BIN verse AUCTION SALES

[nuthinbutposters13]

I have one account for auctions (so I can take advantage of the 40 free listing each month, and one account for BIN products, with a Store so I get 200 free listings.

A few differences I have noticed is, number of views/watches and bids on Auctions, compared to number of views/watches and sales on BIN is massive. I did a test and put the same item up, one as auction, one as BIN. Auction item got 36 views, 7 watches, 6 bids, and sold for $8.80. The BIN one got 11 views, 2 watches, and went unsold (at $7.95).

Another difference was, after doing some trials, when item is listed at 99 cents, it gets far more views/watches, and bids, and tends to go for a higher price, compared to listing it say $9.95. This happened on a regular basis in my trials.

I guess my question, or my conclusion, is, eBay are giving us better "best match" positions, when things are listed as an auction, rather than a BIN price, and even better "best match" positions, when they are listed at a smaller start price.

What do others think ? Could be a possibility ?

If so, why the hell charge $1.50 per auction listing once you have used your 40 free ones. Wouldnt it be better to charge less than BIN price, to encourage people to use auction format ? 

[thecatspjs]

I only run a handful of auctions on this ID. 

But nonetheless.  I still think some auctions do contribute to driving sales for me.  Whether they sell or not, I can view (in real time) buyer activity via inkfrog and time and again loss leaders appear to be worth the investment.

BUT ... that being said, I refuse to "gamble" $1.50 a pop for auctions more generally (aside from as loss leaders or a highly desirable brand at lower start price than usually sold) - I would never list anymore just to achieve a single "sale" from the auction, as buy-it-now listings on this ID eventually sell through buy-it-now - I wait it out in this particular IDs market.  It all sells, eventually, some higher $$, some lower $$ than first listed.

Other markets, tell a different tale. 

IMO differs based on markets, and which segment in the market your goods attract. 

[cathyjoyjoy]

I list everything for auction and always start at a price that is the minimum I'm willing to let it go for (forget the 99c listing unless it's a high demand collectors item). Anything on top of that is a. Bonus. There are also so many things that affect the amount of people using ebay to purchase/bid - weather, holidays, special events, fads, media ....... and there seems to be no pattern except that I have usually found February to be a quiet month.