Another E bay question

[Laurielee]

I posted not long ago how to sell on E bay and decided to give it try a few weeks ago. But I didn't have any luck, one I think because I am new and the other I tried to sell something with a high price. I should have started with something lower.

I did the bid option, it was for a pair of shoes, that I paid $160 and started the bid at $40.

I am confused if I start the bid lower than I won;t get what I want right?

I got an email from someone saying because I had no history and I could be a scammer, she wanted the shoes but wanted me to lower my bid price. But to what?

I received an email yesterday from her that she still wanted teh shoes.

I don't know how to proceed. Just wait and put shoes that are cheaper, worth less and try and get a history built up, I dont' wan to give these particular shoes away.

[kgraham]

I am by no means an ebay expert, but I have been a member there for quite a while. Sometimes I buy things, sometimes I sell things, but it is usually pretty sporadic.

I think that selling a high priced item without any feedback or even very little feedback will hurt your auction. I have also noticed that having a high starting bid amount will sometimes affect whether people will bid, even if the item usually goes for a much higher amount in the completed listings.

If you haven't already done so, take a look at completed listings for the item you're selling. If it regularly goes for a lower price than you are willing to accept, you might want to find another way to sell. If you still want to use ebay, you could also try having a lower starting bid amount and set a reserve (additional fees for this, though) so you don't have to sell it if the price isn't bid up to your reserve amount. Personally, if I am ok with the general range of prices in the completed listings, I will set my opening bid amount very low. I have usually been happy with the results of my auctions, but I have never sold anything that I paid a lot for either.

I really think the problem you are running into is people are going to be cautious about bidding on items from a basically unknown seller. I would recommend selling a few items that you don't care how much you get for them. This way you will get some feedback and establish yourself in the community first before trying to sell higher priced items.

Good luck!

[Peweh]

I agree with all of the advice kgraham gave you; I have an actual brick & mortar store so I generally only list things on eBay I KNOW will command a higher price due to collectibilty; I start everything at 9.99 with no reserve and let the bidders drive the price. In your case, with this pair of shoes I'd probably list them with a "Buy It Now" price which is what you'd be happy to get rather than risk the auction ending too low. you have a couple of factors working against you, 1-no feedback and 2-the shoes have to fit someone... Hope this helped.

[jmarie]

on eBay I KNOW will command a higher price due to collectibilty;

If you don't mind...what kind of collectibles do you sell?
From a collector,
Joyce

[Peweh]

If you don't mind...what kind of collectibles do you sell?
From a collector,
Joyce

Hi Joyce, of course I don't mind... I don't sell any specific category of collectibles on eBay, but I do research items that I get in at the shop that I've not seen before, and sell those items that aren't quite the right feel for the shop or that I think might fetch a better price on eBay than in the shop. You can visit my website, www.salvagechicantiques.com, to get an idea of what I typically sell there. I cater to the Country Living/Cottage crowd for the most part with furniture, but we have all sorts of accents ranging from shabby chic to retro kitchen.

Is there something specific you collect?
Christine