PJ_model_trains Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 The son of Triangman said: I agree PJ it's a big risk for the seller now, we gave up starting mint and brand new items at 99p, you were having to wihdraw them from sale or £100 items would go for 99p. Great for buyers but not for a seller if you are a business.. Another risk for business sellers now is feedback, interestingly now buyers can leave any old feedback and the business seller can't respond with feedback. eBay used to have a lot of new users, now they have a lot of experienced buyers. You may sometimes see one or no bids but 10 watching. By not bidding the price doesn't go up, then they bid at the last minutes. If an item is 99p with one bid the next bid is probably only £1.10, going up in small increments, trouble then is all 10 will not get there bids in at once and the auction ends on a low figure because it has not had time to increase. If an item is say £2 and I bid £10 it will go up by an increment to possibly £2.20 even though I bid £10, again because time is short it never reaches the price actually bid. The buyer wins every time. I am not sure if you know there are also web sites you can join and link your eBay account. You choose the item you want tell it the item number and your maximum bid and it will bid for you in the last few seconds. Again the more that do this narrow down the time left for the price to increase, they know what they are doing. But, having said that, in general there are not the number of buyers there used to be and 4 weekends of Free listing proves it. Good luck just be careful and cautious PJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 PJ. its called snipe, my son in usa uses them for everything. They guarantee, never to lose the item. They cut in with a second to go, and buy item. IF ITS SOMETHING YOU REALLY WANT, its the way to go, john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ_model_trains Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 yelrow said: PJ. its called snipe, my son in usa uses them for everything. They guarantee, never to lose the item. They cut in with a second to go, and buy item. IF ITS SOMETHING YOU REALLY WANT, its the way to go, john Hi John, I am aware it is Snipe, there is another also. I didn't want to mention it here as it helps buyers not sellers and the forum has both. I only mentioned it in case sellers were not aware. PJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The son of Triangman Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I tend now to pull items out of the auction a day before. if they look like they aren't going to sell. Experience has shown that if the item isn't moving it will either sell below £10 or sit there with watchers and no one bidding and just run out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The son of Triangman Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I made the mistake of putting a brand new Hornby A1 Tornado on there, it sat there for days doing nothing at 99p with loads of watchers and ended up selling for £7.84 in the last few seconds, so I amde a bad loss on it. Never again, so I now pull items out the auction that aren't going to fetch their worth, a lot of sellers are now doing the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ_model_trains Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 The son of Triangman said: I made the mistake of putting a brand new Hornby A1 Tornado on there, it sat there for days doing nothing at 99p with loads of watchers and ended up selling for £7.84 in the last few seconds, so I amde a bad loss on it. Never again, so I now pull items out the auction that aren't going to fetch their worth, a lot of sellers are now doing the same. Exactly what I am saying, those on there now know the system and wait, even if a lot vote at last minute price doesn't get chance to build up. It appears some are getting wise to allow only one bid and then let it stop there till last minute to stop sellers removing to many items. PJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I must admit, I've always got very good, sometimes extremely good, prices for my second hand locos on eBay, starting them all at 99p, certainly more than I would have received from a retailer who would have to allow for a bit of profit for himself, quite understandably. Nevertheless, I agree that eBay is going off a bit now, probably mainly because of sellers being charged on their postage, which I don't think is any business of eBay's. Post an item to Australia, for instance, for £8.00, and they take 80p! You already have a PayPal charge on postage, as it is, but at least they do handle the whole payment including that cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Graskie, you actually part with your older locos, please dont tell my wife, mine go back to 1939, if she finds out i can sell on ebay, when ihave convinced her its a buying only site, heaven knows where it will end, john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayarpino Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Hello Graskie, Sorry I have just read your messages. As you very well know, it's just a typo. Apart from that, I think Ebay is fine but one needs to be selective. And for sellers, there is always the possibility of placing a reserve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Only joking, Ray. No offence intended. Even I might do a tipo one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 One day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Typo one day, tippo the next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Who now remembers 'Tippex'? Fishmanoz said: Typo one day, tippo the next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The son of Triangman Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Totally agree PJ. I think sellers are getting wise now as well, a lot are now cancelling bids and withdrawing items from sale before they end if they aren't moving enough. It costs a bit to do it, but at the end of the day you don't loose £25 - £150 on a loco depending on what loco it is. The Tornado incident when we sold a brand new unrun Railraod A1 Tornado taught us a lot as a seller on there. Once caught, twice shy. We have started putting Brand new stragiht from the factory and wholesaler DCC hardwired fitted locos on there in an attempt to see if it helps, whether it will sell them or not is anyones guess. Time will tell. This time instead of 1p or 99p starts we've gone for just asking what the model is worth plus decoder and costs. If people bid they bid, if they don't they don't. Sold one already, so will let you know how this approach goes. Have to get creative on there nowadays if selling.there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Last minute, or last 30 second, bids still allow the price to build up but it becomes a competition of who was prepared to pay the most at that time and doesn't allow people to come back a second and more times if they've been beaten on price. The advantage buyers get is that effectively, they don't display their maximum bid to others while there is still time to beat it. I always bid that way, even if it means getting up in the middle of the night to bid in UK. Sellers need to be aware of the widespread use of this practice by buyers. If there are a number of watchers, they should be aware that a number of those may bid at the last minute and the price may go up a lot in the minute before close. If there is only one watcher, the chances are that won't happen. So you place your cost-covering reserve and cross your fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 LC&DR said: Who now remembers 'Tippex'? Fishmanoz said: Typo one day, tippo the next. I've still got some LC. It's a devil of a job to get it off the screen though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyMac1707817969 Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 The other reason why a seller might have an unrealistically high price on a item is the obvious one, they don't want it to sell. If you have an item listed on eBay and you sell it elsewhere then it is easier just to set a very high price and let the item run its course. I know this from experience, if you end too many items early then eBay don't like this, they think you are doing deals behind their back. I have seen auctions being ended by eBay for just saying the item is on sale elsewhere. I received a warning saying that if I ended any more items early I would be charged the final value fees on them even though they never sold through eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkingthedog Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Like I've said before I have got lots of bargains, some extremely cheap, on EBay. I don't know why people moan about the high prices some things sell for, if you don't like it don't use it, you don't have to. I somebody pays big bucks for something, lucky old seller. All auctions are the same, if you get caught up you can get caught out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ_model_trains Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Fishmanoz said: Last minute, or last 30 second, bids still allow the price to build up but it becomes a competition of who was prepared to pay the most at that time and doesn't allow people to come back a second and more times if they've been beaten on price. The advantage buyers get is that effectively, they don't display their maximum bid to others while there is still time to beat it. I always bid that way, even if it means getting up in the middle of the night to bid in UK. Sellers need to be aware of the widespread use of this practice by buyers. If there are a number of watchers, they should be aware that a number of those may bid at the last minute and the price may go up a lot in the minute before close. If there is only one watcher, the chances are that won't happen. So you place your cost-covering reserve and cross your fingers. Hi Fishy You cannot go by the number of watchers, I put items to watch but have no intention of buying, I may be curious what it goes for or add it to my watch list for reference later. As for voting in the last minute many leave it to seconds now but as mentioned earlier there a couple of sites, Snipe is one where it bids for you in the last few seconds and pulse bids if necessary. You just create an account, add your eBay account, add the order number of item you want to bid on and maximum price, it does the rest. Unless you are bidding against someone else with a Snipe account the item will be yours. But, as mentioned before all this is bad for the seller and good for the buyer, watchers bids and even pulse bids can only do so many in the last few seconds so the prices remain lower than they used to. eBay look after the buyer not the seller this is clear from all points, including feedback. PJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyMac1707817969 Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I don't know why people complain about prices on eBay. A lot of items go for a lot less than they are probably worth only a few items fetch really high prices. The whole point of an auction is for people to throw money at something until everyone else gives up and you win it because you were prepared to pay more than everyone else. The first rule of buying at any auction is to set yourself a price and if it goes above that, walk away. The only items that go cheap at auctions are ones nobody else wants or in eBay's case few people notice them because they are badly described. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 As an ardent fly fisherman, i buy my rods from america, at ridiculously cheap prices. The secret. is to buy when america sleeps. I bid for items, finishing in the middle of the night. Same system for ebay france. There is always a way to achieve these bargains, it just involves thinking outside the box. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyGee Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I've started doing this as I've been selling (buying) stuff on Facebook.Ebay are just greedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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JohnnyGee Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I've started doing this as I've been selling (buying) stuff on Facebook.Ebay are just greedy. Andy_Mac said: The other reason why a seller might have an unrealistically high price on a item is the obvious one, they don't want it to sell. If you have an item listed on eBay and you sell it elsewhere then it is easier just to set a very high price and let the item run its course. I know this from experience, if you end too many items early then eBay don't like this, they think you are doing deals behind their back. I have seen auctions being ended by eBay for just saying the item is on sale elsewhere. I received a warning saying that if I ended any more items early I would be charged the final value fees on them even though they never sold through eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulleidboy Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 As has already been said (many times) a degree of commonsense is required when buying from auctions. I have had some good deals from ebay and some I've pulled away from. Many sales finish on Saturday and Sunday evenings - lots of prospective purchasers are around. Look for a sale finishing on a Tuesday afternoon at about 2.30pm - everybody is at work (well most). I recently won an auction on ebay, Hornby loco, brand new, auction finished mid afternoon, and nobody else bid, mine for thirty nine pounds. When an item doesn't seem quite right, check on other items being sold - it's not necessarily an automatic con/catch, I often find a loco, which is the only railway item among clothes, shoes and household items. As WTD says, if you don't like - don't buy it and then moan about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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