1 year, 8 months ago
I am a seller on eBay, is there a program that monitors changing auction prices?
I sell hundreds of items on eBay. I want my items to be the cheapest on the site, but other sellers are always undercutting me. I don't have the time to constantly monitor all the hundreds of auctions I have. Is there software or a website that can look at my items on eBay and alert me when someone has put a lower price?
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M$1 Answer
Which method of selling are you using? It sounds like you must be using "Buy it Now" pricing, rather than the auction format. When you use an auction format, buyers determine the value of whatever you're selling. If you're selling something popular, frequently, this format will result in a higher price than if you sell using Buy it Now pricing.
That said - Terapeak is a pretty good eBay market research tool. You can see the pricing for that service https://www.terapeak.com/pricing/. It monitors completed listings, looks for popular items and trends, helps you choose good keywords for titles, and helps you establish prices. It isn't clear to me whether it will look for undercutting or not.
Another application that might do what you're looking for is Auction Messenger (http://www.auctionmessenger.net/).
When you're setting prices, I think the best thing to do is to look at completed listings. That way, you see what items sell for both in the buy it now and in the auction format. You also have to consider how much you paid to purchase whatever it is you're selling and the selling price must cover at least that + ebay and PayPal fees + whatever a reasonable profit margin is.
Since I sell only items I already owned and used (and my alternative is to sell at a garage sale or to donate), I just want to make sure that if something sells, it's worth the hassle of printing a label and taping up a box and marching it over to the post office - I make sure I charge a flat rate shipping price sufficient to cover all fees + the postage. I list pretty much everything for $0.99 because it's free. My used shoes usually get between 6 and 18 bids. I've found that listing a reserve or a Buy it Now price usually reduces what I make on auctions.
Also, if you ARE selling items using a Buy it Now price, you will probably make more (because you will pay less fees) to just set up an online store on a separate web site and use Google keyword ads than by paying eBay's high fees. Fees to Google are significantly less (see second article below).
That said - Terapeak is a pretty good eBay market research tool. You can see the pricing for that service https://www.terapeak.com/pricing/. It monitors completed listings, looks for popular items and trends, helps you choose good keywords for titles, and helps you establish prices. It isn't clear to me whether it will look for undercutting or not.
Another application that might do what you're looking for is Auction Messenger (http://www.auctionmessenger.net/).
When you're setting prices, I think the best thing to do is to look at completed listings. That way, you see what items sell for both in the buy it now and in the auction format. You also have to consider how much you paid to purchase whatever it is you're selling and the selling price must cover at least that + ebay and PayPal fees + whatever a reasonable profit margin is.
Since I sell only items I already owned and used (and my alternative is to sell at a garage sale or to donate), I just want to make sure that if something sells, it's worth the hassle of printing a label and taping up a box and marching it over to the post office - I make sure I charge a flat rate shipping price sufficient to cover all fees + the postage. I list pretty much everything for $0.99 because it's free. My used shoes usually get between 6 and 18 bids. I've found that listing a reserve or a Buy it Now price usually reduces what I make on auctions.
Also, if you ARE selling items using a Buy it Now price, you will probably make more (because you will pay less fees) to just set up an online store on a separate web site and use Google keyword ads than by paying eBay's high fees. Fees to Google are significantly less (see second article below).
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
noone on mahalo answers ever reads these questions, they just search for something and paste their huge answer to try to get the tip.
First I sell hundreds of things on eBay, I think I know what buy it now and auction is.
Obviously I am listing buy it now.
Second, I am not looking at how to set prices. I know how to set my own prices. The fact is that prices are constantly changing, and I want software or a website that will tell me when the auction I have ALREADY LISTED now has a competitor with a cheaper price.
Please in the future just answer the question directly if you can and if you can't DON'T. Don't give a huge paragraph about stuff I don't care about.