Whether you are looking for a new car, a new tv, or a new pair of shoes. eBay is much more than just your run-of-the-mill auction; with hand-me-down clothes and cruddy used children's toys. Today, more and more companies are getting eBay "stores" and putting their murchandise online to sell through auctions.
The ability to chose your own price gives the buyer the freedom to establish their own limits. Accordingly, this drives prices significantly below ARP (Average Retail Price). eBay can reward its customers with products up 99% cheaper than in stores, and typically between 50-70% cheaper than ARP.
The one of the best and worst parts of eBay is the amount of users. This benefits consumers on the supply side by driving down prices. However, the demand side is also increasing as more people are bidding on the same product.
My best advice to new eBayers, is to watch auctions of similar products before you begin to bid. Also do not bid too early. This does nothing but drive the price up in the long run when it comes down to crunch time. Speaking of crunch time, wait till the remaining few seconds to make your bid. When you do so, bid high. The price will only increase as much as the bidders are bidding, if you bid more than the incrimental increases, eBay will not bump the price to your max. Instead, they will increase the minimum to beat the next highest bidder and at the same time, automatically bid for you in the future until your maximum is reached. This is good to know, but again, do not put in your maximum too soon, as this will just leave more time for other buyers to place a bid and outbid you.
My final piece of advice using eBay is looking at Buy it Now auctions. Where a price is already established. These prices are typically very low compared to retail price, and if you can avoid the complexity of bidding, and the dissapointment when you lose. Remember, set your maximum and if an auction surpasses it, wait for the next one. There will always be another auction with the product you're looking for.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
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