Ebay prices are sooo looow

D

dadoboy

Well-known member
I've been trying to sell some of my camera stuff on ebay recently, but noticed that the prices have become very low in just the last few months.

Is it just me and what I'm searching, or do others notice this?
Stock market recovered a bit, but looks like demand is still very very low.
It seems like people are buying cameras like crazy in some of the VDSLR forums, but the reality must be different for most people.
Darkest before the dawn? :(
 
The stock market has some minor bearing on reality, but it's not the best index for anything. Market prices, unemployment and wages are a better place to look. While the national economy is getting back on its feet, that won't reach the real world for quite a while. Recovery is slow.

I wouldn't say darkest before the dawn because I think things were worse for everyone a few months ago. There are signs of improvement in a lot of places, and people are preparing to be out of it. Just not enough confidence yet to really push forward and start hiring people back.
 
"buy it now" is usually lower then the final sale price in auctions that start at .01 with no reserve.

I realize this is a scary statement, but it's true. I've been on ebay for years and I've sold items where I refused the gamble of an auction... and seen the very same item sell for more in an auction... and then I've also had times where I sell something auction style... and it sells for MORE then I even paid... and I feel bad about it.

If you do an ebay auction it is CRUCIAL that you have flattering images of your product. Soft light and neutral background... spread out a sheet or some neutral BG and then use a silk or softbox to light the product. If the product is in perfect condition... show that with your pictures and state it in the auction.

Finally... don't be too wordy on your description. Keep any personal details to the bare minimum. People seem to get turned off by attempts at over-selling anything. Your best bet is a one or two sentence description, followed by cut 'n paste text from a manufacturer's page.

Good luck.
 
MattinSTL said:
"buy it now" is usually lower then the final sale price in auctions that start at .01 with no reserve.

I realize this is a scary statement, but it's true. I've been on ebay for years and I've sold items where I refused the gamble of an auction... and seen the very same item sell for more in an auction... and then I've also had times where I sell something auction style... and it sells for MORE then I even paid... and I feel bad about it.

If you do an ebay auction it is CRUCIAL that you have flattering images of your product. Soft light and neutral background... spread out a sheet or some neutral BG and then use a silk or softbox to light the product. If the product is in perfect condition... show that with your pictures and state it in the auction.

Finally... don't be too wordy on your description. Keep any personal details to the bare minimum. People seem to get turned off by attempts at over-selling anything. Your best bet is a one or two sentence description, followed by cut 'n paste text from a manufacturer's page.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more. I have been buying and selling on Ebay for years. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.
 
here's the strategy:

  • List your item on a Thurdsday evening for a 10 day auction. Peak activity is on weekends after dinner. Listing Thursday evening gives you two weekends with the auction ending during peak time on a Sunday evening, and as you know it's all about the last few hours or minutes.
  • List without reserve. Items with no reserve and a low opening bid get more hits and bids and fetch a higher price on average.
  • You have until 24 hours before auction close. Come Sat afternoon if oyur $10,000 HD camera is selling for $200 - close your auction. Again, you can do so without penalty up to 24 hours before. If you forget and don't cancel the auction in time though, you're then obligated to sell it.
 
I used to be an ebay guy. I used to find poorly done auctions, i.e. bad pictures, bad descriptions, bad titles, I would buy it. Then, resell it after receiving the item.

If I could have figured out a way to do this in mass quantities, I would have made quite a tidy sum. Instead, I did it as a bit of a hobby during college to make beer money.

A neat trick is to find the exact same item that is selling for a whole lot. Then, just copy the sort of things they did. What is different about their title compared to ones that are selling poorly? What about their pictures, or descriptions? Use that.
 
I almost didn't by a laptop recently even though it was a great deal because the pictures were so poorly lit that it looked hideous. Looking up the promo pictures changed my mind on that, but it was close.
 
That's good advice JDS... very good. Thanks.

(On an off-note, I wonder how many people know what your picture means... I do :) That guy is a great actor... he's perfectly capturing the reflective satisfaction after the incident... Oh wait, I mean he's wrapping his mind around the horror he just witnessed... Oh wait...)
 
It's definitely a buyers market now with the economy still shakey, people are letting things go at a steal. I've found some great deals as of late.
smile.gif
:)
 
ebay's made it even more of a buyer's market ...

Now when you sell, if you don't meet certain qualifications like having recent transactions, or if your item is considered "high risk", then the buyers money is HELD by paypal until paypal confirms shipment and/or buyer leaves positive feedback for you!
 
MattinSTL said:
"buy it now" is usually lower then the final sale price in auctions that start at .01 with no reserve.

followed by cut 'n paste text from a manufacturer's page.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Lol. I did that once and my auction was taken down because it was the manufactures description and they complained to ebay. :laugh:
Haha
 
It's odd what prices are depressed and what aren't. Like I can sell my Bronica for more than it was selling 6 months ago, but I just saw a Zeiss 10-100 T2 Mk2 sell for 1200 which is a complete steal (partly because the seller had some negative feedback I think).

Generally, everything's is much lower than a year ago, and as JDS said, paypal heavily favors the customer - even if its the customer's fault (like they will hold a payment if the customer's address is unverified). So it's really a buyers market on Ebay.
 
I found out today through an Ebay alert that the person who was selling the Zeiss T2 lens for $1200 was a phisher / scammer. Apparently even with a lot of feedback some of these accounts get taken over or hacked. Hope the buyer can get some of his money back. Its kind of hard though to tell what's too good to be true and what's just low because of the times. I guess the scam seller positioned the price just on the edge of believability.
 
yeah, ebay is killing me right now because i bought the jvc hd7 for 1 grand, and am selling it right now for 500 bucks ((email me if interested or check out the Marketplace)). but i did by a Gateway fx series gamers laptop for 500 bucks and free shipping!! and it is the best laptop ever. so i guess sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose....
 
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