[hachkc]

I'm just about to put up some chips on ebay but I've never actually sold anything on ebay so I have a few questions for the experts.

1. I have like no feedback just the 3-4 purchases I've made which have all been small. How big an issue?

2. When I put something out, what should I start the price at in relation to the reserve? Is there any real advantage to listing a "Buy It Now" price?

3. Do you think its reasonable to get $400+ for the following ASM chips in good-very good condition?
160 x Grey Solid Nondenom
330 x Blue 312 $1
60 x Red 3D14 $5
10 x Green 3D14 $25

4. Assuming I want to get $400, what should I start the listing at?

Thanks all.

[Tacknight]

I have bought and sold a bit on ebay. The low feedback may be a problem but at least you have some. I won't buy from someone who has zero feedback and I look closely at what someone has purchased when they have low feedback. I have never used the reserve feature. If it's an item I know that is in demand I will set the price low and let the bidding fervor set in. If its something that may not get alot of bidding on but I don't want to let go for a steal then I set the initial price higher but still at a deal so I get some bids on it.

The big thing is knowing your market and how much of your item is already out there. As far as what you can get for your chips on ebay, it's hard to tell but we are coming into the holiday season and this is one of the best times of the year to be selling.

I hope this helps, Joe

[nygiantsfan3342]

Originally Posted by hachkc

1. I have like no feedback just the 3-4 purchases I've made which have all been small. How big an issue?

2. When I put something out, what should I start the price at in relation to the reserve? Is there any real advantage to listing a "Buy It Now" price?

3. Do you think its reasonable to get $400+ for the following ASM chips in good-very good condition?
160 x Grey Solid Nondenom
330 x Blue 312 $1
60 x Red 3D14 $5
10 x Green 3D14 $25

4. Assuming I want to get $400, what should I start the listing at?

Thanks all.

1. You generally don't get as many bids with lower feedback ratings. Fewer bidders willing to take risks.

2. I NEVER bid on something that has a reserve, and a lot of bidders feel the same. If you put a Buy it Now of $425 and a starting bid of $375, it will let bidders know how much you expect. That being said, the higher you start your minimum bid, the longer it will take before you get a bid. I start every one of my auctions at $.99, so that if buyers are sorting by price, my auction is at the top of the list and it stimulates more bidding. Once you get five or six people "competing" for an auction, it drives the price up faster.

3. What we consider reasonable may not be reasonable to others. $400 for 560 clay chips is a good deal, but you have to SELL it as a good deal with your listing. I see so many auctions that have ONE blurry picture and very little description. For only $1.50, you can list 6 pictures and have the supersized--DO IT! Nothing sells better than pictures. And spend a little time describing the chips: explain that they are custom clays, not dice chips. Mention that ASM made the Rounders Chips for the movie. A little more effort on the front end makes a lot more $$$ on the back end. If you take the time to thoroughly present a good product, it might make me forget that you don't have a very high Seller rating.

4. See the 2nd answer. The higher the bidding minimum, the fewer bids you'll get.

Good luck sir!!!

[weak]

Originally Posted by nygiantsfan3342

For only $1.50, you can list 6 pictures and have the supersized--DO IT! Nothing sells better than pictures. And spend a little time describing the chips: explain that they are custom clays, not dice chips. Mention that ASM made the Rounders Chips for the movie. A little more effort on the front end makes a lot more $$$ on the back end.

seconded. the 'look' of your auction is really important. i'd just suggest to host the pictures on your own webhost, that's free and you can use any size and as many as you want.

[xtyler92]

If you have an extra paulson chip laying around, it might not be a bad idea to add it with the auction. I know I usually just type in paulson when I search on ebay, generally because they are the chips I am most interested in. It also helps filter out all the junk. Might get more chip collectors or higher end chip collectors this way (Just my Opinion). I also like asm chips, there are usually just not a lot on ebay, so I quit checking for them. I'll look for your ebay post, or post it in the auctions link here at chiptalk. I'm not interested in picking up any new chips right now, but I'll help get the ball rolling.

[jojong]

Originally Posted by xtyler92

If you have an extra paulson chip laying around, it might not be a bad idea to add it with the auction. I know I usually just type in paulson when I search on ebay, generally because they are the chips I am most interested in. It also helps filter out all the junk. Might get more chip collectors or higher end chip collectors this way (Just my Opinion). I also like asm chips, there are usually just not a lot on ebay, so I quit checking for them. I'll look for your ebay post, or post it in the auctions link here at chiptalk. I'm not interested in picking up any new chips right now, but I'll help get the ball rolling.

You beat me to it. Like everyone said, how you market your chips is very important. It's always good to add words where you think will get more hits in searches(not just ebay, but google search too), like 'real casino chips', 'rounders'... So a bonus $1 casino paulson chip with the purchase is not a bad idea.

I'm no expert in selling but as a buyer, I tend to stay away from sellers with low feedbacks especially when you're dealing with good chunk of money. Sorry.

Good luck!

[Nanook]

Originally Posted by hachkc

I'm just about to put up some chips on ebay but I've never actually sold anything on ebay so I have a few questions for the experts.

1. I have like no feedback just the 3-4 purchases I've made which have all been small. How big an issue?

2. When I put something out, what should I start the price at in relation to the reserve? Is there any real advantage to listing a "Buy It Now" price?

3. Do you think its reasonable to get $400+ for the following ASM chips in good-very good condition?
160 x Grey Solid Nondenom
330 x Blue 312 $1
60 x Red 3D14 $5
10 x Green 3D14 $25

4. Assuming I want to get $400, what should I start the listing at?

Thanks all.

I'll take a crack at this one as I have have done quite a few chip auctions on e-bay (100+)

1) Feedback.... not such a big deal. You might get a few less bidders, but if your auction is presented well and you have the right "key" words you will get a good price anyway.

2) As a seller, I see no advantage in a buy it now auction unless you have multiple items that would would sell for that price, ie 100 x $1's that you would like to sell off one by one. For the auction that you are doing, skip the buy it now but use a reserve for sure. The reserve is the only thing that really matters so start the bidding low and put the reserve at $400. There are 2 schools of thought on the starting price: One is to start it as low as possible to get more bidders involved (like 1¢) and the other would be to start it at maybe 25-50% of your reserve ($100-$200) this way when people do their sorts and they are sorting by price your listing will come up higher on the list earlier in the auction. I think I would opt for this, something like $129 or $149 would likely work well. I would highly recommend using a reserve for something that you are trying to get $400 for though. With an auction like what you are talking about you could get stung with having to sell it for $150 or something like that if your wording/pictures etc are not good and you don't have a reserve set.

3) Price: Maybe, but from what you have described in the op I am not even sure of exactly what you are selling. I know the are ASM's, but are they customs with something that is unique to you, are they the actual rounders chips, are they the rounders knockoffs etc. You get the idea, the buyer needs to have good info to make a buying decision and the best way to do that is have a good description with good "keywords" and good pictures or scans.

4) If it was me, I would start the bidding at $149 with a reserve of $400

Nanook

[JoseRijo]

Originally Posted by Nanook

4) If it was me, I would start the bidding at $149 with a reserve of $400
Nanook

DO NOT PUT A RESERVE ON YOUR AUCTION. Unless, of course, you don't like money.

Honestly, I think your best bet is to start the auction at $400 and take your chances. If they were Paulsons, you could start the auction at $9.95 without too much worry. But here you're taking a risk that they will only go for $250.

Also, avoid the temptation to overcharge shipping. That will also scare off buyers. You want them to think they are getting a deal!

Good luck!

[Nanook]

Originally Posted by JoseRijo

DO NOT PUT A RESERVE ON YOUR AUCTION. Unless, of course, you don't like money.

Honestly, I think your best bet is to start the auction at $400 and take your chances. If they were Paulsons, you could start the auction at $9.95 without too much worry. But here you're taking a risk that they will only go for $250.

Also, avoid the temptation to overcharge shipping. That will also scare off buyers. You want them to think they are getting a deal!

Good luck!

I don't get it? If you start the bidding at 1¢ with a reserve of $400 you are not required to sell for anything less than $400. You can start the bidding anywhere and the reserve is the only thing that matters.

You say "Do not put a reserve" on your auction. I ask, why not? If you do, the only thing you risk is the listing fees. If you skip the reserve then depending upon where you start the bidding you risk selling for a VERY low price.......... This is a risk I would not take with a $400 item. You can start the bidding at $400 if you like with no reserve. That also works, it's just not how I would do it.

Nanook

[AceDeuceNoUse]

Many good points so far. I will slide in with these tips:

As Nanook said, good keywords in both the title and description are your best friend. Use caps, but no goofy symbols.

Use as many high quality photos as you can either pay to post, or host via your own web page (use your ISP's personal home page if you can). Use either scans or Macro focus pics for good close-up shots.

Things that suck: Stock photos, profit margins from shipping and "handling".

Use html if you can, but don't overdo it. Keep the layout simple and intuitive. I'd be happy to forward you the template I use.

Your description is where the buyer gets his meta data telling him whether or not he should buy. Give as much information about the item as possible. Run grammar and spell checks. Offer to answer any questions from potential bidders via eBay messages.

If you have any special terms about payment, shipping, taxes, returns, etc., use the built-in placeholders but flesh them out in your description. Leave no room for misinterpretation.

Regarding a reserve, I would use it if I needed to make at least $400, but start the bidding around $149 as Nanook suggests. The quality of your description becomes crucial here, as I personally don't think the general fleabay populace is as willing to bid $400 for 560 ASMs, and those who have a better sense of their value will try to snipe for less anyway. You need to educate the potential buyer as to why he should shell out premium $ for yours instead of $100 for "casino quality" holograms.

Search for current or recently ended auctions for custom/blank ASM sets and see what people are paying. This will give you a sense of when you should jump in, or if you should wait. Nothing worse than submitting your listing right in the middle of 5 other guys trying to unload the same kind of chips.

Good luck!