Advice on selling via Trade Me

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LittleGreyCat

153 posts

Master Geek

#76161 29-Jan-2011 13:01

We are coming to the point when we need to start advertising our tent and other camping equipment, with a view to selling mid February onwards.

TradeMe seems to be the obvious way, but as I've only bought one thing (a Buy Now from a business) and never sold anything I would appreciate advice.

I expected that sellers would have two choices - either an auction with or without a reserve, or a Buy Now listing.

However I have seen some listings with both.

I have seen this done on eBay by commercial sellers where they list a load of the same item with slightly different end dates with a Buy Now and an auction so that people can try for a discount or buy straight away. However this seems to be based around a retail price for a stock item.

How does this strategy work for a one off private sale?

You are effectively setting a maximum price for the item because (presumably) if an auction approached the Buy Now price one of the bidders will crack and press the Buy Now button, thus ending the auction.
[I am struggling with the concept of someone bidding above the Buy Now price - what is the position if this happens and someone then presses the Buy Now button? Who has won the auction?]

When selling a tent it may be sensible to include a Buy Now just in case someone wants the tent immediately instead of at the end of the auction.
Is there any other way of ending the auction early, or is a Buy Now the only way of setting the conditions for an early sale?

Our alternative is to hang out until the last minute and list with a no reserve auction because living in the tent saves us around $30 a day (assuming we would otherwise be in very budget accomodation - a kitchen cabin on a campsite).

The car could go through Turners auction and have a reasonable chance of selling on the night.

Are there any other obvious options for selling the tent at the end of our trip?

Cheers

LGC

etl

20 posts

Geek

#432555 29-Jan-2011 13:14

If your selling a tent, and you have a price you want for it. You could just list with a buy-now option only.
Then there is no confusion.

I either do one or the other, not both.
I either WANT $450 for my tent, or I want AT LEAST $300 for my tent.

You also have to pay extra for more features, such as Picture on search page, different reserve to starting bid, etc.

Work out how much you want for the tent (what you consider to be good value). Then you could just set that as a buy-now. There will be no confusion.

I personally think people pay absurd amounts for things on Trademe sometimes. And other times, you can grab a bargain. Just make sure you avoid being that bargain.

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#432563 29-Jan-2011 13:48

LittleGreyCat:

I have seen this done on eBay by commercial sellers where they list a load of the same item with slightly different end dates with a Buy Now and an auction so that people can try for a discount or buy straight away. However this seems to be based around a retail price for a stock item.

How does this strategy work for a one off private sale?

You are effectively setting a maximum price for the item because (presumably) if an auction approached the Buy Now price one of the bidders will crack and press the Buy Now button, thus ending the auction.
[I am struggling with the concept of someone bidding above the Buy Now price - what is the position if this happens and someone then presses the Buy Now button? Who has won the auction?]

LGC

that actually can't happen. trademe works a bit differently to ebay (much better IMO) .
Once someone bids at the reserve, the buy now option dissapears. (Of course if you set the reserve the same as the buy now then it is not really an auction. nobody would ever bid above reserve and instead just hit buynow)

Generally the best way to sell is to set a reserve at whatever is the lowest you would accept for the item. Let's say $30.
Then set the buynow at a price that you think is slightly higher than the auction will probably get to. let's say you think the auction will probably get to $45 based on other similar auctions, so you set a buy now of $50.

that way, bidders have the option of a guaranteed price of $50 or bidding to the reserve of $30 in the hope of getting it for that much (thus eliminating the 'buy now' option) and taking the risk that somebody else might get into a bid war with them that drives the price up further than $50. If they bid $30 and nobody else bids, then they got lucky and won it for $30.

I've sold several things where the bidder decided to take that risk, bidded to the reserve and removed the buynow, and then other people came into the auction and the eventual selling price was well above my original buynow.

LittleGreyCat

153 posts

Master Geek

#432566 29-Jan-2011 14:05

NonprayingMantis:
that actually can't happen. trademe works a bit differently to ebay (much better IMO) .
Once someone bids at the reserve, the buy now option dissapears. (Of course if you set the reserve the same as the buy now then it is not really an auction. nobody would ever bid above reserve and instead just hit buynow)

Generally the best way to sell is to set a reserve at whatever is the lowest you would accept for the item. Let's say $30.
Then set the buynow at a price that you think is slightly higher than the auction will probably get to. let's say you think the auction will probably get to $45 based on other similar auctions, so you set a buy now of $50.

that way, bidders have the option of a guaranteed price of $50 or bidding to the reserve of $30 in the hope of getting it for that much (thus eliminating the 'buy now' option) and taking the risk that somebody else might get into a bid war with them that drives the price up further than $50. If they bid $30 and nobody else bids, then they got lucky and won it for $30.

I've sold several things where the bidder decided to take that risk, bidded to the reserve and removed the buynow, and then other people came into the auction and the eventual selling price was well above my original buynow.

Excellent - just what I needed to know!

Many Thanks

LGC

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#432619 29-Jan-2011 18:03

Also note, it's "Trade Me", not "Trademe".

trig42

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#432807 30-Jan-2011 12:44

Also note that if you are a new Trade Me member, you won't be able to put a Buy Now on your auction (unless they have changed the rules). I think you need a feedback rating of at least 5 to set a Buy Now.

EDIT: You can also set a Buy Now if you are address verified and have a rating of less than 5.

If it is an item that is 'desirable', I find it is best to just start with a $1 reserve and you will get to a fair price (ie. what the market is willing to pay). If you can't take the tent with you, then it guarantees it will sell.