Getting more sales on Ebay by increasing rather than decreasing prices

[tectonicplates]

I'm just a private seller selling my old clothes, everything on Buy It Now. Used to sell a few item per month but it's got very slow recently as so many people are trying to save money.

Sometimes if there's an item that hasn't sold after a few months, I'll reduce the price a bit.

I was just reading a load of Ebay advice websites and found a few threads suggesting that you can sometimes get more sales by increasing the price by a couple of quid, rather than decreasing. Does this really work? There's people claiming it gets buyers moving because if there's an item they really wanted, they'll worry about the price going up even more so they'll quickly buy it before that happens. Or if something costs more, it gives the impression of higher quality.

Maybe this works with antiques or something, but I can't imagine it working with worn-but-good-condition clothes, especially as I tend to sell similar brands all the time, and if I have something with an unfamiliar brand I'll look through sold listings to see what prices other people have got.

Is a price increase worth a try or is this ridiculous? I think I'm missing something.

This reminds me of one of my dad's stories about his great-uncle who ran a corner shop about a hundred years ago. If his wife ever said to him, 'These potatoes aren't selling', his response would always be 'Put the price up!' Never failed, apparently

i run an ebay page for a cat charity and ive found the opposite if ive put something on at slightly too high a price and it hasnt sold i generally find if i relist it a bit cheaper than it usually sells on the second listing mine are all auction listings though i dont do buy it nows

What's the demographic that actually buy on ebay these days? I don't know anyone who uses it anymore.

I wouldn't necessarily put it down to saving money, do people really want to buy from someone else's potentially CV home?

You can buy clothes new so cheap these days, brands also in sales.
So I don't think there's the market for used brand clothes anymore.
Saying that though my mum buys stuff from charity shops and sells it on ebay.
Has made a few hundred quid which I was gobsmacked by.
I personally wouldn't buy used but that's me.
Toys yes but clothing and shoes no.

Millions of people buy and sell on Ebay every day.

I sell on Ebay and yes, putting the price up has worked for me in the past. No idea why.

It's like when people put household items etc out at their front gate with a "free to take away" sign and no one takes it- stick a "£20 ono" sign on it instead and someone will nick it within minutes.

People who don't want to buy new and are worried about the impact of fashion on the environment, people who can't afford new brands but want better quality than Primark and supermarket fast fashion, people who don't want to buy from cheap retailers who likely exploit workers at some point in the supply chain (although to be fair many premium brands are worse for this than Primark et al, not that they admit to it)- all prime ebay clothes buyers.

Er. Loads of people buy on eBay. It’s economical and good for the planet. It’s not just brands either. There is nothing wrong with second hand clothes, it’s just wasteful to buy new sweatshop things when perfectly good clothes exist already.

I agree OP. I had a tv I was giving away for free. Couldn’t shift it. Sold it for a tenner in the end. People value what they’ve paid more for. Same goes for clothes too, judging by the comments here

Going off topic, friends of my Dh built 4 houses and tried to sell at £200,000 mark. No interest, was advised by someone to up
the price. They increased to £249,950 they all sold within a month.

This is intriguing

Maybe I'll give it a try with a few items.

@FallonsTeaRoom Did you put up the price by just £2 or £5, or £10 or what?

Should I only increase the price of items with no watchers?

If I increase the price of something that already has several watchers, won't that scare off the ones who were sitting there waiting for the price to drop?

It is down to behavioural psychology. It someone is watching an item and the price increases they will automatically think a) the price is going up becuase demand is high and it must be good because everyone else wants it and b) I had better buy it before the price goes up any more.

It is a bit like the current stock market rally in the US which is driven largely by fear of missing out rather than economic data.

I recommend reading Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion which is great at explaining how humans' can influenced.

This is all quite fascinating! I'll give it a go with a few items and see what happens.

I buy on ebay and to be honest if I was watching an item and the price went up, I'd laugh and unwatch. Because if I hadn't automatically bought it before at the lower price why would I buy it when it's gone up?
It might work with new items that you have more than one of, like if a shop did it, but can't see it with used clothes. That said, if you list for more at the beginning when it first goes on then you might get some people thinking as it's more expensive it's better quality.

I've been selling some tea sets on Ebay. Had a gorgeous one listed with a start price of £20 for a few weeks. Plenty of watchers but no bids. Changed it to £40 buy it now or best offer. Sold for £35 within a week.

Another tip (again from the same book) is to list a second more expensive item than the one you are selling. This will automatically make the original item look like a bargain. This is often done with electronic items. The new model comes out at a higher price and there is a rush to buy the existing model even though the price has not changed.

Sometimes you just need to ‘refresh’ listings for viewer appeal.
If I’m looking for a secondhand Seasalt dress and the same old Buy It Nows keep showing up, regardless of whether they’re reduced or increased, I’m kind of bored of always seeing them sat there at the back of the eBay wardrobe so to speak , so I’ll look at brand new listings for the same dress instead just for a change of photo scene and listing text.

But....Ugh. Retail does this so it must have some credence.
My day job for instance we have an almost constant sale on, but in reality that pair of walking boots you’re buying for £59 now reduced ‘this week only’ to £19.99 was only £14.99 to start with when they were first stocked in the shop. So your £59 boots were actually only ever ‘worth’ £14.99

eBay secondhand clothes sales, we all probably started there. High res photos and absolute guarantee of quality paramount. There’s no more discerning customer on eBay than a mum buying secondhand kids clothes (insert scared to death of some customers emoji) so you have to be honest and exercise absolute integrity, even if that means the customer is always right when they’re wrong.

@tectonicplates

This is intriguing

Maybe I'll give it a try with a few items.

@FallonsTeaRoom Did you put up the price by just £2 or £5, or £10 or what?

I picked a number out of the air but mostly it was just a couple of quid on top out of a fit of devilment and I was most surprised when it kickstarted sales

I buy from eBay. I HATE wearing in converse and DM's. Got a pair of pink high tops on there yesterday for £9 and a pair of classic oxblood DM's (that won't rip my feet apart) for £26. Also got a fab vintage green wool coat for £8 that I'll change the buttons on.

Better for the environment, doesn't fund shit fast fashion stores and everybody doesn't look the same. Winner!

I picked a number out of the air but mostly it was just a couple of quid on top out of a fit of devilment and I was most surprised when it kickstarted sales

Thanks, very interesting!

Thanks for all these replies, everyone. I've increased the price on just a few items to see what happens. I'll report back if anything sells.