The Psychology of Sellers and Buyers

lahmejoon

Hello All,

I observed something I have never seen before and was curious if there are any other sellers who have tried this tactic. Here is the setup:

I was following an unopened box listed by a seller who had low feedback and had a variety of other items (not unopened - miscellaneous, small collectible items). I was curious to see if the box would sell. The opening bid was a fair amount less than what an authenticated box would sell for and the BIN was about right for an authenticated box. There were 3 watchers of the auction.

Anyway, the auction ends without a single bid. Seller relists the items with a higher minimum bid and higher BIN price. No difference on the shipping costs.

Most of the time, if I watch an item that doesn't sell, I either see the seller relist it at the same price, or reduce the price to try to entice someone to buy it. This is the first time I've seen a seller increase the price. The only reason I can think of to raise the price would be to try to get one of the three watchers nervous enough to make a move on it. I'm watching the relisted item to see what happens.

MrNearMint

I have seen this happen many times and have no clue why sellers do it.

JoeBanzai

I used to work with a guy that sold at shows on the weekends. He told me that he would first RAISE the price of an item that didn't sell right away, he claimed the items often sold for the higher price. He had no explanation as to why, but he has been doing this for years. He just laughed about it and shrugged. "Who knows?"

mlbfan2

Originally posted by: lahmejoon

Anyway, the auction ends without a single bid. Seller relists the items with a higher minimum bid and higher BIN price. No difference on the shipping costs.

I've done that and have had the item sell for the higher price at least a dozen times. Why do I do it? Because it worked once, so why not keep doing it?

BaltimoreYankee

I have not experienced that but I have put up items for a BIN price, received no takers then switched to auction format only to have the item sell for a good bit over the original BIN price.

I think when people see a BIN, they wonder why nobody bought it and and must feel it's overpriced.

MantlesMantra

What about the sellers who price BINs at 10-20 times what an auction for the same thing just sold for and then refuse to negotiate down when you bring the aforementioned auction to their attention?

I know one particular large seller that does this.

MooseDog

The smart seller would relist at the higher price then run a "markdown" sale through eBay promotions. You wouldn't think this would work, but in psychological testing it has proven to work time and time again. For some reason we rationalize we are getting a deal, even though we know deep down it's not really a deal at all.

KbKards

You will sell more $150 cards by pricing them at $200 with a 20% discount than pricing them at $150 fixed. Buyers love discounts and don't mind paying extra for it.

Nathaniel1960

Is there a way you can block a Seller on ebay? There is a large dealer that floods ebay with insanely overpriced sets that do not sell 99% of the time, and I am just sick of having to weed through them. I am talking $10,000 for a VG 1960 Topps BB set kind of nonsense.

lahmejoon

Originally posted by: KbKards
You will sell more $150 cards by pricing them at $200 with a 20% discount than pricing them at $150 fixed. Buyers love discounts and don't mind paying extra for it.

There definitely power in the perception that you are getting a discount, when you are really just paying market price, or more, in some instances. It's interesting how that works.