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FIB - Scams 101 - Ye Olde Archives

Results of my eBay experiment...

Posted By: MaaMaw
Sunday, 2 October 2005, at 10:18 p.m.

that started with this thread:  http://friendsinbusiness.com/board1/index.cgi?read=100168

I couldn't list 15 items as suggested, because I couldn't get it down to 8 minutes each and I simply ran out of time, but I did cut back considerably and still manage to write good ads. There's always tomorrow to whittle my time down and down some more.

What I did do, however, was put up two listings at $0.99 as suggested, with no Buy It Now. I was "trusting the system" to get me full value. They were piddly items, but I had six, and I been watching them for the past month and saw they were all selling, and the typical price was $3 to $4. They are typically listed on Buy It Now for $5.95.

Mine both sold for $0.99.

The only question was someone asking if I would give her a Buy It Now price because she wanted both but could not wait for the end of the auction.

Then I listed two Halloween costumes. I tried, but I couldn't bring myself to list them with an opening bid of $0.99 with no Buy It Now, because I knew deep down they would sell for $0.99 each. So I started them at $1.99 each (which was pretty close), and I gave a Buy It Now price of $10.00 (shame on me).

They sold on Buy It Now for $10.00 each.

My driftwood didn't sell for $0.99 any better than it sold two other times when the starting bid was much higher. At the same time, though, someone else's driftwood lots sold at their $2.99, $3.99, and $4.99 starting bids.

I'm not going to venture a guess on why that didn't sell -- maybe my lot was too big, maybe people didn't believe FedEx was cheaper for shipping, maybe somebody didn't like my website -- there are bzillions of possibilities.

Admittedly my "test" was tiny -- much too small to really prove anything -- but I learned what works for me:

I think it's lovely to have enough confidence to buy $500 worth of merchandise and list it for $19.95 and "trust the system" to get you full value, but I can't afford to be that trusting.

I'm going back to my comfort zone, which is listing items I buy at a starting bid that will cover all my costs if the items sells plus a tiny profit, with a Buy It Now price slightly higher than I actually hope to get.

It's probably not the right approach, but it's the only approach I can afford. I'm satisfied to dabble in Ebay for "prison wages" (see this thread: http://friendsinbusiness.com/board1/index.cgi?read=100502), but I can't afford to pay people to buy my stuff.

I'm not saying my way is the best way -- obviously it isn't -- but then, I'm not trying to make a living on eBay (thank God).

Please don't think I'm ungrateful for all your advice. I appreciate it very much, but eBay nearly makes me crazy the way I've been doing it (which has worked reasonably well considering the few penny-ante items I list), and I know it will make me stark raving insane if I start listing everything with an opening bid of $0.99 and hoping for the best.

Luv,

MaaMaw

MaaMaw's Magnificent Toolbox

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You'll find great information in this "Read Only" Archive, but remember..... things change.
Be sure to visit the Current Message Board when you're finished here.

We're very friendly, so don't be shy... just jump right in and post your question.
Scams outnumber legitimate biz ops about a bzillion to one, so it's well worth your time.



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