eBay - Start Auction at 99p or not? What is best?

[Kiwi1234]

Hello,

I was wondering what is everyone's opinions on selling price when you create the listings. I've always seen 99p to be a good starting point, as it attracts initial interest - although maybe if the product isn't in high demand the price won't go up very much anyway, and you may make more money getting 1 bid at the end?

For example if I were to sell Warhammer figurines, they usually go for around £10 (for 5), maybe selling at 99p wouldn't be as good as getting just one bid because going up to £10 if there's minimal demand might not happen?

I'm curious to hear everyone's opinion!

Oli

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

What's best is to test it and find out.

The effectiveness of pricing strategies and pretty much everything else to do with marketing can vary hugely depending on the product and audience. Instead of relying on guesswork and theories, it's always better to test different strategies out with small samples so you know exactly what works and what doesn't.

If you end up losing money due to a particular strategy, consider it a marketing expense and then try something else.

 

[billmccallum1957]

If you're happy selling it for £1, it's OK, but if you need to get more then it's pointless.
If they go for £10 for 5 then start them off at £7.99 for 5.

 

[Kiwi1234]

What's best is to test it and find out.

The effectiveness of pricing strategies and pretty much everything else to do with marketing can vary hugely depending on the product and audience. Instead of relying on guesswork and theories, it's always better to test different strategies out with small samples so you know exactly what works and what doesn't.

If you end up losing money due to a particular strategy, consider it a marketing expense and then try something else.

Great idea, thank you very much.

 

[Kiwi1234]

If you're happy selling it for £1, it's OK, but if you need to get more then it's pointless.
If they go for £10 for 5 then start them off at £7.99 for 5.

I don't see it as necessarily pointless, the point isn't to sell at £1 it is to draw attention to get many bidders competing at the end? Is the idea anyway.

 

[johndon68]

By the time you add in postage and fees, can you actually afford to sell the item for 99p...

John

 

[Kiwi1234]

By the time you add in postage and fees, can you actually afford to sell the item for 99p...

John

I'm not including postage - 99p plus £2.35 postage.

 

[TheGaffer]

What is your cost price ? When I used to dabble with ebay I used to start the auction around about what my cost price was, in the hope it would at least increase by 2.5 (2 at a minimum)

As someone has mentioned though, best thing to do is test different price starting points out and then create an effective strategy from there.

Keep the £2.35 postage obviously.

 

[Kiwi1234]

What is your cost price ? When I used to dabble with ebay I used to start the auction around about what my cost price was, in the hope it would at least increase by 2.5 (2 at a minimum)

As someone has mentioned though, best thing to do is test different price starting points out and then create an effective strategy from there.

Keep the £2.35 postage obviously.

ah, this is just selling old things. So no variable cost involved. Although asking this question on this forum as it applies to me selling merchandise that I bought from china as well. I understand how there could be some confusion!

 

[Gecko001]

I have found that if you want the item to attract bids and sell within a reasonable amount of time, then start low. Any time I have started high, I have received no bids. Some people set a highish starting price but keep relisting the item until someone eventually makes a bid. This might work for items that are specialist and would have a very small market, but to be honest I have never tried this as I like to get the item sold without relisting constantly.

 

[billmccallum1957]

I don't see it as necessarily pointless, the point isn't to sell at £1 it is to draw attention to get many bidders competing at the end? Is the idea anyway.

The main issue is that if there are not enough people competing for the item, the auction ends and might only have one bid.

 

[Richard Moore]

In my experience of selling on eBay a low starting price is usually better than a high one. Put an item on for 99p and see what happens. If it's something desirable like Warhammer it isn't going to sell for 99p

BTW I either do an auction starting at 99p, for a high value item (over £100) I will set a reserve price (and still start at 99p) or if I know what the item is worth to someone I'll use buy it now. I never use a high auction start price as a reserve as it just stops people bidding. Once they place a small bid they are more likely to get hooked into the bidding process.

 

[IanG]

Mixed results, I had a job lot of screwdrivers a while back and they went out well starting at 99p, all finished fairly safe. Tried it with car parts and given stuff away. If the demand isn't there when you do the listing you're going to end up paying Ebay to deal in freebies.

 

[Gecko001]

Most people who bid on auctioned items are looking for a bargain and they want to go away with the feeling that they got a bargain, or at least paid the going rate for the item. If something starts at 99p and attracts lots of bids and sells for say £25, the bidder will think that they got a bargain or at least something at the going rate. If the same item starts at £10 and you bid on that item and it turns out to be the only bid, you will have doubts about whether you actually got a bargain, as you will wonder why nobody else was bidding on it.

Many bidders are novices and will get carried away with bidding, setting the starting price at 99p I think will attract those people.

 

[Kiwi1234]

The main issue is that if there are not enough people competing for the item, the auction ends and might only have one bid.

yeah, I agree with that. Therefore I might stop the listings before they end if they haven't got any bids yet so I don't get one last second bid. Isn't against the rules. We'll see, a large ebayer that sells warhammer (figures I'm selling) starts all his listings at 99p and has done ebay selling like this for 6 years. Might as well copy the best, right?

 

[Kiwi1234]

In my experience of selling on eBay a low starting price is usually better than a high one. Put an item on for 99p and see what happens. If it's something desirable like Warhammer it isn't going to sell for 99p

BTW I either do an auction starting at 99p, for a high value item (over £100) I will set a reserve price (and still start at 99p) or if I know what the item is worth to someone I'll use buy it now. I never use a high auction start price as a reserve as it just stops people bidding. Once they place a small bid they are more likely to get hooked into the bidding process.

I think I'll go low - I can always end the listing early if nobody is interested in it. I've also listed them all within minutes of each-other, and referred people to the other warhammer listings saying they can get a discount. Should increase the demand for the items!

 

[Kiwi1234]

Mixed results, I had a job lot of screwdrivers a while back and they went out well starting at 99p, all finished fairly safe. Tried it with car parts and given stuff away. If the demand isn't there when you do the listing you're going to end up paying Ebay to deal in freebies.

I 100% agree with you, depends on the demand. I think the demand is decent for the items I'm selling, so I think it should be fine to start at 99p. Thank you for your advice!

 

[Kiwi1234]

Most people who bid on auctioned items are looking for a bargain and they want to go away with the feeling that they got a bargain, or at least paid the going rate for the item. If something starts at 99p and attracts lots of bids and sells for say £25, the bidder will think that they got a bargain or at least something at the going rate. If the same item starts at £10 and you bid on that item and it turns out to be the only bid, you will have doubts about whether you actually got a bargain, as you will wonder why nobody else was bidding on it.

Many bidders are novices and will get carried away with bidding, setting the starting price at 99p I think will attract those people.

Some great points. I also added the high RRP of Warhammer, ranging between £28 - £45. Therefore that should boost their reference price up, making them more likely to bid higher. Plus giving discounts on postage - we'll see how it goes!