Lessons Learned from Selling $600 of Used Books in 6 Hours

Jack,

Thanks for pointing out that auction....

Another thing I noticed is that his auction started at 47 cents!

I was (for a short time) selling MP3 Players on the online auctions. To test things out, I started one of my auctions at $1.

I found that the MP3 Player auction which got the highest bids, was the one which I started at $1 !

I think what happened is that when people see something worth a lot of money, with a starting bid of just 47 cents (or $1), they'll bid without thinking about it, because the risk to them is ridiculously small. It's a ridiculous bargain! This then attracts other bidders too, who also want the bargain too....

This large numbers of bids (as people gradually bid it up) attracts other bidders.... People feel safer in bidding on an auction that already has a lot of bids (there's safety in numbers). And so, in the end, ironically you may end up getting a HIGHER bid by starting your auction at a ridiculously LOW price!

However - I think this only really works with things that are of widespread interest to people. If it only appeals to a very narrow range of people, you might only find one person with ANY interest in it.... And then you'd have to let it go at 47 cents! But if it has widespread interest (like digital cameras, or MP3 players), then the danger of that happening is very low....

I find the psychology of online auctions fascinating.... :)

- Dien Rice


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