Getting More Money for Your eBay Listings: Patience
Patience. It's one of the key advantages you can have when negotiating. Every eBay listing is a negotiation. You are selling an item for a predetermined price - whether you leverage the Auction or Buy It Now options. The listing has a set value for which you wish to sell your item. Many times buyers will contact you to ask for a lower price, free shipping, combined shipping, or other adjustments, regardless of listing type. One of the biggest advantages you have with your listings is time, if you choose to use it.
Most Auction style listings run for 7 days. Using this method, you set the lowest price point you would accept for the item and then hope that the item is bid up throughout the week duration of the listing. Most Buy It Now listings run for 30 days. You set, usually, the maximum price you think you can get for the item. In many cases, the Buy It Now style listings take longer to sell. However, they sell for a higher price.
My Buy It Now listings have a 57% higher average return than auction style listings.
Most Auction style listings run for 7 days. Using this method, you set the lowest price point you would accept for the item and then hope that the item is bid up throughout the week duration of the listing. Most Buy It Now listings run for 30 days. You set, usually, the maximum price you think you can get for the item. In many cases, the Buy It Now style listings take longer to sell. However, they sell for a higher price.
My Buy It Now listings have a 57% higher average return than auction style listings.
Using my personal sales as a base to gather data, I found that Buy It Now listings out performed Auction style listings in nearly every case. I compared the sales data for other identical items and averaged the results.
Before I show you the data, I'd like to extend a disclaimer. I specialize in the sale of children's clothing and women's clothing and accessories. I didn't compare data outside of these categories. Additionally while I compared identical items, I disregarded the size of the garments. I'm also aware that there are other factors that influence the ending price of a listing, including: shipping fees, condition of item, quality of pictures representing the item, seller feedback, country location, and others. For my comparisons, I specifically reviewed the sales price only. Shipping costs would be the largest unaccounted for variable in my findings, followed by the condition of the item (new, used, etc). Additionally, I'm a low volume seller. I have space to house my inventory for a long period of time and am not under pressure to move my inventory.
The chart in this section "Average Selling Price: Auction vs Buy It Now" represents the average selling price of 13 different items, broken out by Auction and Buy It Now. In the following sections I have provided individual detailed analysis for a few of the items in the chart above. (Information was obtained using the "sold" feature on eBay searches with a date range of 9/4/15 - 12/20/15.)
Before I show you the data, I'd like to extend a disclaimer. I specialize in the sale of children's clothing and women's clothing and accessories. I didn't compare data outside of these categories. Additionally while I compared identical items, I disregarded the size of the garments. I'm also aware that there are other factors that influence the ending price of a listing, including: shipping fees, condition of item, quality of pictures representing the item, seller feedback, country location, and others. For my comparisons, I specifically reviewed the sales price only. Shipping costs would be the largest unaccounted for variable in my findings, followed by the condition of the item (new, used, etc). Additionally, I'm a low volume seller. I have space to house my inventory for a long period of time and am not under pressure to move my inventory.
The chart in this section "Average Selling Price: Auction vs Buy It Now" represents the average selling price of 13 different items, broken out by Auction and Buy It Now. In the following sections I have provided individual detailed analysis for a few of the items in the chart above. (Information was obtained using the "sold" feature on eBay searches with a date range of 9/4/15 - 12/20/15.)
The data retrieved for this dress included 11 listings of this same dress ranging in sizes from 4 - 12 years. Six of the dresses were new and five were used.
Seven of the dresses sold at Auction with an average selling price of $14.43.
Four of the dresses sold as a Buy It Now with and average selling price of $21.75. This yielded an average of a 50.73% higher return when selling the dress as a Buy It Now. Detailed data provided below.
Seven of the dresses sold at Auction with an average selling price of $14.43.
Four of the dresses sold as a Buy It Now with and average selling price of $21.75. This yielded an average of a 50.73% higher return when selling the dress as a Buy It Now. Detailed data provided below.
The data retrieved for this top included 7 listings of this same top with a full range of sizes. Six of the seven tops were used. Four of the tops sold at Auction with an average selling price of $8.38. Three of the tops sold as a Buy It Now with and average selling price of $14.98. This yielded an average of a 78.76% higher return when selling the top as a Buy It Now. Detailed data provided below.
The data retrieved for these skirts included 10 listings of this same top with a full range of sizes. Four of the skirts were used. Seven of the skirts sold at Auction with an average selling price of $49.66. Three of the skirts sold as a Buy It Now with and average selling price of $93.99. This yielded an average of a 89.27% higher return when selling the skirt as a Buy It Now. Detailed data provided below.
Let's look at something with more data points. The data retrieved for the bracelet included 34 listings. All but one bracelet was in new condition. Nineteen of the bracelets sold at Auction with an average selling price of $11.31. Fifteen of the bracelets sold as a Buy It Now with and average selling price of $17.69. This yielded an average of a 56.41% higher return when selling the bracelet as a Buy It Now. Detailed data provided below.
While this strategy might not be for everyone, you should find that it works successfully for the average seller. Prior to listing your item, do your research. Review other sold listings of the same item to get a feel for how they were listed and what they sold for. Not only will this help you determine which format to use for your listing, but it will also provide guidance on a starting price point.
Good Luck and Happy Selling!
(I also published this paper on eBay which can be found here.)
Good Luck and Happy Selling!
(I also published this paper on eBay which can be found here.)
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