Mike999 Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 As mentioned before, I buy and sell scale models on eBay. I'll be putting up an eBay sale soon (I hope), and I was just wondering: Do you prefer eBay auctions, or Buy It Now? You can answer as a buyer or seller or both, I'm interested in every angle. I've been selling on eBay since 1999, and have almost always used the 7-day auction format. But for this next sale, I'm thinking about putting up more Buy It Now items. What say you?
Tom Geiger Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 Depends on what you are selling. I’d always go the auction route with rare old kits. You can start them low and let the bidding fly. With typically cheap kits, it may be best to do a Buy It Now at a reasonable price. Those kits that typically sell for $10-20 each, I’d put up a bunch of them at the same time for say $18 each. Then offer reduced shipping for multiple purchases. Figure out your typical postage charge like $10 for one kit $15 for two and no extra charge for multiples over that. It saves you on the packing and sending kits to multiple buyers. And it could be the difference between you and another seller. I am wondering though how the current situation is affecting eBay sales. Are people still buying or saving their money during this uncertainty? And even, can you ship? My local Nextdoor town email chain says my local post office is closed.
DonW Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) To me. 'Buy it Now' means Dealer, not really in the spirit of eBay where ordinary people buy and sell and both sides win. Nothing wrong with dealers - and maybe a lot of 'Buy it Now' ads are not placed by dealers anyway so I could be totally wrong and unfairly prejudiced - but I avoid 'Buy it Now'. Maybe this thread is my chance to get a bit better educated! Thanks Mike. Edited March 31, 2020 by DonW
Snake45 Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 When I see something I want/need at a reasonable Buy It Now price, I do. I'd rather pay a fair price even if MAYBE it costs me more than it might have gone for, than lose it to another buyer or watch the bidding soar out of sight.
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) Either. If I see a smoking hot deal under buy-it-now, I'll jump on it. But auctions have just as much appeal, depending on the model and how stupid prices get. I'm curbing my acquisitiveness though. I just passed on two reasonably auctioned kits I really would have liked to have...virgin copies of stuff I already own. But I prefer to think of myself as a "builder", not a "collector", so I let 'em go. Edited March 31, 2020 by Ace-Garageguy
iamsuperdan Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 I prefer the Buy It Now option, and most will have the option to make an offer, which i've been pretty lucky with so far. Having said that, I have no issues with the auction listings. If I want something bad enough, I'll try and get it, regardless of the purchase method.
drodg Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 I actually like the buy it now if it is a fair price as a buyer and the make offer. As a seller I have used the auction.
Erik Smith Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) As a seller, I’m like you - I’ve always used 7 day auction. I start all of mine at 99 cents. I don’t think I’ve ever “given” a rare kit away in an auction. I think timing plays into auctions - times when people have money and when people are looking at eBay. The stimulus money might be coming around soon, and while a lot will be spending on essentials, it also means more disposal income for many. Tax return time is another. Holidays when people have free time, etc. Ending on weekends also seems to be best. As a buyer, I do both. Like many, I scan the newly listed stuff for deals on buy it now items. For other things that I want, I go to auctions. I spend a lot more per kit on auctions because they are usually kits I feel I need... Edited March 31, 2020 by Erik Smith
Tom Geiger Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said: If I see a smoking hot deal under buy-it-now, I'll jump on it. That’s great as a buyer! Stalking for clueless sellers who listed that 1969 Impala kit for $10. ?
440 Dakota Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) been on Ebay since 01 myself both buying and selling, haven't sold much the past couple years because it seems they wanted to push sellers into the store type format with automatic listing renewals and collecting taxes on the sellers behalf plus the fees were getting to be about 20 % of the total, I don't know if that's still the case or not and will look into it soon cause I have several lifetimes of kits and die cast to thin out the thing I just noticed is looking in automotive models and kits category, filtered by US only listings there's only approx. 8500 listings for auctions and buy it now listings are approx. 98,000, I didn't know there was that much imbalance Edited March 31, 2020 by 440 Dakota
Mike999 Posted March 31, 2020 Author Posted March 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Tom Geiger said: That’s great as a buyer! Stalking for clueless sellers who listed that 1969 Impala kit for $10. ? Or the misspellers. Here, I'll give away a secret: since the "T" and "Y" keys are right beside each other on the keyboard, you might want to also search for "AMY 1969 Impala." ? Thanks for the feedback, everybody. It's just what I wanted to see in this thread.
Roadrunner Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 I prefer buy it now for most purchases. That way I don't have any concerns over getting sniped at the last minute.
magicmustang Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 35 minutes ago, 440 Dakota said: been on Ebay since 01 myself both buying and selling, haven't sold much the past couple years because it seems they wanted to push sellers into the store type format with automatic listing renewals and collecting taxes on the sellers behalf plus the fees were getting to be about 20 % of the total, I don't know if that's still the case or not and will look into it soon cause I have several lifetimes of kits and die cast to thin out I've been on since '99 and have noticed the same. They collect 8 1/4 % taxes on all auctions no matter if it is interstate or intrastate. Private party seller or business. A participating state or not. Taxes on shipping? That is lazy accounting. Do you think they just add it to the bottom line on those taxes they don't have to pass on. Sounds to me like a class action lawsuit coming in the future.
stinkybritches Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Roadrunner said: I prefer buy it now for most purchases. That way I don't have any concerns over getting sniped at the last minute. That's how I feel also. Why take a chance if it's already listed at a good price.
vamach1 Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 1 hour ago, magicmustang said: I've been on since '99 and have noticed the same. They collect 8 1/4 % taxes on all auctions no matter if it is interstate or intrastate. Private party seller or business. A participating state or not. Taxes on shipping? That is lazy accounting. Do you think they just add it to the bottom line on those taxes they don't have to pass on. Sounds to me like a class action lawsuit coming in the future. I have some experience in this area. The sales tax (if applicable) should be the rate based on the buyers zip code (state, county, city, parish). What I assume if the seller is not responsible for remitting the amount billed to the taxing jurisdictions but that Ebay collects it and remits the taxes to the taxing authorities. I think this came about because these jurisdictions complained for decades that the self reporting of "use" tax by buyers was very low and since online sales grow every year those sellers had an advantage over brick and mortar stores that had to charge everyone tax applicable to the state of purchase.
Bills72sj Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 I like Buy it Now. I visit ebay frequently but not constantly. Sometimes a week goes by and I forget that I have bid on something that closes 5 days later. I try to avoid being a deadbeat buyer. I also have finally gotten some disposable income so I don't mind paying reasonable prices if it something I want. I used to sell from time to time but I don't need the cash vs. the hassle/robbery.
bbowser Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 I like Buy it Now both as a buyer and seller and I usually add Make an offer as a seller. You can set a rock bottom price on the offer option and put a higher price on Buy it Now, someone might bite on the high side or think they got a deal with a low offer.
Anglia105E Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 7 hours ago, Mike999 said: As mentioned before, I buy and sell scale models on eBay. I'll be putting up an eBay sale soon (I hope), and I was just wondering: Do you prefer eBay auctions, or Buy It Now? You can answer as a buyer or seller or both, I'm interested in every angle. I've been selling on eBay since 1999, and have almost always used the 7-day auction format. But for this next sale, I'm thinking about putting up more Buy It Now items. What say you? Hi Mike...... myself, when I go looking on Ebay it is always for a specific model car, so I know exactly what I want...... I do prefer ' Buy it Now ', and some of these items are ' Make Offer ', which is even better. Having said that, I do like the auction process, and I have a particular strategy that I use to win quite a few bidding auctions. When I see ' Buy it Now ' the postage usually plays a part in whether or not I buy the item. Many are free Click & Collect which suits me perfectly, while some will want £2.50 postage, £4.50, £6.50 and even £8.50, which is excessive in my view. Having been very anti - Ebay some years ago, I now enjoy the whole Ebay experience in the UK, and I do buy many items. I think their website is very well organised, easy to use and the process works really well most of the time. Only very few items have arrived damaged or not as described, and most Ebay sellers will sort out the problem efficiently and honestly. David
Plowboy Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 I've actually gotten some of the best deals with the BIN option. But, I like both.
Scott8950 Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 I always do buy it now. i just don't have the patience for bidding. I'd rather pay a few bucks more its worth to me to dodge the bidding hassle.
slusher Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 I have never sold anything on eBay but I look for buy it now first!
DiscoRover007 Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 It really just depends on the rarity and condition of the kit and whether I want to chance losing it to auction. I use buy it now for many kits simply because BIN usually means its a new kit, no risk of lose parts, and it most cases I search buy it now auctions with the lowest shipping. I do however bid on used kits and open box items all the time when searching for spare parts.
Bobdude Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 I would much rather buy it now rather than the auction.You can get sniped in the last two seconds of the auction.
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