Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Ebay buy it now prices

I very seldom purchase anything on ebay. However, I see that more and more that items have a "buy it now" price. It seems as though these prices are extremely high for what the item is. It seems the ones posting those prices really don't have an idea of what the item is worth or maybe they are just putting a price out there hoping someone will bite. Am I right or wrong.

or make a offer- there advertising it- what they end up doing with it?..

I have between 2000 & 2500 items running on Ebay at any given time, all are Buy It Now. Sold over $76,000 worth of stuff on ebay last year, and this year it looks like it will hit $100,000.

Nothing wrong with BIN as long as the price is right.

Jack Sim

Mancave1, you are right in your assumption. Some sellers post unrealistic Buy It Now prices in the hopes of "surfing for a sucker". Or at the very least, as already stated it opens the door for negotiations.

I put a price on my items, but I do not negotiate. One report of this to Ebay and you are out, can't take that chance when my sales are as high as they are.

As most of you know, most of my sales are ECO parts. I also purchase a lot of ECO parts on Ebay. I like the BIN, if the price is right I buy it, if not, I just move on.

Jack

I agree that "Buy it now" prices are astromonical. The item never sells and keeps getting relisted.

As an eBay seller/buyer I actually think the number of buy it now auctions is fewer than it use to be if you remove the "storefront" listings. People are getting tired of the extra fees and want to save a few cents on listings (this applies to non-storefront items)

I have 2 items up there right now, both have BINs. The theory behind BINs is to get a buyer to purchase the item immediately, however some people think it's a "get rich quick" button and tend to use it to snag unwary & uninformed buyers who have no idea of value.

Personally I price my BINs based on prior eBay sales (if available) and how much I have invested in the item. If I have $5 in an item that sells regularly for $300 I may price it below that amount in the BIN to make quick cash from savvy buyers who know the value. On the other hand I may price the BIN based on condition/rarity of an item that is never/seldom seen on eBay. However I spend a good deal of time researching items and have a sense of value before I price them.

You are forgetting that eBay isn't a no reserve auction house(though the seller may choose to sell without reserve on eBay). I have had items I've re-listed multiple times because bidders just weren't out there even for items that 3 weeks before were selling like hotcakes. And on the listing where they do sell the Buy it now may be beat or may drop off due to reserves being met.

I have bought items with BINs many times because the price is fair. But I've also placed bids on items with BINS when I feel the BIN is high.

I do agree that there are some of those Buy It Now prices that are stupid high, and normally they have a reserve near that BIN anyway so any bid I might make is useless.

The problem is many people find these poor condition items look it up on google and price it in the same range as a 8-9 condition item. Looking at realized auction prices makes these people think they have the most valuable item even though 75 percent of the time its not worth 1/4 of what they are asking. Sooner or later these people will realize their asking price in urealistic. You also have to take into consideration that many of these uneducated people may have paid too much for an item and looking to get their money back. If you dont like the price dont buy it. Many people are deep sea fishing on the ebay market looking for a sucker.

there are many that won't buy an item unless it is BIN, a lot of people just don't have the time or patience to wait and WANT IT NOW regardless of the price.
I once ran an item that had a lot of views but bidding only got to $250. on my $500. reserve. 2 weeks later I relisted the same item with a BIN of $2500. and it sold within a few hours.

I think that's rather a narrow view.

Sure there may be some who fall into that description, but I do not believe it to be the norm. They don't have to Google, they can look at completed eBay auctions for similar condition and price accordingly.

Locally I hear complaints from people who think eBay ruined local markets because it drove down prices for nominal condition items while on the other hand being freely accessible so that anyone with half a brain can look to see what someone is willing to pay for an item they thought had no value. And when a local buyer wants the item it's no longer a few bucks but priced based on what others have sold for to someone somewhere in the world.

In one venue, let say Rochester NY, you can find all kinds of Kodak Brownie cameras and they sell cheap because it's plentiful, but on eBay someone in London UK, can't buy a brownie for $10 so they pay $50. By your assertion they are overpaying, but to them it is reasonable. And they may not care that it's non-functional because all they're gonna do is set it on a shelf as a decorative item.

Bashing Buy It Now sellers on eBay is silly. I've gone to plenty of shows where I can point to just as many dealers who overprice(in my opinion) items. Ask $1200 for 36" Coke buttons available for 1/2 that much. Pricing a totally derelict visible for $800 when all that's left that's salvageable are internal piping. C7 condition gas signs for C9 prices, etc,. And I'm sure everyone who buys/sells all the time has paid more than something was worth to someone else.

The fees are now very high, paypal fees are high and shipping fees are high with ebay. Many buyers just want to get there item out there even if they put or state their desired amount on the buy it now. What I think is high may be ok to some, where what I think is fair for the item and work involved might be very high for others. It seems cheaper and faster to just put things on that way so that someone will know where you are at. Imagine Amistadi's auctions that great looking stuff, if there were buy it nows on everything. Who could afford them and would they not get wrapped up in the auction mania? Many people buy with there money what they want and who is to say or call someone out because that person really wants and can afford that Item. Ebay is just offering a service that they will make money on, people want, and some buyers use. As stated before on here, If you do not want to bid or look at move on. It does bother me though I will have to say, that I do get tired of looking at the same items month after month.

Just a couple of remarks...
High fees? Compared to local auction houses? Not really high.

9%+4.8%+listing fees(if any) is still less than local auction rates(20-30%avg across the country) plus you are guaranteed a huge potential audience of bidders/buyers versus whatever the local auction house manages to pull in.

As for shipping fees, that's due more to high fuel costs these days rather than the online auction itself. It's taking a bite out of some auction revenues for sure, but that's one reason I limit what I sell online to items where the revenue is better than 30% of local opportunities.

These are just remarks about those specific issues.

I agree, say what you will about e-Bay. For 15% of end of auction final value, it is a pretty good deal. I personally don't sell on e-Bay and the primary reason being the lopsided feedback policies. If a buyer pays on time, you can't leave them negative feedback. There is much more involved in a sale then payment. Some buyers have made a habit of exploiting these feedback policies and extorting extra's from sellers. Second reason is packing and shipping takes a lot of effort, expense and time if you are going to do it right. Especially international shipping; I live in Canada and most items sell to American bidders.

I do 95% of my buying and selling based on Buy It Now with Best Offer. I haven't seen anyone mention that. Most of my list prices are slightly high because I account for selling an item either for 75-80% of list or $50 or so cheaper. Considering most of my items are $250 or less that is a decent room to wiggle.

I LOVE negotiating. That is why I buy items with Best Offers. The thrill of saving a few bucks is one I enjoy.

Now if I do not have very much invested in an item I will do a auction. But people don't tend to enjoy bidding on something and seeing "Reserve Not Met" so I try to run my auctions with No Reserve.

I also agree eBay is cheaper than a normal auction. Especially when you consider the auctions with a "buyers premium" which is the dumbest thing EVER.

I like an auction Ebay yes fees seam high but you go to an auctioneer and around here there 30 to 35% and not the market you will get on ebay, I do 2 shows a year, there you get beat up, Ebay is the only place I know that you can get more then your asking. I know alot of my items brought more then I would have ever asked. JMO I get both ways and yes ebay is for the buyer no dought.

I listed a couple of items n ebay recently with a higher BIN price than ususal. Why? I saw the same item is worse condition sell for that price so I thought I would throw my items on there and see if there were any more people who wanted to pay that price. i also have a best offer option as well. If it doesn't sell...I don't care. Well, I do..but not going to lose any sleep.

Its not narrow its reality. Look at all the poor quality items on ebay with stupid BIN prices. Yes this is my opinion because everyone has their own idea on value. Sometimes BIN items are great and Im not against them at all. Im just saying the majority of poor quality BIN items out there are overpriced.

The majority of everything anyone sells is overpriced in most people's opinions. Henceforth negotiating

Eddy, what you just wrote.... Is exactly 100% right! (IMO... LOL)

Maybe I missed the point or didn't make myself clear. I was not comparing auction house price fees with ebay fees. I was just mentioning the fact that they are getting higher, and by the way ebay charges you for your own shipping. I did not know that till I looked at my invoices. It is a cheap way of advertising and getting people aware of things. It is tough though to pay 18% for online bidding in some of the auctions, but that is either you do not mind or how much to get there and stay. Just love the guys who do not pay when they win on ebay and nothing can be done.

Well, I'm sure I got my answer somewhere in all the dialogue. I think it was great with all the brainstorming and input from oldgas members. Thanks

How many times any of have you emailed a seller to ask,how much for a buy it now? Usually its high if they answer you at all. Pretty much the same deal now, except you don't have to ask. The buy it nows are higher, its for the folks who don't wanna wait, or have the extra loot to throw at it.I have stolen stuff with buy it nows. Sometimes, its who ever sees it first, and how good of a piece it is. There is always a sucker out there with more money than since, buy it nows or not.

How many times any of have you emailed a seller to ask,how much for a buy it now? Usually its high if they answer you at all. Pretty much the same deal now, except you don't have to ask. The buy it nows are higher, its for the folks who don't wanna wait, or have the extra loot to throw at it.I have stolen stuff with buy it nows. Sometimes, its who ever sees it first, and how good of a piece it is. There is always a sucker out there with more money than since, buy it nows or not.