EBAY and listing .99?

[tbserena]

Can anyone that's been selling on ebay for awhile, tell me if they ever list at .099? I know you only have to pay .30 for the listing fee, but isn't it risky? I tried (listing at .99) it with one item to see what would happen, and people are bidding, but it's only up to $2.00. (I had 2 of the same thing and the other I started at 10.00 and no bids) Does it attract more bidders

CRUISE ANTIGUA 10/02/04 !!!!

 

[mad4themouse]

Yes, it is risky. I would never list an item for 99¢ unless that's all I was willing to take for it OR if I put a reserve on it.

A 99¢ listing will generate a lot of interest. You'll get many looks at your item and it may just entice a few people to bid on it.

You may see some listings for 99¢ that have inflated shipping costs. Since eBay does not take their share out of the shipping costs (just the final value of the item), this practice is known as "fee avoidance". It is against eBay policy but does happen. A seller can be suspended from eBay for the practice if they are caught.

 

[tbserena]

Ohhhh

I never thought about the shipping costs, etc. I guess I'm not smart enought to figure that out. (the fee avoidance thing) I'll have to pay more attention to that, because there certainly are alot of .99 listings, and none of them make sense....some of the stuff is worth WAY more than that....I never looked at the shipping.

THANKS

 

[tinaluis]

Popular items sell on eBay so starting a listing at $.99 isn't that risky for a seller who knows the item will sell at a much higher price. That said, however, I've listed quite a few Disney movies on eBay and am sometimes surprised that the ones I think will sell high don't and others that I'm just happy to get rid of bring in quite a few bids. I am always willing to accept whatever my starting price is (and it's usually $.99) so I don't worry if my item has no bids and is snapped up at the last minute for $.99. Good luck getting started on eBay.

 

[floridagirrl2]

I will occasionally start an item at .01 if I know it's a really hot item and will be bid up to a decent amount. Otherwise, I start at the minimum I would be willing to accept for the item.

Ebay is a crapshoot--many times I've relisted an item that didn't sell for $9.99 and suddenly it will be bid up to 20 or 30 dollars! All depends on who's looking and bidding at the time you have your auction up. So it generally doesn't pay to start items too low, unless you're positive it's a very hot item.

 

[nicknamy1996]

Several years back I sold some stuff on ebay. One was a book that I had several copies of and in my situation what would happen is I would list something at 3 dollars and nothing would happen or maybe it would sell for $3. other times I would start it at a penny and low and behold it would sell for 6 to 7 dollars or more. I think a couple of things happen 1) someone will do a search and put a bid on the lowest item, then never do a search again just try to win that item forgetting to do a search again 2) someone might put a bid down because its only a penny (you know, I could live without this but for a penny, what the heck) then once they bid on it they are expecting it and forget that they never really wanted it in the first place and 3) nobody like to lose, you bid on an item then you get caught up in the game. AND by starting at a penny you can get 2 people caught up in it right away because the first bid will stay at the penny, then the second sucker, er.. bidder sees that the item is at a penny and bids also.

 

[katerkat]

I don't start at $0.99 unless I'm willing to take that. Usually it's stuff I'm just trying to get rid of - I sold a used skirt and a shirt for 99cents each last week - they went for the starting bid and I only made 31 and 65 cents on each of them. But hey, that's almost a buck I didn't have and the stuff isn't in my house anymore. Before I moved, I sold a couple items that started at 99cents and ended around $5. Other 99cent items didn't sell at all.

 

[#1 DOUG Live Fan]

I wouldn't recommend it. Always start bidding at the lowest amount you are willing to take for it. I did start a couple items at .99 this week because I just haven't had any bites on them. I figured they might look more interesting if they were listed really cheap, and at this point I just want to get the stuff out of my house.

Liz

 

[tbserena]

how do you justify letting something go at .99 if it's heavy and you have to mail it across the US? I guess like any business, you have to count some losses. I did the same thing toay, listed w things at .99 just to see what they would do....but like someone said, it's like gambling...who knows if it was just a bad week last week when i started them at $5.00??

 

[tinaluis]

If I didn't sell my old stuff on eBay, I'd donate it to the Salvation Army. I can justify letting things go for $.99 because I would normally not get anything but a tax deduction for them (donating to the Salvation Army) and my house is less cluttered (by getting rid of everything that's not in constant use). I definitely make sure that I cover my shipping costs so I don't lose money on the shipping part of the transaction but don't have a problem with items selling at $.99.

 

[Robinrs]

I once saw an item listed for .01 with a shipping charge of $25!!!

 

[dsnycrzy]

i AM AFRAID TO DO .$99 BIDS BECAUSE I WOULD HATE TO HAVE TO LET IT GO FOR THAT.
THAT SAID I WOULD DO A RESERVE ON IT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
I PUT A WHOLE ROOM OF LITTLE MERMAID STUFF ON EBAY LAST WEEK. WHAT WOULD I WANT FOR IT? I'D RATHER KEEP IT, BUT I STARTED IT AT $9.99 WITHA A RESERVE OF $60 AND A BUY NOW OF $100. MY DAUGHTER CALLED ME CRAZY BECAUSE NO ONE IS GOING TO BID UP TO THE $60 LET ALONE PAY $100 FOR IT. WELL, WELL, WELL, SHE EATS HER WORDS TODAY. IT IS UP TO $162.50.
I AT LEAST START MY LITTLE STUFF AT $1.99 AND ADD A $.50 FEE (FOR GAS ONLY) AND HOPE FOR THE BEST.

CHECK IT OUT ITEM NUMBER 2388429614
DSNYWRLDCRZY.
ONE PARK TICKET DOWN

 

[HaleyB]

I have been selling on ebay for years. I always list low, often at .99 and these auctions do very well. Maybe 1 out of 50 will go low, but on average I do better with the low start price. Have you ever bid on ebay? Ever gotten the 'you have been outbid' e-mail? The more people bidding the higher an item will go, so if 5 people bid while the price is very low it is often the case that two of them will get into a war at the end...
As to 'letting something go low'- I only list things I do not want. Out of my house and not in a landfill is my first concern, the money is a bonus.

 

[dsnycrzy]

While looking up Disney stuff today on ebay, I ran into something cute started at 1 cent. I went in to see what else the seller had and everything was statred at 1 cent. Okay I check his feed back and click on the item numbers next to the buyers feedbacks just to notice 99% of his auctions end at 1 cent. And the other 1% ened at no more then 6 cents. Okay remembering what mad4themouse said, I decided to go see what his shipping fees were like.
Well well well flat rates of anywhere from $5-8 and NO COMBINE SHIPPING. That is were he makes his $. If he combines shipping he will lose money.
But he does have some nice disney things I've never seen before and his feedbacks are good .

 

[tbserena]

but i didh't think that was allowed with ebay. how long does it take them to catch up to that,or do they?

 

[dsnycrzy]

I never knew about it until mad4themouse told us. I don't know how long it will take for him to be found out. Shhhh, I hope it's not until I finish bidding on my stuff. rught now I'm waiting to bid on an eeyore pix frame for 1 cent but the shipping is $7.49.

He probably paid $2.00 for it, cost $2.00 to ship and he keeps $3.50 profit. for a 1 cent bid, he's making $.

 

[tbserena]

So what has everyone had good luck with this week?? I put 3 used Jansport backpacks on and have 9 bids so far, which was my surprise listing...you just never know. Oh and an unused bottle of men's Polo cologne is doing well.
Always looking for ideas and inspiration!!!

Disney Cruise 10/02/04!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cindy B]

I started a set of Q & C vouchers at 99 cents... and the price went way up.. I set the initial bid at 99 cents, the first bid was $40!

 

[tbserena]

what are Q & C vouchers? (sorry, i'm new)