Ebay Buyers?

Weird Question, but I haven't sold anything on ebay for a while, and never anything very valuable mostly clothes the kids or I have outgrown. I have my old digital Camera, just sitting and collecting dust, and thought I'd sell it, since I've upgraded twice since I bought it. The money would certainly come in handy, though I just hate selling stuff like that because it was sooooooo expensive to begin with, and you'll never get a 1/4th of what you paid for it.... but, anyway, I looked at some others that had sold recently, and when I listed it, ebay gave me an average selling price, and an average starting price (both new features to me) I did the ad, which took forever because I did a bunch of pictures, and within 5 minutes of listing it, someone emailed me and asked if I'd consider a "buy it now" price.... and while I was responding to that person, someone else emailed me and asked the same thing! I've never had that happen before, and was wondering those of you who do regularly sell there, is this a common practice now? Why don't they just "bid" like I do when I want something? Or are they just hoping I'll put a buy it now price up that is really cheap, thinking I haven't researched it?

If they are like me, I look for the 'buy it now' auctions ahead of the regular ones. I don't like having to wait and see if I won at the end and take a chance of a sniper taking it away from me at the last minute. I like to buy it, pay for it and go on to the next item I'm looking for.

I have never had that happen to me, but most of what I sell sells for less than $5 anyways.

It sounds like you have a hot item and you should just let the bidding run its course. That's just my wild guess of an opinion.

Forgot to add that I am usually willing to pay a little more for the convenience of not having to wait until the end

I look for buy it now auctions too Joan, but, the auction end prices varied between 115 and 270 dollars on this camera. I had/have no clue where to even set the buy it now price. The one that ended so high had few accessories with it, and mine has all of them, still in the original bag, because I never used them. I don't want to rip anyone's lips off, but, I want as much $$ as I can get for it too...

Kelli, I didn't think it was anything so great, a 1.6 meg camera... .I'm normally like you, selling stuff that goes for 5-10 dollars, sohaving someone ask for a buy it now price was totally new to me.

Hi, Joan.

My wife and I sell a lot of stuff on eBay, and have putting things up with a "Buy It Now" for just the reasons you say. Thanks for underscoring that what we're doing works. People can "watch" an auction in their "My eBay" account area, but it's easy to forget the auction is ending, or they may, while waiting, find something else they want to buy. So we are getting to where we use the "Buy It Now" more and more.

Melissa, I agree with you, too, about often not knowing where to set the price. We sell lots of old books, and we check places that list many prices for the same book. Sometimes the price can vary from 200 dollars down to less than 5 dollars! And they are not even necessarily all that far apart with regard to condition!

When we're not sure, and don't want to take the chance of losing serious money, we go ahead and put a starting bid and a reserve on the item.

When I sell, I usually want money fast and don't wanna wait a week for bidding to end. So in many cases, I sell at a fixed price, and the buyer can just take it.

Sometimes I do auctions with a beginning bid price and a Buy it Now price. I usually have an idea of what I'd settle for and if they're ready to just snatch it up, that's great! Sometimes, you lose a buyer's interest if they have to bid.

I hate bidding and usually anything I've gotten has a buy it now price.

You can go back and revise your item to include a buy it now price if you have no bids on it. Then the two buyers who emailed you can decide if they wanna pay it or if they want to start bidding. The pricing would depend on the age of the camera, brand name, and condition, as well as the accessories.

I know Ebayers will pay more for an item than I can sell it locally. What may seem a high price here in Arkansas seems to be a low price in a place like California. So it's a good idea to set your BIN price just a little high. You can always checkmark the "best offer" box. That way people can see your high price and offer you, say, $10 less.

Good luck.

BC

Thanks BC. It already has like 3 bids on it, so I can't revise it now. I was really surprised. I bought the camera in 2002, and it's in great condition as well as all the cords and stuff never being used... but, I never thought there would be that much interest in it. :-) I'm glad there is, that's good for my Christmas fund! :-)

It's actually a violation of eBay seller rules to end an auction to sell to someone who asks in an email. That would not apply if your auction has a fixed buy-it-now price. We have had to turn some people down when they ask but we always explain that it is a violation of the rules and we've never had a problem. We would suggest starting at a low bid but using a high buy it now price.

Ken & Sue in Glassboro, NJ

I only buy the buy it now auctions, but I shop around. I only buy Daylilies for the most part and I can almost always find them for a lot less if I know what I want and keep shopping for it at the price I want. I used to sell but I have found a well planned yard sale makes me more money and I get the cash the same day.. Just my 2 Cents.. Mitch