Pricing your work on EBay

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I had an interesting discussion with one of my favorite customers the other day about setting the opening bid on Ebay. It's difficult to strike just the right number...low enough to bring in bids but not so low that you'll lose out should your item sell for just one bid. One of the thoughts was this; if the seller sets a very low opening bid consistently in their auctions it's possible to establish a customer base who would then in the future begin to raise the prices themselves. The buyer sets the price. I like that idea fine, I'm just not so sure about that 'in the future' bit...the seller would have to commit to the idea for several auctions. How long should one accept lower prices for their work? For the most part I have been opening at a price that I'm 'fairly' (let's be honest..I would like to see some bidding wars) happy with if it only sold at that price.
This discussion has been hashed over and over again among artists in the field...we're all of varied opinions, and thats reflected in our auctions. I would like to try the low low opening bid theory but I just don't have the guts...hmmm, do you suppose that could mean I don't have faith in my own work?! I hope not.
I like to think it means that I value my time and what few skills I've managed to glean in the time that I've been working with this magical, elusive medium. That sounds much better..

Comments

windycindy said…
Hi Deb, I voted for you on the Top 100 Jewelry Artist Sites. Have a great evening! Cindi H.
jchoppes(at)hotmail(dot)com
November 19, 2007 at 3:57 PM
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