Over the years, eBay introduced a variety of different types of auctions in an attempt to give people more options when they buy and sell things on eBay.
For every seller who does not like the idea that their item may sell for much lower than what they hear, there's another who wants to move hundreds of the same item quickly. eBay tries to cater for all tastes. This email gives you an overview of different types of auctions and their advantages for you.
Normal Auctions.
These are the bread and butter, eBay auctions, everyone knows: the buyers bid, others were passed, that the offer again, and the winner gets the item. Simple.
Reserve auctions.
Reserve auctions are for sellers who do not want to sell items below a certain price - a concept you'll know if you're familiar with real auctions. They behave like normal auctions on eBay, except that the buyer should be told if their bid does not meet the reserve price set, and must offer new, if they want to target. If someone is willing to pay the price, the auction was canceled, and you keep the article.
Fixed Price ('Buy Now') Auctions.
Buy Now auctions can work in one of two ways. You can add a Buy It Now button to a normal auction, meaning that buyers can choose either to bid normally or to simply pay the price and avoid the whole bidding process. Some vendors, however, we cut the bidding process entirely and simply list all their items at fixed prices. This allows you to avoid all the complications of the auction format and simply list your items for how long you want them to sell.
Recently, eBay added twist to fixed price auctions: the 'best offer'. This means that buyers can contact and negotiate a price that would be a good way to get some inventory to sell in more than a small discount. The only downside to reserve and fixed price auctions is that you pay a small fee to use these formats. Generally, you should use the most expensive items in the auction book auction and fixed price for those on a low price - but remember that you can combine the two formats.
Multiple Item ('Dutch') Auctions.
These are auctions where you can sell more than one of a particular element. Dutch auctions can be done through competitive bidding. Buyers have a price and say how many items they want and then everyone pays the lowest price that was the offer by one of the bidders. If you have trouble getting your head around that, then do not worry - everyone does! These auctions are very rare.
Even more common is when a seller has lots of an item, and lists a combination of two types of auctions: the auction of several items at a fixed price. It just means that you can tell how the item you have, and offer a fixed price per unit. Shoppers can enter the number you want and click Buy Now to get them.
Now that you know the different types of auctions, you must ensure that the items you plan to sell do not violate eBay's listing policies. The next email will let you know what is allowed and what is the big no-no.
