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another noob ebay question.

T

thirtythree

Diamond Member
is it bad to start a relatively high priced item at 1 cent? I already have 28 hits and 3 people watching, but I'm wondering if there's a chance no one will bid then someone will get it for 1 cent at the last second. does this not usually happen? I think I can still change the starting price since no one has bid, but I'm cheap, and it does cost a little extra.

:s
 
Won't happen. Natural market inflation will push your item. Usually your item soars during the last day of sales. Expect snipers like me to win the bid by a few cents a few seconds before the auction closes.
 
what are some good programs or websites to assist in sniping? I know ebay has it's own little system, but is there somthing better?
 
Here's what I've noticed. For items where there is a large/general demand, it's safe to start the bidding at one cent. I mean stuff like , CD's, mainstream computer parts, etc etc. If you're selling something only a few number of people would be interested in, there is a chance that not many people will buy it and some guy will end up getting your item for a low, low price. This is especially true of items generally costing $1-20 or so.

I've also seen expensive niche items (value of maybe $250) that started at $1 and sold with maybe 2 or so bids for well, well, like 150% below market value.
 
well, someone just bid a cent, so I guess it's too late now.

by the way, is anyone else unable to pay their ebay fees via paypal?
 
Originally posted by: MisterPresident
Here's what I've noticed. For items where there is a large/general demand, it's safe to start the bidding at one cent. I mean stuff like , CD's, mainstream computer parts, etc etc. If you're selling something only a few number of people would be interested in, there is a chance that not many people will buy it and some guy will end up getting your item for a low, low price. This is especially true of items generally costing $1-20 or so.

I've also seen expensive niche items (value of maybe $250) that started at $1 and sold with maybe 2 or so bids for well, well, like 150% below market value.
Click to expand...

That's been my experience (used to play around with antiques, mostly Asian). That's when I would use reserve prices and 10day auctions.
 
Usually items that have broad appeal go for a certain $ figure no matter where they start
because "everyone" knows what the going value for that item is.

But if the item is specialized, and you don't have many people looking for it (competition)
then I would start it higher and also have a reasonable reserve on it so you don't end up
sucking wind if you don't get a lot of competitive bidding on it.

If you have something that isn't in demand by the masses and you only have 2 or 3 people
interested in the item and 2 of the 3 get detained and can't bid in the last 10 minutes the
one person who is there will get a deal.

The more rare/collectable an item the longer I list it for. And I really believe that auctions
ending on Sunday night do best and then the next best night is Wednesday.

Items that end in the middle of the work day or early Saturday or Sunday morning are
the kiss of death for the seller 🙂
 
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