eBay worries
I’ll never learn; this happens every time I run an auction on eBay. It runs for seven days and after six of them, there’s very little movement on the items up for sale. You can click on the link to the right to see what DVDs I’m selling right now. The auctions end on Sunday.
This is normal, though. The first auction I ran was for the WITCHBLADE/DARKNESS 1/2 comic that you got free for signing up for a WIZARD Visa card. It was going for an average of $70-$100 at the time. I put mine up and only had a $40 bid after six days. On the seventh day, it jumped up to somewhere in the $70-$80 range.
Most bids on eBay aren’t placed until the last day for a couple of reasons. The first is that people browse categories for quick buys. If they want to see such-and-such a movie this week, why would they bid on an item that wouldn’t be auctioned off until a week from now? The second is that the snipers come in on the last day, hoping to pick up a cheap deal. If everyone waits till the last minute, there’s a chance that fewer people will bid. eBay makes this easier now by giving you the chance to “watch” auctions and keep track of them.
Still, as someone selling an item, that doesn’t make this any easier. I have five items up and only four of them have bids. I don’t think any of them are past the initial bid price. I know that will all change tomorrow, but I can’t help but worry now.
Such is human nature.
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21. June 2003 at 14:04
Well, as the guy who bid on JP3, I can tell you I bid a little more than the lowest bid, but I’m hoping I get it for $5. That’s the real trouble with eBay. Sellers wanting what something’s worth, buyers looking for stuff on the cheap. Sigh.
As for the bidding at the last second thing: about two years ago I sold Spawn #1-100, plus a whole bunch of related series. WIth only like five minutes left, I had only one bid at $99.99. I was not pleased. In the last minute and a half, three bids were placed, and in one reload (with my crappy download speeds) the price jumped to $250! So, for every time the sniper bidders piss us off, every now and then they give us a nice surprise.
22. June 2003 at 11:09
Hi again, Augie.
Just creeping from within the woodwork to say that I’ve sold a good few things over eBay in the last year. Comics, mostly, and a few DVDs that I bought on a whim and regretted. I had just the same worries you’re having, but eventually I found that if you start your items for some ridiculously low price there should be significantly more interest earlier in the dreadful eBay game. Say start a valuable comic worth $50 at $5. DVDs won’t go for much unless they’re very new or very unreleased (I’m in Britain here, where we’re still waiting for the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas disc). If I were you I’d be starting the bidding at a few dollars, no more than that – in fact, whether this is the case on the US eBay or just here in Blighty, I think if you start your auction for less than $1 then eBay don’t even charge a listing fee. But I’m rambling. Hope I’ve helped a bit.
Best of luck with those auctions, and everything else,
Niall.