[Closed] How do businesses make sales on ebay at higher prices than others?

Some people prefer to support their own countries (or even more local) economy (and associated values) rather than simply looking after number one and going for the cheapest they can find.

I find most stuff on ebay is a higher price than can be found elsewhere in the first place, and most 2nd hand gear is no longer worth the price difference compared to the new price.

I am surprised ebay hasn't collapsed completely, and I think that it is only the momentum of people believing they are getting stuff cheap that allows it to continue.

Stuff coming from China at best takes ages and you only have a 60-70% chance of it turning up at all.

It may mean they are out of stock for that item. They increase the price so no one will buy it, but can still keep the listing active. When they get more stock, they just decrease the price again.

TomHoward...that's a cutting comment although undoubtedly true. In my case (if it was aimed at me) ...I have a miniscule income due to chronic health issues so every penny saved is important.Try renting a house on top and there's very little left if anything .

I'm currently selling a few things on eBay. Identical items, brand new, still sealed in the boxes. Identical listings other than the Buy It Now price which I have varied by +/- £2in 50p increments on a ~£35 + P&P listing to try and find the best price point for selling quickly Vs profit.

Interestingly the more expensively priced listings are selling more quickly.

Even more interestingly the items are available directly from the manufacturer for £26 delivered.

I don't understand some people, but I'm happy to take their money.

[i]TomHoward…that’s a cutting comment although undoubtedly true[/i]

No it's not, its bollocks.

Prices on eBay are weird. There are a lot of bargains to be had, there are a lot of small business to support, loads of tools, fastenings etc etc very hard to find elsewhere.
But I don't know how the ones with the higher prices get by, unless they have regular customers.

I don't always go for the cheapest item. Levels of feedback, speed of postage, item location and returns policy all have an influence.

Some people prefer to support their own countries (or even more local) economy (and associated values) rather than simply looking after number one and going for the cheapest they can find.

You sound like you're having a bad day...

I've wondered about this having noticed some local bike shops with stuff up at comparatively high prices. I think they just leave it up until it sells. Maybe they end up the last place with stock, but they get their sale in the end. Or reduce it later on. Or it sells in store first. Maybe it's full price but they take offers? Also they may be local or do faster postage or international shipping to attract buyers. Stuff that appears expensive here may seem cheap or be unavailable in other countries.

I think that there area also some shill items priced deliberately highly to make other slightly less expensive but still overpriced items appear less expensive.

Ebay is full of strange things. On line shop we used to run had item RRP of 12.99 , buy it now, 50 units left

We would put same item up in auction starting at 10.99 if sales were slow. (Buy it now items still up there) Record auction price was 17.80 ! Bidding war for no reason.... go figure

Good pictures and feedback make a big difference, and remember eBay is just like an advertised sale on amazon, you have to remember that amazon tend to drop prices to “price match” competition rather than discount for a sale as such, so a quick google is wise.

A lot of people are not very good at searching, simple as that. I often see new items that sell for more via bidding that the same item available for less as a Buy it now. The buy it now item comes up in the same search when putting item name in! They also didn't search on Google to see if any online shops were cheaper (which they can be but not that often)

Assume they bid when price was lower than Buy it now and then forgot what price the Buy It Now items were when they raised their bid a few days later?

This is marketing. Know your market. Know what the market values and focus on that. People will pay where they see value. You said it yourself, sometimes you'll pay a premium for faster shipping...so you see value in that additional premium and willing to pay. If you know your market well and the phycology of the market then you can look for what the market values and lead your pitch with that. Often it's not just about the specific product or service and the price. Price is not always the most important factor that makes people buy a specific product (mostly it isn't).

Bidding war for no reason…. go figure

I believe it's called herding....when people see an item is actively selling, ie: multiple bids they assume that others know more than them and this one must be special. Conversely, the one with no bids - why not, maybe there's something wrong with it that i don't know about....I'll avoid it too.

Hence why even if an item has a relatively high value starting it at a £1 get's the herd to form which more often than not results in a higher final price because of traffic and competition (once someone's invested time and effort into researching the seller and bidding, they're more likely to rebid to try and win).

“Economically you want to avoid high-traffic auctions, but psychologically you are lured by high traffic,”

Can't remember where I read about it but the same happens in real life, people will sometimes join a queue without knowing what it's for because if everyone else is in it they must know something we don't.

Good sales copy, well selected keywords (remember customers may all have a different pathway to the same product), better imagery and good feedback can all result in a higher sales price for an equivalent product.

I actually did this a few years ago, selling brake pads. Imported from China for about £2 a pair (I focused only on Code, Guide and Saint/Zee) and sold at £7 plus postage. Was never a big earner but did pretty well for a while. I focused on really good copy, good branding etc and ensuring as many of the fields were filled in as possible, as well as plenty of description copy as that boosts your ranking on ebay search.

So in short, as with many things in life, creating perceived value drives the price up.

I expect a lot has to do with seller ratings promoting listings up the search rank, if you filter by price (which I'm sit a lot of people don't bother as it makes the results less relevant) then you'll see the cheaper sellers with poorer ratings (not feedback)

I normally manage to get a sale in the upper price range, good pics, fast free postage, give the buyer something to read and get their interest.

"ebay is cheap, therefore this shoe/bag/fake-dog-turd I have found on ebay must be cheap"

some of our relatives apply this thinking to a number of internet shopping destinations, having heard from a trusted source (equally ill informed neighbours, one imagines) that they are good value

but yeah, also, that £1 starting price thing, works every time.

Some people prefer to support their own countries

Gammon alert! We're all humans on the same planet.

To the OP. In guessing they have their cut off price and the super cheapo options come and go. They make their money when others can't supply.

Feedback, delivery and repeat customers also come into it.

Lols, I’ve been called plenty of things on this forum, never thought ‘gammon’ would be one of them.

Some people prefer to support their own countries

This support wanes with the purchase value I suspect, if it exists at all?

how do you gain sales unless your prices are close to the lowest available

Humans are not rationale/disinterested when it comes to making purchases, lots (unlike you) don't have to buy on cost alone. I just paid a whole pound more for some elastic speed laces for my running shoes just because they had the colour I wanted. The market place is the market place, it has to cater for every kind of need, (for some folk that's the most expensive by default) How do you think companies like Rapha exist when companies like Decathalon exist? Or Royal Doulton when Ikea does?

It's patriotic to buy from the bloke who bought it from China rather than going direct, same with getting chips rather than a spring roll.