Yeah, that is too bad, but that is eBay. More and more, they are doing their darndest to move those BIN listings to conclusion. If it isn't sold in 2 weeks, they intervene. If the number of Views is low, they intervene.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain peahrens I put a number of small MR items up for Buy It Now (BIN) last week, with "Allow Offers" unchecked. Every few days a number of them show "Make Offer". I called EBay twice about this and they said that is just what I see when viewing, suggesting that I can make an offer to someone who looked or is watching. I checked today and some more items show to the public "Make Offer" and I have to go in and uncheck the "Allow Offers" box again. Has this happened to others? I asked if there is somewhere where I need to set preferences to stop this automatic, undesired change to my listings. They said no. I am getting frustrated, as they do not acknowledge what is occurring. I know they do not like plain BIN, as offers and/or taking bids more ensures sales, which is good for them. I am a relatively frequent user of eBay, but I had not heard of this before. So, I looked it up and found that eBay will do this after a BIN listing is two weeks old or after one week if the number of Views is low. Sellers are going nuts but eBay is being eBay. Rich
peahrens I put a number of small MR items up for Buy It Now (BIN) last week, with "Allow Offers" unchecked. Every few days a number of them show "Make Offer". I called EBay twice about this and they said that is just what I see when viewing, suggesting that I can make an offer to someone who looked or is watching. I checked today and some more items show to the public "Make Offer" and I have to go in and uncheck the "Allow Offers" box again. Has this happened to others? I asked if there is somewhere where I need to set preferences to stop this automatic, undesired change to my listings. They said no. I am getting frustrated, as they do not acknowledge what is occurring. I know they do not like plain BIN, as offers and/or taking bids more ensures sales, which is good for them.
I put a number of small MR items up for Buy It Now (BIN) last week, with "Allow Offers" unchecked. Every few days a number of them show "Make Offer". I called EBay twice about this and they said that is just what I see when viewing, suggesting that I can make an offer to someone who looked or is watching. I checked today and some more items show to the public "Make Offer" and I have to go in and uncheck the "Allow Offers" box again.
Has this happened to others? I asked if there is somewhere where I need to set preferences to stop this automatic, undesired change to my listings. They said no. I am getting frustrated, as they do not acknowledge what is occurring. I know they do not like plain BIN, as offers and/or taking bids more ensures sales, which is good for them.
I am a relatively frequent user of eBay, but I had not heard of this before. So, I looked it up and found that eBay will do this after a BIN listing is two weeks old or after one week if the number of Views is low. Sellers are going nuts but eBay is being eBay.
It's doubly frustrating when the reps (more than one) tell me that I'm imagining it...that it does not work that way. That neat feature (for them) is not noted anywhere where I can find it. They are succeeding in driving me to do bids and setting the opening at my minimum that makes the effort worthwhile. I'm just tryng to clear out some leftovers.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
richhotrainSorry for so many individual posts.
That was okay. Made it easier for me to understand.
On the issue of hidden bids, when I first looked at them it appeared that there were two sequential bids from the same bidder. However, looking at the bidder list a little closer, I guess what happened was that someone else placed a bid immediately after the first bidder's bid, so Ebay automatically placed an incremental bid.
Thanks for taking the time to answering my questions. It all seems pretty complicated to me, but if I ever feel inclined to use ebay to sell something I can get my daughter to come over to help. That would be partial payback for the college education I paid for.
Dick
richhotrainWhat I do when listing an item auction style is to select a starting bid equal to the minium price that I am willing to accept.
So then the real difference between selecting a starting bid equal to the minimum price you are willing to accept and a reserve price is that the reserve price is a secret?
richhotrain hbgatsf I understand what a reserve is. I was asking about what appeared to be a reference to a special fee when using one as a seller. A reserve price fee is a special fee. It is charged to the seller by eBay in addition to the "final value" fee. As Big Daddy indicated, the reserve price fee is the greater of $5.00 or 7.5% of the reserve price. Rich
hbgatsf I understand what a reserve is. I was asking about what appeared to be a reference to a special fee when using one as a seller.
I understand what a reserve is. I was asking about what appeared to be a reference to a special fee when using one as a seller.
A reserve price fee is a special fee. It is charged to the seller by eBay in addition to the "final value" fee. As Big Daddy indicated, the reserve price fee is the greater of $5.00 or 7.5% of the reserve price.
I see. It is a charge on top of the normal fee.
Thanks
Rick
SeeYou190 richhotrain What I do when listing an item auction style is to select a starting bid equal to the minium price that I am willing to accept. I think this is a much better approach than a secret reserve price that buyers need to guess at. I would prefer a $160.00 opening bid over a $1.00 opening bid with a secret reserve price of $160.00 that never gets reached and the item goes unsold. -Kevin
richhotrain What I do when listing an item auction style is to select a starting bid equal to the minium price that I am willing to accept.
I think this is a much better approach than a secret reserve price that buyers need to guess at.
I would prefer a $160.00 opening bid over a $1.00 opening bid with a secret reserve price of $160.00 that never gets reached and the item goes unsold.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 rrebell Many of us will not bid on anything with a reserve I am one of those. To me a reserve is just a way of saying "I don't really want to sell this". Also, and this might not be the case any longer, a seller can lower the reserve while the auction is active.
rrebell Many of us will not bid on anything with a reserve
I am one of those.
To me a reserve is just a way of saying "I don't really want to sell this".
Also, and this might not be the case any longer, a seller can lower the reserve while the auction is active.
The seller wants to sell the item, but does not wish to take a "loss" if the bidding is not very aggressive. Some sellers like to set the "starting bid" at 1 cent or $1.00, but that is fraught with risk if the bidding is not very aggressive, so the reserve price is the seller's protection against loss, loss being defined as an amount less than the seller believes the item is worth.
What I do when listing an item auction style is to select a starting bid equal to the minium price that I am willing to accept.
rrebellMany of us will not bid on anything with a reserve
Also, and this might not be the case any longer, a seller can lower the reserve while the auction is active. Then you can become the winning bidder unexpectedly after you went and spent your hobby money elsewhere.
maxman From what I read above, there is a 3% fee for using paypal. I presume that the seller pays that fee. Correct or not? Is there any rule that someone is forced to use paypal? And is there any advantage to doing so?
From what I read above, there is a 3% fee for using paypal. I presume that the seller pays that fee. Correct or not? Is there any rule that someone is forced to use paypal? And is there any advantage to doing so?
Yes, PayPal charges a 3% fee which is paid by the seller if the seller uses PayPal to complete the transaction. Technically speaking, a seller does not have to use PayPal but it is becoming more frequent. I believe that a Buy It Now option requires the seller to use PayPal.
There are advantages to PayPal. One, the buyer's payment to the seller is immediate. Two, PayPal insures the transaction and will intervene on behalf of the seller where controversy arises.
maxman Looking at the bidder list and looking at the automatic bids, I see that there are several cases where it appears that a bidder has an automatic bid followed directly by another automatic bid. Why/how does that happen?
Looking at the bidder list and looking at the automatic bids, I see that there are several cases where it appears that a bidder has an automatic bid followed directly by another automatic bid. Why/how does that happen?
Here is another twist. A bidder can bid an amount higher than the incremental bid, but that higher amount is kept secret since only the incremental bid will be posted. That's why those automatic bids appear while a bidder's maximum bid is kept secret.
maxman And on the subject of shipping, the shipping cost for the example above is shown to be $12.55. Is that set by EBAY, or does the seller determine that amount?
And on the subject of shipping, the shipping cost for the example above is shown to be $12.55. Is that set by EBAY, or does the seller determine that amount?
maxman On those items with a buy it now price, does anyone ever bid on them? I understand that I as an individual would not bid more than the BIN price. But suppose someone really wants the thing. Would/could they bid higher to make sure they got the item? And suppose everyone thinks the BIN price is too high. Are bids lower than BIN allowed, or does the BIN price actually serve as a reserve price?
On those items with a buy it now price, does anyone ever bid on them? I understand that I as an individual would not bid more than the BIN price. But suppose someone really wants the thing. Would/could they bid higher to make sure they got the item? And suppose everyone thinks the BIN price is too high. Are bids lower than BIN allowed, or does the BIN price actually serve as a reserve price?
It is possible to combine the two so that the listing will be an auction type with a Buy It Now price. Inevitably, the Buy It Now price will be set higher than the starting bid. If a potential buyer wants the item bad enough, he will exercise the Buy It Now option rather than risking losing the auction to a higher bidder.
Should the bidding reach the point where the high bid exceeds the Buy It Now price, the listing continues as an auction type listing and the Buy It Now price becomes null. The Buy It Now price is not a reserve price. That's because the listing may end up as an auction with the high bid winning.
maxman I'm afraid I don't totally understand. Here is a real world example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Atlas-Ho-U23B-Milwaukee-Road-5001-DCC-n1/383847365340?hash=item595f15fadc:g:rr8AAOSwAEJfzrxH. It is for a used Atlas U23B. Currently there are 6 bids and the currently bid price is $44.21. Looking at the bids, the starting price was $24.99. Where did the $24.99 come from? Was that the "reserve" price? I've seen some Ebay auctions where there are bids on an item along with a "reserve price not met" statement. But no information as to what the "reserve price" might be. Is that the same reserve price as the $24.99 in the above example?
I'm afraid I don't totally understand. Here is a real world example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Atlas-Ho-U23B-Milwaukee-Road-5001-DCC-n1/383847365340?hash=item595f15fadc:g:rr8AAOSwAEJfzrxH.
It is for a used Atlas U23B.
Currently there are 6 bids and the currently bid price is $44.21. Looking at the bids, the starting price was $24.99. Where did the $24.99 come from? Was that the "reserve" price?
I've seen some Ebay auctions where there are bids on an item along with a "reserve price not met" statement. But no information as to what the "reserve price" might be. Is that the same reserve price as the $24.99 in the above example?
On a reserve price auction, it will be indicated to bidders, but the actual reserve price is concealed from bidders.
rrebell Many of us will not bid on anything with a reserve.
Many of us will not bid on anything with a reserve.
Thanks for taking the time to explain all this.
I still use ebay, In fact I earn ebay bucks when I purchase a locomotive in the $100 range.
BigDaddy As a seller, I was always puzzled by Ebay's calculation of shipping fees and thought they were in error. My DiL clued me in, Ebay has a deal with the Post Office and you can ship Priority Mail, in a non priority box, cheaper if you buy postage thru Ebay, that you can if you go to the Post Office yourself.
As a seller, I was always puzzled by Ebay's calculation of shipping fees and thought they were in error. My DiL clued me in, Ebay has a deal with the Post Office and you can ship Priority Mail, in a non priority box, cheaper if you buy postage thru Ebay, that you can if you go to the Post Office yourself.
This might explain why I received a Hamburger Helper box with a mailing sticker.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
hbgatsfI have never sold anything on Ebay but was thinking I should try. Can you explain the reserve fee issue?
I never use reserve, and started all my auctions at $1.00 opening bid.
My experience has made it seem that if you get a lot of action early, with low bids bringing the price up, you will get more action at the end. All you need is two snipers to get a good final price... attract them early with an enticing low bid.
Plus, this is more fun.
For fun... search ebay for model train item auctions that are $1.00, and bid on a few of them. Watch what happens over the next 7 days, and see if this is for you.
CHECK SHIPPING COSTS! You don't want to bid on something with a $1.00 opening bid an $50.00 shipping. That happens.
A reserve in any auction is the price, below which, the seller can refuse to accept the highest bid.
If you want at least $700, and that is you reserve price, for your brass Big Boy, and the highest bid is 699 or 300, you don't have to sell. Ebay charges you $5 or 7.5% whichever is greater, up to $250.
It's really not worth doing for less expensive stuff. But suppose you want at least, pick a price $15 for something. On a good day it may sell for $25, but you see that some similars have sold for $10. You decide it's not worth your time to box and mail it at $10, so start the auction at $15.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
PRR8259 Some fees have been eliminated, and I never use a reserve price anymore because they rob you on that one.
Some fees have been eliminated, and I never use a reserve price anymore because they rob you on that one.
I have never sold anything on Ebay but was thinking I should try. Can you explain the reserve fee issue?
Good write up, John.
Some fees have been eliminated, and I never use a reserve price anymore because they rob you on that one. If the bids are way too low as to be completely unacceptable, I just end the auction early and say the item is no longer available for sale. Piece of cake. You can even relist it later. It's one way of getting around the reserve price listing fees.
The Paypal fee is 3%. The Ebay selling fee is still generally 10%. They want you to offer free shipping, so they will take that 10% out of any shipping charge you apply, also. I just sold a bunch of stuff in the last two weeks, netting myself $1300 in cash. I did better than $125 per diesel unit and was relatively happy. Some were brand new in box, and some were mint/test run only.
Yes, I like to try new things. Sometimes I am disappointed and blowout the ones I don't like or don't really need to keep on Ebay. The buyers are getting a good deal from me.
I have not found any other site or group that offers the same ability to move product. The key is to set a reasonable enough starting bid so that people will bid. Since I am forced to offer free shipping by their fee structure, that means I avoid selling a single freight car anymore. Instead, I group them into pairs of like things: either both road numbers of a given item or two very similar items.
Also, invariably if/when I tried to charge shipping, the buyers complain as if somehow I had the ability to set USPS shipping rates. It forces one to just offer free shipping if you don't want your ratings damaged by shipping cost comments. I never charge anything for boxes, tape, bubblewrap, etc. The buyers complain about straight up USPS shipping costs. I just make the shipping cost "free" and set my minimum bid price accordingly.
Before anyone comments about boxes being "free", there are certain HO diesels whose manufacturer supplied boxes do not match USPS Priority Mail box sizes very well, and whose engines can be damaged during shipping if one is not very careful. That forced me to buy extra special boxes 16" in length to provide end-of-box cushioning.
John