What type of listing?

One of the main complexities of ebay is trying to sort through the types of listing formats available on ebay, and which is most suitable for you. 

There is no correct answer to this dilemma. Some ebayers swear by the tried-and-true auction format, which is the bread-and-butter of ebay's whole operation. Auctions are as old as the hills. Ebay just happened to come along at just the right time and add an electronic twist to the whole thing.

Regular auctions have their advantages and disadvantages. I'll list a few of them here. For advantages, buyers get a real sense of "Oh gee! I know this watch is worth at least $295, but it's current bid is only $75.50, with two hours let in the listing." Most people would certainly jump on a bargain. Are you any different? When a bargain is spotted, it tends to create a stir like the smell of blood in shark-infested waters. A bidding war can potentially ensue, and, in the excitement of the moment, a number of bidders can potentially bid the item above and beyond it's actual street value of $295. This is especially true of rare and collectible items, when collectors from all over the US, North America, or even the world zero in on this one listing, all vying and trying to outbid the other for the sole purpose of winning the thing.

But, regular auctions also have their disadvantages.What if the person who would have bid $500 for that watch was on vacation at the time, and lost out on the opportunity. His loss, some would say. 

The alternative to an auction-style format is the fixed-price listing. The item still lists on ebay, but people can't place bis on it. The person who walks away with a FP listing is the one who pays the seller the asking price... whatever the asking price is. The asking price is "fixed", meaning it isn't flexible, and doesn't rise like an auction price tends to rise. FP listings tend to annoy some buyers- those buyers who are looking for a bargain. For the seller, it's a way to get a specific amount for an item. A buyer and seller can still haggle a little over the price by sending messages to one another.

One main advantage to the FP listing from a buyers' point of view is the lack of waiting for an auction to end. A regular auction can run for 3, 7 or 10 days, and the winning bidder has to wait til the actual end of this time frame to even know if he's won the item. On the other hand, there is no waiting for a FP listing to end, because it technically ends when a buyer "buys it now", hence the term 'buy it now', or BIN. 

One nice thing about FP listings, from a sellers' point of view, is that the seller has more control over the price he gets for his items. For me, this was always my primary reasoning for using FP listings. I almost use FP exclusively, because I like to be in charge of the pricing. I know that may people will walk away from my listing because they think the price is too high, and that is fine. One advantage of running a FP listing is that I can always raise or lower my asking price at ANY time. 

I generally tend to price my items at 20 - 30% higher than what my competitors are asking for the same exact thing. But, I am also only listing top-quality vintage collectibles in excellent condition, most of which are accompanied with a YouTube video showing that the item still works, or whatever, plus I've written up a very detailed description to counter the mediocre description my competitor has written up. All of this is a recipe to pretty much allow me to set my asking price for anything I am selling, and an informed or discerning buyer will pick up on this, and likely buy accordingly. I want to sell a Cadillac to a Cadillac buyer. A Ford buyer can walk buy and window shop, but if he wants a Cadillac, he'd better be prepared to pay a Cadillac price.

One important detail about running regular auctions is you'd better time when the auction ends. You want buyers- or at least a majority of your most likely potential buyers- to be  at home, relaxing and sitting in front of their computers, when it comes time for the listing to end. What this means is, it generally makes more sense to have an auction end at 7 or 8pm on a Monday - Thursday, when the buying public will likely be at home after a days' work. Now, obviously, not everyone works a 9 - 5, but you can't factor everyone in to this equation. That;s why I used the term 'majority' earlier. 


You generally don't want to end an auction listing at 9pm on a Friday or Saturday night, or on a Sunday morning when half of the US will be in church. Time your auctions accordingly.