eBay buyer behavior - is this true?
Summary: e_purchasing questioned whether eBay buyers would choose a slightly cheaper new seller over a long-established one with excellent feedback for a small price difference of $2. shoppingbag* prefers experienced sellers for assurance, although might consider the cheaper option if feedback issues are minor. brickworksmarket suggests using best offers to avoid constant price reductions. Similarly, sandypebbles focuses on feedback authenticity and potential buyer biases. countessalmirena notes that while some buyers prioritize price, others consider various seller factors. Finally, gutterpunkz05 suggests that reduced pricing or promotions can impact buyer decisions. e_purchasing remains surprised by their friend's insistence, rooted in experience, that minor price differences significantly sway buyers.
Dinner conversation with my friend who has been a seller on eBay for over 20 years.
Scenario
Two sellers selling the same widget
Seller A = 20 years selling on eBay , 15000 / 100% feedback. offering free shipping and is eBay Plus Widgets have been advertised and selling for $101 for past 6 -12 months
Seller B = Relatively New seller less than 5 years on eBay, 1500 / 99.8% feedback offering free shipping Widget is recently listed for $99
My friend's argument is that an eBay buyer that has not bought from them before will buy from seller B and so will up to 15-20% of previous buyers of theirs just to get it $2 cheaper.
Surely this is not the case? I could understand a big difference ie 20% difference but an insignificant 2%? Are eBay buyers prepared to devalue a good long standing seller in this way?
Let me know your thoughts
gutterpunkz05
·3 weeks agoWho knows, seller B could also be using promotions for higher visibility, prepared to sell at reduced margins with increased volume.
If purely a matter of price, then seller A simply reducing price should relate to an increased market share.
countessalmirena
·3 weeks agoThat’s true.
I was assuming that the buyer/s in question could see both listings equally and that the choice to buy from one rather than the other wasn’t made in ignorance of seller A’s listing.
countessalmirena
·3 weeks agoThere are buyers who will base their buying almost entirely on the cheapest price - right down to the dollar. For such buyers, $2 is enough of a difference to lure them in.
I’m not one of them; I look at a range of other factors including feedback, item condition, seller history and experience, etc. But you shouldn’t base your buyer expectations on my buying behaviour; it isn’t as though I am typical, as these boards have shown me.
e_purchasing
OP3 weeks agoMy argument was based on your line basically, I could not fathom a 2% differential would be enough to swing a potential buyer but my friend is adamant that what she is stating is fact (I bowed to her experience but just amazed).
sandypebbles
·3 weeks agoI would never be basing on 'numbers'
How much of seller's A feedback is eBay automated?
How many feedback revisions do they have?
What was seller B negs for?
Legit reasons or unreasonable buyers commenting something like 'sticky tape was on upside-down and it triggered me
sandypebbles
·3 weeks agoGeorge is making up things again
No, I did not question is validity of both sellers
I asked how much of seller A feedback was automated
Not that hard to comprehend the difference, is it, Ai ?
e_purchasing
OP3 weeks agoI didn't get into fine detail with them as the salient point was over their longstanding trading history on eBay vs someone relatively new in comparison.
Automated feedback only came into effect in March, Seller A accumulated their feedback over 20 years of selling
brickworksmarket
·3 weeks ago · EditedYes.
shoppingbag*
·3 weeks agoI would look at what the negative feedback for buyer B is, and how many. However, I often pay more to buy from a Seller with 100% feedback. In this case, I may buy from Seller B if their feedback was undeserved...eg..some buyers leave negatives that were obviously postitive, and sometimes it is obvious that the negative was not deserved. However, any bad bad feedback would definitely make me buy from Seller A. That being said, in this case, because it is only two dollars, I wouldn't bother comparing, but just go with Seller A.