eBay isn’t just an auction site, it has become a very lucrative business venue for a lot of people. It is also a complementary sales channel for those who have their own online stores. We’ve given several tips in this blog to help you sell successfully in eBay. But none of those compare to the impact of how you price your products.
Pricing in eBay is dictated by many things. First, there’s competition. Pricing yourself above the perceived market value will ensure that you get very little bids, if any at all, for your items. So, first, do your research before you even list. Do a title-only search for the same item or items similar to yours. It would be best to go through the Completed items. List these by price, highest to lowest. Then, study those that have been sold successfully. Do not make the mistake of comparing your price to those that never even got any bids. The successful auctions won’t just help you with price benchmark, but you can also use it to understand how to present your product (titles, descriptions and even images used).
Next, study the demand by looking at the available products already listed and the bids they are attracting. If the product is in demand, you can raise the price a little. You can lower your price if you want your item to get sold fast.
The starting price is also a good tactic to play with. If you know that your product has a good potential to fetch bids, then you can price it even as low as a dollar. As a general rule, a lower starting price can encourage healthy bidding. If you want to use this strategy but are concerned about the risks, then you might want to consider having a reserve price. This means that if you don’t receive a bid for at least the amount of the reserve, you aren’t obliged to sell your item. This amount is not show to bidders, but they will know that your listing has a reserve. Once the reserve price has been met, it is no longer displayed and you will have to sell your item to the highest bidder. The reserve price protects you from selling your item for too little. Do take note that this is only available for auction-style listings and not on fixed price or classified ad listings. There is also a fee to set the reserve price. It is good to set the reserve price if you know the value of your item. Do take note that there is a particular disadvantage to it. It can unnecessarily end the auction in the middle of a bidding war when the reserve price has already been reached, so you are limiting your potential to sell the item for an even higher price. Worse than that, not knowing the reserve price can discourage potential buyers from bidding. If they bid on the item and realize that it doesn’t meet the reserve price, bidders might assume that you are selling your items for too much.
Another strategy to take is to set the start price as close to your ideal selling price as possible and have a Buy-it-Now option a few dollars higher than that. It’s less risky and it makes for a faster sale. The potential buyer will be put in the position of deciding to get the item for the Buy-It-Now price rather than risking losing at the auction.
The last thing you need to consider for your pricing strategy are your costs. Do not list the item at the price you got it for. Remember that there are other expenses that are involved in listing the item, storing it, shipping it and everything else in between. Do not price yourself too low that you are losing money with a winning bid.
Happy eBay Selling!
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