Does adding " or Best Offer" devalue an ebay card auction?
RookieWax
Posts: 1,066 ✭✭✭
Whether I am the buyer or seller, seeing the "or Best Offer" on a Buy-it-Now auction always seems to significantly devalue an item for me - no matter how reasonable the Buy-it-Now price was to begin with. This seems especially true if the item has been up for several days without any offers. I am not sure why this is the case for me. Perhaps it is because many sellers set their Buy-it-Now prices at 3 to 4 times the actual value, hoping to get a "low ball" offer that is higher than the actual value.
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Comments
It's hard to know for sure. Comparing results on IDENTICAL items -
over an extended period of time - MIGHT tell us; might not.
MOST buyers still ignore the OBO and just hit the BIN.
Auction-centric buyers tend to make BOs and are likely in the camp
that says the OBO feature "devalues" a listing.
As noted, if the BIN is high enough, the BO feature often benefits
sellers. If the BIN is too low, the BO feature usually just aggravates
sellers.
So I love the OBO, just need to make sure the BIN is higher than normal. Once in a blue moon you will even get the person who doesn't want to screw around and they just outright BIN and it is a huge win for ya.
Always buying Bobby Cox inserts. PM me.
So if a card you need is attractively priced in a BIN format, you're going to bypass the listing just on principle?
I can see why buyers prefer the auction format, but it's silly to not even look at BIN auctions, as there are times the BIN price is lower than what the auction price would be.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
<< <i>I can see why buyers prefer the auction format, but it's silly to not even look at BIN auctions, as there are times the BIN price is lower than what the auction price would be. >>
+1
I ran a BIN listing for $200. TWICE! No takers either time. I run it at a 99 cent auction and it sells for $280!!! Who is the loser now??
<< <i>
<< <i>I can see why buyers prefer the auction format, but it's silly to not even look at BIN auctions, as there are times the BIN price is lower than what the auction price would be. >>
+1
I ran a BIN listing for $200. TWICE! No takers either time. I run it at a 99 cent auction and it sells for $280!!! Who is the loser now?? >>
The lunch lady was not the loser that week.
<< <i>I search for "Auction only" listings. >>
Me too.
Not calling BIN shoppers losers, but I've found in my experience, it's not worth searching through thousands of overpriced listings for that one gem.
I simply skip to the auctions. Congrats to those who found the few bargains.
I have been way more agressive this week with trying to get sellers of collectable lots to do an off eBay transaction for what honestly was about 65% of what I think I could flip the lots for. So far had 2 different people do off eBay transactions for large lots of comic books which is what I am flipping this week.
What is great is the first one to jump on selling to me outright off eBay told me what his bottom line was before I threw out an actual offer and it was about half of what I was willing to pay.
I have had some great luck with brand new eBayers also in doing off eBay transactions for Magic the Gathering collections so they can avoid eBay fees and the hassle of selling on eBay.
I am just waiting for the eBay hammer to come down hard on me though for doing this.
<< <i>I search for "Auction only" listings. BINS are for losers.
So if a card you need is attractively priced in a BIN format, you're going to bypass the listing just on principle?
I can see why buyers prefer the auction format, but it's silly to not even look at BIN auctions, as there are times the BIN price is lower than what the auction price would be. >>
I don't want to spend 10 hours sorting through bins that are all 25% above market, just so I can find that 1 BIN card that is actually priced in line or below market. If BINS were actually priced AT market, you wouldn't see the same stale inventory sitting around for years, which is what Ebay has turned into.
Always buying Bobby Cox inserts. PM me.
<< <i>
<< <i>I can see why buyers prefer the auction format, but it's silly to not even look at BIN auctions, as there are times the BIN price is lower than what the auction price would be. >>
+1
I ran a BIN listing for $200. TWICE! No takers either time. I run it at a 99 cent auction and it sells for $280!!! Who is the loser now?? >>
Great story.. Sounds like you are now convinced that auctions are bettter from your standpoint as well. I'm glad that you've left the dark side and have been enlightened.
Always buying Bobby Cox inserts. PM me.
<< <i>Great story.. Sounds like you are now convinced that auctions are bettter from your standpoint as well. I'm glad that you've left the dark side and have been enlightened. >>
Errrr...in actuality, I have been burned more than I have had success stories. Some to the tune of several hundred dollars. Enough to make me steer most of my cards to BIN's as opposed to true 99 cent auctions. It is no fun seeing your card sell for peanuts and then the winning bidder put it up on Ebay two weeks after yours for $50-$100 more, and FIND A BUYER ALMOST IMMEDIATELY!!
Duke Kahanamoku - Auction $459.77
Same Card BIN = $599.99
Eddie Shore - Auction $430
Same Card BIN = $559.99
The list goes on and on.......enough to tell me that auctions are USUALLY a money LOSING proposition!
<< <i>....if it doesn't have a OBO to go along with it's overpriced BIN I will message the seller to see if they want to do an off eBay transaction and give them my offer.....I am just waiting for the eBay hammer to come down hard on me though for doing this. >>
/////////////////
The evil empire has MANY of its Santa Muerte monkeys patrolling
for violators. They consider the infraction the same as shoplifting.
TOS
If the Make Offer button does not appear in the listing, the seller is not interested in receiving offers and you should not try to contact this seller to negotiate price or terms. Doing so violates our offers to buy or sell outside eBay policy.
I never report such violators, but I usually BBL them on the theory
that if they will try to rip EBAY they will try to rip me.
I am ALL about moving buyers off-EBAY, but I do it with coupons and
flyers and emails AFTER they have made their initial purchase on the
venue that delivered them to me.
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7/2/11
Tonight's Listing Ratios:
PSA Baseball Cards
Total Listed: 145,479
Auction Format: 10,081
BIN: 137,385
BIN w/BO: 33,756
Merch always seeks its highest retail price; on EBAY, that price is found
in the BIN format.
The breaking point was them deciding to charge fees on shipping and handling. I really want them as a company to go under at this point and don't mind doing anything that can help in taking away revenue from the evil empire.
The sad thing is I still generate way too much revenue for them as both a buyer and a seller.
I just did that 2 weeks ago to a somewhat prominant dealer and did not add that I would still use Ebay (by having the seller re-list or put it on sale at a certain time so I could be the first to see it). I hope I wasn't BBL'd, especially since I had bought a card from them 2 weeks before.
A few years prior, I did that a couple of times as a seller when I sold some cards from a high demand set at auction and let a couple of buyers know what I had left. After we had negotiated a price for a group of cards, I would e-mail them and tell them that I was putting the lot up as a BIN so they could buy it.