Sell With Higher Opening Bid Or As Best Offer?

Hello,

To those that sell collections or country lots on ebay, do you sell (or think it's better) with a higher opening bid or set a higher fixed price and then allow best offers? I have many collections from different countries that I want to sell, but I don't want to give them away, so do you think it's better to just start bidding at what I hope to get for them or is it better to set a higher fixed price and then allow people to put in a best offer? Thanks for any opinions!

"Best offer" brings out the worst in people. First of all, they sense that you're clueless about the value, and/or desperate. They throw out two dozen "offers" here and there, hoping to snag just one, for a song.

As I remind folks here, listing fees are cheap; it's the selling fees that are high. So list where you want to start, regroup if necessary, list again, rearrange and list again, keep modifying your strategy. Also, there is no time constraint on offers, whereas the "end of auction" factor makes potential buyers TAKE ACTION one way or the other.

Country collections are hard to sell anyway. An advanced collector doesn't want to buy all those duplicates; a beginner doesn't have enough funds to compete. Plus if you're selling countries out of the mainstream, like Bolivia or Bermuda or Luxembourg, only one or two buyers out of a hundred will collect them and aggressively bid for them. I don't really know how to answer your question in a sensible way.

Thanks Doug!

I start an auction at the lowest price I can live with and let the chips fall where they may.

I agree with both doug2222 and bradS. Smaller lot auctions starting at the lowest price you will take. I have 2 selling accounts on ebay. The first is TRS where I list items for $10.00 or more. That one ships strictly with ebay shipping via USPS. The second is for lower price items with low cost first class mail shipping. I've been trying to start all of the items for 99 cents. There isn't enough people on ebay to bid the items up. Most of the country collections I list don't do much. So break it down to what makes sense and list that way.

Buy It Now with Best Offer seems to work well for a Canadian dealer from Nova Scotia who sells nice material. I suppose it depends on the quality of material you are selling. If you sell overpriced run-of-the mill items you will likely attract low ball offers.

I think it's too easy to generalize. It really depends on the seller's personality and outlook. I would suggest you try different approaches until you find one that works for you. One-size does not "fit all" when it comes to successful retailing.

I don't sell on ebay but can offer a perspective as a buyer. I like the "Buy it Now" with "Best Offer" option. It bypasses the auction process and it gives the buyer an opportunity to negotiate with the seller. I'm always a little wary of "Buy it Now" items as I've seen too many stamps that, in my opinion, are overpriced. While I buy most ebay items through auctions, I haven't resorted yet to sniping programs and am getting tired of either being sniped or drawing undue attention to bids which, for one reason or another, I've made prematurely. The "Best Offer" option comes closest to a real interaction with the dealer. When making a best offer, I always try to make what I think is a fair and reasonable offer; I try not to low-ball. JMHO.

I highly agree with lorddenning - one size does not fit all. You have to do what works well for you and your buyers. It will take some time to get established and work out all the details of your operation. I have my own system methods in which others won't do or agree, but I've been doing what I'm doing for years on ebay now and it works extremely well.

The bits of advice I will say - use good photos from a scanner (unless you're an expert with a camera), don't use ebay picture services - it sucks, have fair shipping prices, write descriptions like you don't have a photo and every little detail about an item, good communication with all buyers, be prompt and remember you are selling a service as much as you are selling an item.

Thanks for your insight everyone!!

I have been selling off parts of a collection I bought and since most of it has been singles, covers and sets I have been using the buy it now with best offer included and it has worked out rather well. These were also items that I could not risk letting go for $3.

I don't sell stamps on ebay but I do sell general junk erm I mean pre-loved vintage retro items
I agree with Battlestamps, maximum descriptions and excellent photos. This will give a buyer confidence that they know exactly what they are bidding for. Do this, and do what you can to keep your shipping costs low, then at least you know that you have given it the best shot, and the price it reached was a fair one.
I would start the bidding at whatever you feel is the lowest you will accept and see what happens.
For nicer items I do sometimes use a Buy It Now, and have good success with it. But that's because I have a feel for the market now - which isn't stamps - but it just illustrates the point that you will tweak your methods as you go. Jump in and start the learning curve!