Broadly speaking, is including a 'buy it now' price on an auction a good idea?

[dan2814]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if adding a buy it now price to an auction results in lower overall sales prices and sales, or whether it is a good idea to give people the option of snapping up the item quickly? 

Many thanks,

Dan

[lyndal1838]

From a buyer's perspective I personally don't bother with BINs on an auction as the auction start price is usually considerably lower than the BIN.

If I really want the item I just enter the minimum auction starting price to get rid on the BIN price and prevent anyone else from using it and go from there.  For the most part I get it at the starting price or slightly higher but cheaper than the BIN price.

[snowhills]

I have used BIN as a buyer in the past if I really wanted an item and I thought the BIN was reasonable but mostly I just put in a bid.

As a seller I find it does not make a difference to interest in an item and have even sold a couple of items for more than the BIN once it hit auction and the BIN was removed.  I think it is a good idea to give buyers options especially if wanting an item for a birthday present and they can snap it up quickly.  

Also as a seller if I am not sure of the value of something I tend to give BIN a miss and let the market determine the price.

[englishrosegardens]

I have a friend who does auctions with a bin price on most of her items. She reasons that the BIN prices look over the top so that makes people think the auction price is a bargain.  She gets quite a few who use BIN, despite it being 30% higher than the auction start price.  Just how high a price people would pay was an eye-opener to both of us.  A lot of people don't want to mess around with auctions these days and just prefer to BIN and pay and have it over with.

In some categories people only browse the auctions because they assume the BINs will all be shops at higher prices, or that the auctions are where the bargains are to be found, while others will only browse the BIN's, so having both means more people will be likely to see you.  I don't think having a BIN price on an auction is going to put anyone off buying.  If they want it they're more likely to bid early so that nobody can use the BIN, and getting bids early seems to encourage more bids. 

[dan2814]

Thanks for taking the time to reply everybody, your points are all noted.

Much appreciated 🙂

[*tippy*toes*]

I have both on my auctions. Generally my BIN prices are over the top but some people still hit the button. Someone did last night. I always feel guilty when someone hits the button because I just make up a figure to make the auction start price look more appealling.

I originally started doing it to capture both types of buyers. Ones who search by auction only and those that search for buy it now only.

The ones that I shake my head over are those buyers that will hit buy it now when an auction has less than 5 minutes to go and no bids. I can understand if it's still got a week to go but less than 5 minutes? I've had a few do that.

[whiznumber6]

Had a "buyer" message me a day or two back on a 3XY Top 40 chart I'm selling, asking for a BIN price because "I don't do bidding"...

[*tippy*toes*]

---

@whiznumber6 wrote:

Had a "buyer" message me a day or two back on a 3XY Top 40 chart I'm selling, asking for a BIN price because "I don't do bidding"...

---

I do both auctions and BIN when I'm buying, but Mr Tippy doesn't do many auctions at all. He much prefers to just buy it then and there, even if it ends up costing more than what an auction might end at. Occasionally if it's something that's a bit harder to get he'll watch auctions, but only if what he wants doesn't show up as a buy it now anywhere.

If he is watching an auction, he gets me to do the bidding on it. Then gets upset when I miss the end of the auction (like yesterday when I was going to the city to see him and was in heavy traffic. I heard the alert on my phone but I won't use my phone while driving, EVER. He heard the alert on his phone and sat there and watched it end!).

Do Top 40 charts sell? I found my old stash from the early 80's a few months ago (I hoarded them at the time). I wonder if anyone would be interested in them?

[black*poppy]

The BIN on an auction is useful on the right products to show buyers how many watchers there are, if you know it's going to be popular.  The start price has to be high enough not to be too much of a bargain, and the BIN price much higher.  If you know your market well it's a useful tool

[rose1916purple]

Interesting topic, after reading these comments I think I will start adding BIN at a high price to some of my items and monitor any impact. Thanks everyone