No Bids. Why???

[TSanders]

Im confused. My white sparkle Sterling is on eBay. I have had one bid which was retracred. The reason: Could not contact the seller, which shouldnt be right because I have replied to all e-mails. Anyway, Im doing No Reserve with a starting bid of $849 and a Buy It Now of $900 which includes shipping. Why are there no bids?? This Sterling has an upgraded finish and pickgaurd, I think $849 is reasonable. Am I wrong??

heres the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4713&item=3764186540&rd=1

 

[crazybass888]

Honestly... its a bit steep. PLUS, sparkle finishes are strange birds... sometimes they can be hard to get rid of...

 

[Aragorn35016]

Hey Travis I've sold a pretty good bit of basses on ebay with good luck so here is a suggestion. Id put a reserve for what your willing to take and start the bid out at like 100.00 dollars. High starting bids scare people off. If possible id also put a buy it now option on your add if you can.

Cya

John

 

[basspastor]

Travis,
I sold a SUB on ebay with a start bid of 9.00 it brought within 80.00 of what I paid for it.
I second the drop the start price and put a reserve on it.

 

[TSanders]

Well I just checked and there are 4 watchers. Im gonna hope that they are waithing to bid until close to the end of the auction.

 

[element]

I think thats a real good price, it works out at £481 If only I had that money, and lived in the US... I love that bass.

 

[TSanders]

the going rate for a used Sterling in 9.5 condition is $800-$850. And that on has an upgraded finish and pickguard.

 

[midopa]

If you're too lower the bid with a reserve, what'd stop you from starting the auction at say $1.00 or even $0.01? I've seen it done with fairly formidable results. That lower starting price will certainly get a lot more attention, mind you.

 

[dwf1004]

People on the 'Bay tend to do nothing but watch until the end of the auction...when I sold one of my EVH's earlier this year, I started her at $1500, and had 5 watchers during the 5 day auction.

In the end, the bidding ended at $1850...went up $150 in the last minute, so let not your heart be troubled. You should do fine.

 

[backagain1]

Perhaps there is less interest because the only payment method is Money order/Cashiers check.

backagain1

 

[pookeymp]

Perhaps there is less interest because the only payment method is Money order/Cashiers check.

backagain1

This is a good point...because I know with all the higher-priced items I've sold on ebay...many buyers would only be able to purchase if they could use their creidt card. So, if you add PayPal as an option, you would include a lot more folks who don't have that much cash on-hand.

The other suggestion to lower the starting price is also a great idea. I recently sold my Alembic Mark King and the first time around I had a high starting price, and she didn't sell. I immediately put it back up, this time lowering my starting price by quite a bit, and once folks starting bidding on it, I wound up selling it for not only more than my original starting price, but for more than my original Buy-It-Now price as well. The trick is to get them interested and bidding.

Mikey/

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Your Bass (if you got it from "cheezewizz").

Use this pic to sell:

HOT DOG!

( Dang...I'm starting to talk like you guys now )

.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Actually...where are you advertising (headings)....I haven't seen it !!!

I know you have a URL link there but it doesn't come up on my normal MM ebay scans.

.

 

[Jazzbassman23]

Call me Paranoid Pete (okay, Paranoid Dave), but I've always been a fan of having the cash in hand which is why (that and a general lack of perceived protection) I've shyed away from PayPal. This may be a misguided philosophy, but my feeling is that anyone bidding on a high end bass, should have little trouble laying their hands on the cash to buy a money order. And if they can't, something's wrong. I know there are situations which include being too busy at work to go to the bank to get money, but I doubt you lose that many potential bidders only because you didn't offer PayPal. I've never had any trouble selling anything on the bay. As a Sterling owner who watches eBay all the time, my feeling is that $850's a bit high. I just bought a SR5 for $850 shipped.

 

[Mobay45]

I always use paypal. I don't pay cash for hardly anything. I use credit cards because of the protection they give me.

 

[cgworkman]

I second the drop the start price and put a reserve on it.

Are you going to try again? If so, I agree with a lower starting price. I sold a Fender Jazz recently - bidding started at $9.99 - the final price was $1300.

Good luck

 

[Aussie Mark]

Call me Paranoid Pete (okay, Paranoid Dave), but I've always been a fan of having the cash in hand which is why (that and a general lack of perceived protection) I've shyed away from PayPal. This may be a misguided philosophy, but my feeling is that anyone bidding on a high end bass, should have little trouble laying their hands on the cash.

In my case, I get paid monthly, so if I see a bass I like and don't have the cash in hand, I know I'll have the money next month, so I buy it on credit card. Or, I might intend to sell something else to pay for the new bass, so I buy the new bass on credit card while I wait for the old bass to sell. I'm sure there are many gear whores who operate this way, so if you don't offer Paypal as a payment method you are missing out on some big spending potential bidders.

 

[cgworkman]

I agree.

 

[kdsi44]

i completely agree.....i sell sportscards and musical equipment on ebay for a living....i sell over 150 items per week, and almost 70% of all purchases are paid through paypal....its convenient and safe.......ive never been burned yet......

 

[cheezewiz]

hey Travis..I agree on paypal. It's a must.

I also think you are a bit optomistic on the price. It IS a nice sterling, in almost new condition, but $850 is more than most people will go on a used Sterling.

Average Pit price is probably around 700. Ebay maybe 750....