@ricarmic wrote:
I auction a lot of stuff at the same start price it will be if it doesn't sell and then goes BIN, but it has been a very very long time since I've run a 99c auction.
I've noticed that some of my "watchees" succeed in getting some very good results with 99c auctions but they also get some very BAD results as well. Examples would be something that I regularly get $9.99 BIN for that auctions for $1.25 to $1.50 (I'm tempted to contact the seller offering to buy in quantity!)
I've also noticed that when I list something that "takes off" once it has a couple bids the views go up quickly.
I do have some "guaranteed sale" items so I decided to list them starting at 99c. (final price should be in the $25 to $75 range depending on the item).
They immediately had a small number of views and within hours had bids. Once the bids started the views have risen quickly.
Since the "new" view counting system was implemented normally I'm getting in the range of 5 to 10 views for the "regular" stuff in the 7 day auction run.
The two 99c starters are about half way through their 7 day run and they're at 38 and 52 views which is 3 to 5 times the next highest item's view count out of 30 auctions running at the moment. The 52 views got more bids quicker (about 12 hours earlier) than the 38 item. Their current bid price is already at what I would have started them from using my normal listing style.
My hope was that the high views would bring folks to see the other stuff I have selling, but I do not see any other auction items with unnaturally high view counts, generally they are the usual low view numbers.
So my current thinking is that the 99c auctions don't generally pull people into the other auctions. I can't tell if it has any effect on the BINs, I don't see anything unusually better in sales volume at this point.
This leaves me to believe that 99c auctions are a good idea for something that has enough lookers/bidders to get early bids and a consistent enough value that it will generally naturally close close to what one expects bringing the hope that enough viewers/bidders show up that the realized price is higher than usual for that item.
I made enough of the 99c experimentals to last for 5 weeks.
I will now look to my other "regular" stuff to see if I have anything that is appropriate to try this way as well, the theory being that if I take the risk of starting something low that enough folks will see it because of the bidding that it goes at least for the regular price.
I'll probably post updates here from time to time as the experiment progresses.
I'm interested to hear of any other observations, experiments out there!
@ricarmic
In my almost 20 years on eBay 😲, at first getting the hang of buying and then selling and buying, at first almost everything I did was with auctions. The thrill of the game. Faded away from auctions(for buying) when sniping became the new normal(I lost more than I won...took the fun out of it). For selling when I first started using auctions I did reasonably well. Won(in the scheme of things) more times than I lost. I always found auctions were all about timing. When you had your listings end. 3 or 5 days was good. 7 days or longer not so. Also found I had more non payers with auctions. When that became the case, I went buy now and slowly added best offer. Over the last 3 or 4 years, when I have tested auctions...Either the penny, .99 cents or 9.99 it mostly became a lose lose situation. Either item sold at opening bid or didn't sell. Reserve prices are dangerously expensive if you want to cover your backside. The few sales that went for a penny or 99 cents the buyers were upset shipping was what it was. Had to "try" to explain its based on the item. Not the value and factored in shipping options available. I believe a few even left grouchy feedback. <Unfortunately, you remember those times>. When auctions were the norm you used to regularly get bids shortly after listing. Now, again, if its something in high demand, they mostly appear towards the end. At least that's been my experience. (It depends on a buyers preference...add to watch list or put in a bid as a kick in the pants for themselves.)
To my mind, if you have the patience auctions may still work if you have something either high in demand or or when you have the wiggle room for pricing. Otherwise, most buyers want the instant gratification of buy it now with the best offer because in their mind they got a deal.
Over the last few years, I have bought a trickle compared to the past. I haven't bought anything using auctions in years. Most often you can usually find a seller with either buy it now or with best offer included. The challenge, if you are looking for something that is limited in available listings is finding anything with decent shipping. And because of GSP(USA) being the new normal it's become even less. Yayyy free stickers 4 times a year!! And for sellers that only have CP to work with the buyer has to be willing to be able to pay your posted shipping. Probably one of the biggest problems for the majority of Canadian sellers currently.
Buyers just want what they want at a price that works for them at a speed and cost that meets their requirements. They buy using auction because they can't find it anywhere else or they don't mind the challenge of trying to get in the last bid. (Auctions always reminded me of trying to be 99th caller for tickets to a concert you really wanted to go to.)
-Lotz
