and Hong-Kong. So far done it via courier. Some of my items are high value/weight ratio, which is no problem. Others are 0.15kg/dollar, considering that air freight is around $12~16/kg - these items actually cost more to transport than buy.

I found this website: http://sendfromchina.com/ - but they need your supplier to become a member and have certain volume of shipments to achieve the pricing. They are able to offer door-to-door courier rates at 6 USD/kg to Canada and $5/kg to USA.

Unfortunately I am too small to convince my suppliers to sign-up so I pay $16/kg

[coxengines]

Something like 98% of what we transact are exports outside of North America. Only on occasion do we actually import something.

100% of what we sell under this account originated in the USA and brought in via trucking.

When we import, it is mainly automobiles from Europe or Japan. Sometimes we import automobile accessories from China.

It's only a few weeks by sea so we see no reason to pay 5x as much to have the stuff here a week or two earlier.

Two weeks from Asia to Vancouver and 10 days by rail to big TO by the time all is done.

Bernie

[ampurtle]

A savy buyer who is looking for specific items will compare fixed price against auction price and weigh any discrete differences.

If I can save 10 dollars, it's worth waitting for an auction seeing as how prices vary so wildly. This is eBay, if you don't win the aution or miss a BIN due to procrastination, don't wory, be happy, there will be another along any minute, and many times better quality/features and or lower price.

If you're willing to micro manage your puchases, you can do well. I just bought a 2K laptop with a typical auction going for 800.oo and BIN ar 1000.oo... for a total of 534.oo at my door, new item factory sealed with warantee.

All this come to he who waits... and waits... and waits... you just have to plan ahead by 90 days...

regards amp