Activity theory (Auctions vs Fixed Pricing)

Let's embellish something.  I read a statistic the other day about auctions hitting higher in search rankings than fixed listings.  Assume 1000 listings pull up and 100 were auctions and 900 were fixed.  And, 64 or something of the top 100 were auctions while the other 36 were fixed.  This means auctions carry a higher percentage of the top 100 and were over-represented based on pure numbers.  (I figure some of this gobblegook has to do with both new listing and ending soon bonuses, but whatevs.)

I also saw a video blog of a seller than lists auctions first and moves them to store after they don't sell.  But, she lists HIGH on the first auction shot.  She does this because she saw this over-representation, too.  And, because she swears it drives traffic to her store and keeps her numbers up.

Hmmmmmm.  Of course, this gets me thinking.

Why not list an auction, at YOUR price, and see if you can't flip a few things in a week?  So, I tried it today. I usually just dump things directly in the store with a Best Offer on them to cover my range of acceptance.  For example, a $25 shirt may have an offer on it for $20.  I don't care what it sells for in that range.

The auctions I put out there today were on some bigger ticket items, too.  I started the auction price at what I would typically put as my low offer acceptance.  If I felt it may work, I placed a Buy-It-Now on for what my original asking price would be.

This allows me to offer free shipping on auctions.  It also means since eBay dropped it's tiered auction pricing (where everyone used to fear going over the 9.99 mark) I can ask pretty much whatever I want.  I only need one bid......I don't need a war to start to get MY price.  However, the listing fees were higher.  In some cases, double.  I felt that's ok for the sake of experimentation, but don't know how I feel about it long-term.

The shirts I put out there were Hawaiians.  I put out two Reyn Spooners, a couple cheapies, and two Tommy Bahamas (one NWT).  These "should" get some attention at the least.  I'll be interested to see if a few of them sell.  If so, this will be one seriously quick way to get paid for some great thrift store finds.

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