After 2 months of not selling as much as I liked I decided to try Auctions.  I was leary about doing auctions as I thought I would lose a lot of money.  But I took a step back and thought what was it I really liked as a buyer.  I'd like the "Buy It Now" because when I wanted something I wanted it now, but I thought I might like the 3 day Auctions.  So I looked for some and found them and I Love them.  I can be patient enough for 3 days.

I start all my embellishments at $0.99 and will close anywhere from $0.99 - $8.00.  You need to total the amount of all the closed bids and divide by the number of items auctioned.  Don't focus on the ones that only sold for $0.99.   Starting at $0.99 also keeps the insertion fees low.   This won't work obviously for every seller.  But try to have at least a couple as it will draw more people into your store.  If you decide to start a few at $0.99 make sure it is for a popular item, you'll be amazed how quickly the bids climb.  Most people figure out what is the most they will bid.  If you start the bid close to that point you're not giving buyers many opportunities to bid.  The more bids some buyers see they might bid just because it seems to be a hot item.  Also many experienced snipers come in at the last minute, so don't be surprised to see it go up even more.

I have found the 7 day auctions to be the most profitable as it allows more traffic in this time frame.  More traffic increases your chances for more bidders.  Make sure to have plenty of buy it now items listed in your store.  Quite often buyers will buy more than 1 item if they have time to look.

 I make sure to list the next set before the first set ends so those buyers will check those auctions out. 

I try to have my auctions end Friday or Saturday nights anywhere between 9-11 PM EST.  I have found that by ending the auctions on these days that I have better opportunities for shipping items out in 24 hours.  But check your Traffic Reports and see when would be best for you.  I have learned by auctioning this summer that I don't do as well when my auctions end on Fri, Sat, or Sun. 

Try to keep your shipping costs low without losing money on it of course.  People will bid more if the shipping is reasonable.  Also with Ebay's big push on free shipping it makes it harder to sell when you are making a profit on the shipping.  You should be charging as close to what it costs you to ship and handle.

Within 2 1/2 months I was asked to be a Power Seller and a month later I'm at the "Silver Level".

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