Selling on eBay
150shot said:
I see exactly what the seller is saying. I have seen cues go super high and super low. I think ebay has alot to do with the timing of the auction and to some extent ...the luck.
Awesome cues can have tons of bidders and sometimes no interest. I guess the best bet is to set a reserve but then again you are killed on fees...o well..
With eBay, timing can be EVERYTHING. What you are selling has a time frame, according to the buyers. If it would make a great gift, you have to think about when the buyer will be on the computer, looking for what you have to sell. If it's a costume pattern, the closer date to Halloween, when you can still get it delivered in time to make a costume with it, the better price you'll get. The more wanted and unfindable the pattern is, the more it will sell for. If it's out of print and you hit all the other timing targets, you can make a LOT of money on a pattern. The same thing goes for pool cues, or anything else.
I sold a pool table for a good price, once. It had some damage, but very little and it was very repairable. We just didn't have room for the extra one. The wording, the time of day and the day of week were very important to the sale. I had fewer folks who might buy it, because it was pool related and it was a pick up only sale. Not everyone plays pool and not everyone can (or would) drive from Florida or other long distance locations to pick up a smaller pool table. I must have done something right, because we got a lot more for that table than we ever imagined.
There is a high desire season and a low desire season. I like to buy when things are off-season, because you can get them for less. Also, there are crowds who buy more in the middle of the night and others who buy at 2:00 in the afternoon. When you get a following, you have to determine when you received the most bids and focus similar sales around that time of day, day of week, etc.. There are also ways to describe items which will draw more buyers, or run them off.
If you've got a big business site on eBay, and/or you sell more things on a buy it now basis, timing isn't so important, although description, payment options, etc., still apply. Sometimes, there's just no way around not selling an item. If you're smart, you'll pay close attention to what worked and what didn't work, when it worked best, and how it worked best. The items that don't sell will frustrate a person. That's the ones you learn from. What didn't work? Why didn't it work? Did I appeal to the wrong crowd?...
As for feedback ratings, there are things to watch out for. If a guy has all positive feedback, or a really high percentage rating, there are other things you can watch for. For instance, if I see a lot of "Item as described" or "received in good time" with no real compliments on the seller/buyer, I hesitate. If a guy has a rating of only 25, I look to see how many buys/sells he has. If he has dealt with a lot of the same people more than once, he may have a total feedback of 65, but only the first time for each buyer/seller actually shows up on a feedback rating, for a total of 25. If the guy has a lot of repeat business, that's usually a good sign.
There is a lot of strategy to selling on eBay. You look around and learn as you go. We even use a counter on our personal and business websites that tells us how many people come to our website, where they came from (if they clicked on a link to get there), plus where they went on the websites. This helps us figure out what works best on our websites and how to make them more user friendly.
Sorry for rambling. I was just trying to help some of the folks who are newer to eBay be better prepared for what they will go through, if they buy or sell on eBay. Research is extremely important!
