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Great podcast as usual! I would like to say that I never thought you were rude, Jay. Just unpersuaded lol.
To re-iterate my point–I contend that on every listing, you should take a second and ask if there is ANY reason that this item might start a bidding war. Generally this happens when your research hits a dead end.
So here is a current example that actually is surprising even me. Now keep in mind that I do play a bit of a higher dollar game than a lot of resellers. So that is why I use this method on a constant basis. But research black holes eventually pop up for everyone. I was at an auction, and found two 12″ cast iron pans in great condition. I paid $95 each for the pans. One is a small logo Griswold #12–I’ve sold this pan before and I know it goes very quickly at $175. So that pan is currently on BIN at $275–down to about $240 with my sales promo and I would take $200, and I will let it set.
The other skillet was a local pan to Missouri–the Cresent foundry 12″ chicken fryer. Look Crescent foundry up on ebay…you will not find one sale over $100. If you have Worthpoint (I do), there are none on there above $150. I would be impressed if someone can point out some research I missed that is easily accessible that would indicate a price above $175 BIN. The ONLY reason that I used an auction is that the skillet has a double hook ring on the one end and an extra double ring decoration by the handle. Since I could not find one EXACTLY like the one I had I ran an auction….
https://www.ebay.com/itm/222903581783
So it’s still going and we will see where it ends. But I guarantee that I’m currently at least $50 over what a high BIN price would have been.
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The rare items are what I actively seek out, so I do this quite a bit more than the average seller would.
I had a duck call that was my original premise item…it ends tomorrow. It’s only $15 above my start, but it currently has 78 watchers so I hope it gets some action at the end.
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I dont want you to get your auction house in trouble, but do you think they undervalue items? Seems like you pick up quite a few items for cheap. Like that piece of art you bought and sold for $15k.
Or is that just the nature of auction houses these days.You price to the room you’re in?
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I don’t usually do auctions either, but tried one recently that worked out well. One day at the Goodwill outlet, in a bin that had been sitting out for a long time and picked through by many people, I found some vintage 70s or 80s toddler dresses. I took 5 and considered listing them as a lot for $40 BIN. Decided to try an auction instead, which generated a lot of interest. The final price was $95, to a buyer in China. I would never have thought to price them that high, even after researching.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/232689585534 -
It’s the nature of auctions–I buy rare items that have limited value in an auction setting due to the smaller audience. Then I broaden the audience on ebay and realize the profits from increased demand.
It’s the same thing you guys do–a box of Juggalo hats has true value at an auction only if there are 2 Juggalo’s with fat wallets at the auction. Since there weren’t, you guys are able to profit by being high bidder at that limited audience. Then you reach out to those fat walleted Juggalo’s on ebay.
As far as making thousands off of art, remember that not only did the auctioneers fail to recognize the art, so did everyone at the auction, including many dealers. And folk art is notoriously difficult to spot unless you are familiar with, or at least have heard of, the artist. And I’m really good….lol
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So I thought I would post one more example and shut up. I have been waiting for evening time to post this meerschaum pipe. This, to me, is another example of an item that I would not start with a BIN price. It is a hand carved piece, so it’s one of a kind. I do not know much about meerschaums, other than old ones can command some serious prices.
If I get a $250 bid…super. If not, I love it so I will hang on to it as a $250 BIN for however long at that price. And if I need money for some reason, I will lower it to $150 and I guarantee it will sell quickly. I am $85 in the hole, so it is not your typical trash elf item. But I am at least a level 5 trash elf IMO, so I see it as an “alternative” savings account, and don’t mind letting that big of an amount sit.
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Since I started back when auctions were the only eBay option, still love them. Did a spate early February, best example I remember now were a set of train engines that at least quadrupled my expected price. Two people “went at it,” and it is fun to watch them close – last minute action!
Have to fall back on some old axioms, like choosing good closing times (watch an auction die on Sunday morning), and it does seem like more work than list and forget, but for items that aren’t common, there can be real upside.
Fascinating details on the frying pans… had no idea there were variations like that, being able to call them out will connect with collectors.
Struggling to list more, need to pump in some April auctions and see what flies.
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Good discussion. I am in the “auction it first” camp. I often list unusual or rare item at auction for 1 or 2 weeks before doing a buy it now price. The majority of auctions do not get a bid, but enough do that it is worthwhile and moves inventory quickly which I consider a win.
Here are the items that sold at auction for me in the last month +/-
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I saw that you sold three All Clad pans for $60 on auction:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ALL-CLAD-Stainless-Steel-Skillet-Frying-Pan-Saute-Sauce-Pot-SET-of-3-Made-In-USA-/152937175198All Clad is really high quality cookware. Here’s used pans that have recently sold:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_ItemCondition=3000&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&_nkw=all+clad+cookware&_sop=16We sold one All Clad pan yesterday for $58 BIN. I’m not here to brag, but this is an example of an easy-to-research item that will sell at high BIN price if patient.
The examples people share of auctions working are those weird vintage, collectible items seems to make more sense because there’s so little history or examples to research.
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Jay, You make a good point and I agree that money was left on the table. I guess it’s about context in this case. All of those auction items came from my bro-in-law when he moved. He was fine with me auctioning off his stuff and paying him out quickly. It was a consignment deal. It was a “fast nickle” move for sure.
Besides that, those pans were in rough condition!
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So as an update…the duck call sold for $511 (link above). So I feel that I probably could have easily gotten $600 for it, if I had been willing to wait AND I knew that price to put as a BIN. That is definitely lost income. But my point is that in this case the auction was the proper call because determining that $600 BIN was impossible given a reasonable amount of research (30 mins or so). And had I determined that an appropriate BIN price was $400 or less (very likely), it would have sold in less than an hour and I would have lost even more money.
In order to dispute that, I need to be shown the research that I missed that would indicate a $600+ BIN price on a Leker duck call. There are none like it sold on Worthpoint (doesn’t do duck calls) or Ebay. I discussed my reseach in an earlier post, but I am confident that short of contacting an expert, there was nothing to glean a $600 BIN price from. Prove me wrong….
I want to re-iterate that even one EXACT comparable is usually enough to set a BIN price. This is only usable when you can not find a sales record, or you can not read the mark, or in a few other cases that I won’t get into now. I LOVE research, and it often is actually a weakness, because I get sidetracked into figuring out what is the “most expensive” duck call, vacuum tube, iron skillet, etc. Like Glen Garry Glen Ross, I live by the ABCs–always be curious!
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This is a great outcome. What an awesome sale.
I think you (and other sellers) can always second guess a sale. If it sold for $600 on a 7-day auction, would it have sold for $1000 at BIN with a longer wait time?
When we sold that rare denim jacket for $1200 on auction, there were people who said we should have put it up for $4000 at BIN with Make Offer.
Always easier to quarterback after the game is over. We all do the best we can and should enjoy the money we make. Congrats!
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Thank you! I love bringing a lost item to light. I just think that it is better to think of auctions as a tool to be used. In certain circumstances, it should be considered and an “I never use auctions” attitude could be an error. I actively seek out these items, and I still only run about 5-10% auctions on any given week.
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