The psychology of 'THAT' auction site

Dralowid

Dralowid

Michael
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A question to those who buy and sell on this well known site from one who plans to reduce the amount of gear in his cupboard.

...and I guess it is a question as old as the hills...

Do you start with no reserve and risk selling below an acceptable price but at least get a sense of 'buy in' from the bidders?

Do you set a starting price at your acceptable price and wait for bids to the last minute?

Do you set a reserve price and watch the bids increase as the bidders search for the reserve?

(from what I can see many traders seem to start at zero.)

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
 
Almost more important than reserve or starting price is timing your auction. Plenty of buyers don't use sniping software. Here on the East Coast of the US, I try to end my auctions later in the evening, on weekends. The East Coast has not gone to bed yet, and the LA is finishing dinner. 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.
 
Dralowid said:
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
Click to expand...

Dear Michael,

Unfortunately... (see highlight).

But from basic psychology, I suspect that 'no reserve' will attract more interest, which is a self-stoking process. Better still, setting a silly-low reserve ($0.99 for a very expensive item) may get you free advertising on sites like this: LEICA MP FOR $0.99?

There's always a risk of a low bid. But discounting luck and invoking psychology, my advice stands.

Cheers,

R.
 
I use a Buy It Now price on virtually everything i sell. I have a price in mind, that i feel is fair in comparison to KEH and other ebay prices, and that price is also one where i won't feel 'ripped off' if it sells. I'm not looking to take advantage of anyone by selling above value. Doing it this way also means that i almost never lose money, because i've typically only bought 'at value' or 'below value' used gear, kept it well, and then shifted it without depreciation.

I have, though, wondered if i'd set my price too low, when the item ends up selling on the first day.... But, again, i didn't sell below what i wanted for it, so it's not something i worry about. I tend to think the timing was just right.
 
Have your auction end on Sunday evening. I think you are better off with a no reserve auction, a starting bid of $0.01, and a Buy It Now price that you'd be happy with. You can always cancel your auction if it's not going the way you want it too. I think that has to be done either 12 or 24 hours before the end. I sold a $2k camera that way and got most of my asking price.

That Monday afternoon thing sounds like a good idea too. I just know that I am almost always home on Sunday night and if I spotted an auction during the week that catches my eye, I can be at home to hand 'snipe' it if I need to.

You are also probably better off separating out valuable accessories. I don't think Ebay buyers for the most part factor in the extra $300 worth of stuff you have in your auction. Lastly, you will make more after the ebay fees and paypal fees are taken out if you can sell on craigslist or one of the forums. I've had much better experiences here than on ebay.
 
Proteus617 said:
Woe to you who has an auction ending 11AM EST.
Click to expand...

I think that's why I got my near mint M4 for a little over $600. Auction ended at around 10:30am EST and nobody bid in the last few hours of the auction. I went in in the last 60 seconds with a single bid over the current one and got it! Partially luck and a lot of waiting.


.... not unlike trying to get an inexpensive 35mm on the classifieds here.
 
I've had great success selling with no reserve.

It can be a bit nail biting at times, such as when I listed my Linhof Technika and found that with one day to go it had two bids on it and the price was £35.00 - but it ended up selling for £1,500.

John
 
I generally use a reserve. And I also use a buy-it-now option.
As someone mentioned above - timing is important. Don't end your auction at 3 am when most people are asleep.
 
I think, good pictures attract more than timing. I've seen great gear presented by crappy pictures (out of focus direct flash shots) going for nothing. Same stuff with proper pictures shot under diffused light - and same thing fetches twice or triple as much. Got idea?
 
Like Aperture 64, I usually run a 10-day auction. But I start mine on Thursday evening, so it will end Sunday evening. Aperture 64's idea of ending on Monday evening does make sense.

I don't like bidding on auctions that have a reserve. I find it off-putting. I generally set the starting price a little on the low side, and a BIN that is a little optimistic, but not unreasonable.

I feel that taking the trouble to post a set of really good pictures is important. I am much more likely to bid on an item when I can really see what it looks like.

Are you sure you want to part with so much gear just to get an M8 or M9? What if you don't like the digital M after you've used it?
 
Mostly what aperture64 said.

I've done a lot of buying and selling on that site, and I never used reserve prices - I almost always set my auctions to a very low starting price (that attracts more potential buyers), and I pay a lot of attention to timing. Make sure that the end of an auction does not coincide with major sports events that might be broadcasted via TV (that's when less people will be online).

Before trying to sell anything valuable, make sure you've checked that
  1. you have enough feedback votes (number > 30 w/ a reasonable number of sales) and
  2. you have a high percentage og 'good' feedback ratings (> ~99.6%), or else your auction will not attract too many bidders.
  3. Also, run a search of finished auctions to see at which price the item in question was sold, and how many of these items were sold recently. Now you get an impression of what price you can expect. Caution: If there have been very few or no auctions for that item, prices will be much less predictable, because then, it's a buyers' rather than a seller's market.
Auction ending times during office hours IMHO only make sense for items that might get bought for professional use. In my experience anything that will be used in a private context sells better with an ending time outside of office hours (in Europe, many companies are strongly opposed to personal internet use on the workplace).
 
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tbarker13 said:
I generally use a reserve. And I also use a buy-it-now option.
As someone mentioned above - timing is important. Don't end your auction at 3 am when most people are asleep.
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That's not a big problem if one ships internationally. We on opposite side of pound are on shift while you americans, are asleep 😀

OK, US based seller will be happier to ship locally, maybe, and thus adjust ending times to local schedule, but for me, if I have wanted something from the dark side of the planet, it's never have been restricting factor.
 
I agree with most of above observations.
I had a Linhof Technikardan I sold a while back. I bought it new and so it was inevitable I was going to take a big loss. It was in almost new condition so I put a high reserve because I didn't want to give it away given its condition. Needless to say it didn't sell it. People just won't bid on reserve prices close to what you might reasonably expect to get for it. In the end I wrote a little additional page on my website and put it up for sale there. Eventually I got a buyer for a reasonable price.

I would use longer auction periods, at least two weeks to give more people a chance to see it. If you bought your items new you will take a big hit, auction buyers are cheapskates and want bargains so you have to give them a chance or they won't bite.

You could try the RFF ads section or if you have a website you could try selling from there but it takes much longer and you must know how to get high in google searches.

I have a couple of LF lenses to sell and am just about to put them on the auction site. I expect to take a loss as they were new too but I don't do LF anymore so they are sitting unused. I'd post them here but RFF is mostly 35mm from what I can see.
 
I always have a BIN price that is jsut a bit less than wha I really want or think it is worth. Often I include free shipping to make the ad stand out and factor in the cost.

I also have a store on e bay...get one it is free! The advantage is that you can do a 7-10 day auction and if it does not sell you can move it to store inventory. It will still be for sale and your selling/listing cost goes way down. One needs to be careful how it is listed to make sure it shows up correctly in the listings for store items.

I park items in the store and they do sell eventually...i just sold a bag that has been in my store for 2 years!

Allow folks to submit a best offer. Even if the offer is low you can mail the buyer and try to explain why you think your price is a good price....jsut another way to communicate with buyers
 
As you are UK based I think ending on a Sunday evening is the best idea for a seller - as a buyer I notice that items go for higher prices at the weekend.
A 'Buy it Now' at an average price judged on completed listings will be attractive to the buyer looking for a specific item rather than a 'casual'. You might not get as much as you could, but you might well have got the sale you wanted at an acceptable price.
A series of good photographs shows a potential buyer that you actually 'care' about what you are selling.
One extra added to the basic item will also attract - eg an extra battery with a digital camera, or a good capacity card.
A recently used or tested item will attract rather than one 'put away in a cupboard and just found'.
An honest description helps - 'new' to me means unused not by the present owner but by any owner!
I am always more inclined to buy from an informed user and owner of a photographic item rather than someone selling their deceased Uncle's dog's cousin's item found in a loft during a house clearance abroad!

I have probably not added anything not already posted but what I have written might well confirm one or two things.

jesse
 
1. Set your auction for $0.99
2. No Reserve - ever
3. Set a reasonable shipping fee
4. End your auction on Sunday night, as the weekends are when traffic to eBay will be heaviest.

Bottom line - don't dissuade people from "watching" or "bidding" by setting reserves or starting bids. The psychology is most closely aligned to that of a stripper. They don't get guys going to strip joints throwing money at them if they aren't good at giving the illusion that "you got a chance"... which you don't. The illusion here is you're gonna get an M6 for $0.99. You have a better chance with the stripper. Let the market forces work... don't dissuade "auction fever" from taking place, same as with strippers... Have faith in the force, Luke... (the force here being the free markets...)
 
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I usually do a search for every price the thing has sold for over the past two weeks, and then I subtract 5% from the lowest one, put it up under Buy It Now, and sell and ship within hours.
 
NickTrop said:
1. Set your auction for $0.99
2. No Reserve - ever
3. Set a reasonable shipping fee
4. End your auction on Sunday night, as the weekends are when traffic to eBay will be heaviest.

Bottom line - don't dissuade people from "watching" or "bidding" by setting reserves or starting bids. The psychology is most closely aligned to that of a stripper. They don't get guys going to strip joints throwing money at them if they aren't good at giving the illusion that "you got a chance"... which you don't. The illusion here is you're gonna get an M6 for $0.99. You have a better chance with the stripper. Let the market forces work... don't dissuade "auction fever" from taking place, same as with strippers... Have face in the force, Luke... (the force here being the free markets...)
Click to expand...

Elegantly argued and phrased, Nick!

Cheers,

R.
 
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