30 November 2008

Oh eBay, thou treacherous enticement.

I have bought some real bargains from eBay. Unfortunately, others are also buying bargains from me and I'm wondering if it's all worthwhile.

When you sell something that for some reason isn't all that tempting to buyers, you want to list it at a starting price low enough to encourage some interest. But it seems that the three things I have listed have been so un-tempting that the best I've managed is to interest ONLY ONE buyer who has not had anyone to enter a bidding war with.

Something tells me that the meagre interest I have received would have been completely obliterated if I'd put higher starting prices on these things. So whaddaya do?

Here is a list of my leet selling skills with eBay.

Item 1: Chunky Silver Heels - Ladies Shoes - Size 5

UNSOLD, despite a funny-ish ad.


Item 2: Near New - Doc Martens Ten Holers - Size 5
SOLD for crazy price of $19.00. Apparently not a lot of people are in the market for Docs that would fit a leprechaun.


Item 3: Antique Victor Upright Piano (1908)
SOLD for an even crazier price of $21.00. That's Australian dollars. I am not kidding.


Pah. Can't I at least get TWO bidders who will fight it out together so I can get some decent cash for my pre-loved stuff?

10 comments:

Allegro ma non troppo said...

Try the hard sell, like the guy trying to give me a kitten:

"These shoes will have to be euthanased if you don't bid a decent price."

Well, maybe it wouldn't work quite as well with shoes.

Hippomanic Jen said...

I wish I'd known you were selling an antique piano for $21. I would have paid that - and then spent a small fortune getting it here. Hmmm.

Long dark hair, blue eyes said...

ditto to Jen. I would have bought your piano for $21 too.

Why are you selling the piano anyway - not playing any more?

tinsenpup said...

I have a pair of leprechaun boots just like that, except I wore mine...a lot, so they have plenty of character and are surely worth much more than $19. I don't even wear them anymore since now I have to wear ugly sensible shoes with a good couple of inches of cushioning to enable walking. I could be sitting on a goldmine here. Now if only I had a couple of those $21 pianos my fortune would be made.

♥ Boomer ♥ said...

I sold on eBay for a while ~ but not recently. Got very discouraging when they started to manipulate the pricing, change the feedback, blah blah blah. Alas. I may go back, but blogging is so much more fun! (and I make about the same amount of $$ ... if that tells you anything!) :-)

Joy said...

I've been tossing around the idea of selling some things on ebay.
I have posted things on a local site in our community. The post are free and usually the people are local that you sell to/buy from.
I've posted some smaller items on our local site, but nothing is moving. I was thinking of expanding the audience. I've sold furniture and it sales within the hour usually. No luck with the little stuff.
So why did you sell the piano??

Dee said...

oh the piano breaks my heart!

I don't sell on ebay, mainly postage kills things, I am thinking of doing the market stall, or maybe the local newspaper free ads.

Heather said...

According to my local craigslist, there are craigslist sites in Australia. That's where I've managed to successfully sell loads of old cr- I mean stuff - myself. Stuff like the original radio/cassette player out of a 1995 Toyota Tercel, a car we haven't owned in years as well as a car that isn't manufactured anymore. Someone actually bought it off our CL ad.

Just a thought if you have any more horrifically bad pianos or teeny, elfin clodhoppers to sell! :)

Jen said...

I like ebay but I only buy not sell. I can imagine how difficult it must be to sell.

Swift Jan said...

$21 for your piano!!!!????? Geez I would have paid more for it!!