Couple of new E-Bay questions...Well, 1st one is over-I guess I'm comfortable now.. (OT)

laurentyvan

I am still in the throes of my first E-Bay selling experience-several questions:

1. After submitting the auction listing I find no way to add additional information to the listing (other than additional images which I've done)- am I blind?

2. Do you find it helpful to add bidders questions to the listing or is that a distraction?

3. Do a large number of "watchers" auger well for last minute bidding?

4. Do you place conditions on bidders? i.e. no one without feedback, no one with numerous bid retractions, etc?

5. Do you stagger your listings so they don't all end at the same time or doesn't it matter to you?

5a. Do you vary the auction lengths depending on the item- shorter periods for common items, longer periods for scarcer items?

Thanking you for helping this poor e-bay neophyte!

ajaan

1. Yes you can add to the listing, but not in the original text.

2. No, for me.

3. No.

4. No.

5. Yes.

5a. No.

laurentyvan

Yes you can add to the listing, but not in the original text.

And how might that be done, pray tell?

ajaan

<< <i>And how might that be done, pray tell? >>


If I knew, I would have told ya. I really forget how to do it, but I know it can be done. Let me look.

ccrdragon

1. Yes (from the ebay tutorial):
To revise your listing:
Click the My eBay button at the top of most eBay pages.

Under the My eBay Views column, click the "Selling" link. Your active listings are displayed.

For each listing you want to revise, click the drop-down arrow under the Action column, then click the "Revise" link.

On the Review and Submit Listing page, click the "Edit..." or “Add…” link for the part of the listing you want to change.

On the Revise Your Listing page, make your changes.

Click the Save Changes button.

Note: If you do not see an "Edit..." or “Add…” link for the part of the listing you want to revise, the ability to revise that part has been limited.

2. No - too distracting (esp. when you have nut cases asking questions)
3. Never
4. Nope - we were all newbies at one time or another
5. Yes - always a couple of minutes apart
5a. Nope - easier for me to track is they all end around the same time

coinpictures

<< <i>2. Do you find it helpful to add bidders questions to the listing or is that a distraction? >>



It depends on the question. A response to "Wil u end it early if i have my friend wire u the mony?" would not be posted (or if it was, it would be the most cynical bashing you can imagine), whereas a response to "There appears to be a scratch on the obverse at 4:00. Can you confirm?" would get an accurate response posted for all to see. Questions involving specific facts about the merchandise get answered. Morons get flushed.



<< <i>3. Do a large number of "watchers" auger well for last minute bidding? >>



Not necessarily, but more watchers is a better sign than fewer, IMO.



<< <i>4. Do you place conditions on bidders? i.e. no one without feedback, no one with numerous bid retractions, etc? >>



Yes.



<< <i>5. Do you stagger your listings so they don't all end at the same time or doesn't it matter to you? >>



Doesn't matter to me. I try and end all of mine on Sunday afternoons/evenings.



<< <i>5a. Do you vary the auction lengths depending on the item- shorter periods for common items, longer periods for scarcer items? >>



See answer to #5. 7-day Sunday to Sunday, or 5-day Tuesday to Sunday. I never do 3-day auctions, nor do I pay extra for 10-day auctions.


Good luck!

wybrit

1. If no one has bid (or made an offer in a fixed price listing), you may change your listing pretty much at will. Once a bid or offer is received, you may only add to the listing.

2. Some questions are helpful to show in the listing - I use my judgement. Kook questions are never publicly displayed.

3. Sometimes, but many watch to see how much they will price a similar item. Assume no correlation.

4. I do not allow bidders with negative feedback to bid. Some of my best buyers bought with "0" feedback.

5. Yes, if possible. Turbo lister isn't amenable to that without paying extra fees.

5a. 7 days, never more or less. 10 day auctions cost more to list and just spend more time in the twilight zone (defined as the time between the first and last days of the listing).

laurentyvan

Everything I wished to know has been answered-forum members continue to be an infinitely reliable and courteous resource. You have warmed my heart...

Ajaan, thank you for your PM's.

How come no one ever mentioned that when you have e-bay items up that time seems to slow to a crawl?

291fifth

My thoughts:

1. Preview your description carefully. Once someone has placed a bid you can't make changes.

2. I add bidders questions and my answers only if I think the question is of general interest.

3. Large numbers of watchers is usually a good sign. Few or no watchers is a very bad sign.

4. I don't place restrictions on bidders. I do watch bidders without much eBay history carefully.
Don't eliminate bidders just because they don't have much feedback. The most expensive item I
ever sold on eBay was to a bidder with a 3 feedback. There were no problems.

5. I always stagger my listings. This is especially important because so many bidders wait until the last
seconds to bid. Give them time to move from one of your lots to another.

5a. I usually just run seven day auctions. It seems to be adequate for just about everything.

SYRACUSIAN

1. Yes but it looks like "on such date, seller added the following info:..." if there's already a bid.

2. Yes, answering questions live has always proved very helpful to me.Depends on the question of course.

3. Certainly

4. No.

5.I tend to like pre-scheduled listings lately.

5a. Used to, not anymore. I found out that timing is one of the most important factors, not the length of the auction. For instance, Sunday is a good day for listings to end , unless it's a bank holiday or the super bowl.I often list unsold items from the swap on Tuesdays with a 5 day listing, I like these short ones a lot.


I wish you the best of luck.

SYRACUSIAN

Also selling some items simultaneously, increases their selling potential.

laurentyvan

Thank you Syracusian, Wybrit and coinpictures.Syracusian-you may have earned that Swiss piece you like so much...

BigAlan

How come no one ever mentioned that when you have e-bay items up that time seems to slow to a crawl?


As more items are added to E-bay the total mass increases. This increase in mass results in a higher gravitational field. Thus time slows as the gravitational field strength increases. If the field strength increases to the point where the light can nolonger escape from the listing time dilates to the infinite.

21Walker

I am with 291fifth, I usually stager my postings by 5 minutes. This allows the buyer interested in your coins to quickly compose, get on to the next one & snipe it. I have found myself in a situation where one sellers items all ended at the same time and I wanted several of them. I had to make a decision which one I wanted most and watched/bidded on that one. I could have put up crazy bids on the others, but as the statement says....That would be crazy..........Good luck....It's fun...........Rick

laurentyvan

I am with 291fifth, I usually stager my postings by 5 minutes. This allows the buyer interested in your coins to quickly compose, get on to the next one & snipe it. I have found myself in a situation where one sellers items all ended at the same time and I wanted several of them.

Thanks 21walker- I agree

As more items are added to E-bay the total mass increases. This increase in mass results in a higher gravitational field. Thus time slows as the gravitational field strength increases. If the field strength increases to the point where the light can nolonger escape from the listing time dilates to the infinite.

BigAlan- this is most true when your items don't sell

ajaan

Not selling is a lot better than selling for a huge loss.

laurentyvan

I guess I can sleep well now...


I've been nervous for several days as my high bidder for a while had 26 or 27 bid retractions in six months-amazing what you can find to worry about...

Now if only I could do that well with coins.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;item=7003779086&amp;rd=1&amp;sspagename=STRK:MESO:IT&amp;rd=1

ajaan

Fixed link

Congrats Laurent.

SYRACUSIAN

Price more than doubled during the last minute. Nothing surprising, were there many watchers?


Congrats.

laurentyvan

27 watchers-what amazed me was the diveristy of locations-all over the world including Japan, Greece, Argentina, etc.