I know, I have wished the same thing before. We all have: "Man, I wish I was the only one on ebay selling widgets. That way everyone would have to buy from me, at any price I set my widgets at." Mmmmhmmmm, been there, thought that. But, since that is likely never going to happen, unless you are the one person on the planet able to sell moon rocks, we have to look for silver linings in such cases where there will likely be other sellers selling the same things as me. Silver linings? How can other sellers selling the same things as me possibly have a silver lining?
Well, in two ways.
First, let's say two different sellers have two completely different widgets. Completely different, but the same. By that I mean, that they're identical. Mary has one and John has one. John takes crappy pictures which are all out of focus, he writes up a completely horrible description, and sets his price at $100.
Mary, on the other hand, puts her widget on ebay, but takes plenty of excellent pictures, writes up a stellar destription, and puts in a YouTube video as well. She puts her widget at $125.
Both the widgets are exactly the same, just being sold by two different sellers. Which one would likely sell first? Probably Mary's. Mary did a much better job overall on her listing, and would likely appeal to more people looking for widgets. It could also be assumed that ebay buyers looked at both Mary's and John's widgets on ebay, and decided that Mary's was the better deal. And, going one step further, it could be argued that Mary's item will sell first precisely because John's listing was so pathetic, even they were both essential identical widets. In such a case, even though both sellers were competing for the same ebay buyer, John's pathetic listing actually helped Mary sell her widget.
In every single case, anytime you are selling on ebay, you want to be like Mary, because chances are, your widget won't be the only widget on ebay. So, use those other widgets on ebay to help you sell your widget. Make your wiget listing shine so that, when compared to the other sellers' widgets, yours simply appears like the better deal. Perception is everything on ebay!
Here's another case when competition can help you on ebay:
Suppose Amy sold a widget two weeks for $75. Same exact type widget as Mary's. A completely identical widget. Last week, because Mary did a much better job at writing her widget listing, she manages to sell hers for $125. And now, this week, it's time for you to list your widget on ebay. How much will yours sell for, if you write up a listing as good as Mary did?
You can reasonably expect to sell yours for at least $125, right? I mean, anyone can get on ebay and see how many widgets sold in the past week, and for how much. Well, the most recent widget sold for $125. Chances are, most buyers aren't really going to know what that widget is really worth, but, seeing what they sold for in the past is a fairly good barometer, and since Mary's sold last week or $125, anyone looking for widgets this week could reasonably assume that $125 is now the going rate for a widget.
In this particular example, there weren't two sellers selling the same thing at the same time. There was no real competition, here. But if Mary and I are both in the widget-selling business, her sale last week could help me sell mine this week for $125.
The whole point I am trying to make is that if everyone on ebay made a conscious effort to actually try to do things to increase the percieved value of their items, such that they sold at higher prices, that would inevitably help the people the following week selling those same things.
A few days ago I sold a vintage movie projector for $125. It's entirely possible that next week, some seller over in Idaho will list an identical model on ebay, and, while not directly competing with me, he can potentially benefit from my sale.
So what it boils down to is that it can potentially be a good thing if there are other people on ebay selling the same things you are, because the prices those other sellers are selling for will likely impact the prices you will be getting for your items.
Well, in two ways.
First, let's say two different sellers have two completely different widgets. Completely different, but the same. By that I mean, that they're identical. Mary has one and John has one. John takes crappy pictures which are all out of focus, he writes up a completely horrible description, and sets his price at $100.
Mary, on the other hand, puts her widget on ebay, but takes plenty of excellent pictures, writes up a stellar destription, and puts in a YouTube video as well. She puts her widget at $125.
Both the widgets are exactly the same, just being sold by two different sellers. Which one would likely sell first? Probably Mary's. Mary did a much better job overall on her listing, and would likely appeal to more people looking for widgets. It could also be assumed that ebay buyers looked at both Mary's and John's widgets on ebay, and decided that Mary's was the better deal. And, going one step further, it could be argued that Mary's item will sell first precisely because John's listing was so pathetic, even they were both essential identical widets. In such a case, even though both sellers were competing for the same ebay buyer, John's pathetic listing actually helped Mary sell her widget.
In every single case, anytime you are selling on ebay, you want to be like Mary, because chances are, your widget won't be the only widget on ebay. So, use those other widgets on ebay to help you sell your widget. Make your wiget listing shine so that, when compared to the other sellers' widgets, yours simply appears like the better deal. Perception is everything on ebay!
Here's another case when competition can help you on ebay:
Suppose Amy sold a widget two weeks for $75. Same exact type widget as Mary's. A completely identical widget. Last week, because Mary did a much better job at writing her widget listing, she manages to sell hers for $125. And now, this week, it's time for you to list your widget on ebay. How much will yours sell for, if you write up a listing as good as Mary did?
You can reasonably expect to sell yours for at least $125, right? I mean, anyone can get on ebay and see how many widgets sold in the past week, and for how much. Well, the most recent widget sold for $125. Chances are, most buyers aren't really going to know what that widget is really worth, but, seeing what they sold for in the past is a fairly good barometer, and since Mary's sold last week or $125, anyone looking for widgets this week could reasonably assume that $125 is now the going rate for a widget.
In this particular example, there weren't two sellers selling the same thing at the same time. There was no real competition, here. But if Mary and I are both in the widget-selling business, her sale last week could help me sell mine this week for $125.
The whole point I am trying to make is that if everyone on ebay made a conscious effort to actually try to do things to increase the percieved value of their items, such that they sold at higher prices, that would inevitably help the people the following week selling those same things.
A few days ago I sold a vintage movie projector for $125. It's entirely possible that next week, some seller over in Idaho will list an identical model on ebay, and, while not directly competing with me, he can potentially benefit from my sale.
So what it boils down to is that it can potentially be a good thing if there are other people on ebay selling the same things you are, because the prices those other sellers are selling for will likely impact the prices you will be getting for your items.
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