Do they? I thought they actually flattened them, meaning same fess across the board (10% for sales) regardless of ending price.
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Ebay- behavior
- Thread starter obimark
- Start date
Do they? I thought they actually flattened them, meaning same fess across the board (10% for sales) regardless of ending price.
Yea I've noticed that on auctions where the starting price might be the same as a fair ending sale price, often it ends with no bids. I've actually missed out on good deals that I was watching, intending to bid on last minute, but forgetting about it lol. I think it's something to do with crowd mentality, like a bidder may be leery of bidding because no one else has, so there must be something wrong with it they don't notice.
That's why when I'm a seller I like to put a buy it now for a fair price and also start the auction at something really low, even $1. What happens is people start bidding like crazy and many times the price goes near or even higher than the original buy it now price haha.
That's why when I'm a seller I like to put a buy it now for a fair price and also start the auction at something really low, even $1. What happens is people start bidding like crazy and many times the price goes near or even higher than the original buy it now price haha.
1. I don't think so; however, you did imply you are on eBay and you know yourself better than I.
2. Ummm let's think... I would say perhaps the price seemed too high or they were using the listing as a gauge for either buying or selling.
3. Perhaps. It has been known to happen.
Okay, this may be a stupid question, but here goes... aside from ebay (and TB of course), what other online avenues are there to sell basses and/or other higher end instruments or equipment? Ebay sucks a whopping 13% (incl. paypal) off the top. That tariff makes it tough to sell ANYTHING without taking a pretty good hit.
i sometimes will watch auctions on things i have and might sell. to get an idea of what they're going for. or, things i'm interested in and not ready to buy yet- also, to see what it's going for.
i know at the moment i'm putting something on my watch list weather i'm going to give a serious bid or not.
i havent used it yet, but i've been turned on to "reverb.com" lately. i hear a lot of good things- i like that you can save a search for something and they'll email you (not spam) when that item pops up for sale.
This is definetly true for me, although I sell on eBay not craigslist because all I ever got on Craigslist was people emailing me trying to get me to fall for western union scams. When I'm debating selling something I'll "watch" a few on eBay just to see what they are selling for. sometimes I end up deciding the particular item is worth more to me than it's worth to anyone else. And I keep it. If I'm going to sell it inkeep that in mind also
When buying I also will "watch" stuff just to get an idea what the market is like for whatever I'm looking at. I Consider it research in order to make sure I'm getting good deals on the gear I buy.
I have purchased a couple items from Reverb.com, a mid-price guitar and amplifier. Both transactions went swimmingly. Most of the eBay BS is absent, but it's not a bidding site. It's a bit more like Guitar Center Used or Music Go Round, which are two other solid options I've used successfully.
There is a lot of reasons to watch an auction without bidding or before bidding - heck, there are even tv shows that broadcast auctions - i get that. I really don't get the "bottomfeeder" comment though.
In the few times I've participated in an eBay auction, that's exactly what I've done. If I definitely want the item, I won't use the automated bidding process. I'll take note of when the auction ends, then be sure to manually monitor the price changes during the last five minutes, refreshing my browser window every few seconds, just to stay current right up to the moment.
If it seems as if the bidding isn't going out of reach for me financially, I'll come prepared with the absolute highest price I'm prepared to pay - even going so far as to choose a very odd number, such as $457.23, in case the item might otherwise go for a round number such as $450 - then I'll pounce with less than 10 seconds to go. Even if another bidder does see my new bid (eBay automatically submits it as $5.00 greater than the previous highest price), he/she won't know that I'm actually willing to go far higher. So unless they counter-bid a larger sum than I'm prepared to pay - and do so with less than 10 seconds to go - I get it.
The key, IME, is to know your price in advance, stay within your comfort zone, don't get caught up in the excitement of the bidding process...and be prepared to walk away if the bidding starts to skyrocket.
MM
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I've checked it out myself. From what I can see, it's a better place to buy than it is to sell. As a seller, not only are you paying the 3.5% Reverb fee, but the 2.9% PayPal fee as well. If it's better than eBay, it's not better by much.
MM
LOL
I usually have a bunch of items in my Watch list. Either items I'm looking for or items I'm thinking of selling. It gives me a good gauge of the value of things. eBay seems to be pretty good at representing market value.
Sometimes if there's an item I'm interested in, I'll watch it until the last hour. Then if it's below what I want to pay, I will set a top dollar and start bidding. If it goes over, I don't sweat it.
I wanted a bass amp a while back on eBay and I had one on watch. It was very low priced and I should have used the Buy It Now but didn't. Someone else did and I regretted it. Three days later an identical bass amp was on eBay by a different seller. This time the price was lower with a BIN number. It was lower than the last one so I grabbed it.
I never buy from any seller with less than 99% positive feedback, or less than 5 transactions.
Some people do eBay for income, I do it for play money. For my toys. My wife won't let me touch the real credit cards!
Sometimes if there's an item I'm interested in, I'll watch it until the last hour. Then if it's below what I want to pay, I will set a top dollar and start bidding. If it goes over, I don't sweat it.
I wanted a bass amp a while back on eBay and I had one on watch. It was very low priced and I should have used the Buy It Now but didn't. Someone else did and I regretted it. Three days later an identical bass amp was on eBay by a different seller. This time the price was lower with a BIN number. It was lower than the last one so I grabbed it.
I never buy from any seller with less than 99% positive feedback, or less than 5 transactions.
Some people do eBay for income, I do it for play money. For my toys. My wife won't let me touch the real credit cards!
I also watch auctions often to keep an eye on gear that's similar to something I will be selling. Really though, it could just be that people are waiting to bid. I've sold some items that had 20, 30 even 40 watchers with no bidding until the last day or so, most of which took place in the last couple minutes.
What's wrong with putting items on watchlist but not putting a bid on them? You don't have to necessarily bid for an item on your watchlist. So I don't see your point.
Facebook. I'm a member of two local musicians clubs on facebook and they're good for selling gear to GAS sufferers.
Less sleazy than CL, and none of the fees of ebay and reverb. Local pickups too, so no shipping charges.
Very True. Another reason to support follow TB members through the classifieds. On the other side, I listed a MIM Jazz Bass on CL for weeks with no results. I listed it on eBay for $50 more to help cover the fees and other stuff. I sold to someone who lives less than 15 miles from me. He paid the higher price plus he paid for the shipping. That proves they are times when eBay works.
Missed a gorgeous bass by my favorite builder last week. It was listed for one day and had one bid, sold for just over $700. Probably cost over $2000 to build. I messaged the guy but never heard back. What a butt.
