Buy it now or Auction?

[TreasureHunters]

I have tried some experiments time to time and listed some things on buy it now but I think I only sold one. I seem to use auction only now for best results, what about you. And if you use BIN how long do you usually have it up before getting offers/bought? Thanks

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[Iron Patch]

Impossible to answer that, just way too many variables. I can't even give you some generic type answer because the circumstances are always so different. It's like asking how do I clean my metal detecting find without saying what it is, or describing the condition. I guess what I'm saying it's a case by case basis and just your best educated guess what to do.

 

[Minrelica]

If its a unique item that hasn't been listed recently or has sold for a wise range of prices in the past, list it auction style starting with the minimum price you want for it.

If you see that everyone and their brother has one for sale or has sold one already for "x" amount of dollars then put it up for a buy it now price for the average of what they are selling for or undercut the competition buy a couple bucks to make yours more attractive. And always remember that condition means everything when deciding on a price.

Casual buyers like buy it now because they don't want to babysit the item. True ebayers like the competition of auction style settings.

It is as simple as that.

 

[mjlalt]

I use Buy it now for printer ink and toner because people want it fairly quickly because they are running out

I also use Buy it now for items that may take a while for the right buyer to come along.

Buy it Now works great a week or two before Christmas
I sold several items at top dollar to people who needed Christmas gifts right away

 

[Iron Patch]

Casual buyers like buy it now because they don't want to babysit the item. True ebayers like the competition of auction style settings.

There probably is some truth to that because when I buy to flip on ebay the vast majority of my time is spent looking through auctions, but when I buy something to keep, such as clothing for example, it's the total other way around. I guess part of it is also not being quite as concerned about the price if it's something for me, and you can't do the same and be sure to make a profit when it's stuff you plan to sell.

By the way, for anything with potential you better know what you have before you add a BIN price to it. a few times in the past I have had some regret not using that same figure as an opening price.

 

[Iron Patch]

One other reason to have buy it now and best offer... it is fun, especially with very overpriced stuff!

 

[clovis97]

Buy it Now is especially good for items that people need soon.

I've never understood why some sellers list some car parts as an auction. If you are selling a starter for an 02 Ford Explorer, the buyer most likely needs it as soon as possible, not in 7 days.

Now, an NOS starter that is correct for a 65 Pontiac GTO...that might be a different story.

 

[Beans]

I've never understood why some sellers list some car parts as an auction. If you are selling a starter for an 02 Ford Explorer, the buyer most likely needs it as soon as possible, not in 7 days.

I list all as Auction. I do have some guages for a Studebaker up for auction. I could have done a buy it now on them but since these have been the only car parts I have, I just went for the auction. I started at a price I wanted for them and see how the auction goes. Maybe in the future if I find more car parts I may do the BIN. Just like Clovis indicated, just depends on what they are.

 

[Iron Patch]

A couple more things came to mind. The first is my buying price is a factor in whether I auction or do a BIN, and the more I steal something, the more likely I would put it to auction because I know I'll make money. (I need a very steady incoming cash flow, so that also might persuade me to auction it) The only thing that would stop me is if I felt there would be a lack of interest, and unlikely to get two or three solid bidders. The other thing is that if you're willing to tie up things with a fixed price it makes you a much more competitive bidder/buyer because if you always action you have to back off a little because paying near market price can result in a loss when you sell. (Even just the shipping you paid, and fees when you sell can kill it for you) Obviously if you're doing garage sales this isn't a big deal because there you probably get most stuff at a pretty good price.

 

[duffytrash]

on ebay i sell mostly marbles and i buy em in bulk...those i sell by the hundred count for a buy it now...on a three day auction........when i sell vintage marbles i buy them in large lots usually for 15-20$ a quart....theres usually lotsa good marbles in there that can sell for 10 or 20$.....those i put on an auction with starting price of 4.99 on a seven day auction....the commons go on in lots and start em for 2.99....its not unusual for a good jar of marbles to get 300-400$ profit..on 20 or 30 auctions.....good description of nicks and tics and lotsa pictures usually equal a sucessful auction...some of the buy it nows i offer free shipping...you can ship up to 500 marbles in the small flat rate box....and the action in the last 10 seconds sometimes are unbelievable.....to see a 4.99 opening bid blossom to 25-30$ is great fun....i always give freebies and many of my auction go to repeat customers....when i started in marbles 15 years ago i dug 35-5 gallon buckets at a defunct marble factory..if you dont count my labor thats 100% profit....i ran out of em last year....

 

[biggmike]

I have an "eBay store" so all my stuff is Buy it Now. (or best offer)

 

[Iron Patch]

I have an "eBay store" so all my stuff is Buy it Now. (or best offer)

So do you sell at a fast enough rate to support your buying, or fund with cash if you have to? If I did all fixed prices I'd be done in a week because I burn through to much money seeing so much I want to buy, and do buy.

 

[GibH]

Electronics I like to sell BIN. Biggest reason is the fee. $3.50 the first $50 and 5% of anything over that up to 1k VS. 9% fee for auction.

 

[clovis97]

I list all as Auction. I do have some guages for a Studebaker up for auction. I could have done a buy it now on them but since these have been the only car parts I have, I just went for the auction. I started at a price I wanted for them and see how the auction goes. Maybe in the future if I find more car parts I may do the BIN. Just like Clovis indicated, just depends on what they are.

You probably did the right thing with the gauges.

I still don't understand why some people run auctions on very common parts for the average daily driver or new car.

I needed a window switch for my car because the window was stuck half way down. There were about 30 of them listed, most of them as BIN. A few were listed as auctions, started at .99. I needed that switch today, not 6 days and 19 hours from now, with a chance of not winning it. They way I see it, the ending price of the auction, generally speaking, is going to be capped at the price where the other parts listed as a BIN.

In this case, I got lucky and won an auction that ended a few hours later...for 99 cents plus $5 to ship. I won a $30 switch for just $6, but would have happily paid the $30 as a BIN.

 

[biggmike]

So do you sell at a fast enough rate to support your buying, or fund with cash if you have to? If I did all fixed prices I'd be done in a week because I burn through to much money seeing so much I want to buy, and do buy.

I don't have a ton of stuff on. I only have about 30 - 50 listings at once. My items sell pretty fast I guess. A lot of the items are gone the same day I list them and if they are there a month the price drops about 10% per month till they move. I only list things that I can make a minimum of $10 after shipping for instance if I buy a game for $1 it will sell for $12 - $15 or I don't buy it. As the price to buy it goes up I don't stick to that, for instance I might pay $20 if I know it will get $80 but I try to buy at about 10% of my asking price. I do a lot of research, check a lot of the items I buy on eBay before I buy them and have been doing this all my life pretty much so I guess I kind of have an eye for things. This is just a part time thing for me but I wish I could do it full time. Unfortunately I have a full time job.

 

[Minrelica]

I have an "eBay store" so all my stuff is Buy it Now. (or best offer)

I just canceled my store. If you're not listing/selling at least 150 items a month, even the basic $15 a month fee is not worth it and that's the truth. I used to list much more but that has slowed down from lack of time.... You can turn the store off and back on at any time... Remember that you can list 50 free auction style listings a month too..

 

[Iron Patch]

I don't have a ton of stuff on. I only have about 30 - 50 listings at once. My items sell pretty fast I guess. A lot of the items are gone the same day I list them and if they are there a month the price drops about 10% per month till they move. I only list things that I can make a minimum of $10 after shipping for instance if I buy a game for $1 it will sell for $12 - $15 or I don't buy it. As the price to buy it goes up I don't stick to that, for instance I might pay $20 if I know it will get $80 but I try to buy at about 10% of my asking price. I do a lot of research, check a lot of the items I buy on eBay before I buy them and have been doing this all my life pretty much so I guess I kind of have an eye for things. This is just a part time thing for me but I wish I could do it full time. Unfortunately I have a full time job.

Yes, that's the difference, doing it part time compared to full time.... because when full time your numbers have to be MUCH bigger, and that means you probably have to sell more expensive items, and when you sell more expensive items it cost you more and they tend to not move as fast... and that is why I asked, because without a huge pile of cash I think it would be pretty hard to avoid auctions and make enough. But doing it part time ain't such a bad thing either, nice having that extra income for something that is for the most part fun to do.

 

[biggmike]

I just canceled my store. If you're not listing/selling at least 150 items a month, even the basic $15 a month fee is not worth it and that's the truth. I used to list much more but that has slowed down from lack of time.... You can turn the store off and back on at any time... Remember that you can list 50 free auction style listings a month too..

I sell using the free auction style listings when I can't find a price or am not sure what something is worth. I put things in the store when I'm pretty sure of the price it will get (I easily make up the $15 and then some getting the premium prices from the store) and I also use craigslist to sell the bigger stuff.

 

[Minrelica]

I sell using the free auction style listings when I can't find a price or am not sure what something is worth. I put things in the store when I'm pretty sure of the price it will get (I easily make up the $15 and then some getting the premium prices from the store) and I also use craigslist to sell the bigger stuff.

If you have a store you are not entitled to any "free" listings. Not sure what you meant there.

 

[biggmike]

If you have a store you are not entitled to any "free" listings. Not sure what you meant there.

I have 2 eBay accounts that I list on.