Ever have a case of over bidding?

[Beachkid23]

I think I just got one and I'm happy to see it. It was a Nintendo DS lite with two games super Mario brothers and Star Wars. I started this at $.99 two weeks ago and somebody won it for $48 but then emailed me and said they cannot pay for it. That was rather annoying but I canceled the transaction and relisted again for $.99 but with $6 shipping. I just went and checked, it sold for $76 with $6 shipping!! In the previous bid was $75!! Crazy and I love it!

 

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[Iron Patch]

Of course the previous bid was $75, that's why it ended at $76.

Sure people can overbid, but just because it did better the 2nd time I'm not so sure I would call it that. Auctions are often like that and why it's so hard to predict anything. I sell many of the same type of items, and have been for years.... so I have a very good sense of what to expect, but at the end of the day you never know what the bidders are thinking, so don't know how it will end up. Over all my sale will usually balance out and fall in the range I expected.

 

[NHBandit]

Ebay is all about who is watching your stuff & when. Things that don't sell for $20 week after week will suddenly go for triple that. Happens to me all the time. Keep in mind too that there needs to be at least TWO people who want your item for this to happen. It also can work against you if the right people are not watching. I recently found a Life Savers apothecary jar at a thrift store. Did an Ebay search for completed auctions and saw that an identical jar had sold a week prior for $95 and had multiple bids from 3-4 different bidders. Yay me... so I listed mine. It sold for 40 bucks... I'm ok with it since I paid $15 but where were all those guys who got into a bidding war & lost that other one a week prior ? It's just the roll of the dice.

 

[clovis97]

NH is exactly right.

Last year I had a super nice glass top store counter cigar box. I thought it would have sold for $200. This brand is popular, but rare. I had visions and dreams that a bidding war might drive the price well above that.

I started a $9.99 auction, and it sold for $54. Thankfully, the bidder never paid for the item. I took it to an antique mall, and sold it for $130.

 

[randazzo1]

When I really believe something sold for far more than its value we contact the buyer to make sure they want to purchase the item. Our business model depends on repeat happy customers. Buyers remorse is a potent enemy to that model. So I'd rather have a happy customer than one overpriced sale.

 

[dirtdigginfool]

Exactly...time is of the essence..I once posted an item with a BIN price of $199.. an item that normally retailed for $299 in my brick and mortar store...and the bids sailed WAY past and I shipped it out at $330.00. Go figure..battle of the egos?..bidding war?..who knows, but it didn't hurt my feelings! It was a big bore kit for an atv engine and I had sold many before, not like it was rare or anything. thx ddf

 

[Iron Patch]

Exactly...time is of the essence..I once posted an item with a BIN price of $199.. an item that normally retailed for $299 in my brick and mortar store...and the bids sailed WAY past and I shipped it out at $330.00. Go figure..battle of the egos?..bidding war?..who knows, but it didn't hurt my feelings! It was a big bore kit for an atv engine and I had sold many before, not like it was rare or anything. thx ddf

I've seen battles like this often, and most of what I sell isn't much money, so basically anyone can be stubborn and win. One I clearly remember was about a $4 item that sold for $78. I had tons of stuff on, same type of things and even better, but these two woman just would not let up. I left the house and it was about $36 or so, and I laughed to myself thinking how crazy are you two, and when I got back and seen the result it turns out they were even crazier than I thought. I call them crazy, and maybe I am too because I'm also sort of that personality type, and I do buy a lot of stuff, and quite often decide I'm going to win and don't care.

 

[diggummup]

NH is exactly right.

Last year I had a super nice glass top store counter cigar box. I thought it would have sold for $200. This brand is popular, but rare. I had visions and dreams that a bidding war might drive the price well above that.

I started a $9.99 auction, and it sold for $54. Thankfully, the bidder never paid for the item. I took it to an antique mall, and sold it for $130.

This is why I usually never list an item with a starting price for any less than I would be willing to accept. You never know if that certain "someone" is perusing ebay that week (or month even). There are exceptions though. But those exceptions will usually have a solid past sales history, not just one or two examples of a recently completed sale. When it comes to overbidding... I can't really say because the "overbidding" for me is usually on some rare or obscure item that you can't find another example of, so the value lies in what it's worth to whomever wants it. I love it when I can't find another example of something i'm trying to sell. Makes for great bidding wars sometimes.

 

[mojjax]

I sold a 16mm Yugoslavia Greece vacation home movie back in October - a guy in Greece bought it for $26.00 with $24.00 shipping .He wrote me asking if I could do better on my shipping fee & He was wondering about the import fee with the Ebay global shipping program . I didn't Know I was in the global shipping program - I wrote him that I could put it in a padded envelope instead of o box and it would be $3.00 less shipping - he said great , please send me a new invoice . The ebay global shipping program wouldn't let me send a new invoice . So I told him I would re-list it with buyitnow for $26.00 at 4pm eastern standard time .

I started the bid at $5.00 with $26.00 BIN - 30 seconds after it was listed - someone else bid on it , which took away the BIN price.
The bidding wars started - he ended up paying $56.00 the second time . I also unchecked the ebay GSP box . He didn't pay me until December -which was no problem for me , I really wanted him to have it . He was waiting for some big pay check to arrive .
I googled his name and he is an ''old film conservation guy " He has stuff on youtube about old films . So , I am happy to have worked with him - plus I got more money for the film !