Everything for Nothing Mentality

[pictologist]

It never ceases to amaze me the extent of the '99c' mentality of buyers on ebay. It seems that even if one has quality items, genuine appraised items, bulk lot of items starting off at a very reasonable price, buyers are of the fixed mentality that they are entitled to a 99c start off auction. I have observed this mentality over a number of years and it seems to have grown. It's also interesting to note that so called potential buyers will 'watch' your item/s , obviously to let the seller know that they are interested in what they have for sale, but at the same time do not actually place a bid. The message that they are actually conveying is; we are interested in what you have, but are not interested/prepared or expect to pay your price. Fair enough, that is their prerogative. What they are hoping is that the seller will then relist their items for less, much less hopefully, in fact get it down to 99c and then they will place a bid.

It's not worth the time, energy or cost to relist to satisfy the 99c mentality masses. I would prefer to donate my goods to either a charity organisation or place in the general household trash for landfill, but I will never list items that are worth it for 99c.

Happy bidding all on your 99c items.

[foxette-in-sox]

If a seller WANTS to list at 99c & only get one bid,I'm happy to bid.No one is forcing a gun at the sellers head.

Not sure where you're coming from re your rant or where you're leading to-perhaps you could clarify ie have you been stung as a seller falling for the 99c start price or do you feel guilty as a buyer winning an item for 99c ?

[janeababe]

Well, for my 99c mentality, here is my 10c worth of advice!

CALM DOWN!

sheesh.....   talk about a lot of hot air!

What does it matter to you if other sellers list at 99c or not! No-one is asking you to do the same, and if your items are worth more than 99c, then LIST them accordingly!

Let me tell you a little story about me a few years ago. I had a 30ft caravan for sale. It was old, but in good nick and onsite near Terrigal beach! I loved it, but i lived 6hrs away, and the site rent was an added cost I could no longer afford. I listed it on here for $8k. It ran its auction, heaps and heaps of watchers, not one bid!

hmmm, i thought, perhaps i will try again, as i had a lot of watches. So i relisted it again at auction for $8k. No bids.

I left it for a 2 weeks.

I decided to relist it again, but this time i upped the price to 10k. my thinking was, watchers who are interested in my item, will see my price (knowing it prob wouldnt sell) then when i relist next time, they wil see i have knocked off $2k when i relist immediately for $8k (my original price!)  This tactic might draw more buyers, i thought.
Guess what, i had a bidding war with a $10k start and it sold for $12,200. :^O

Go Figure!

Its not the amount of people who watch your item, its the amount of people who WANT your item, during that particular listing time!  I watch items all the time, doesnt mean i want to buy them today....

Personally, I would NEVER list anything at 99c. But i have watched 99c items go for as much as $200 - $300. They are the lucky ones, this rarely happens.

Moral to this story is: Its your stuff. price it accordingly for what you want to get for it. When the right person comes along, they will pay you the money. You just need to be a little patient. 🙂

[Anonymous]

People WATCH for a variety of reasons. It does not guarantee a bid.  

[thecatspjs]

I love 99c  and low start auctions.

As a buyer I have picked up some fantastic bargains  😄

As a seller I use them as loss leaders to increase traffic to my listings - I am happy if they do or don't sell at $1  as I am not expecting anymore than listing price.

Bonus is I get incredibly mixed outcomes from my $1 auctions, with several regularly selling for more than I had listed at buy-it-now.  Some of the auctions are fun to watch too -gotta love the nibble bidders :-x and I am particularly partial to bidding wars :-x:-x 

[phorum_junkie*]

Over three hundred bucks for three pairs of second hand boots and an unenforceable stipulation that Paypal is not offered? Also listing items that could easily be posted as pick up only?

Even at 99c starts I think you may struggle to sell anything :^O

[joz*garage]

other sellers may watch your item if theyve got a similar item in stock or the same thing.. to see if yours gets any results or not, then they can make a decision whether to blow any time with listing theirs. 

[patchoo78]

[wardy079]

And you have to allow paypal.....I wouldn't buy if I can't pay paypal 

And personally I think you will have more chance off selling those boots individually.

i watch items all the time.....cause I'm nosey, want to see if I should sell a similar item or because I haven't decided who to buy with yet.

if you don't want people to watch.... Then maybe don't use ebay

As for 99cent auctions, I would never list door 99cents, not worth my time and effort, but I will surely bid on them if the item is something I want

[willynfantasticals]

I watch items all the time.  Has nothing to do with them being .99. 

About four years ago, I bought two items for a total of $60.00.  Recently I saw a similar item that was sold for a lot more than I paid.  Not being sentimentally attached to the items, I decided to sell mine.  Received a total of $145.00.  If I hadn't been watching the item I was, I wouldn't have decided to sell my items.

Instead of accusing people of wanting something for nothing, look at other reasons why people may watch items.