ADVICE PLEASE: Why are my auctions not working out?

[Chip Cataldo]

(2) Your auctions end on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Those are kinda slow nights for auction activity, though with highly rare and desirable items it might not matter. Weekends are often better times to start and end auctions because more people browsing the eBay listings are at home. Those listings are more likely to be seen by people who use "newest listed" and "ending soonest" to organize searches.

Just chiming in on this...IME, completely not true. Any night of the week is fine, it's the time you have to worry about. I usually start my nightly auctions at 9pm EST, which means most of the East and West Coast working crowd will be home. I don't start anything later than 11pm as most people like to get sleep.

 

I'll also state that putting in an actual grade of each book is key. Even when selling lots, a tight grade range with any outliers identified is the best way to go. No "All books are VG to NM" but something like "VF to VF/NM with the Popeye and Superboy being VG." If you don't get what I'm trying to say I'll attempt to explain it better.

 

Peace,

 

Chip

[kav]

The problem is that if you graded really tight a VF might sell at VG prices....and if you don't grade tight you kick a hornet's nest

 

[Number 6]

All I can give is advice for what has worked for me. I have great success selling on ebay and 100% feedback.

 

I have 100% feedback and I list grades. I would venture that many members here who list grades do too.

 

The only problems I ever had was when I listed grades.

 

What problems? If a buyer isn't happy with the grade and you're a stand-up seller who has a return policy, you graciously accept a return. What's so horrible about that?

 

Even the most strict grader will sooner or later run into a stricter grader, as evidenced by all the stories in the blocked user list.

 

Bidders are NOT getting added to that list simply because they weren't satisfied with the grade and want to return it for a refund. You need to read that thread more carefully.

 

I have never had a buyer see my pics and descriptions and ask me well what grade is it?

 

And how many potentially bidders have clicked on your listings, see that there's no grade and quickly clicked back out and moved on? I know I would and I'm pretty there's a lot of members here who would too.

 

It's not an attempt to absolve anything-just a recognition that grading is subjective to some extent.

 

Again, the way to acknowledge the differences in grading opinion is by having a responsible return policy.

 

Typically my auctions end higher that others selling the same book so I don't think it's 'bad advice'

 

Well, we don't know your eBay i.d. so there's no way to know if that's true. I find it hard to believe, but then again I've seen sellers who clearly over-grade and still get above-average results so I guess anythin's possible. EBay's a wacky place.

 

It's great if it works for you, but it flies in face of all the good advice everyone is giving here. I just have a really hard time advocating that someone new to selling comics on eBay NOT list grades. It discourages them from better educating themselves on the nuances of grading and it doesn't protect them from having to deal with a potential dissatisfied buyer.

[01TheDude]

All of these responses are great advice.

 

I would add simply this-- build an ad to have what you would want to see in it as a buyer yourself. When I first started setting up some comics on eBay-- I looked through tons of other peoples listings to see what seemed important and what should be in my ads. I put together a format etc as was suggested. But it was slow going at first except for some high demand items.

 

Also-- don't settle on the format and never revisit it. I have gone through multiple renditions of my basic description area. I think I picked up a couple of more things to consider while reading this thread. So I would suggest that you consider the format something you use but keep trying to refine it.

 

if you do go the auction route, when you end the auction is most important. And it helps if you space your ending times out so that multiple items are ending within 5 or 10 minutes of each other, especially if they are the same title. This method seems to work for many of the more established sellers. The odd thing about the heavy hitters-- the more established and huge feedback high volume sellers-- they seem to put the bare minimum into the selling process. As newer or small-time sellers, we don't have that luxury. We have to go the extra mile to sell our stuff and grab attention of the buyers. How a simple picture of just the cover is good enough is beyond me. But it hasn't stopped me from buying from those guys and still being happy with the books sent.

 

Three things I avoid as a buyer:

1) overpaying for shipping

2) sellers who do not allow returns

3) feedbacks that have multiple incidents of shipping/grading/communication problems.

 

Send a book with half-arsed packing and that is your last time dealing with me.

 

anyway-- good luck

 

 

[kav]

Every buyer knows sellers have a return policy if item is not as described.

You have no way of knowing what your item might have sold for if you had not listed a grade. I have many times received a book that was graded at VG and was happy to see that it was a VF. So I got it at VG prices, because of the strict grading. And the seller missed out. Any buyer can form his own grade with pics and accurate descriptions. If you say it's VG and the pics look good, buyer assumes some hidden defect.

Anyway different strokes for different folks.

[01TheDude]

Every buyer knows sellers have a return policy if item is not as described.

You have no way of knowing what your item might have sold for if you had not listed a grade. I have many times received a book that was graded at VG and was happy to see that it was a VF. So I got it at VG prices, because of the strict grading. And the seller missed out. Any buyer can form his own grade with pics and accurate descriptions. If you say it's VG and the pics look good, buyer assumes some hidden defect.

Anyway different strokes for different folks.

 

this seems like a short sighted perspective.

 

I mean if you are going to be listing items for quite a while, you want to establish with repeat buyers that you know how to grade a book within reason. I have no problem telling people a grade that I would give a book in my opinion. I make sure they understand that this isn't certified and just my opinion (or if I have put it in the "Grade my book" thread-- the consensus of the forum). I don't think they can hold your feet to the fire on that or even say "not as described" because if you described the book in addition to the grade you give it-- then tell the buyer to please review the pictures -- you should be covered. EVEN if they are not happy at that point, you should be willing to take a return. Probably the only people who shouldn't have to accept returns are those selling slabs-- and even they might have to if the slab gets damaged in shipping.

 

Not saying you are wrong to leave off grading -- just that it can be done without you being held accountable to a difference of opinion. And people often times search by grade. You may be missing out of those searches. Leaving out a grade seems like it helps the buyer pick up deals versus the seller maximizing profit.

[kav]

Granted such a wide variance in grading by different sellers-why should a listed grade matter at all?

Some guy i don't know thinks this book is a VG. Someone else thinks it's a VF. Some doofus thinks it's NM. I mean-who cares what grade someone lists a book at-just lemme at the pics.

[PhAnTaSmV]

In general, I think comic sales are slow this time of year.

[01TheDude]

In general, I think comic sales are slow this time of year.

 

sounds like a prime time to scoop up some auction deals

[Doohickamabob]

Avoid listing grades as someone sooner or later will disagree with your grade and headaches will ensue. Just clear pics and describe every flaw.

Sooner or later somebody will disagree with something no matter what the seller writes. If it isn't grade then it will be something else. 1 out of 20 buyers is going to be a headache. It seems to be some sort of Murphy's Law thing.

 

That said, there is an advantage to putting the grade -- it gives the buyer an immediate reference point for determining value. This can be really helpful if you're selling in lots/groups because who has time to read detailed descriptions for 34 comics? It also shows that you as a seller are putting some effort into describing the item in a helpful way.

 

Putting just the grade puts you at risk of some headache, but if you put "I judge this VG because..." and then you describe the condition and flaws, then the buyer has less basis for complaint if he disagrees with the grade. The buyer had all the relevant information about condition and simply disagreed about what grade those flaws added up to. You can also shift the weight ever-so-slightly in the direction of the picky buyer and it probably won't hurt your sales, because you'll end up with a lot more happy customers who will get used to you "undergrading" your comics and adjust their expectations accordingly.

[kav]

Avoid listing grades as someone sooner or later will disagree with your grade and headaches will ensue. Just clear pics and describe every flaw.

Sooner or later somebody will disagree with something no matter what the seller writes. If it isn't grade then it will be something else. 1 out of 20 buyers is going to be a headache. It seems to be some sort of Murphy's Law thing. There are a lot of warped egos and petty shut-ins who collect comics. They are mostly in the minority but when they pass gas in your direction, it's toxic.

 

That said, there is an advantage to putting the grade -- it gives the buyer an immediate reference point for determining value. This can be really helpful if you're selling in lots/groups because who has time to read detailed descriptions for 34 comics? It also shows that you as a seller are putting some effort into describing the item in a helpful way.

 

Putting just the grade puts you at risk of some headache, but if you put "I judge this VG because..." and then you describe the condition and flaws, then the buyer has less basis for complaint if he disagrees with the grade. The buyer had all the relevant information about condition and simply disagreed about what grade those flaws added up to. You can also shift the weight ever-so-slightly in the direction of the picky buyer and it probably won't hurt your sales, because you'll end up with a lot more happy customers who will get used to you "undergrading" your comics and adjust their expectations accordingly.

Yeah I think if you say 'In my opinion this is a VG' and then briefly describe why I can't see where someone would have a problem with that.

[Number 6]

I think you also might be lumping scammers in with legitimate buyers who simply aren't happy with a book and want to return.

 

Scammers are going to give you trouble regardless of whether you grade soft, hard, accurate or don't provide a grade at all. Dealing with a scammer is just the (un)luck of the draw no matter what your listing is like.

[Doohickamabob]

(2) Your auctions end on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Those are kinda slow nights for auction activity, though with highly rare and desirable items it might not matter. Weekends are often better times to start and end auctions because more people browsing the eBay listings are at home. Those listings are more likely to be seen by people who use "newest listed" and "ending soonest" to organize searches.

Just chiming in on this...IME, completely not true. Any night of the week is fine, it's the time you have to worry about.

I agree that time of day is also important. Imagine somebody having their auction end at 4 a.m.....not a good call.

 

But I do think the day of the week matters, especially in an auction where there is bidding competition that takes place right toward the end of the auction. Take Friday night for example. Assuming that at least half of the potential last-minute, manual-sniping bidders have M-F jobs, and assuming that these potential bidders also tend to have social activity (or are stuck in rush hour traffic, or tired out from work) on Friday nights, then you are risking losing those bidders if you have your listing end on Friday night.

[01TheDude]

Avoid listing grades as someone sooner or later will disagree with your grade and headaches will ensue. Just clear pics and describe every flaw.

Sooner or later somebody will disagree with something no matter what the seller writes. If it isn't grade then it will be something else. 1 out of 20 buyers is going to be a headache. It seems to be some sort of Murphy's Law thing.

 

That said, there is an advantage to putting the grade -- it gives the buyer an immediate reference point for determining value. This can be really helpful if you're selling in lots/groups because who has time to read detailed descriptions for 34 comics? It also shows that you as a seller are putting some effort into describing the item in a helpful way.

 

Putting just the grade puts you at risk of some headache, but if you put "I judge this VG because..." and then you describe the condition and flaws, then the buyer has less basis for complaint if he disagrees with the grade. The buyer had all the relevant information about condition and simply disagreed about what grade those flaws added up to. You can also shift the weight ever-so-slightly in the direction of the picky buyer and it probably won't hurt your sales, because you'll end up with a lot more happy customers who will get used to you "undergrading" your comics and adjust their expectations accordingly.

 

^^ this ^^^

 

Not to mention-- most buyers look at the pictures and decide for themselves how accurate you are being. I also tend to expect slightly lower than what the seller is propping the book up to be. That makes it easier to be realistic on what you will max bid and if the book arrives better than those expectations, win win.

 

Both approaches have merit. I guess it is up to the seller to go with the one that makes them feel best.

 

 

[PhAnTaSmV]

In general, I think comic sales are slow this time of year.

 

sounds like a prime time to scoop up some auction deals

 

Absolutely! I got some great deals recently

[rjpb]

Based on sales I see, whether ebay, dealers or on the boards, it sometimes seems the quickest way to move books is to overgrade them slightly ( or at the top of an arguable range) and then price them at what they probably should grade out at.

 

Or conversely, be tight enough that folks feel you undergrade. People like a bargain, real or imagined.

[BarryAllen]

Based on sales I see, whether ebay, dealers or on the boards, it sometimes seems the quickest way to move books is to overgrade them slightly ( or at the top of an arguable range) and then price them at what they probably should grade out at.

 

Or conversely, be tight enough that folks feel you undergrade. People like a bargain, real or imagined.

 

No offense, but isn't that dishonest from the get-go?

[01TheDude]

Based on sales I see, whether ebay, dealers or on the boards, it sometimes seems the quickest way to move books is to overgrade them slightly ( or at the top of an arguable range) and then price them at what they probably should grade out at.

 

Or conversely, be tight enough that folks feel you undergrade. People like a bargain, real or imagined.

 

No offense, but isn't that dishonest from the get-go?

 

[01TheDude]

here's a real winner of an ad --

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thor-Comic-Book/121531519604?_trksid=p2059216.c100149.m2821&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140127103305%26meid%3Dd4207cf9ec9b4f499c232374686d8b7c%26pid%3D100149%26prg%3D20140127103305%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D261718348779

 

 

and hey- sorry if you are from Brazil because :

 

"I do not ship to Brazil"

 

usually you don't need to tell people that if you have your shipping preferences set right as they will never see your items

[rjpb]

Based on sales I see, whether ebay, dealers or on the boards, it sometimes seems the quickest way to move books is to overgrade them slightly ( or at the top of an arguable range) and then price them at what they probably should grade out at.

 

Or conversely, be tight enough that folks feel you undergrade. People like a bargain, real or imagined.

 

No offense, but isn't that dishonest from the get-go?

 

 

It's not my practice, and it may be that those who do it are just loose graders, but given there is rare consensus on any book's grade, it's probably a bit much to call it dishonest. Slabbed or raw, buy the book, not the grade.