The psychology of 'THAT' auction site

After selling many items since the beginning of 'that auction site':

- I never use a reserve for items of any value
- I have seen essentially no difference in final price between 3 day to 10 day auctions (all the activity happens in the last few minutes of auctions anyway)
- If it's a small accessory item I will usually use a BIN
- I end my auctions weekday evenings, early morning in China
- Use reasonable shipping costs, or even subsidize the shipping somewhat.
 
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Proteus617 said:
Woe to you who has an auction ending 11AM EST. Also, reserved or starting prices at the actual value of the item can scare potential bidders away. I'm more likely to bid up if I think I'm competing with a bidder as opposed to a reserve.
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Huh? I bet many people access ebay while at work. Additionally, are you saying people don;t pay actual value on ebay? That you have to trick them into bidding more than they'd like? Sure, it can happen, but people are generally smarter than this.
 
jsrockit said:
Huh? I bet many people access ebay while at work.
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As an office drone myself, in my experience there is a reluctance of people to be doing personal things online during the work day. Some companies outright forbid it, others just discourage it. But ultimately there's always the thought in the back of your head that if the management is looking for a reason to give you the old heave-ho, mis-use of company resources is one of the easiest charges they can make against you. Even if it's not the real reason they want you out, it's next to impossible to claim wrongful termination.
 
I generally either go two ways:

a) buy it now - Figure out what something sells for and put it around that price. Some buyers don't want to wait the 6 days until the auction is up.
b) have the starting bid be at a reasonably acceptable price, generally about 50% of what I hope to get.

I don't do reserves. As a buyer, if I see an auction with a reserve, I ignore it.

I have done a couple of $0.99 NR starting bids. It depends on the item. A item that is commonly looked for will hit market price everytime, such as a Leica M6. However, if something collectible to a smaller segment, the person willing to pay top dollar, may not be searching that week.
 
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Jerry Thirsty said:
But ultimately there's always the thought in the back of your head that if the management is looking for a reason to give you the old heave-ho, mis-use of company resources is one of the easiest charges they can make against you.
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I guess those under loupe of management can avoid unwanted consequences by using their internet enabled phones. Sure, they will not be able to play sissy "+1$ over previous bidder" but it's perfectly possible to throw in healthy winning bid at last minutes if it's not done before (cleared last doubts, etc.).
 
It's easy to esnipe.com, so if the auction ends when one is asleep or at work, the last second bid can still be placed.
 
Dralowid said:
The psychology of 'THAT' auction site

What advice (apart from not using the site) would you give someone who is selling off gear and trying to save for an M8 or even 9?

Michael
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That's exactly what has turned me off from buying anything on THAT auction site. That and PayPal. From now on, if I have to buy something with PayPal, it won't be with a PayPal account. Despite all of PayPal's advertising that their transactions are secure, I've had two incidents in 12 months, where both PayPal transactions were compromised.

So much for secure transactions.

IMHO PayPal has to ensure the same level of confidentiality in conduction an electronic transaction as anyone else and are bound by the same security requirements whether its a PayPal account or not.

There are now other options available to both sellers and buyers than PayPal:

http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/24/pf/e...dex.htm?hpt=T2


http://www.paywithisis.com

And this ... https://squareup.com



What's wrong with having an auction right here on RFF?
 
Jerry Thirsty said:
As an office drone myself, in my experience there is a reluctance of people to be doing personal things online during the work day. Some companies outright forbid it, others just discourage it. But ultimately there's always the thought in the back of your head that if the management is looking for a reason to give you the old heave-ho, mis-use of company resources is one of the easiest charges they can make against you. Even if it's not the real reason they want you out, it's next to impossible to claim wrongful termination.
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Oh really, I don't work for the Nazis, so I wouldn't know anything about that. ;) I can understand that, but many people do actually look at ebay (and forums) while at work.

On another note, it is funny how picky people are about buying something.
 
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Lot's of good advice on here.
I will only repeat the one about good photos and detailed description.
I would add that it seems to me that there are more buying competitors in the winter than in the summer -- when people are out longer -- so I would sell then if possible.
 
Thanks for the advice

To summarise...

Auction end Sunday evening
No reserve
Good photos
Be honest

Don't expect more than you'd be prepared to pay yourself and if you want to know what that is, do your research.

Michael
 
Snapper_uk said:
Put it on with an extortionate Buy-It-Now price. Some idiot will eventually buy it.
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Then there was the guy selling some photo paper. He spread all the sheets out on a table to photograph them for the ad. It was a very nice picture. :D

And then the Jessops sales person in Newbury once told me he had two students in who bought a box of 100 sheets of paper and paid half each. When they left they stopped outside the door, opened the box and counted out 50 sheets each in broad daylight and walked off in different directions.
 
tlitody said:
Then there was the guy selling some photo paper. He spread all the sheets out on a table to photograph them for the ad. It was a very nice picture. :D

And then the Jessops sales person in Newbury once told me he had two students in who bought a box of 100 sheets of paper and paid half each. When they left they stopped outside the door, opened the box and counted out 50 sheets each in broad daylight and walked off in different directions.
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I was looking for a OM 50/1.4 and watched a Buy It Now one out of interest. £80 was the price - probably £20 over what auctioned items go for. There was a blown out side-on photo, no photo of the glass, the description said 'fully functioning' but gave no description of the state of the lens elements or cosmetic condition. Then it said 'if you don't like this description, don't buy it'. Feedback on the seller was poor (comments of bad lenses), description of item was badly and rudely written.

It was on there for months. But then somebody last week ACTUALLY bought it.
 
The problem you may face if you don't already have a fair amount of positive feedback is low ball bids. New sellers are not well trusted and you may end up having to sell well below market value as a result..

Also paypal may lock any money coming into your account till the buyer leaves positive feedback.
 
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lilmsmaggie said:
Despite all of PayPal's advertising that their transactions are secure, I've had two incidents in 12 months, where both PayPal transactions were compromised.
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I have used paypal almost from day one with no security breeches whatsoever.

Security breeches are usually the result of the paypal account holder falling for phishing attacks since paypal transactions are through a secure link just like banks etc use..
 
One thing -- obvious, I suppose, but it took me one round of sales to figure it out -- carefully clean your stuff, because the camera up close and adequate lighting will pick up way more dust and grit than you see holding the item in your hand. I cleaned the outer black portions of my cameras last time with a bit of WD-40 on a cloth and they really looked good, and bidding started earlier and faster as a result.
 
That said, I agree with Akiva -- my best and easiest and quickest sales, for desirable items, happen here. Especially when you list a bit under current going rates, you sell within two hours.
Vince P
 
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