8 minutes ago, longshot said:

I didnt realize that was an option, definitely good to know.......... Do you list the item a bit higher then set your lowest for the amount you wanted in the first place? LOL

From my experience, there are very few buyers who take the Best Offer option into account when picking a seller - they just go for lowest price (and the savvy ones for lowest price+shipping ).

28 minutes ago, longshot said:

Quick question......... What is everyone's preference when listing, whether on ebay or another auction site, a straight up auction, a buy it now or a buy it now or best offer. I recently listed over a hundred items with a buy it now or best offer and priced them for the going price. But I must say having to wade through the river of BS offers is getting old. Any thoughts?

Thanx

Personally I try to price my items appropriately (looking at recently sold items) and only use BIN.

Some sellers that use BIN or Best Offer take into account where they are shipping the item. For instance lets say that you have a 10188 (DS) listed BIN or Best Offer for $475.00 (free shipping). Shipping to the west coast from the east coast could cost $40-$60 more than shipping to zones closer to you. You'll need to take this into account when selling heavier items. Some sellers use Best Offer to offer a discount to buyers closer to them b/c it saves them $ on shipping costs.

To me if you are ok selling a product at "X"% lower than your listing price why not sell it at that price and not mess around with Best Offer. Unless its a sought after item most people won't pay your asking price if "Or Best Offer" is available.

 

I have used "or Best Offer" sparingly, typically in cases where I have a target price but am likely to wait a while before a sale. E.g. I was listing Gingerbread Houses for $50 but with Best Offer option during the off-season (this spring). I used auto-decline to fend off lowballers, but was willing to drop in price if someone wanted to bargain.

My other complaint with Best Offer is that you can't require immediate paypal payment.  My single, greatest beef with eBay is the huge number of non-paying buyers.  I've essentially given up on having auctions for this reason.  BIN has the option to require immediate payment.  It wouldn't be hard to have eBay also require an immediate payment for a buyer to accept a Best Offer payment, but eBay won't do this for whatever reason.  And I won't use best offer for that reason.

Thanx guys..........lots of good info. I try and price my listings in the middle of what things are selling for. I dont want to be the highest but also not the lowest leaving meat on the bone. Sometimes the values are all over the place and I also look on here to gage if Im in the ballpark or not.

2 minutes ago, diablo2112 said:

My other complaint with Best Offer is that you can't require immediate paypal payment.  My single, greatest beef with eBay is the huge number of non-paying buyers.  I've essentially given up on having auctions for this reason.  BIN has the option to require immediate payment.  It wouldn't be hard to have eBay also require an immediate payment for a buyer to accept a Best Offer payment, but eBay won't do this for whatever reason.  And I won't use best offer for that reason.

AH yes. Excellent point @diablo2112 That's a good piece of advice. ALL of my listings have immediate payment required on them. Another item for @longshot to consider adding to his ebay arsenal of selling tools.

I won't do best offer or auction because of non-payers. It basically ties the item up for a week when this happens. No recourse, just lost sales.

14 minutes ago, diablo2112 said:

My other complaint with Best Offer is that you can't require immediate paypal payment.  My single, greatest beef with eBay is the huge number of non-paying buyers.  I've essentially given up on having auctions for this reason.  BIN has the option to require immediate payment.  It wouldn't be hard to have eBay also require an immediate payment for a buyer to accept a Best Offer payment, but eBay won't do this for whatever reason.  And I won't use best offer for that reason.

 

6 minutes ago, iahawks550 said:

I won't do best offer or auction because of non-payers. It basically ties the item up for a week when this happens. No recourse, just lost sales.

According to a fellow BrickPicker (I can't remember what thread but I read it a few months ago), to bypass the no required immediate payment for accepted best offers, he submits a counteroffer for $0.01 less than the best offer received. If the buyer who submitted the best offer accepts, which he most likely will since it's less than his offer, the system will require him to make immediate payment if you have that option checked. I haven't had a chance to try this yet, since I don't sell much, but he confirmed that this works. Maybe someone can give that a try and post their results here?

It's a pretty genius way to workaround the issue if it actually works.

Edited August 16, 20169 yr by oneknightr

I almost always counter offer no matter what their offer is. You'd be foolish not to, even if its only a few dollars more. I think BO is going to get changed just because of the immediate payment availability of BIN.

I spent a bunch of time putting up some listings yesterday. Today I woke up to find a coupon in my inbox for 50% off Final Value Fees for anything listed in the next 12 days that sells over $50. 

I think the answer is no, but if I cancel all the listings I made yesterday, and relist... will the coupon deal apply to them? What about items on 30 day BINs that expire in this next 12 day window... if I refresh them will the coupon apply? Very rarely get coupons so I haven't got much track record to go off of... 

9 minutes ago, Zelgazra said:

I spent a bunch of time putting up some listings yesterday. Today I woke up to find a coupon in my inbox for 50% off Final Value Fees for anything listed in the next 12 days that sells over $50. 

I think the answer is no, but if I cancel all the listings I made yesterday, and relist... will the coupon deal apply to them? What about items on 30 day BINs that expire in this next 12 day window... if I refresh them will the coupon apply? Very rarely get coupons so I haven't got much track record to go off of... 

I'm working under the assumption that canceling and resisting triggers the promo - I'm doing maintenance on my listing tonight. Love to get a confirmation though...

Edited August 17, 20169 yr by Phil B

I don't know that a confirmation would come until the sale occurred though. I don't think it shows anywhere if a coupon has applied to a given listing...

34 minutes ago, Zelgazra said:

I spent a bunch of time putting up some listings yesterday. Today I woke up to find a coupon in my inbox for 50% off Final Value Fees for anything listed in the next 12 days that sells over $50. 

I think the answer is no, but if I cancel all the listings I made yesterday, and relist... will the coupon deal apply to them? What about items on 30 day BINs that expire in this next 12 day window... if I refresh them will the coupon apply? Very rarely get coupons so I haven't got much track record to go off of... 

Based on past offer experiences. A new listing replacing a canceled listing should be fine (and would qualify). The ones that end and are then relisted by you should also qualify (GTC would likely not qualify).

Based on past offer experiences. A new listing replacing a canceled listing should be fine (and would qualify). The ones that end and are then relisted by you should also qualify (GTC would likely not qualify).

I just got this coupon and thus canceled and resisted some stuff. Is there a way of knowing which listings the coupon applies to?

When you search for a set (or anything on eBay), is there an algorithm for what set comes up first. I know you can sort by price and age and stuff. But when the default is "best match", how does it decide what is the best match?

3 minutes ago, donbee said:

When you search for a set (or anything on eBay), is there an algorithm for what set comes up first. I know you can sort by price and age and stuff. But when the default is "best match", how does it decide what is the best match?

Well that's ebay's little secret. There is no way to find out, so in effect they can use whatever factors they choose. You may have a cheaper listing but someone with a higher price sold theirs because it was higher up in the search results because ebay's magic algorithm chose to put your listing lower for whatever reason.

I was wondering if may be there was a seniority thing or something. Lol.

I was wondering if may be there was a seniority thing or something. Lol.

No. It has to do with are you accepting returns, feedbacks, etc.

I just got this coupon and thus canceled and resisted some stuff. Is there a way of knowing which listings the coupon applies to?

I just sold my Disney Castle which I canceled and relisted to try and use the coupon. It worked!
I was a little afraid because I had 9 watchers, which I assume got erased after I canceled the listing. But now I saved almost $24

Feel much better now. My wife was the one who suggested buying that monster of a box. She normally frowns upon my Lego "addiction", as she calls it. It would've been bad if I didn't sell it.

4 hours ago, dcdfan said:

No. It has to do with are you accepting returns, feedbacks, etc.

You forgot to tell him that cancelations  figure into ebay's magic algorithm that lower your listing placement.

You forgot to tell him that cancelations  figure into ebay's magic algorithm that lower your listing placement.

Sorry, I have no experience with that. I've never canceled a transaction and I've accidentally started BIN at .01 with free shipping and it was supposed to be an auction. I'd rather just take the hit. [emoji4]

11 minutes ago, donbee said:

When you search for a set (or anything on eBay), is there an algorithm for what set comes up first. I know you can sort by price and age and stuff. But when the default is "best match", how does it decide what is the best match?

The algorithm is pretty complex - Of course the more you comply with ebay's suggested guidelines helps, but it also has as lot to do with what others do in their similar listings, and even how buyers react to similar listings (compared to yours). There are some actions which can boost your placement that can be viewed as a negative (in your attempt to sell) - so it is sometimes a trade-off. You will need to play around to see what works best for you.

 

Couple quick questions that I hope to get answers to here before I call eBay tomorrow to ask,

1. Some listing say about shipping: fast & free - many of mine are free shipping yet none say "fast & free", who exactly qualifies for that? Does it depend on the seller's "shipping time" rating when feedback is left by buyer?

2. Many listings say "sponsored", what does that mean exactly?

thanks in advance.

8 minutes ago, Lordoflego said:

Couple quick questions that I hope to get answers to here before I call eBay tomorrow to ask,

1. Some listing say about shipping: fast & free - many of mine are free shipping yet none say "fast & free", who exactly qualifies for that? Does it depend on the seller's "shipping time" rating when feedback is left by buyer?

2. Many listings say "sponsored", what does that mean exactly?

thanks in advance.

1. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/ship-smart/advanced-shipping/attract-more-buyers/fastnfree.html  (most likely depends on sellers handling time, shipping service, and proximity to you, the buyer)

2. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/stores/promoted-listings/benefits.html 

Hey guys.. great thread. Have not had a chance to read through all of it so if this is a repeat question then im sorry in advance. My question goes out to Canadians mostly but anyone can answer. I have noticed on Ebay a few people selling their bricks but with free shipping. The sets are at competitive rates it would seem yet still offer free shipping. How is this possible? Here in Canada it costs an arm and a leg to ship boxes of stuff. What am i missing? can i get discounts if i ship larger #'s of stuff, Is UPS or other private shipping better or have some commercial shipping options that allows for unlimited shipping per year for x$. Any info on this would be great.

For information sake i ship Canada post.