I May Have Listed Too Low, Sold Too Quick

[diggummup]

I listed about 30 items yesterday with a BIN on them. Something i've been doing more and more of since I get free BIN listings for several months now. Most of the items (about 20) were relisted that I ended early when I went on vacation. I researched as best I could and listed my items towards the higher end of the recent completed sales prices, I thought. Anyway, about 10 were new listings and 5 of them sold within the first 4 hours of being listed, another this morning. I thought I was listing on the high side, I guess not.

Remember that spider paperweight? It sold for $219.99. I was going to list it at auction starting at $150 but decided against it, should have waited till Sunday to list it I guess. The other spider ones were the older Tiffany favrile style that Orient & Flume made in the 1970's sold for around $300 or less. The last one of these I found sold for $75 in 2007.

The teacup with the butterfly handle, $49.99. Prices are all over with these things. I listed it at what I wanted for it. I only paid $2 or $3 for the 3 of them. The other 2 have a little micro damage that will affect the value but they will still sell. I'm gonna list them at auction this weekend.

The calculator that I just bought Saturday, $59.99. Listed on the higher end of recent sales.

The tiny sterling Leica camera tie tack, $49.99. Couldn't find but one other one, and it was listed for $74.99 off ebay. It's only 5/8" wide. Figured $50 was a crazy price, huh, guess not.

The Roomba, $125.00. I figured $100 was good and $25 for shipping etc. It is an older (2007) remanufactured model.

A USAF Academy patch (that I just id'd) $34.99. Found one from 1963 that sold for $37.99, listed mine a few dollars cheaper, should have went a few dollars higher I guess, lol.

Anyway, lesson learned. Don't list everything with a BIN price. It may sell for more than you think.
I'll bet this is how Iron Patch buys and sells exclusively on ebay.

 

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[treasurekidd]

Those are some really nice paperweights, and I love that patch. I new I knew that latin phrase "Ad Astra Per Aspera" from somewhere, but I had to look it up to remember where from. Fantastic stuff as always Diggum!

 

[clovis97]

Awesome job, Dig!!!

I know exactly how you feel about selling too low. Just a few weeks ago, I sold an Exakta camera. I couldn't make heads or tails of the market/value of the model that I had, so I listed it as a BIN.

We almost always start our listings using the iPhone, and then modify the listing and write the description on a laptop.

Before I could get the description listed, I already had 3 Best Offers, and when I clicked submit, the listing had already sold for full price! It look less than 10 minutes for it to sell.

The same thing happened a few months ago on a handful of vintage Tyco hopper cars. I was getting Best Offers before the description was written. This is frustrating because you can't change the listing once a Best Offer has been made, so I had to end the listing, edit it with the new description, and relist it. At the time, I was mad because the best offer was 1/2 the asking price. No way am I going to take a silly low offer within minutes of listing.

Nonetheless, even though I sold the camera too cheap, I got my working capital back, and that enabled me to flip that cash into several other items, which quickly sold too.

I don't like leaving cash on the table, but turning my money is important.

 

[isabella1]

I had a ny state police trench coat from the 60s. Posted for $500 obo. It sold in about 15 min for $500. I paid $2 for it, I still wonder to this day what it was worth!

 

[austin]

Hey, the idea is to sell the stuff. You did great. You could always make more, but you could also make a lot less-or nothing. Money in hand beats a huge inventory...

 

[2Minnesota]

Your items sold...for decent $. I think you did great but you never know what will happen on eBay. Maybe do a starting bid of what you would take and a crazy higher BIN and you could always consider offers as well? Any way you look at it you did good!

 

[dejapooh]

My friend found a 1.5 gallon Starbucks mug. He put it up as a BIN at $250. He received an offer in the first 10 minutes and called me asking what he should do. I told him to pull it down and start an auction at $99.99 (he paid $20). He followed my advice and sold the mug for almost $700. My basic rule, if you are not SURE of the retail value, start an auction. If people really want it, they will send offers to stop the auction. NEVER accept those. It almost always sells for more.

Also, items like the roomba, the calculator, and so on, I suggest putting those on Amazon. Higher prices, though it may take longer to sell.

 

[diggummup]

My friend found a 1.5 gallon Starbucks mug. He put it up as a BIN at $250. He received an offer in the first 10 minutes and called me asking what he should do. I told him to pull it down and start an auction at $99.99 (he paid $20). He followed my advice and sold the mug for almost $700. My basic rule, if you are not SURE of the retail value, start an auction. If people really want it, they will send offers to stop the auction. NEVER accept those. It almost always sells for more.

Also, items like the roomba, the calculator, and so on, I suggest putting those on Amazon. Higher prices, though it may take longer to sell.

Yeah, some of those Starbucks coffee mugs sell for crazy money. I agree about when your unsure about something, list it at auction. I wasn't really unsure on anything. I probably could have got another $40-50 off the paperweight if I had listed it at auction, maybe. But then I would have had to wait till Sunday night to list it (I only list auctions on Sun-Mon. nights) and then wait another week for it to sell. I'm happy with what it sold for. I only had $10 in it I think. I have a few "rare" things with no comparables to list at auction this weekend. I don't sell on Amazon. I don't have enough time to list everything I have/want to sell on ebay, much less anywhere else, lol.

ps- I sold 3 more items today.

Aku Aku Tiki mug 48.99

The Faberge picture frame, $74.99-

And a Chloe perfume for $29.99



Thanks for all the replies.