Enter a search on eBay and restrict that search to items under $1.00 and your search will return TONS of items.  Restrict that search to items under 2 cents and you will still be rewarded with loads of items.  Are these items you should bid on? Is there a catch? Why would anyone list their item for 1 penny?

AVOIDING EBAY FEES IS NOT THE RIGHT ANSWER!

As a potential customer, I can easily spot the sellers attempting to avoid eBay fees by selling their items for 1 Penny. 

Fixed Price Items at 1 Penny --- RED FLAG

If theirs is a fixed price item for 1 Penny with a shipping and handling cost obviously out of line with the weight of the item, I can be certain they are trying to circumvent the system.  If I am selling a blouse for a penny, and that blouse weighs a pound or less, I certainly do not want to spend more than $6.00 in shipping an handling fees, so I pass those listings by.

Store Inventory Items at 1 Penny -- RED FLAG

As with the fixed price listing, sellers with 1 Penny items listed in their store inventory often have outrageous shipping and handling fees to obtain the desired profits.  For the same reason as listed above, the intent of the seller is simply to circumvent the eBay fees.  Just remember, that many sellers will offer refunds only on the purchase price and that amount paid for shipping will not be recovered should you be unhappy with your penny item.  I steer clear of these fixed price items and keep moving on my search.

GETTING TRAFFIC TO YOUR STORE IS THE RIGHT ANSWER

The seller who lists his item for 1 Penny in the auction format, is generally trying to drive business to his store, where he has many reasonably priced items for sale, which don't enjoy the traffic of auction items.  The seller tries many methods to drive traffic to his store and the 1 Penny Auction is just one of these methods. 

1 Penny Auction with outrageous shipping and handling -- RED FLAG

Even if the seller wants to use this format to drive business to his store, if he is charging an outrageous amount for shipping and handling, he is still circumventing the eBay fees.

1 Penny Auctions with reasonable shipping and handling fees -- GREEN LIGHT!!!

Here is the seller who is playing by the rules and trying to get the traffic to his store front.  He knows he might well take a loss on the 1 Penny Auction item, but he expects to make additional sales of his store inventory items either to the winner of the 1 Penny Auction item, or to those who just stop by to look.

WHAT TO LIST AS A 1 PENNY AUCTION ITEM

I choose to list items that have not received a lot of traffic in my store, and which I think well represent the other items in my store. 

• It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to offer a yoyo as a 1 Penny Auction item, if the rest of my store inventory items are clothing items. 
• It DOES make sense to offer a lovely, short sleeved blouse as a 1 Penny Auction item, if I have a nice offering of skirts, pants, and suits with which it might coordinate in my store inventory

I don't typically offer heavy items as 1 Penny Auction items.  Even though the shipping and handling for the item might be reasonable for its weight, the perception is still that I am charging an arm and a leg for shipping a 1 Penny item.

I only offer items for sale in my 1 Penny Auctions that I would be comfortable buying for at least $5.00, myself. I don't want to sell junk, even for a penny!

HOW TO WIN A 1 PENNY AUCTION

As a buyer, I want to win the auction, and, because it is an auction, I obviously want to win with the lowest price possible.  This is no offense to the seller -- that's the fun of the auction house -- the name of the game!  So, I use the following techniques to discover the items I think I have the best chance of winning at 1 Penny, or just a little more.

• Look for items with odd ending times (after midnight PST is pretty good)
• Look to see how much traffic the item is getting -- if the numbers are low, the chances are better I will win the auction
• Look for items with no bids
• Look for items with misspelled words in the title
• Having found the items that meet my criteria, either put a watch on them or
• Enter a bid with the highest amount I am will to pay for the item, and then just walk away

THE 1 PENNY AUCTION IS FUN

But don't fall into traps of paying too much for shipping just to win a 1 Penny Auction.  Make sure your seller still offers combined shipping discounts, and that their discount is not based on the selling price of the item.

Then, sit back and have FUN!!!

JOIN ME IN THE 1 PENNY AUCTION FUN

(I always include the words "1 Penny Auction", in my listings that I start at a penny.  Customers of Judy's Corner have come to realize this and perform quick searches for those keywords. Of course other sellers benefit from this too!)

Thanks for reading this guide to the 1 Penny Auction.  BUY, SELL and ENJOY!!!