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[OM] Re: Reserve prices on that site Was: Jez's OM gear for sale

Subject: [OM] Re: Reserve prices on that site Was: Jez's OM gear for sale
From: "Andreas Pirner" <AndreasPirner@xxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 16:32:05 +0100
Jez Cunningham wrote:
> Well I'm new to ebay selling but it always seemed to me in live 
> auctions (you know, where you buy cattle and antiques) that if 
> everyone knew that someone would be happy with X (his reserve) 
> then they'll not bid much higher.  I realise now that ebay is NOT 
> like a real auction and I guess I tend to agree.  But I really 
> don't know the strategy to follow about setting a reserve next 
> time...  Some say don't put in a reserve but make your opening 
> bid at that price.  ??

At eBay.de there is no feature like the 
reserve price. If you start your auction 
at 1 EUR, and there only one bidder, he 
pays that 1 EUR, even if he placed a 
maximum bid of 1000 EUR, to which the 
auto bidding system that eBay provides 
would have risen his bids ...

So over here you have to put your opening price 
at your minimum -- if you want to make sure 
to get this, or to not sell at all. Experience 
shows, and eBay tells so accordingly, that the 
number of bidders and interested watchers (both 
are shown in the sales watch stats) are 
significantly lower, if the starting price 
is more than the 1 EUR -- even if the starting 
price still is below what I record as average 
minus standard deviation.

But with some small items, like A11 flashes, 
I repeatedly made better results by starting 
with say 4,90 EUR and a BIN like 14,90 EUR. 
I sold either at BIN or something around 10 EUR. 
Starting at 1 EUR seldomly got higher than 
3-4 EUR. I guess the price range of 5-20 EUR 
is 'impulsive buy' range, allowing a buyer to 
go 'what the heck I want it'.

I had only very few disappointing sales done 
with the 'risky' 1 EUR starting bid, mostly 
when the offered item suddenly was offered 
more often than usual. For instance, there was 
a sudden wash of QA310s when I offered mine. 
Buyers just had plenty of choices.

Andreas

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