Getting the most for eBay sales.

So I had an epiphany I think. And, maybe this has been thought about before and talked about and I'm just the last guy to try it, but, the biggest problem with selling coins on eBay is that people don't bid anymore over the duration of the listing. Most people try to snipe the coin on the last few seconds. So, my idea is to set the price at the minimum you want to sell the coin for or just what you would love to get and leave it there until the last 24 hours. If someone bids then yay. You got at least that. If nobody bids(usually what I see) then for the last 24 hours you could drop the price a little bit and get the snipers watching the coin. Then, in the last minute you raise it back up to what you want.

Snipers have already decided their top dollar that they are going to put in.

You're just making sure you get what you want.

I've sniped lots of my purchases. I know in those last 30 seconds I know get all excited and start getting really attached to the coin. I'm thinking ok, I want this so I'd pay $100 but man, I really would love to get it for $80!

 

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I'm not sure I really follow or if this is really the best way to get what you're hoping for... it sounds like a lot of risk.

 

This could work, but the problem that I would see is that there still wouldn't be enough interest. Let's say you have a coin that you start at $80 (the least you can do without losing money after fees). What would be enough to attract snipers? I doubt that $70 would be enough. You might need to go to $50 before anyone is interested. When you do that, someone might see it at $50, place a bid right away, and now you are stuck since the price can't be increased once a bid is placed. Now with a bid at $50, you might get some more action, but most likely the bidding won't reach your initial $80 and you lose out.
And in general, I think most snipers come in when an auctions starts at $0.99. Anything too high, unless it's a truly rare or infrequently traded item, seems to get little or no attention even if set at a reasonable level under market prices.

 

I believe that if there has already been a bid a seller cannot change ANY part of a listing.

 

Mostly true (you can't change price, you can add photos, etc)

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/revising_restrictions.html

 

You can also add to the item description, but cannot change the existing item description.

The problem I see with yours is that it will work fine if you have maybe 5-10 listings. If you list more than that...do you have time to log in, change the price, etc...100 times?

Personally, if I have an item that I need a specific price on, I will list it as a BIN/BO.

 

No no no you guys are thinking too big of a change in dollars.

Let's say you have a coin that is selling for around $100 on a regular basis on ebay. You list it for $105 on a 5 day auction because every once in a while the coin will bring that and you would like to be the guy that sells it for that much too.

Now it's day 4 and you've got 24 hours left and there has been 15 views and 2 guys are watching it but there are no bids yet.

Now you would drop it to $95 or $97 or something around there. This would cause either someone to throw in a bid or cause some attention and you may get 2 more watchers that plan on sniping it at the last second.

So now you've got 4 watchers and maybe 1 guy that bid at $97 and 3 watchers thinking about how they want it and there top dollar they are going to put in at the last second. Plus you've got serious buyers examining the coin a little closer.

The idea here is that in the last second your probably going to get a few bids and one of those are going to be what it goes for and hopefully a little higher. If no bids were put in and every single person intends to snipe it then at 60 seconds you change it back to $100.

Worse case scenario you lose a dollar or two. Second to worst case you change price and nobody bids that high and you relist it. But I think that there's a really good chance that you will attract a few deal seekers and you will get what you wanted.

 

Still, seems like a lot of extra work (if you have more than one item) for not a lot of extra money. I'd still list it as a BIN/BO and let someone make me an offer...because I have other things to do.

(Not saying your idea is bad...just that it would take more time. And my time is much more valuable than an extra couple of dollars.)

 

No this wouldn't work for someone that sells a lot. Too much to keep up with.

The amount that is your absolute bottom dollar should be the number you drop to at 24 hours. Before that you should list it for a small fraction more.

 

Alternate theory:

I have coin Alpha. I need X amount of dollars to make a profit. I lose 10% to eBay/PayPal fees. So I list the coin at X + 20% and listen to offers. Most reasonable offers (excluding the lowballers, who end up getting blocked after a while) are within 10-15% of the BIN price.

Listed once, don't have to mess with it until someone buys it or makes an offer.

Drawback: coins may sit in inventory for a bit before finding a buyer, thereby maybe necessitating an eBay Store subscription.

 

I see your point but for me I don't sell a whole lot and I wouldn't have to do this every time. When I list a coin I always list it a hair high. I decide my bottom dollar and add 15% for fees and slush.

I've got one listed for $200 right now and I've got like 3 watchers but no bids. I think some people watch coins just to see if the price will drop closer to the end of the auction. This way I attract bids from them too possibly.

 

I think, like most of life, the best solution will end up being a combination of multiple methods.

The part of selling coins I despise the most (besides dealing with the occasional crazies and jerks) is the need to advertise. I'd rather not "clog" up the boards with daily posts about new items, sales, etc...but they work. So I have to...even though I hate it.

 

Ya I could probably just list as a bin and save some sanity lol. But idk.... I like the auctions. I want to move my stuff quickly when possible.

 

I have a better idea! Many of us are always saying that if you want to invest in something, then don't collect coins. So, why don't you just accept a "Make Offer" for every listing and then take up knitting?

Chris

 

Possible but not a known fact. I for one will watch coins I want and hope for a chance to get one of them at a great price via a snipe. I've been trying for a couple weeks now with a 1943 P walking liberty graded ms66 by pcgs or ngc that is also a coin I am attracted to(I buy the coin, not the holder. But, that dang holder sure helps it resell one day). I almost had one last week and it just didn't happen. Another sniper was willing to pay at least $1 more than me

 

This will only work if you have a specialized field. Something that is reasonably common and has an established selling price - you may find it harder to sell it much higher than the current market price.

The biggest thing that one mustn't forget is that buyers in general want a bargain. I had one that gave me the most insulting offer of 30% of what I was asking for. Needless to say he was blocked and that item was sold later to another buyer.

 

I have a question. Why don't you just start the item(s) at that lower price?

 

If I saw someone fiddling with the opening bid on something I was watching I'd assume there was something going on and buy elsewhere.

 

I hate it too. Usually when you post an advert it costs me money. I really wish you'd sell crummier coins that are less tempting.

Please don't take up tokens. [emoji6]

 

I've been selling world coins and medals on eBay. My goal is to liquidate them. I'll list initially at 50% of current book price and each time I re-list I drop the price until it sells. Most go by the time I'm at 25%. To keep the transaction worth my time I'll bundle coins. Book value depends on what I assume the grade is and I assume potential buyers are more critical than I am. Surprisingly, the only coins/medals I've sold above book values had swastikas on them.