How to receive the highest price for an item you auction on eBay
SmallBusiness.com: The free small business resource
Introduction
The online auction site eBay is used by millions of small businesses and individuals to sell everything from items cleared from the attic to precision business equipment. As it is a platform for hundreds of thousands of auctions at any one time, eBay has become a great place for economists to study the behavior of sellers and buyers. By reviewing such research, a small business that uses eBay can gain certain insights that may help it receive the maximum price for items it sells.
Steps
- Study general how-to guides for selling on eBay.
- Realize that your competitors are reading those same how-to guides.
- Look into what economists who study eBay buyers patterns are discovering.
- Experiment with different pricing, scheduling and description approaches to learn what works to help raise the prices you receive.
Tips
- Set low opening prices. Studies reveal that when choosing between items that are identical, buyers will jump into auctions with a higher number of bids. By letting your auctions start at a lower opening price, the item will have more bids.
- Don't use secret reserves. Studies of hidden minimum prices show that bidders steer clear of them.
- Stick with eBay -- at least in the U.S. More buyers apparently means higher prices. In other countries, where an auction service may be more popular than eBay, it would be wise to use the more popular site.
- Don't shroud costs. Shrouding is a strategy some sellers attempt whereby they bury deep in the description of the item sold the costs of shipping and handling fees that are required of the buyer. eBay has recently made such practices more difficult. However, studies by economists have shown that such shrouding can actually have a negative effect -- and cause the seller to receive a lower price.
- End the auction during the day. What? Conventional wisdom suggests that auctions should end after the work-day on the east coast and roll through the evening on the west coast. However, Uri Simonsohn, a behavioral economist at the University of Pennsylvania. During the day, however, there are a fewer auctions ending, however, so your competition for customers may be less.
Warnings
- These tips may not work for all items. Experiment with the types of products you sell. Try different approaches to learn what works best.
Things You'll Need
- An account on eBay
- Commitment to learning new skills
- An emphasis on customer service
See Also
External Links
