eBayers- price you start at in summer and your success (or lack therof)

laurentyvan

I hear and read many comments about how slow it is in summer and I agree, less bidders, less watchers, less competition. So, I have tried to stay away from Europe and all countries that vacation for the entire month of August.

I've tried to stay with the Orient, Asia, China, Islands, etc. I have to ask, moderate success being possible asking the minimum I want for the coin, do you still start at .99 per auction or higher?

I figure If the coin doesn't sell at the minimum I flip it into my store where more often than not I sell it at the price I want.

Why not take the chance to get the maximum and if not, spend the $.06 to list it as a store item? What am I risking, an extra .40 to .75? Is it really impossible to sell actively in the summer this way?

I think not, because there is less competition in the summer and even decent items (nothing spectacular) stand out. I have actually managed to maintain my monthly average (or close to it) through the summer. Comments?

ajaan

I start at 99c. Sucess? OK. Win some, lose some. Sold a Polish coin for $450+ that was in a problem ANACS slab and has a Krause value of $100. Canadian coins have been underacheiving IMO.

drjules

I never seem to get the bidiots that others do so I just list stuff whenever I have things to move.

I'm doing OK at the moment though, more watchers than I expected

Dr J

theboz11

I have been placing some Modern Libertads on ebay this month and have sold everyone at my asked price, and well above Krause. I have seen some that started at .99 sell for Half what I received.

laurentyvan

So, no one is shy about asking what they want for the coin, and they are selling. What's so bad about summer other than the self-fullfilling prophecy that they won't?

I agree about Canadian coins, I think that country is overstocked...

I sold (recently) two really nicely toned Canadian dollars to a Forum member which I anticipated more from. Should have asked more!

Sold a Polish coin for $450+ that was in a problem ANACS slab and has a Krause value of $100.

Precisely the reason I don't like BIN's. Many is the time a coin has gone for many multiples of value I would never have dared asked for.

ed to add: 'course, you have to be willing to sell anywhere and to anyone (almost).

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>I have to ask, moderate success being possible asking the minimum I want for the coin, do you still start at .99 per auction or higher?

I figure If the coin doesn't sell at the minimum I flip it into my store where more often than not I sell it at the price I want. >>

I've tried .99 auctions, with little success. If you have stuff that lots of people are looking for (read: popular US coins) it might be a viable stategy, but eBay just doesn't seem to attract enough world coin buyers to make it practical for me.

As you noted, I've done better by starting out my auctions at my minimum, and sticking it in my store if it doesn't get any bids. It's amazing how often an item will sell out of my store the next week after it received no bids at auction (with a lower opening bid than the store price, no less).

Aethelred

I have not had the problems getting what I want out of coins I am selling. I still start almost everything out at .01 and let the chips fall where they may. I have considered listing a few coins (things that have not been bringing as much as I think they should like New Zealand and Canada), but for the most part I have been pleased this summer.

coinpictures

I refuse to do auctions. It's too much of a gamble (IMO), and I don't have the stomach for it. It's Ebay store only for me combined with Best Offer. Some things I price to move and they go pretty quickly. Others, if I'm not sure what I can sell them for, or if I think they're PQ, I set with very high BIN prices and see what offers come in. Over the course of time I'll either lower the prices gradually or use the "Markdown Manager" feature to run "10% Off" or "20% Off" sales. The addition of multiple Counteroffers to the Best Offer system, thus turning it into a negotiation tool, has worked miracles.

Upside to Stores: You as seller control the lowest price something sells for, whether it be BIN or Best Offer (limiting your risk).

Downside to Stores: You may miss out on moon money in the case of pieces that you underestimate the market for (limiting your return).

You have to decide as a seller which approach works for you and the material you're selling. How many "moon money potential" coins are you offering at a given time versus "average" coins.... also how in demand are the pieces you are selling? Selling very esoteric or narrow-market coins with a $0.99 start and no reserve during the summer is just asking to be taken to the cleaners.

That being said, this summer has been phenomenal for me using Ebay Stores. I also think part of it has to do with the poor dollar, as many of the coins I'm selling are going overseas.

Some examples (not to gloat, but rather to show how well this approach has worked, at least in my case):

1. PCGS 1899 Maundy set I bought from Airplanenut. Lists in Krause for $150. I paid $400 for it. I took new pics, put it on Ebay with a BIN of $999. Sold it for $875.

2. 1873 PCGS PR62 U.S. Seated Dollar toner. I paid $2,250 for it (graysheet was $2,500 in 63). I figured that it had great eye appeal and was undergraded; most folks on the lightside thought it was undergraded as well. I placed it on Ebay with a $5,000 BIN. I sold it for $3,750. A nice $1,500 pickup only holding the coin 2 months.

3. Philippines 20 Centimos 1868, NGC MS64. I was in love with this piece, as it was flashy and prooflike -- brilliant white. Dead gorgeous. I paid $110 for it against a Krause price of $250. I put a BIN of $899 on it and sold it for a Best Offer of $640. For all I know, gievn what the Philippines market has been doing, it may be worth more, but I'm pleased with what I made on the piece.

4. 1860 Great Britain 1d 1860, tripled "F", NGC MS62 BN. This was the piece I found in a local pawn shop for $15. I put it on the Bay with a BIN of $499 and sold it for a Best Offer of $355. That one went back to the UK.


Those are just some of the big-ticket items. The same approach has also been working well on $20-100 coins. $15 and under coins haven't been doing very well for me, at least lately, but I probably need to lower my prices on some of them.

Some folks do real well at auctions (obviously). I just get nervous, especially on very esoteric items, that I might be listing a coin during "the wrong week"... just because a coin at auction goes for high $$ one week doesn't mean it will approach the same amount next week, as there may be different customers shopping. I'm just not willing to go there...

With auctions you're at the mercy of who is or isn't shopping *that week*... which gives me the heebiejeebies.

One other potential downside with Stores: You need to be patient. It may take several weeks or months to ultimately get the price you want on a coin... so if you need/want money in a hurry, Stores ain't it.

laurentyvan

Some folks do real well at auctions (obviously). I just get nervous, especially on very esoteric items, that I might be listing a coin during "the wrong week"... just because a coin at auction goes for high $$ one week doesn't mean it will approach the same amount next week, as there may be different customers shopping. I'm just not willing to go there...

With auctions you're at the mercy of who is or isn't shopping *that week*... which gives me the heebiejeebies.

I see your concerns and acknowledge them but basically disagree.

You'll list store items for .06. I'll pay .75 to $1.50 or higher for auction because I'll list a coin at a certain dollar amount I want for the piece. I still control the action because of the initial bid required. Now give me the moon money! We both seek the same security but arrive at it differently is all.

I've had some spectacular success with .99 starts but those were on items that were a lock to sell at a high figure. Incidentally, you operate at a far different level than I do. Most I've ever paid for a coin was $200 and then barely sold it for more. One 6 piece set I spent $600 on only sold for $725.

Ahhh, but the $25 coins that I got $200 for, or the $100 piece I got $475 for were all auctions and that's affordable for me, I can play at that level.

Auctions also have higher visibility which I enjoy. I like taking a $5 or $6 piece and seeing it sell for $15 or $20- a lot of work but worth the investment of time given a certain quantity. Key is maintaining a 90% sell through or higher.

coinpictures

Like I said, different strokes for different folks...

One thing I haven't done yet is to try a few similar pieces at auction, starting one at my minimum price and one at $0.99 with a reserve. I know that some people are turned off by both scenarios. The $0.99 start without reserve definitely draws more attention -- people hoping for the rip. Too much of a gamble for me though.

Where the costs do start to mount is if you have auction items that don't sell and you have to relist. Yes, you get a one-shot freebie on the relisting fee, but conceivably you have to lower your expectations the second time around. I see some sellers that will list 100 auction items, sell 2 of them, and then relist the remaining 98 items over again, repeat ad nauseum. I could understand if they are high-margin items, but some of these sellers must be getting eaten alive on relisting fees.

This is where the store option gets more cost effective, since you get the equivalent of 4 weeks of auctions with gallery picture for $.06 listing (or $0.11 if it's above $25). Yes, you have the $15/month Ebay Stores fee, but if that's defrayed across enough auctions, the per-item cost is nominal.

The listing fees end up becoming a nonissue, so I literally can list anything you want about worrying about the up-front cost. I pay a higher FV fee if the item sells, but I'll gladly pay that, since I'm only doing so if the item sells. Early on (years ago when I wasn't doing coins) and I only did auctions, I had to be much more selective on what I listed, as 2-3 rounds of relisting fees could kill you on low-value items. When you're talking $0.72 - $1.32 per YEAR to list an item, the listing costs becomes less of an issue and you can afford for things not to sell right away, waiting for "the right buyer."

The most successful sellers actually do quite a bit of both auctions and stores, using auctions to drive people to their storefronts.

SYRACUSIAN

If your object is profit, then start at a minimum price that protects you, or use an ebay store. Never, EVER use a reserve and a BIN simultaneously.If you mainly want to handle as many coins as possible and move them quickly, auctions are the answer. The key is to be consistent, learn to mix losers and winners, not whine or freak out about a potential loss and wait till the end of the week/month to see if it's been profitable or not, reggardless of the coin per coin basis.

That said, you're all welcome to click on my sigline for some new items this week.

laurentyvan

The key is to be consistent, learn to mix losers and winners

I have found this to be very true...

Not only that but if you can mix in a variety of countries in as well, I've found some countries to be weak and then strong from week to week and month to month only to find out a National holiday was preventing good eBay results at auction end on a particular piece that should have done better.

CIVITAS

For us, it depends on what we're selling. All of our regular inventory goes into our eBay store about once a month. So if it's on our website, it'll eventually make it's way to the eBay store assuming it hasn't sold already.

For some items, we would never set a fixed price because it's hard to know what they are worth, so we auction these. Generally, we start everything at $9.95 with no reserve. If it's not worth ten bucks to someone at the time, then it generally ends up in our regular inventory and makes a few cycles through the website and eBay store at 10-15 dollars, and most eventually sell. This is especially true of obscure tokens and medals that have few collectors and just need to wait for the right one to come along. We used to start our auctions at $0.99, but I quickly learned that I'd rather throw an item in the trash than take the time to invoice and pack and ship something that sold for $1.07, so the ten dollar start bid helps prevent that problem. That drops the sell rate of our auctions a bit, but raises the effort:revenue ratio quite a bit.

Right now, this week's auctions are a bit of a deviation from our SOP because everything up there is inventory we've had for a long time because we either paid too much for it, or overpriced it, or just didn't have a customer for it so we don't care what it sells for. Therefore we put it up with the $0.99 min bid because it's all inventory that no longer has any value to us and we'll let the bidders decide what value it has to them.

TwoKopeiki

<< <i>Right now, this week's auctions are a bit of a deviation from our SOP because everything up there is inventory we've had for a long time because we either paid too much for it, or overpriced it, or just didn't have a customer for it so we don't care what it sells for. Therefore we put it up with the $0.99 min bid because it's all inventory that no longer has any value to us and we'll let the bidders decide what value it has to them. >>



Thanks for the heads-up, Josh. There are quite a few pieces I am going to track and bid on.

laurentyvan

so the ten dollar start bid helps prevent that problem.

Another bit of truth I can agree with...

Thanks for the heads-up, Josh. There are quite a few pieces I am going to track and bid on.

Uh-oh, cats out of the bag.

TwoKopeiki

<< <i>Uh-oh, cats out of the bag. >>



I didn't say which pieces

CIVITAS

He's gonna get in a little practice on his 3-5 second snipe.