When selling on the bay of E...

cosmos66

Do you list your item with a low starting bid confident that the item will sell itself or do you start with a bid that is close to what you would like the item to sell for to be sure you get your money back out of it?

tlhoy

I start it low & cross my fingers, and NEVER end an auction early! (unless you made an error on the listing or it has no bids.)
Glenn

flaminio

Start low and let 'er rip. More fun that way. Then again, it's just a pastime for me and not a business. If I were trying to make a living at it, I might think differently.

(No coins for auction this week, but if you're into Magic the Gathering esoterica, click my eBay link below.)

CarlWohlforth

I try to start as many as possible at 1 cent. If you list something that several people want it is the way to go. You still might lose money but it usually gets bid up higher than if you list with a high start. Some coins must be sold for a certain minimum or else the owner won't sell so those get started high.

sinin1

it depends on what the item is worth

if it is a low ticket item ($5 or lower) - you might get stuck selling it a 1 cent, especially if shipping is high and you do not take PAYPAL


if it is a $100 item - low start probably will end $80-$140
if you start it at $100 - will probably not sell, or only get 1 or 2 bids

bidding causes people to click and check out auction -> ocassionally get frenzy -> highr ending price


do not go under 5 days for length -

I think it averages out - low start almost guarantees sale - higher has relisting
price breaks on listing $9.99, $24.99, ++

costs more to start higher - costs more to have reserve

jbsteven

always protect your inventory if it is for profit. What happens when you have a coin that for some reason does not get the bids you want? Try and put a $1000 coin out with no reserve and see what happens. I would rather put a opening bid of what I want for a coin than risking losing a bunch of money on a coin.

Rittenhouse

I start stuff low, usually 9 bucks. Most people like to bid and wathc the price go up; becomes a game & entertainment. Make sure the photo is ACCURATELY respresents the coin. If worth over 50, I use a reasonable reserve, i.e., what you'd be willing to sell the coin for.

Never had a coin fail to sell. Never had a coin returned. Most sell well over the reserve, sometimes so far past I felt like posting "PLEASE STOP BIDDING, THIS COIN IS HIGH ENUF" .

291fifth

I generally start low and let the market decide what it is worth. There is a risk in this but you will actually sell your coins. Increasingly, the eBay coin listings are just attempts to sell at retail via high starting prices or high reserves. I think potential bidders are ignoring this type of "auction".

Russ

$1 no reserve and let it ride.

Russ, NCNE

dpoole

I'm of the start it low and let 'er go school. I've lost some here and there, but generally it all evens out because some catch fire, as others have pointed out. People do have a tendency to look at items with multiple bids more than those with no bids.

Because so many are listing the better quality stuff at retail prices and high BINs now, though, I think people are getting used to not looking for such choice material among the $1-start listings. To make sure your item gets the attention it deserves if it really is special, be sure to highlight it some way, with bolds and Feature Item listings.

66impalaSS

I start mine at face value and no reserve, let her rip! This last time I sold a 63 Franklin for .50 $1.00 shipping!

Fairlaneman

Quality Coins bring Quality Money whether you start them at .01 or a price you want for the item. JMHO and it seems to have worked so far. Quality coins are started at what I need for the coin and So So coins are started at lower prices. Its strange that some of the So So coins do well. Bidders just like the thrill of victory it seems.

One thing I will say is that raw coins do not stand a chance on Ebay and a lot of buyers are missing the boat on some of the offerings. Some very legitmate sellers will down grade nice raw coins just to encourage bids I believe. This is just the reverse of Scumbag sellers that always over grade a coin.

The Bay of E can be a adventure.

Ken

sinin1

if you have anything worth more than $500 - I would do what jbstevens recommends - start at your willing to sell price - realize that occasionally, you will have less than 20% that sell