SolveYourProblem
Article Series:
Small Business Guide To Buying Items:
eBay Auctions
Taking
Advantage of “Slow” eBay Auctions
by Jeff Cohen
Some auctions get hundreds of bids, but some
go much more slowly, getting only a few bids or even none at
all for days. Auctions are generally much slower during the
summer months than they are in the winter – and sales on eBay
are slowing each year, as more sellers than buyers sign up,
hoping to get rich quick. There are a number of ways that you
can take advantage of slower auctions to get the best price.
Wait
to Bid
If you bid, then everyone can see you’re interested – and
that might make them interested too. Leaving the item alone
for as long as you can bear will make it look less popular,
and keep the price down so you can come in at the last minute
and get a bargain.
Make
an Offer
If the seller is selling an item using ‘Buy it Now’ and it
still hasn’t sold when the auction is about to end, use eBay’s
‘Best Offer’ service to make them an offer on it. The chances
are they’ve listed the item two or three times before, and
they’ll be so annoyed at the prospect of re-listing it yet
again that they’ll accept your offer just to get rid of the
thing.
Conspire
with Other Buyers
You might not have thought of this, but if there are two auctions
for the same item and only you and one other buyer are bidding,
why not get together and work out a ‘you take this one and
I’ll take that one’ deal? This avoids you raising the price
on both auctions just to get one each. If you make a few friends,
you can even work together on auctions long-term, taking it
in turns to bid.
Be
Snobbish
Send the seller emails asking questions about the condition
of the item, and making it very clear that you are a discerning
buyer and will only accept things of the highest quality. This
will make them feel better about selling you their item for
less.
Don’t
Feel Guilty
There really are too many sellers on eBay now, to the point
where you can get common items at very low prices. Long-term,
this will probably force those sellers out of business, but
that’s the way a market works – it’s supply and demand.
Buy
in Bulk
When auctions are slow, many sellers will have had the same
stock for a long time. If you offer to take ten things off
their hands all at once then you can almost name your price
– the chances are that they’ll fall over themselves to give
you a good deal. If you come back again and buy another ten
items then they’ll love you even more.
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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