Auction 411

With so many products out there, there are numerous ways to approach your Starting Bid amount. For example, most people like to start to sell their items at the price they paid for the item to ensure they cover their costs. This could be a good approach especially if you’ve paid less than the going market rate for the product on eBay.

Another approach that is discussed is to whether or not start your bid at $0.99 or even $0.01. Many will swear that the technique works, especially if you are selling an item in a very competitive market. The downside of this approach is that if the super high competitive market yields you only one bid, you must be prepared to sell your item for that amount. Some sellers can’t afford this kind of risk, but others take the risk in order to gain as much exposure as possible for their items or their store. We suggest that you use this approach when you are starting to establish your feedback, but once you have a eBay feedback rating of over 100, you should be able to sell more on the merit and professionalism of your store. The level of risk is unique to each product and each store owner, so to get an accurate risk tolerance level, we always suggest to do as much industry research as possible on your market and your product.

On the flip side of this approach, starting at a non-competitive bid will lead to less eyeballs, so whatever your choice, there’s always a chance that the bidder can actually win the auction at that price. A great way to look at how you correlate your feedback and starting bid points is to think of it as one. If you have less feedback, then you will want to start at a lower starting bid to attract more buyers. As your feedback increases, your starting bid increases because you will be selling more on the merit of your feedback than on just lower prices. People aren’t stupid, they’d rather pay a little bit more from a trusted site than lose all their money for a cheaper price.

Auction411.net Tip: Price Point Cutoff

If you start your listing at a higher price, make sure you cover any fees and remember to price the item just under the listing fee cutoff. For example, if the fee for a price point of $25.00 - $49.99 is $1.20 and the next highest price point fee is $2.40, don’t start your bid at $50.00. Start it at $49.99 - you’ll save on fees alone if you always make sure to check the price point cutoff.

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