Do auctions get more interest than BIN's?

[sigma_chi]

An orange refractor auto of a big prospect sold for $559 two weeks ago. I have the same card and listed a couple days later BIN for $549. I've listed it 3 previous times for anywhere between $529-549 and never had much interest other than the lowball cash offers. I had between 5-7 watchers at most. I decided to finally just let it go auction style, 7 days, started Sunday night at .99 and by the time I woke up yesterday I had 21 watchers. I imagine some are just curious and some are hoping for a bargain but still I can't believe the difference in interest in my card between the two styles. Just an observation,

 

[ronniedp23]

I have used ebay since I started collecting again 4 years ago. I have yet to hit a BIN out right(have made a few best offers). Personally I prefer auctions and I think the great majority of ebayers do as well because of the chance for a bargain/the enjoyment of winning an auction.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[sigma_chi]

I have used ebay since I started collecting again 4 years ago. I have yet to hit a BIN out right(have made a few best offers). Personally I prefer auctions and I think the great majority of ebayers do as well because of the chance for a bargain/the enjoyment of winning an auction.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Freedom Card Board mobile app

When I sell my cards I usually set the bin right at or below what the going rate is. If it's a hot prospect I might add a little bit and hope somebody bites. They usually do if the price is reasonable. I prefer BIN's without BO as a seller because I can require instant payment and negate the hassle of having to chase my money down or the risk of a NPB. This is my first auction in forever and you're right it is exciting! I quit listing auction style, for the most part, because I had a string of bad luck on NPB's or "my son bid on this without my permission"

 

[sawmillthug]

I'm tempted to price stuff to sell at bin with instant payment required. I'm tired of the excuses. The no response people make me even more mad. I am ok with a day or two to make payment but if you need a week or more to pay either contact seller first or don't bid. It's not a wish list and i take eBay pretty serious. I might try this and just expect less people interested but if it sells you have the money now.

 

[VandyDan]

I will say that I watch a lot more auctions than BINs of items I have so as to gauge where the market price is in case I want to sell later. I must be watching 5 Taveras autos at any time just to see where they are going and have zero intention to bid on them. Whenever I auction something that I think is more than a $5 card, I assume 25% of the watchers are just price checkers.

Most recently just changed some BIN/BOs to auction and my watcher count more than quadrupled on a few items. So far has not translated into a ton of bids (one has been up for three days already with 14 watchers...only two bids, ugh).

 

[sigma_chi]

I'm tempted to price stuff to sell at bin with instant payment required. I'm tired of the excuses. The no response people make me even more mad. I am ok with a day or two to make payment but if you need a week or more to pay either contact seller first or don't bid. It's not a wish list and i take eBay pretty serious. I might try this and just expect less people interested but if it sells you have the money now.

You won't regret the BIN with instant payment. Like I said you might miss out on an occasional bidding war or whatever but unless you're just unreasonable on your price then the item will eventually sell and you will have your money instantly. Nothing worse than having to send multiple messages trying to collect $15 over the course of a week.

 

[sigma_chi]

I will say that I watch a lot more auctions than BINs of items I have so as to gauge where the market price is in case I want to sell later. I must be watching 5 Taveras autos at any time just to see where they are going and have zero intention to bid on them. Whenever I auction something that I think is more than a $5 card, I assume 25% of the watchers are just price checkers.

Most recently just changed some BIN/BOs to auction and my watcher count more than quadrupled on a few items. So far has not translated into a ton of bids (one has been up for three days already with 14 watchers...only two bids, ugh).

I do the same thing, I have watched every single Zunino Orange Auto that has gone on auction just to get an idea on price. When the one sold for $559 I thought surely that mine would sell at $549...but it sat there a week with no interest. Now I have triple the watchers and 12 bids with 5 1/2 days left.

 

[BowmanChromeAddict]

I'm 99% BIN with BO. I generally will price above current market because if I don't, people will inevitably offer me less because "why else would I have the best offer option". Granted, they still offer less, but I counter with current market and explain how a completed auction search works...and lately I've had to explain about how to use .au to see what previous Best offer items have sold for. And when you price above market, you will get people who hit those BIN's and are more than happy to do it. BIN with Best Offer is the reason that Leaf products work for me.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

Many sellers who use BINs (especially for higher-end stuff) seem really greedy which turns people off to the format.

Many people only search auctions.

 

[VandyDan]

I'm 99% BIN with BO. I generally will price above current market because if I don't, people will inevitably offer me less because "why else would I have the best offer option". Granted, they still offer less, but I counter with current market and explain how a completed auction search works...and lately I've had to explain about how to use .au to see what previous Best offer items have sold for. And when you price above market, you will get people who hit those BIN's and are more than happy to do it. BIN with Best Offer is the reason that Leaf products work for me.

I like the BO option because I can then check the items that they've bought to see how much they seem to pay for similar items. I don't think I even bother throwing up BINs without BO unless I am dramatically under-pricing due to a need for some liquidity. I decided to turn off the auto-reject option, mostly because auto declined offers can tick off buyers, and it gives me a free resource to find out who habitually lowballs (ie, less than 20% of the listed price) so I can just block them.

 

[dp33]

I used to watch BINs under the (possibly false) assumption that sellers would see a watcher and then put it on sale to a level where I was interested. It happened like 2 or 3 times so I thought I was onto something, but now it hasn't happened in a long time. I'm also with VandyDan in that I'll watch auctions/BINs with no intent on actually bidding myself.

As for selling, definitely prefer the BIN in order to get immediate payment and be done with it. But I had listed a Mike Schmidt Triple Threads auto for $49.99 BIN during the summer - a little under market, but I was willing to forgo the difference in place of getting paid right away and not watching it sell for $35 at auction. But no action, so I waited awhile and listed it again for 2 consecutive weeks in November. Again no action, and not really enough watchers to make it seem like there was any real interest in it. Anyway, I just decided to list it at auction over Black Friday weekend, and by the time it was done, it sold for like $75.

I think some people must just have their searches limited to auctions so they don't even look at BINs. To me the thrill is in getting the card, not winning an auction, but ebay always seems to prove otherwise.

**edit** anddd... in the time it took me to type out my post, unique laid it out there without the babbling backstory.

 

[Dilferules]

Many sellers who use BINs (especially for higher-end stuff) seem really greedy which turns people off to the format.

Many people only search auctions.

This. I very rarely search BIN (probably less than 1% of my ebay purchases) because it's not worth it to slog through the tons and tons of overpriced listings hoping to find something I need for a good price. I will search them sometimes for the few players I very heavily collect. For my A's team collection, which I spend the majority of my collecting dollar on, it's auctions only because I'm looking for cool cards at bargain (often below market) prices. Finding something like that in a BIN is rare enough that it's a waste of time to search. My experiences with best offers have been poor, I have had very few accepted even when I offer excellent prices. Again, another waste of time that could be better spent bidding on auctions.

I do use BIN around Christmas to buy gifts where I am more concerned with getting a specific item than a specific price. I'll also put fairly priced BIN items on my ebay wishlist around that time of year to give my family more gift giving options.

 

[bcubs]

As a seller I prefer BIN/BO for things I don't necessarily care if I sell. This lets me set the price of sale and not rely on the hope of a bidding war. For things I want to unload no matter what I use auction.

As a buyer I use BIN/BO for things I want for myself, I'm not really concerned with overpaying a bit if I want to own it. I use auction for things I am looking for a deal on to flip at some point.

 

[ljw29]

BIN best offer with items at a small amount above average selling price. Below and people will think you are desperate and wait to lower or take less. Have sold numerous auctions where the BIN best offer will go for lets say $20 and the Auction on a Sunday or Tuesday Night is $8-11. Auctions are usually great for buyers, I have picked up numerous auctions that are properly pictured and titled and relisted them and made 15-20% within two weeks through BIN/BO

 

[bigalbert]

I only search auctions for my player collection. Just don't like the hassle of BO, I'd rather bid to win. Do occasionally check BO's when I am looking for a certain card tho. But 99% auction buys for my PC.

 

[Hallsgator]

auctions definitely get a lot more interest and action