Bidding vs. buy it now

xthenewyear

xthenewyear

Member
Sep 11, 2008
132
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#1
I need some advice from the lovely members here! :smile: I have an MJ bag listed on eBay for a great price, but it's just not selling. I have it listed as a buy it now and was wondering if that is preferable to buyers or if listing it as an auction is more appealing. Please help with this! I don't have experience with purse selling as much as I do other items. :smile: TIA!
 
#2
I haven't sold on ebay myself in quite sometime -- and this is probably more of a general ebay question and you might get a better answer in the ebay forum. BUT, my sister did sell a couple of my bags over the summer and I found that the best way to sell them was by setting a price and offering a BEST OFFER option. This way, if someone wants the bag, they can purchase it at your BIN price, but if it's too high for buyers and they're interested, they'll make you an offer -- chances are you might end up selling it for less than what you initially wanted, but it's better than not selling it at all and chalking up outrageous fees (and if it makes you feel any better -- one of my bags sold in less than 45 minutes at the BIN price and it included a Best Offer option!)

Good Luck!:tup:
 
#3
I really like the best offer options, i personally hate auctions that are set at $0.99 but then have reserves on them. It just seems like so much effort to have to email the seller and ask what the reserve is set at. I would do the Best offer thing cause then you can gauge what people are willing to pay and negotiate with them
 
#4
as a buyer, with the current 30% live cashback promotion, I would much prefer to bid on a BIN auction and get some cash back.

That said, as a seller, I have found that people prefer to bid on an auction that starts low. I recently sold a HH bag with a 9.99 start price, and made almost $300 on the bag, which I was hoping to do. But its risky, because you never know how it will go.
 
#5
xthenewyear said:
I need some advice from the lovely members here! :smile: I have an MJ bag listed on eBay for a great price, but it's just not selling. I have it listed as a buy it now and was wondering if that is preferable to buyers or if listing it as an auction is more appealing. Please help with this! I don't have experience with purse selling as much as I do other items. :smile: TIA!
Click to expand...

With the current Live.com cashback promotion BINs are your best bet. I want to point out though that you need to be sure you are pricing your item correctly. What you consider a good price might be too high for that style or the current market. Unfortunately MJ bags don't hold their value like other brands so they often sell for a fraction of retail. HTH! Good luck with your sale. :flowers:
 
#6
In your listings, do you all list information about the Live.com discount? I know it just came out, but is that helpful? Also, the bag I am selling has gone for $200 more about a month ago, and the others are around $100-200 more right now, so I think my price is the best one on eBay for that bag. Hopefully it will sell soon! :smile:

Thanks for the advice everyone - I'll definitely keep it as a BIN! :smile:
 
#7
I have about six years of selling and buying experience on ebay and can tell you that most of the items that I have sold we via the auction function. Buy it now works. But auctions work better. You have to list at a price that will encourage people to bid against each other.


xthenewyear said:
I need some advice from the lovely members here! :smile: I have an MJ bag listed on eBay for a great price, but it's just not selling. I have it listed as a buy it now and was wondering if that is preferable to buyers or if listing it as an auction is more appealing. Please help with this! I don't have experience with purse selling as much as I do other items. :smile: TIA!
Click to expand...
 
#8
Starlett89 said:
I really like the best offer options, i personally hate auctions that are set at $0.99 but then have reserves on them. It just seems like so much effort to have to email the seller and ask what the reserve is set at. I would do the Best offer thing cause then you can gauge what people are willing to pay and negotiate with them
Click to expand...

I agree, because then you're forced to wait until the bidding ends, and sometimes I just want to purchase it right away. I also hate reserve auctions and typically walk away from them. However, I know with most buyers, they love the "chase" of the auction.
 
#9
It really depends. I haven't had any luck at all with auctions lately, but BIN seem to be doing okay. I'd try BIN for a bit to see if it goes, especially with the live.com discount going on! Best of luck!
 
#10
I only use BIn with Best Offer option and I do mention live.com and say you may be eligible for up to 30% off since it changes often.

Good luck, hope she sells soon.
 
#11
gypsybiker59 said:
as a buyer, with the current 30% live cashback promotion, I would much prefer to bid on a BIN auction and get some cash back.

That said, as a seller, I have found that people prefer to bid on an auction that starts low. I recently sold a HH bag with a 9.99 start price, and made almost $300 on the bag, which I was hoping to do. But its risky, because you never know how it will go.
Click to expand...

That is freaking awesome! Do you mind if I ask what style it was? $300 is quite a bit for an ebay HH
 
#12
I've been tempted to ask some sellers to change their listings to BIN so I can get cashback, but have yet to do so... I don't really like waiting for an auction to end and usually use BIN as opposed to stalking auctions for days.
That said - I probably end up buying a lot more because I am on ebay all day, every day looking for great deals to pop up with the BIN option. So it doesn't really matter that much since I'm usually there when the auction ends anyway
 
#13
speaking as a seller, i've switched to BIN. I have always used auctions, but right now nothing is going as high as i predict it wil.

yes, fees are high with BIN format, but i am so happy i no longer need to deal with non-paying bidders! it is worth it to me.
 
#14
It is hit or miss for me.
I had a GREAT bag that was sold out and hard to find. It was new with tags and while some bags sold at $150 over my price, mine just wasn't selling. The others were listed as a auction while mine was fixed + best offer. Some of those on auction sold higher than my buy it now.

I think sometimes people just get caught up in a bidding war.

Now with the absorbent fees for fixed prices I suggest starting it at price A and then have a buy it now at A + some price (mine is A + $50-60)
 
#15
I will agree to some extent with the other posters. The auction format with a low starting price for a good designer bag will get people in. Unfortunately these days you never know if you are going to get even a reasonable price. I know the economy is down but people still have money to spend and are spending. Many of them though want a deal which I don't begrudge but want things practically free which is ridiculous. If you don't care about price and you just want to sell it, auction with low starting price is the way to go. If you need a reasonable price then good luck. As someone else mentioned you could do BIN with best offer option but your fees will double as compared to the same price if you were able to get it at auction. Also you will get low ball offers for sure. You might have to price it over what you would take just to get a reasonable offer. Even with that though you are taking a chance that people won't even check your auction out because they don't want to even bother with the price though negotiable. Always do your research though to see what your item or similar item has sold for over the last two weeks. It helps but doesn't guarantee you anything either. Selling on Ebay these days is honestly a crapshoot. Good luck though.
 
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