Vagaries of online auctions.

[Pyrrho]

I have noticed in the past, that sometimes an auction for an item will appear on eBay, and no one bids, and then the item is relisted, and people then bid each other up. To see a recent example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130201195218&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=003

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130201955304&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=003

As anyone can see from the above, had the winning bidder bid on those speakers the previous week, they would have saved $225. I have seen this kind of thing before, and it makes me dislike selling in an auction on eBay. If the right people don't see your ad the week you choose to list it, it could go for your opening bid, or it could be ignored, instead of having interested people bid each other up to what might be called a fair market price.

Undoubtedly, the seller in the above case is glad that one of the interested bidders did not bother to bid in the previous listing, as he or she got an extra $225 the way things went.

This kind of thing does make me interested in bidding on eBay, as I have gotten incredible deals due to others ignoring the relevant auction. But it is a risky business to sell at auction there, unless one starts with a high enough opening bid (as in the above case) or has a high enough reserve. But then the fees are greater.

As a side note, has anyone here heard the Red Rose speakers listed above, and also heard some version of the Aurum Cantus Leisure 2 speaker? The reason I ask is that the Red Rose speaker is made by Aurum Cantus, and, being associated with Mark Levinson, costs considerably more than the speaker badged "Aurum Cantus".

 

[10010011]

As anyone can see from the above, had the winning bidder bid on those speakers the previous week, they would have saved $225. I have seen this kind of thing before, and it makes me dislike selling in an auction on eBay. If the right people don't see your ad the week you choose to list it, it could go for your opening bid, or it could be ignored, instead of having interested people bid each other up to what might be called a fair market price.

I believe that's what the "Reserve Price" is for. You can start the bidding as low as a penny, but if it does not reach a certain level (Say $100 reserve) then you do not have to sell it. You may not get as much as you could have if two collectors go in a bidding war but you would get what you wanted for it.

 

[aberkowitz]

I believe that's what the "Reserve Price" is for. You can start the bidding as low as a penny, but if it does not reach a certain level (Say $100 reserve) then you do not have to sell it. You may not get as much as you could have if two collectors go in a bidding war but you would get what you wanted for it.

I've seen less and less reserve price auctions- most of the time the seller will just start the bidding at the reserve price (or just a little bit below) in order to weed out buyers who are trying to get a $500 product for $50. As a seller that just makes more sense in my opinion, unless of course your product has a clear eBay market (logitech harmony remotes for example), as opposed to trying to get people to bid up for an item and then having the auction fall up well short of what you're willing to sell for.

 

[Jack Hammer]

In the past I've bought several items that were in bidding wars a week or two prior for next to nothing because nobody else bid the week I did. I've also noticed that some sellers have an item description that seems to inspire more confidence in the condition and authenticity of the item which inspires more people to bid. Many genuine and well maintained items I bought cheap had poorly constructed item descriptions.

If you are going to sell on eBay you should consider looking at many similar auctions as yours and try to get a feel for what wording seems to draw bidders (instill confidence) and what seems to repel them(create hesitation).

Jack

 

[jamie2112]

!@#$%ebay

E-bay sucks.... If you want to sell or buy gear try audiogon.com it is by far the best place to find hi quality audio gear...

 

[MUDSHARK]

Couldn't put in a plug for our audioholics classified? I would consider buying it here if somthing I needed was available.

 

[darien87]

Yep, eBay can really suck. I was looking for a Boston VR920 for a little while and didn't see one. Then one finally showed up, and I got in a bidding war and ended up paying $400 for it. I didn't like the way it sounded and bought a VR12 off eBay in an auction that included two CR9's with it. I won that one for $300. So I basically got the VR12 for $100!

But just last week, I was trying to sell the 920 on eBay and didn't get a single bid. Someone else also had an auction up for a 920 and it sold for about $225. It's just totally random. If you happen to get lucky and no one else is looking for what you're looking for, you can get a great deal. But sometimes you get screwed.

Just last week I got an Onkyo 150 w/channel amp for $155.