Auction Success Tips

There is nothing more frustrating than having a great product up for auction and no one bidding on it. Experts all agree that there are some key things you can do to draw more attention to your auctions and ultimately receive more bids.

Insider Auctions has developed a list of some of the best tips for auction success to hopefully help you entice more potential buyers to your auctions. After going through the list, visit http://www.insiderauctrions.com/ to try out these tips. Insider Auctions offers Free basic listings, low optional feature fees and a low flat 2% selling fee. We hope you find this information helpful and look forward to serving you.

Item Title
One of the most important ways to attract people to you auction is to set a great Title. When choosing a Title:

• Include words people will search for.
• Make your Title enticing so potential bidders will choose your item instead of others being offered.

Example:

• If you want to sell an antique oak dining table, a Title like: old oak dining table would probably not bring in a lot of bidders. However, if you use a Title like: “Vintage Oak Dining Table – Excellent Condition – Collector’s Item” not only would you get more potential bidders to view your auction, you would be using words people would be more likely to search for. Your auction Title will appear in searches for Vintage, Oak, Dining Table and Collectors Items which will allow even more potential bidders to see your Title.

Item Description
Another key element is the way you compose the Item Description:

• Start with a very powerful paragraph to get the potential buyer interested enough to read the rest of the item description.
• Use wording to excite helping the bidder to visualize kicking the tires, taking a test drive and increasing the desire to own the product. This will almost certainly guarantee more determined bidders.
• Keep in mind Item Descriptions need to give enough information for bidders to determine if they want to bid, but too much rambling of information will discourage bids.
• Be careful of misspelled words and typing errors
• Describe your item in clean and accurate terms
• Use lists to make your item’s attributes easier to see. Don’t make a list of boring features but rather a list of the benefits. A benefit is what a feature does for some one. Finding the right Benefits for an item can Really Sell.
• Try to make your item well worth the price you’re offering.
• To get more people to bid, write a motivating short paragraph at the end telling the bidder why they should buy. Don’t just describe the item and end; motivate to buy

Example of a Watch up for auction:

• Be the talk of the town with this prestigious 24ct gold watch.
• Don’t worry if it accidently gets wet because it is water resistant
• Be confident you will always be on time because Rolex is extremely accurate

Item Condition
Tell the bidder the condition of the item.

• Is it new and in original packaging?
• Is it slightly used but in “like new” condition?
• Does it have imperfections the bidder needs to know about before bidding?

This is all information the potential bidder will want to know prior to placing a bid.

Terms
Don’t take for granted a bidder will automatically accept your Terms.

• Be very clear and concise in spelling out the Terms of your sell.
• To increase sells it is always a good idea to either include insurance in the cost of shipping or to offer the buyer the opportunity to purchase insurance.
• It has a negative affect on buyers when sellers use such statements as “Not Responsible for Item Once Shipped” or “Item Sold As Is”.
• It is a good idea to have some sort of guarantee on the merchandise you sell; this gives the bidder a sense of security when placing a bid.

Shipping
Shipping falls in the same category as Terms. Don’t take anything for granted.

• Be specific and spell out what shipping charges will be.
• Don’t try to rip off buyers by inflating the shipping price to increase your profit. People have a fair idea of what shipping costs should be and if they feel you are trying to cheat them on shipping they may not bid on any of the items you have listed.

Testimonials
Some people like to use testimonials from people who have previously owned the item they have up for auction. This could be a past customer or someone who has owned a similar product. Testimonials are technically other people selling your item for you. They can be very powerful and create belief in the quality of what you are offering.

Images
People want to see what they are bidding on:

• It is very important that you use at least one image on your auction page.
• More than one image is really better since it gives bidders a clearer understanding of what they are bidding on. All you need is an inexpensive digital camera and you are ready to go.
• Show the item’s details or any imperfections it may have with clear pictures that are well lit.
• One other consideration is the size of the picture; be sure to keep the image at a reasonable pixel size so the page doesn’t take too long to load. Potential bidders will leave after a few seconds if the page has not loaded.

Customer Support
Quickly respond to all emails regarding your auctions. Let potential bidders know their questions are important to you and you want them to understand exactly what they are bidding on. If you don’t, bidders may look to someone else for the product.

Reserve Price
While some people believe there is a time and place for putting a Reserve Price on an auction

• You may actually get more bids using no reserve at all.
• Do research on the price of the item to help you make your decision.
• If you do decide to use a Reserve Price, keep it real.

Auction Start and End Times
Always plan your auction start and ending times around the bidders you want to attract to your auctions. It is usually toward the end of an auction when the bidding gets hot and heavy; therefore, if you want your item to sell for a good price, it makes sense to end the auction at a time when someone is going to be around to bid on it. Create a profile on your product and what group of the population you are selling to.

Selling to Business Consumers
If you are selling business equipment and have mostly business customers:

• Schedule your ending auction time between 9am and 5pm on weekdays.
• It is a good idea to try and avoid mornings, especially Mondays.

Selling to Home Consumers
If you believe most of your sales are going to private customers having it shipped to their own homes:

• You want your auctions to end when these kinds of buyers will be around.
• Unfortunately, you will find these times are the opposite of what they are for the business customers.
• The ideal time to catch a home customer is between 8pm and 11pm after the children are in bed, and Sunday evenings.

Scheduled Start Time
Of course you can’t always be around when you need to start an auction so it will end at a specific time. Not to worry, there is a place to specify the time you want the auction to start.

• Many tools are available through the Insider Auctions site and it is a good idea to make use of them.
• Scheduling a starting time has a nominal fee, but well worth the little extra expense to get your item in front of your targeted bidders at the targeted time.

Listing Duration
At the time you list an item for auction, you can select the duration to run the auction.

• To end on a specific day, you can simply change the duration depending on the day listed.

Example:

• If you mostly sell to home consumers and the day the auction is listed is Thursday, your auction needs to run either 3 or 10 days to hit a Sunday.
• If you sell more to businesses and the day listed is Friday, any listing duration would be good except for a 1 day auction since most people are off on Saturday resulting in a smaller bidder pool.
• Draw up a timetable of when you should and shouldn’t be listing depending on the days of the week.
• Highlight days of the week using red, amber and green, traffic light style and
• Hang the list close to the computer for easy at-a-glance access.
• Experiment to find what day is the best day to end an auction
• Use a variety of web-based research tools to determine what day and what auction durations are best for your products.
• Listing durations can also be used to generate a sense of urgency, especially for much sought after items. This can appeal to impulse buyers and prompt them to bid now rather than wait. The 1 or 3 day auctions work best for this scenario.

Feedback
After the buy and sell has been finalized, it is imperative that you leave feedback about your experiences with each other.

• This information can then be used by others to determine what kind of transactions other buyers and sellers have had with a specific buyer or seller.
• It is very important to keep your feedback rating positive so others will want to deal with you.

Now, hopefully you are equipped with everything you need to have successful auctions. Try out your new found skills at http://www.insiderauctions.com/ for Free. All basic listings are Free, the optional feature fees are minimal and the selling fee is a flat rate 2%. Give us a try!

 

Posted by Linda at 8:08 PM 0 comments Links to this post

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Dutch Auctions

Many people are confused as to what a Dutch Auction really is so I am going to try to explain.

In a live Dutch Auction, a seller offers an item up for bid at a very high price. The price is much higher than the value of the item and no seller expects to get the initial price. However, the auctioneer begins with the high price and lowers the price incrementally until a bidder is willing to accept the price or the seller’s reserve price is met. This type of auction is popular when it is important to sell an item quickly, since one bid is all that is required.

Dutch Auctions are useful for selling multiples of the same item. For example, if a business has three computers for sell, the first bidder may purchase one computer for $1200, however, the auction will continue since only one computer has been sold. The price will continue to go down until the next bidder chooses to accept the price, say $1000 for example. Since the auction began with three computers to be sold, the auction continues. The price continues to go down and the bidders become anxious since only one computer is left. When the auction reaches $800, the price the seller has set as the reserve price, no other bidders have indicated a williness to pay the price and the auction ends with only two winners. One paying $1200 and one paying $1000.

At first glance, it appears the sellers could be losing money in a Dutch Auction; however, in reality the sellers generally make more than they would with the traditional auction. In a traditional auction, bidders do raise the price but they rarely raise the price above the item’s actual value. They have no reason to act fast because they know exactly when the auction will end and in some auctions they can sneak in a last minute bid that is slightly higher and almost instantly become the winner. In a live Dutch Auction the bidders have to act fast because they have no idea when the auction may end. Therefore, even though the price is being lowered, bidders will end up paying at or even above the item’s value. Remember the starting price was much higher than the items real value.

Dutch Auctions are also used in online auctions where several identical items are sold at the same time to an equal number of high bidders. Online auctions work a little differently to the one above. At the time the seller initiates a listing, the seller indicates how many items are available for the Dutch Auction. Bidders place bids on the items until the auction ends. At the end of the auction, the top number of bidders equal to the number of items up for auction will be the winners, unless a reserve price has been indicated. An example would be a seller has four identical computers for sale and the reserve price is set at $800. At the end of the auction period, bids are placed for $1500, $1200, $800 and $600. Since the reserve price is $800, there are only three winners who pay $1500, $1200 and $800 respectively.

As you can see the biggest difference between live Dutch Auctions and online Dutch Auctions is the fact that sellers do not have the opportunity online to set a high starting price and drop the price incrementally. The seller has to accept the top bids, regardless of price, up to the number available or the reserve price is met.

Of course you should keep in mind different online sites handle Dutch Auctions in different ways. Some take an average of all the bids placed and charge all of the winning bidders the same price. Some charge the winning bidders the lowest price bid.

The above is intended to give you the general concept of Dutch Auctions and is not intended to be the only way Dutch Auctions can be handled. The key is multiple identical items are sold through one auction.

Online Auction Bidding Tips

Online auctions are getting more and more popular and it is now possible to find almost anything online.  Most auction transactions go smoothly, but following are a few suggestions to hopefully help you have a good auction experience.

1. Research the Auction Site – When visiting an auction site for the first time, make sure you read their terms of service, visit the help feature to make sure you understand how the buying and selling process works.  Lastly be sure to check out the site’s privacy policy and user agreement.
2. Research the Item – Make sure you fully understand all characteristics including the condition of the item you are considering bidding on.  Compare prices and determine how much additional will be charged for shipping and insurance.  Find out if the seller offers any kind of return policy.  Ask all questions prior to bidding.
3. Research the Seller – Most good auction sites offer some type of feedback system where you can read comments left by buyers who have had transactions with the seller; however, there will be times when someone is new and doesn’t have feedback.  You may want to ask a question about the product to see how quick of a response you get.  
4. Determine when shipment will be made – Most auction sites only allow a certain number of days for the transaction to take place including shipping.  Ask the seller when you can expect shipment and if he/she will be using a tracking service.
5. Never be lured from the web site for a better deal – It is against most auctions terms and conditions for you to make trades or purchases found through the auction site in outside deals to avoid payment of selling fees.  When someone contacts you directly there is also a possibility of fraud and you will buy an inferior product or never receive a product you pay for, with no recourse.
6. Never pay with Cash and be leary of people who want to be paid in foreign currencies. 
7. Never respond to unsolicited requests to update account information – especially those that say Dear Client, Dear Customer, etc.  Most legitimate auction sites will contact you by name.  This is a method used to steal your account information.  When a message is received contact the company directly to see if it was sent by them – DO NOT use the link in the email received, go to the site directly. 

These are just a few things to be taken into consideration, but I hope these get you thinking and make your auction experience more enjoyable.

Auction Selling Strategies

Many people have come up with their own strategies that “seem to work” for them but may or may not work for others.  Following are a few that we are aware of and you can decide for yourself whether or not they work:

1. List mid week after 10:00 PM so the auction will end after 10:00 PM when more people will be on the internet looking around.
2. Never end an auction on Saturday especially in the summer.  Most people are off work and enjoying time out of the house so your auction is less likely to get those last minute bids.
3. Use eyecatching templates to draw more attention to your auction.  This is often considered the difference between a hot auction and a mediocre one.
4. Use a digital camera to take good pictures of the product.  This will make your listing appear more professional and can drive an emotional response for all bidders who really want to own the item.
5. Product titles are limited in the number of characters that can be used, select your product title carefully.  Choose keywords that people are likely to search for to draw more people to your auction.
6. Put excitement in your product description, not some hum-drum language about what it is.  Make it appealing, point out all of its finer qualities, additional uses, condition of item.  Don’t misrepresent the item, but make it so desirable that everyone will want it.
7. Be sure to spell out all terms of the sell, such as additional shipping, whether or not insurance is included, your return policies, etc.  Don’t assume everyone knows how such things will be handled.
8. When you have multiple auctions, offer to combine shipping when a bidder wins more than one auction. 
9. Always send a hand written thank you note when the item is shipped.  The buyer will remember you and leave better feedback.
10. In the event a problem does arise, take care of it immediately.  Most of the time parties can work things out if both act rationally instead of accusing the other right away of misrepresentation.

I’m sure there are many others, so add the ones you can think of in the comments section. 

Sellers Beware of Fake Check Scam

In recent months some sellers have reported falling victim to buyers who have sent fake checks or money orders that aren’t detected by the bank until after the merchandise has been shipped.   Fake checks can include cashier checks, personal checks and corporate checks.   There have been instances where the buyer sends a fake payment that exceeds the cost of the item that has been purchased.  The “so-called” buyer indicates a mistake was made when writing the check  and asks the seller to go ahead and deposit the payment and wire the difference back to him.  The seller deposits the check, learns it has cleared and wires the funds back to the buyer.  Later, the bank determines the check is fraudulent, leaving the seller liable for the entire amount.  Although the checks are counterfeit, they are good enough to fool unsuspecting bank tellers.  This needs to be taken into consideration when listing your items for auction and determining what methods of payment you will accept.  It is unfortunate that we now live in a world where some people spend the majority of their time thinking up ways to steal from other people.  Wonder if they ever considered getting a real job??

Auction Types

Before you get started listing items for sale on an auction site, you need to be aware of the most common auction types so you can make an informed decision of which one is best for you.  Following is a brief list:

Buy It Now  A “Buy Now” Listing indicates the item is for sale for a fixed price. The Seller lists the price he is willing to accept at the time the listing is posted. If a Buyer is willing to pay the listed price, he submits a Buy Now request. Normally a Final Value Fee is applied to the selling price.

Dutch Auction:  An auction where the Seller has more items of the same product for sale. The Bidder will enter a maximum bid he is willing to pay for an item, and the number of items he wants to purchase. The highest bidder(s) will receive the number of items they have bid on, and the remaining bidders will receive the number of items still available. Buyers are able to bid more than once for the same item.

Standard Auction:  An auction where a Seller list an item for auction and at the end of the auction the highest bidder wins, unless a Reserve Price was set at the beginning of the auction and the reserve was not met or if selling the item to the highest bidder would violate some law.

Reserve Price: The least price the seller is willing to accept for the item. This price is set at the time of listing and cannot be changed once the bidding has begun. The reserve price is hidden until the bidding has reached the acceptable amount.

Buying and selling through auctions can be fun if you know what you do a little research before you begin.  Insider Auctions makes this process easy for you from the listing process through bidding and selling.  There are Frequently Asked Questions to address the most common questions and you can always click the Help button. 

There are lots of topics to be covered, so let me know what you would like to talk about next.  Have a good night.

How to Place a Bid

Once you register on www.insiderauctions.com  you must “Login” and then you can start bidding. If you have previously Registered, simply “Login” and you are all set.

Browse the listings by clicking on a category in the Product Categories listed on the left hand side of page. When you find an item you are interested in, click on the item name to go to the product information page. There you will find information about the item, a description and in most cases a picture.

To place a bid, enter your maximum bid, the highest amount you are willing to pay in an attempt to be the successful bidder, and our system will automatically bid incrementally for you up to the maximum amount you specify.  In the event you have a question, please contact the seller to get answers prior to placing a bid.  On the description page, there are two bid boxes on the page, one underneath the picture and one at the bottom of the page, you can use either to enter your bid.  Once you enter your bid, a confirmation page will appear. If the information is correct, click Submit and your bid will be entered.

You will be notified in the event you are outbid.  If someone places a bid in the last five minutes of an auction, the timer will reset to five minutes to allow everyone the opportunity to bid.  Once the auction has ended you will be notified if you are the winner and contact information will be furnished to both you and the seller.

Auction Listings

Ok, so you have something you want to list for sale by auction but you don’t know how to get started.  Insider Auctions has made the listing process easy for you, but the first thing you need to do is take a digital picture of what you have for sale.  A good digital picture of the item can increase the value because people are able to see what they are bidding on.

Once you have saved the picture to your computer, go to www.insiderauctions.com and register, if you are not already a registered user.  Click the Sell tab at the top of the page and select the most appropriate category for the item you are selling.  Follow the step by step instructions and choose carefully the options you want.  Make sure in the description you are very specific in spelling out the condition of the item, whether or not you accept returns, who is to pay shipping and insurance, the cost of shipping and the method of shipping you will use.  It is better to be very precise in these terms to avoid problems later on in the bidding process.

After chosing all the options you want, including the length of time you want the auction to run, a screen will appear where you can upload your image.  Use the browse button to locate the picture file or files on your computer and list them one by one.  Next, preview how your auction will look and if satisfied submit your listing. 

For a limited time, the first 5 items listed through www.insiderauctions.com will have “no listing fees” which means all the options you choose are free.  This number is increased to the first 10 if you are a veteran.  To take advantage of this offer, click on the Site News item on the right side of the screen and copy the voucher number in the space provided. 

In the event you need to edit a listing, click on Selling, locate the product you want to change and click on “edit”, make the changes and submit.  The changes will be reflected immediately. 

The Insider Auctions staff stands ready to assist you at any time, so please don’t hesitate to ask.