eBay Auctions a Thing of the Past

[laststop3h]

http://www.antiquetrader.com/antiques/antiques-americana/behind-gavel-ebay-lost-auction-edge

Good article and sadly true. Soon eBay will be obsolete for small sellers who obtain goods from second hand shops. I cant resell anything for a decent profit anymore. Especially with FeeBay's fees and Canada Post's outrageous shipping fees. Shame.

[femmefan1946]

Soon eBay will be obsolete for small sellers who obtain goods from second hand shops.

Really? Where do you think the small sellers who use Fixed Price listings are getting their/our goods?

The good things about FP listing are :

I can decide how much I want for my item, no need to fuss about whether my starting price is too high or too low.

My buyer can buy and pay immediately, allowing for impulse buying.

I can list very cheaply and with Good Til Cancelled, my labour costs are reduced to nothing for reselling.

My eBay fees are lower than they were a few years ago, especially with the introduction of lower benchmarks for Top Rated Seller discounts.

Canada Post rates are the same for both auction and FP buyers, and it is buyers who pay for shipping. We sellers can get a break on shipping FVF by using Free (domestic) Shipping. This is easier with FP because your buyers are not just trolling for the lowest price, but are looking for the best deal, which is not the same thing.

[i*m-still-here]

That's an advertisement for   "An-Auction-Site-That-Isn't-EBay"  ........... 

[surplusdealdude]

Auctions still work great for some items but not for all.

[cumos55]

There was a time when everything sold at auction on eBay... People came to eBay weekly to see what was selling  and they bought ... with lots of bids.

Then came BIN....  and people did not have to come here every week  to find what they wanted..

There were less auctions with each passing year..

Today it is important to know what to sell at auction on eBay... and how to sell it to do well.

There is a time and place for everything...

Auctions have their place but they have to be used wisely... and today too many people  are trying to sell at auction and they lose

Sometimes they lose big time....

[avalonenterprise]

I was just going to ask a question in the forum about that very topic.  I received some brand name infant wear, Nike, OshKosh etc, and can't sell at a price which will cover shipping + fees and still leave me with $3.00   

Not even $3.00 !!

So time for photos, listings etc is all wasted.

I got the brand name clothes in great condition, like new (infant wear often is lightly used)

and still can't find any interest in the auctions.  Like New perfect OshKosh item with Buy It Now for $3.

with actual cost of shipping +3. handling  (I have to buy the wrapping and drive to the post office right?)

and still  NO BITES.

Anybody know a better way to sell very good quality used clothes?

[cumos55]

Find the higher value items to sell.

Many sellers will not sell anything for less than $15 to $20... which gives a reasonably good level of profit....

Your cost for an item is

(1) price paid by seller....

(2) FVF on Sale price.

(3) FVF on Shipping

[catnip2002]

What I have been doing as of late, is using my local facebook groups to sell to customers in my local area, saves on packing, fees etc and is great for items worth under $30.00 but Ebay is still te best for collectibles to me!

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Buyers would far rather hit the BIN and get it in a week than wait a week, then pay, then wait another week. Auctions are passè because buyers say so.

[rose-dee]

---

@inuk_the_polar_bear wrote:

Buyers would far rather hit the BIN and get it in a week than wait a week, then pay, then wait another week. Auctions are passè because buyers say so.

---

This is very true.  It's also true that auctions have other nuisance values for buyers, such as time wasted in bidding and keeping an eye on all sorts of items that are ultimately lost, not to mention the psychological "disappointment factor" associated with auctions and the issues around shill bidding, sniping, etc. etc. 

Buyers found out they could use their time much more effectively by simply searching for precisely what they wanted at precisely the price they were willing to pay.  As more and more sellers offered Fixed Price/BIN (often with Best Offer), buyers started ignoring auctions, although there are probably still some categories where sellers can do well with auctions.  

EBay has evolved.  Smart sellers use auctions only strategically now, if at all. 

[recped]

Alrhough the ratio of Auctions to Fixed Price has changed a lot over the past 10+ years here's a little nugget..........

There are more Dollars taken in on Auction listings TODAY than there was during the "heyday" of eBay Auctions in the 1996 - 2002 period.

Still BILLIONS of Dollars in Auction sales on eBay (more than 20 Billion Dollars annually).

"Auctions are dead" and "everything comes with free shipping"....two commonly heard statements which are very vary far from reality!

[pierrelebel]

""Auctions are dead" and "everything comes with free shipping"....two commonly heard statements which are very vary far from reality!"

That is correct.

About 10% of all eBay listings still offer the short duration "auction" format where buyers decide what the price will be. Percentage may vary by category.

While the majority of sellers have moved to the slower moving fixed price format, at the end of the day, buyers decide what they want to buy and from whom.

Only 50% of listings offer "free shipping" (shipping charge included in selling price). The trend towards "free shipping" is growing for ecommerce.

[pierrelebel]

This article was prepared many years ago and the percentages have changed over the years.  However, it is a good starting point to understand the effects of "free shipping" or subsidized shipping:

http://www.stamps.com/whitepapers/gaining-edge-ecommerce-free-shipping.pdf

[pierrelebel]

Also worth a few minutes of your time:

http://conversionxl.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-increasing-ecommerce-conversion-rates/

[tobyshitzu]

1/3 of sales last q were auction format (even with changes ebay made that were negative fo rthe way a lot of sellers used them).  Which is more grossed from auctions then years ago when core was auction only

The change in the mx is more due to the type of sellers that have arrived.  The coprorate sellers listing hundreds or thousands quantity of thousands of skus couldn't use auction, nor would they want to get different price everytime

As long as ebay chooses to heavily weight the front of best match with auction format I wouldn't worry about auctions going anywhere

[i*m-still-here]

The link in the OP led to a live auctioneer arguing that eBay auctions are a thing of the past.

Clearly, he wouldn't mind too much if eBay auctions die.

Better for him if they do.

This debate...............  (are) "Auctions a Thing of the Past".............. Has been going on for years and years.

No matter what anyone posts, the same posters still post the same thing the next time the topic comes up.

No one changes any one else's thoughts on the topic.

The same posters saying the same things the same way over and over............ very predictable.