Why would ayone list at 99c.

[bjlcr]

I have a number of listings due for relisting.Ebay recommend I relist a 99c.Why ? Postage has to be included.So it has to be the value of the item plus postage.I'd rather throw things out than list at 99c...Things would be sold at that price .But i am not going to do it.

[cathyjoyjoy]

Correct.  With eBay and PayPal fees plus the time it takes to create a listing & handling for postage, for me it's not worth listing anything below $6 + postage.

It can be interesting for some highly sought after items only, to be listed at 99c and then watch the demand set the final price.  But members who list other items at well below what they are worth to list and cover their fees are just losing money OR they may be selling cheaply with the hope of increasing positive feedback OR to attract buyers to their other higher priced items.  But as the number of people leaving feedback is decreasing, that's not always a good approach either.

[springyzone]

You'd have to be mad to list at that price, given the amount of work you would have to put in & the chance of things going wrong if a buyer wasn't 100% happy. It means that it is a bit risky to list things that aren't in great condition or that have faults.

But if it is perfect, why list at 99c??

It isn't much better at the markets, mind you. My sister & I recently had a stall, had an as new thick men's jacket, Yakka brand, you know the type, almost like a parka, fleece lined. $3 we asked.

One man walked away as we wouldn't budge on price. Yes, we sold it to someone else for $3.

People expect stuff for almost nothing but at least once it is sold, it is done and dusted, no debates down the track about stuff not fitting or whatever. And no commissions.

Not worth selling on ebay unless you make a few dollars, in my opinion. Ebay just say 99c as their only interest is in items selling & them getting commission. They couldn't care less if you lose or not.

[utebns]

Ive got alot listed at the moment for $2 plus post.
The main reason is to clear the **bleep** out thats accumulated for the past 12 months. Theres maybe 40ish items, if i list at $2 with the postage costs, take out fees etc im still making $1 per item.
$1 in my hand is better than $1 thrown out.
Well, thats how i see it anyway.
Won't make you a millionaire, but its at least getting something back in your pocket.

[phorum_junkie*]

A few years ago if you had the experience then you could safely start a listing at 99c and it really did encourage bidding wars, for the odd thing that didn't sell for more the extra profit on the others more than made up for it. That was in the days when listings were only free or very cheap if they were listed for 99c and you paid for every listing plus there were no fees on postage costs.

Now it is a while different ball game and it is no longer a good idea to list for 99c however ebay still tell sellers it is a good idea and newbies often fall for it, they soon learn one hopes.

Now I rarely list at any less than the cost to me of the item ($0 if it is a secod hand item from my wardrobe) plus $3.99 as it is just not worth it, more often than not my SH items are started at $7 to $8 and most of them sell eventually.

[fitnhealthy2017]

Ebay Australia should have a reserve system like other sites!

[repentatleisure1952]

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@ilovelollies15 wrote:

Ebay Australia should have a reserve system like other sites!

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Good day to you.

They already have it in place.

It's known as starting your auction at the lowest amount you are prepared to accept.

Works for me !!!

[*tippy*toes*]

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@repentatleisure1952 wrote:

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@ilovelollies15 wrote:

Ebay Australia should have a reserve system like other sites!

---

Good day to you.

They already have it in place.

It's known as starting your auction at the lowest amount you are prepared to accept.

Works for me !!!

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That's exactly what I do too. I was one of the newbies that fell for the 99c thing. Mostly because a lot of things I bought started at 99c, so I thought it was the done thing to do. I soon learned that most things sold for 99c, so I was out of pocket big time!

Often when I relist an unsold, there will be the start at 99c message. I just tell it to get stuffed, then relist at my price. Every single item I relist suggests starting at a lower amount, often $2 less than what it started for last time. One time I decided to change and see what happens, so i relisted it at 50c lower than what eBay recommended.

It relisted 3 times then it went unsold and when I went to relist it again, the suggestion was around $2 less than the price I started at last time. I had already relisted for less than their previous suggestion, then they were telling me to relist lower AGAIN! No! I put it back up to the original price, then when it went unsold again, the new suggestion was for the same amount as the previous suggestion where I listed it 50c lower.

Moral of the story is, it doesn't matter what your start price is, they will always tell you to list with a lower starting price. If I had kept using their suggestions, it would have eventually been relisted with a start price of -$20! As it was, it eventually sold as a buy it now which was about 3 times the start price.

The ones that annoyed me was, I'd start it at $10, then eBay would suggest I start it at $8.20 and that similar items had sold for between $69 and $150. Yeah right! I know the value of my items, if anyone has paid that for them, they were crazy. Even if they had sold for that, why are they then telling me to lower my start price? Especially when 98% of my auctions end with 1 bid.

[murdos]

The days of starting items really low and getting competitive bidding to push up the price are long gone. Many years ago in the days of dial-up and slow internet you had to place bids if you wanted an item. Now with ADSL+ and NBN you can bid in the dying seconds and not bother with incremental bids.

I see listings for the same products i have (all second hand stuff im getting rid of, dvd's and mags) and a lot have small start prices and often postage well below what i know Aust Post will charge. I just guess this is by inexperienced sellers who think if they get a few bucks its worth it, but will get stung by the costs of the whole process.

eBay is increasingly becoming not worth the effort and with the increases in postage costs my sales have dropped. $5 to post a large envelope up to 500g is ridiculous!  

So my local Salvos and Vinnies have been the winners.

[davewil1964]

Prepaid envelopes are all good for 500g, and only the largest is anywhere near $5.00. I'm not sure what CD/DVD mailers post for, but that could be an option as well.

Maybe investigate the actual postage options available to you.