In the time that I've sold TF toys on eBay, I have never listed items at too low starting prices, such as $.99, in fear of the item not going very high and making me lose out.

On the other hand, it would attract more buyers and has the potential to start a bid war that nets me much more than what I would have been asking through BIN even with Best Offer enabled.

I've seen both instances occurring and I myself have gotten very lucky with some bidding for low priced starting items.

How does everyone else typically list if you sell on eBay or other, whether just to get rid of something or if in need of money?

I decided to see some results by putting up just three on my listings (Voyager Sandstorm, G1 Overrun MIB, G1 Slapdash), hopefully they'll at least hit around my original asking price.

 

Those $0.99 auctions do cause bidding wars, but I see a lot of them cap early, and maybe jump up at the very end. I watch a lot of $0.99 auctions, but have the mentality that I'm not going to win them because of the bidding war, so most of the time I don't even bother. (and get the figure at a BIN for less than the final bidding war cost of the other one.

I would never start a $0.99 auction for the same fear as you - if it ends for $0.99, then I'm taking a huge loss.

I usually list the item for what I hope to get for it, and add a BIN that's the minimum percentage higher. Sometimes they get bought at the BIN, sometimes there's only one bid, sometimes they're bidderless, but I never take a loss (unless I incorrectly calculate shipping).

Also, if I see the item from a different seller for less than I hope to get for it, I won't bother posting mine (unless their auction ends, or I put mine in a lot with some other figures)

 

I will mostly start it low if I just want to get rid of stuff, but I know there's a good amount of people out there who want it, but if I have bought it to sell on, or if it's a more specialist thing I tendt o use buy it now, or start it at just what I'm willing to let it got for.

 

I usually don't add on the buy it now to auctions since if it does get bid on the fee for that BIN is lost and if it doesn't even sell, well...the fees build up quick if there is no promotional free listings after the initial free.

Might just have to start doing that though and think of it as investment for future earnings.

 

Oh no I don't mix Auction and Buy it Now, I will either start it as an Auction or set it at as high a Buy it now as I think I can get away with. (you can always adjust it later)

Plus Buy it Now listings stay on the site for up to 30 days (plus 2 more 30 days free relisting if they don't sell)

 

How about auction style wiith a reserve price on it?

 

I won't recommend it. At the least set it at a level where you are satisfied. E.g. such as covering your cost. Some of my fool friends started their auctions (not TF toys but quite rare items) for less than a dollar and the auction ended less than their cost! LOL!

 

pointless

 

What I usually do is research other prices before listing as well. The higher they have theirs, the better I can under cut them. Of course as mentioned it's best to wait for other cheaper auctions to end first in some cases.

Yeah, I think I'll stick to only using low starting bids for things I really want to get rid of or will profit me either way, such as extras I may have gotten in a lot.

 

Really it depends on the item if its a valuable item then it should be a buy it now or start at higher bidding but other wise 99 cent start is probably best.

I do not use Ebay so i am talking only from Observation and from others have told me.

 

be careful with those $0.99 auctions if you're trying to make $

i just bought a complete bw megs for $8 since the guy started it at a penny and everyone only bid in cents.

 

If your item is "in demand" like say MP Prime you could start it at 99 cents cause you know it will go up $150, 200 + with the demand. If the toys you are selling are unwanted 07 movie toys, they won't make much of course.

You just have to know your market, and reserves don't hurt sales - if you are selling desirable items. Sure people will bitch and message you "how much is it" but it's a way to cover yourself and get people to bid on your item. I used to sell quite a bit on Ebay, usually at .99 start cause I knew my stuff would sell. I know it's scary but if your items are truly worth anything/collectible they will sell. Or at least what they sell for is what they are worth.

Problem is so many people think their collectables are worth so much, when there is actually a small % of toys that are really valuable.

 

That sounds about right. Out of the three items I just listed for .99 I have a feeling that the less desirable Sandstorm isn't going to get me retail cost (which is fine since it's an extra I got really cheap) and the other two G1 items will get me a decent amount. There's actually someone from Japan requesting a shipping quote for the Overrun right now.

 

This is exactly what I was going to say. It has to do with demand of the item and not how cheap or expensive it is.

Search for recent sold on your item. If you see a bunch of them selling then it is safer to start low because a lot of people are looking for it.

If you have an item only a few people are looking for then you have to start the auction higher or post as BIN to avoid losing out.

 

Those listings I posted are ending soon. Slapdash reached about where I originally had it and has a war going on, there are a decent amount of watchers on the other two but I'm starting to get worried about the end result...

Looks like demand/popularity is the thing to look for. I think future G1 items will have a better chance selling by low price auction, though maybe not a $.99 in the future. Opening it to international may help more too since I've gotten inquiries.

 

please don't do reserve, it's a waste of every one's time. buyers don't want to play your mind games and figure out what the reserve is, it's frustrating to try to bid on an item for a week and then nobody won at the end because of the stupid reserve price. just list the item at price close to what you think is a fair price, you can even use the 'or best offer' option if you feel like role playing a bazaar shop keep and haggle with your customers.

 

As a frequent eBay buyer, I hate reserve auctions. It is indeed a waste of time, especially if you're going to set an unreasonably high reserve price. BIN is at least transparant. And I do often like the 'best offers' although I hate the sellers who react to my 'Best offer' with a new offer which is only about 1% under the original price. However, I've had some great buys through 'best offers'.

And as an international buyer, I absolutely hate it when sellers aren't open to international sales. I understand the potential risks, and the way eBay / Paypal favor buyers, but for the right items, I'm always willing to pay for shipping + insurance + import taxes.

 

this just pisses people off and discourages bidders. Nothing good ever comes of it.

With recent releases, .99¢ auctions are a gamble, since a couple people need to be bidding to get it where you want it to go. I've never had a problem selling g1s like that, people usually bid them up. I would hazard a guess that MPs wouldn't be an issue either.

 

Nice find!

 

eBay buyers can be a strange lot. Sometimes an auction will start off low, and people will run up the bids past even what it's available for on Buy it Now. I usually get caught in these bidding wars, and then when I try to sell something by starting the auction off at a low price, the bidding war never materializes and I end up selling for less than fair market value. I think if you're a high volume, trusted eBay seller then you can start your listings off low and rely on the bidding war. If you're a less established seller, or if you're selling something rare that not many people may know about, you're better off listing it as a fixed price buy it now with best offer, and looking at the prices it recently sold at to find an idea for value.