i don't 'understand' ebayers sometimes

brettcta

this is just a bit of a silly thread, it's just regarding something i've noticed a few times recently.

i'm not what you'd call a 'serious' ebay user, nowadays i pretty much exclusively sell things i've bought dirt cheap elsewhere (which isn't that often) or in situations like this where i buy something i later don't want/can't use

i recently picked up a wrist injury from playing football in net. i tend to buy 2-3 pairs of goalkeeper gloves at a time (1 really good pair for matches, a mid-range pair for training and a cheapo pair for playing 5-a-side).

the injury means i can't play in net for around 4 months, so decided to put the cheapo pair on ebay a few weeks back.

i stuck them up as a bin for a tenner with free postage. the gloves had a decent amount of interest (70+ views, 6/7 watchers) but finished after a week with no buyer (ending sunday evenings at around 8pm). i stuck them up twice more at similar times and same again.

decided that they might be a tad expensive, so decided to stick them on last friday on an auction so they'd at least go. didn't mind them going for less than a tenner, just wanted a few quid to put towards some new footy boots.

with 24 hours left, they'd have around 160 views, got 17 watchers and have already gone over £10 (with the top bidder putting on 4 more bids since becoming top bidder).

i've noticed this happen before, put something up as a BIN and it doesn't sell, but put it as an auction and it can sell for more than the BIN price.

is this a regular pattern to expect on ebay? i pretty much exclusively sell by b.i.n., but if this is to be expected for certain items, i might be more inclined to sell by auction.

if you've got this far down, well done. if not, then i'm sorry for this mostly pointless thread.

Soot2006

I am a serial Ebay buyer ..... and there is definitely something psychologically exciting about the auction ....
That's the chase!! Winning the item is just a bonus. If I wanted to spend £10 on gloves I'd go to a shop ... but if I can fight someone else for them, then I don't mind spending a bit more ... It's the modern hunter-gatherer!

soolin

Don't even mention bidding frenzy in my house my OH tends to look pointedly at certain items sitting in the hall that I bought at a real bricks and mortar auction just for the thrill of it.

geri1965_2

I sell mostly bags (second hand) and I always get more for them if I start them off at 99p because it attracts more watchers if they think they might get a bargain, then they decide they want it anyway so don't mind bidding higher.

brettcta

i must admit, the thrill of an auction is just as good as a seller - i find myself checking the auction a few times daily to see how many views, watchers & bids there's been

i think i'm getting hooked

mouseymousey99

I have a bit of a cookery book habit. Does surprise me though how many people never seem to check the price with amazon. I've seen people pay pounds for something they could have bought new on amazon.

RFW

brettcta wrote: »

is this a regular pattern to expect on ebay?.

Sadly not, certain things will generate a bidding frenzy some will go for starting price and the majority somewhere in between. I've been in and around the auction business for over 20 years and still get surprised at what does and doesn't do well in a sale.

As regards buy it now vs auction it is a similarly impossible thing to judge, sometimes an auction won't sell and a buy it now will for the same item (the auction having a lower start). It depends on buyers, some are happy to wait and see what an auction brings, others want it now.

I'm not sure why, but I get the impression that people on this board generally prefer auctions to fixed price both as buyers and sellers, where as I understand it Ebay is now 60/40 in favour of fixed price auctions.

olias

I started a thread recently about auction sniping, and said on that, that I prefer to manually snipe, rather than use a program. Manually sniping is a bit of an adrenalin rush (sad, I know).

Olias

hermum

olias wrote: »

I started a thread recently about auction sniping, and said on that, that I prefer to manually snipe, rather than use a program. Manually sniping is a bit of an adrenalin rush (sad, I know).

Olias

It's because of that adrenalin rush that I always use a snipe tool now, so that I can't get caught up in a frenzy. When I first started buying on ebay, I was often bidding against the same people on different listings, so it got to the point where we wouldn't let the other win, great for the seller. Not so good for me with some of the crap I paid well over the odds for.:rotfl:

jazabelle

I much, much prefer Buy it Now. I'm really impatient, and want to purchase, pay and leave and have my item in a couple of days. If something it on for more than a day auction, I wil, go elsewhere if I can.

austin

brettcta wrote: »

i must admit, the thrill of an auction is just as good as a seller - i find myself checking the auction a few times daily to see how many views, watchers & bids there's been

i think i'm getting hooked

me too. i constantly check my sales on the ebay iphone app, it's proved invaluable as when im on the go, i get pop up notifications whenever someone asks a question and can reply, whenever my watched items are due to end, and paypal lets me know instantly when someone sends me a payment! sweet!