The Price Is Right
Saturday 07 November 2009
by SaleHoo.com
I am a 17 yr old high school student from a small rural town in New Zealand and I have been successfully using salehoo for over a year. After trying for several months to find reliable wholesalers with quality products I stumbled across Salehoo and all my questions were answered. After just my first month using wholesalers recommended by Salehoo, along with great tips from the Salehoo forum I was turning 300-400% profits on every item I sold! Since then I have diversified my inventory and now have a steady business making good money each week, doing nothing more than sitting at my computer and making the occasional trip to the post office. You truly could not make a better investment with anything else, whether you are starting out in the importing game, or a seasoned player, Salehoo is the number one resource for all those people who are looking to get ahead. If a kid from down under can make it work then so can you!
Want to be the next SaleHoo success story?
Hi again! How did the sale of your first item go? Was it more or less than you were expecting? Whether it exceeded your expectations or caused you some disappointment, it's excellent preparation for the subject of this newsletter: Price.
What is your item worth?
The value of your item is entirely dependant on demand. People are not going to be interested in paying for your item if they can get it cheaper elsewhere.
Throw personal subjectivity into the mix (to some people, an autographed tennis ball will be hugely valuable, to others it won't), and you are faced with an extremely unpredictable combination!
Essentially, you have two possible pricing options: selling items at a low volume for a high cost (rare items) or, selling at a high volume for a low cost- the most frequently-used pricing option on eBay. But in the end, the value of your item depends on that old business economics mantra: Demand and Supply. How sought-after do you think that dusty set of 10 matchbox toys you found in the back of your wardrobe is?
As an eBay newbie it is quite likely you'll have absolutely no idea of the value of your item. One option is to just start bidding at $0.99 cents and see what happens! But if you'd rather not leave your precious item in the unpredictable hands of chance, then I suggest you try the following tips:
1. Search completed auctions
This is the best way to judge the value of your item. Unfortunately, eBay only reports on auctions that have ended within the previous 2 weeks, so it doesn't give you a great deal of scope.
To check out completed auctions, click on the Advanced Search link (note: you must be signed in to carry this out). This is positioned at the top of most eBay pages just below the Search box.
Enter your keywords and any other search information. Then select the Completed listings only check box and then click the Search button.
Here are some completed listings for silver teaspoons as an example:
There are a lot of different ways of customizing your search - you can exclude certain words, or choose to only view a certain price range or currency for instance.
When you have a list of auctions, you need to scan the items and find how closely they match yours. To get a reasonable idea you will have to look for matching age, condition, brand, color and so on. Packaging and accessories can also make a big difference to price.
eBay also include a couple of very handy links: you can choose to view similar active items like the completed one you are currently viewing. Or, if you find an item similar to your own, click List An Item Like This and eBay will copy this auctions category to your new listing.
If you feel you need to do further research, Andale www.andale.com an auction management service, provides eBay research based on past eBay sales. Prices start at $3.95/month.
2. Read collector's guides
If you think you have a collectible item on your hands, find its value by reading collector's guides and specialty magazines. Websites created by collectors groups are another good way of getting more information.
These sources will not only give you an idea of the value of your item, but also how much interest you can expect. While a collector's guide may tell you 1969 fishing gear is valuable, if there are only 10 avid collectors worldwide, then there's probably a fairly low chance that one of them will see your item and that you'll get the price you think it is worth.
***Top Tip***
Bear in mind the age of your target market. Items collected primarily by people over 70 probably won't sell so well on eBay. Even if you know heaps of elderly women in your community who collect knitted dolls, it's unlikely that they actually have a computer - let alone know what eBay is and how to use it.
3. Use eBay Discussion boards
eBay's discussion boards have category-specific forums where users of all experience levels are able to ask and answer questions covering eBay's most popular categories. Go to Community & Discussion boards and select your category.
Note: You will find that some discussion boards are more helpful than others. Some boards tend to digress into more general discussions and you won't be able to find much product information. But if you have the patience to sift through, you'll probably find some useful stuff - just be aware that comments can often get quite off topic!
4. Try an authentication or grading service.
eBay also has a list of grading and authentication services available at: www.ebay.com/help/community/auth-overview.html. Taking advantage of these services is well advised if you think you have something rare on your hands.
Pricing New items
When selling new items, the general rule is they have to be 45% cheaper when sold on eBay than what people can pay for it elsewhere. That means that if the new saucepan set you are selling goes for $200 in the shop, then the maximum you should list if for is $110.
You see, people come to eBay because they believe they can find a bargain. And if they can pick up your item at their local store for a mere $5-10 more than what you are asking, then they'll probably take that option.
Nearly new...and used
If it's not new, even if it's 'like new', you are going to have to take a lot more off the price than 45%, depending on the condition.
Above all, be realistic with your pricing. For most items, it's unlikely that you will make a huge profit. With 70 million active eBay users, there's a lot of competition out there. No one is going to buy your Atkins cookbook for $20 when another seller is offering it in the same condition for only $5.
What competition does create, however, is a fair 'market price'. And while people hope for a bargain, they are willing to pay the market price for an item. There's a fair market price for every item out there: whether it's $2500 for a rare, collectible doll or $9 for a pair of used sneakers. Perusing completed auctions will very quickly give you an idea of the market price for your item.
Irregular Prices
Now that I've quashed your hopes of someone paying $500 for your grandmother's tea-cosy, I'm going to raise them again!
Despite what I've told you about market prices, sometimes there is a glitch that cause items to be sold far below, or far above, what the 'usual' price would be.
These peculiar anomalies happen all the time just by chance. And they are what create the risk and excitement that keep people coming back time and time again to buy and sell on eBay.
Workbook
- Do a completed listings search for your item. What is the average closing price? Does this match your preconceptions?
- Read the related forum for your item and make a note of any tips you pick up.
Helpful Links
- eBay's Completed Listings http://search-completed.ebay.com/
- eBay's Category Forums http://pages.ebay.com/community/boards/index.html
- Ebay's list of authentication and grading services http://www.ebay.com/help/community/auth..
- Andale - An auction management service http://www.andale.com
Other places to look for the market price of your item. The following sites capture both online and offline competitors:
- http://www.amazon.com
- http://www.shopping.com
- http://www.froogle.com
- http://www.pricegrabber.com
- http://www.overstock.com
- http://www.pricescan.com
