At What Level to Start Bids?

[cessna152towser]

I have tended to follow the eBay tip of starting the bidding relatively low to attract interest from potential bidders.     This time it failed to pay off.    Ten days ago I placed a set of Bachmann for Murphy Models Murphy Bros of Waterford set of three 7-plank wagons on auction at a start price of £24.99 plus £3.99 postage.  Someone else had placed an identical set as a new listing within the previous 24 hours with a start price of £60 plus £4.50 postage.     I thought the other seller was being rather optimistic.  His was a seven day auction and so I decided to make mine a ten day auction so that both auctions would not end too close together.   The other set attracted two bidders and went for £67 plus postage at the beginning of this week.   Mine attracted seven different bidders and sold earlier this evening for £43 plus postage.  I am happy enough with the price I received as it was roughly what I originally paid for the wagons, and probably a fair price.   I have to wonder though whether it is worth starting bids at the lowest price I would be willing to accept or whether to start higher in future.

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by cessna152towser

[kernowtim]

Safest thing to do is start at the lowest price you are happy to sell at, not forgetting fees will be taken out of the final selling price! 

[MartinWales]

One tactic that I used to use is starting at the lowest price that you would be willing to accept and also at a Buy it Now price too, which may reflect the other 'top end' price 

[GWR-fan]

EBay will tell you that starting at a low price will boost your chance f selling by 17%.  Of cause your item will sell but will you get what you want?   I personally abhor the auction system,  preferring to only offer "Buy it Now" as the buyer knows exactly how much he needs to outlay.  On the rare occasion that I have offered auction listings I have received an acceptable sale price but only because no one else was currently offering the same items.  Auctions are indeed a gamble relying on there being multiple bidders.   I have seen high interest in an item with multiple bidders only to find that when I immediately list an item the interest has dissipated.   I hold the view that many auctions are shilled,  explaining how a high bidder is willing to push up the bid price only to then show no interest in an identical item offered at a lower price.  

[rab]

In my experience it's a case of win some/lose some.

I've had some stuff go for much less than I'd hoped for,

and other stuff fetch way over my expectations.

If I average it out I've done ok. I know that's

not so good if you're only selling a few items.

[John M Upton]

My policy is minimum I would be prepared to part with the item for (within reason) plus cover postage costs (I do free UK post on all my items, less hassle) plus 20% to cover what eBay and PayPal cream off to line their coffers.

[Crosland]

15 hours ago, GWR-fan said:

 I have seen high interest in an item with multiple bidders only to find that when I immediately list an item the interest has dissipated.   I hold the view that many auctions are shilled,  explaining how a high bidder is willing to push up the bid price only to then show no interest in an identical item offered at a lower price.  

 

It takes only two bidders to push the price up. One wins and goes away.

 

If there really were only two and no one else is willing to pay bid high against the original losing bidder then your auction will win at a much lower price.

 

Certainly no evidence of shilling in this outcome.

 

Worst time to start an auction is when demand has been satisfied.

[cessna152towser]

42 minutes ago, Crosland said:

 I have seen high interest in an item with multiple bidders only to find that when I immediately list an item the interest has dissipated.   I hold the view that many auctions are shilled,  explaining how a high bidder is willing to push up the bid price only to then show no interest in an identical item offered at a lower price.  

My suspicion too.   Bidders are of course anonymised nowadays by eBay, but comparing the feedback scores it seemed almost certain to me that the unsuccessful bidder on the other item did not then become one of the seven bidders on mine.

Edited June 5, 2020 by cessna152towser

[chris p bacon]

I've been watching a specific locomotive class for a few weeks, those that list at 99p or 4.99 end up with a final price of £35-40 with 8+ bidders.

The same locomotive with a starting price of £20-25 rarely get over £30 with just a few bidders. 

 

I can only presume it's because the bidders get sucked into the "bargain' frame of mind and don't bother watching those they think are not a bargain to start with.

[Andy Hayter]

With hindsight, I think your error was terminating your goods after the other person.  No doubt you will have thought the loser would come to you, but if there is no competition then he gets it at whatever price is currently ruling. By ending your auction first you force the bidders up close to the competitive auction.  The loser then pays for the mor expensive (perhaps but not necessarily) alternative.

 

As it is one serious bidder got the first item and if there was not serious alternative competition, the second item (yours) goes for whatever price is in force. 

[Crosland]

27 minutes ago, chris p bacon said:

I've been watching a specific locomotive class for a few weeks, those that list at 99p or 4.99 end up with a final price of £35-40 with 8+ bidders.

The same locomotive with a starting price of £20-25 rarely get over £30 with just a few bidders. 

 

Bid £40 on a 99p auction and you have a chance of getting for 99p or more.

 

Bid £40 on a £25 auction and you will pay at least £25

[Jim Martin]

43 minutes ago, Andy Hayter said:

With hindsight, I think your error was terminating your goods after the other person.  No doubt you will have thought the loser would come to you, but if there is no competition then he gets it at whatever price is currently ruling. By ending your auction first you force the bidders up close to the competitive auction.  The loser then pays for the mor expensive (perhaps but not necessarily) alternative.

 

As it is one serious bidder got the first item and if there was not serious alternative competition, the second item (yours) goes for whatever price is in force. 

 

I'm inclined to agree with this. The other thing is that if the unsuccessful bidder operates the same way I do, they have an amount of "train money" burning a hole in their pocket and a "want list" of things they might buy. Right now I'm bidding on a particular DMU on eBay. If I don't get it, the train money gets spent on something else. It might be another example of the same model; it might be something else (in this case, it almost certainly will be something else).

 

Even if an identical model is available, I'll often bid on something else if it's finishing earlier. If I don't win that then maybe my attentions will revert to the model I was originally interested in. It's a product of my "want list" being considerably larger than my purchasing capability: there's very rarely only one thing that I might be interested in.

 

Jim

[GWR-fan]

I recently had two auctions where cabin fever must have been at fever pitch.  Normally,  I would never offer my listings as auction format since I prefer my items to sell as "Buy it Now",  however,  I had a few items that were not "Buy it Now" quality so they were offered as throwaway $0.99 auctions just to get rid of them.  The items were still perfectly functional with no flaws but I was prepared to let them go at whatever the market wanted.  To my surprise the auctions ended with prices far, far higher than I could have imagined,  so much so that out of a sense of a remorse for the highest bidder,  I refunded one bidder half his money and another I paid his shipping cost and another I included a bonus item.   I know,  a bidder is responsible for his own actions,  irrespective of how much he gets carried away in the bidding process,  however,  I treat my sales as if I was the buyer and how I would wish to be respected by the seller.  I am not a Scrooge,  I simply wish my bidders to have the same enjoyment that  I have from owning specific items.   This is why I view those who shill their auctions with such disdain as they have no respect for their bidders,  seeing the maximum possible return for each listing as paramount.  I had a friend some years ago who was an expert in shilling everyone of his listings.  He had multiple "bidders" to choose from in getting the most out of every auction,    using friend's and family personal details to bid up every listing.  Even then he was not satisfied in that he invoiced high shipping costs only to source cheaper methods to ship his items,  even charging shipping costs when he personally delivered items to the bidder.

 

The guy that I paid the shipping for messaged me thanking me and no doubt will return for future purchases.  The guy that I refunded almost $50.00 to,  well,  he has fallen into a crack in the void,   not to be seen or heard from again.   Return sales on eBay are not simply having the cheapest price,   but offering quality and showing respect for your customer.  Yes,  I do not make much money on my sales but I enjoy what I do.

[zedcell]

I have always had more luck selling by setting the price as low as possible to attract more buyers , well that's my theory anyway.

From my observations many people who set a buy it now price quite often fail to get any buyers as most people are looking for a bargain even if that means bidding in auction.

[Guest Half-full]

21 hours ago, GWR-fan said:

EBay will tell you that starting at a low price will boost your chance f selling by 17%.  Of cause your item will sell but will you get what you want?   I personally abhor the auction system,  preferring to only offer "Buy it Now" as the buyer knows exactly how much he needs to outlay.  On the rare occasion that I have offered auction listings I have received an acceptable sale price but only because no one else was currently offering the same items.  Auctions are indeed a gamble relying on there being multiple bidders.   I have seen high interest in an item with multiple bidders only to find that when I immediately list an item the interest has dissipated.   I hold the view that many auctions are shilled,  explaining how a high bidder is willing to push up the bid price only to then show no interest in an identical item offered at a lower price.  

Surely the buyer always knows what they have to outlay, its it they who are doing the bidding!!!

[Bucoops]

8 hours ago, zedcell said:

I have always had more luck selling by setting the price as low as possible to attract more buyers , well that's my theory anyway.

From my observations many people who set a buy it now price quite often fail to get any buyers as most people are looking for a bargain even if that means bidding in auction.

 

Agreed, I get the odd "miss" - had one recently but don't mind too much as 1) it went to someone on here, and 2) other auctions starting and 99p have more than made up for the "loss".

[PenrithBeacon]

I haven't attempted to sell on eBay but when I want to buy I set the maximum I want to spend as my top bid and then let it go. If I'm outbid which I was yesterday, I review the situation and decide what to do. This avoids getting into a bidding war which can cause me to get emotionally involved with detrimental affects on the bank balance.

[Hal Nail]

21 hours ago, chris p bacon said:

I can only presume it's because the bidders get sucked into the "bargain' frame of mind and don't bother watching those they think are not a bargain to start with.

Totally. I have followed 1000s of bike parts and models over the years and generally speaking when they are listed at near to what you would expect them to fetch, they will probably get one last minute bid at that. Better off going buy it now at slightly higher and allow offers (people like to think they've got a bargain so put it on 10% more and let them have a 5% off)

 

If you start an auction low you take a risk of course but often people get excited and start bidding and these are the ones that end up over the odds.

 

I've just watched a Lionheart autocoach that started at £1, get multiple bids from 2 hours out and finish at £204, which is £44 more than Rails of Sheffield are currently selling them new and even on Ebay there are some on buy it now for less than that!

 

There isnt much logic to this but as a seller you need to harness this stupidity, not fight it!

Edited June 6, 2020 by Hal Nail

[Hal Nail]

Classic example of this: corgi escort harrier mk2. There are 4 or 5 on buy it now at c£32 including postage, that have been on for 3 or 4 months 

 

Meanwhile one seller keeps listing them at £1 start and so far all three I've been following have ended up going for more than the buy it now ones.