Ebay: Do You Favor 'Auction' Or 'Buy It Now'?

I find almost all of the searches I do on ebay when buying are for the 'auction only' variety. The only times I find I'm searching for 'buy it now' items is when I'm trying to price something for sale.

But maybe this is linked to my collecting habits -- I'm interested in all-world, and don't specialize.

But I see that most items are sold as 'buy it now', so it must be popular.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***

As a seller, I prefer auction format and set a low starting price. I sell mostly postal history and other forms of covers that are hard to ascertain a value. I rather write a really good description and let the "market" decide.

Also since all the auction items end the same day I can just do everything at once - pack & ship in just a couple of days instead of a little here and there dragged out over a month.

As a buyer - the best scenario is BIN at a price I like. In recent years however, my most productive buying has been auction where I am the only bidder (I collect off-beat stuff). I have been finding less and less on ebay.

As a buyer I use both formats.
I probably spend more time looking at auctions,
but I will quickly pick up a good priced buy it now listing.

Agreed, especially if it's something unusual. I don't have to stress out about the possibility of someone outbidding me at the last minute.

I only sell via auction, and can never understand why the odd potential buyer seems reluctant to use a method which generally offers much better value for money. For me, it means I can be fairly sure of getting rid of stuff. I wouldn't even look at ebay BIN when buying collectables - for me, it's a sign of likely overpricing, often by a dealer. For things like clothes, book etc, I'll look at BIN, although the same drawbacks often appear.

I've sold a few things on ebay and I usually do BIN with option to make an offer, and if I think the offer is fair I usually accept it.

I find on ebay that bottom feeders like auctions and bid accordingly ,they are looking for the lots others have not bid on . They love the 99 cents opening bids .There must thousands of them out there ,they want to buy at 99 cents and turn around and want to sell it at $3.00 or more with heavy shipping .

We got a whole industry of $.99 buyers looking to make their millions on the resell .Years ago I would put stuff at a fix price and they would send a message with a offer to buy at less than 50% of my offer price . Again then they would look to sell it themselves at a high price than my original price . ebay send me a few warning when I told these people were to go .

Some of the bigger sellers use a shadow buyer to keep from giving away material when they use a 99 cent opening ,they also know the programs that ebay uses to stop this practice . There is one big seller who I ran into last week that lists stuff at .99 and the first day of a 7 day auction has hidden buyers pushing up the price to a acceptable level before my bids become the top bid .

I have gotten some good deals in auctions. Buyer, not seller. So I guess I prefer them. My very small selling experience is that not enough people see a stamp in a 7, or even a 10, day auction. So I generally sell as BIN.

Don

For sellers, if you write a well developed description with all the proper keywords then your item will be seen by plenty of people for an auction listing. Just a Scott # will not do.

As a seller, I use a mix of BIN and auction formats. I tend to use auction (starting at 0.99) for stuff like world albums, single country collections on album pages, but BIN for mint sets, collections I'm selling as mint postage, single covers etc.

I love floortrader's comments on the bottom feeders looking for bargains and to flip stuff and sell for more. ebay is very busy with these people!

Especially the cheapskates that try to get something at half of what is already a really low price. Like here in UK 99p is the lowest BIN price, but I've had people asking me if I'll sell the item for 79p! My experience of people asking questions about items is almost always negative -- usually a sign of someone trying to get an even better 'deal'. I think getting a 'deal' is an obsession with some people. They dont seem to realize the best deals are to be had by outbidding people on expensive lots!

As a buyer I greatly prefer auctions and perhaps 75% of my searches are for auction format lots. Only about 15 to 20% of philatelic lots on ebay are auctions, unfortunately. BIN OBO is a subset of BIN that I will try from time to time with some limited success. Most BIN lots are priced at or near retail.

For those prices I would rather buy from dealers I know and want to support.

As both buyer and seller I use BIN with best offer almost exclusively. I never sell via auction listings and I rarely buy via auction listings.

As a buyer, I don't like the uncertainty of 7-10 day auctions when I have a budget to deal with. I want to buy now and know exactly how much money it's going to cost to be able to continue buying without having to worry about what MIGHT be tied up. My entire budget could be exhausted, or perhaps none of it if I don't win... and I may have missed out on other items in the interim.

As a seller, I don't like the downside risk if the right bidders don't happen to be shopping at the moment my auctions are running. I'd rather give up the possibility of "moon money" results for the ability to protect my downside risk.

Different strokes...

I don't sell on ebay. As a buyer I would prefer BIN but I'll participate in an auction if it's something I really want.

That said, I have noticed that known auction houses and certain other sellers will list on ebay with BIN prices that are just stratospheric. Every week I see the same things relisted with unchanged prices.

As an occasional seller, I like the "set it and forget it" convenience of BIN.

I used to list more auction-style. It helps with cash flow, you get the sale in a fixed period. I still use sometimes, when I don't know the market well for what I am selling.

I think I prefer Buy It now items nowadays. If I like the item and price, I buy. The concept of a genuine auction is gone now. Bidder a***b could be a shill, a "shadow" bidder, an interested buyer, or a bot for all I know.

I have only ever sold a few items and probably wont do it again.
As an occasional buyer I prefer "buy it now". No hassle. Someone sets a price. And if its reasonable and I want the item, then Id buy it. Some "buy it now" prices are simply too high to be serious.