So… free listings on ebay. It’s an experiment. I’ve listed some of these items in the past and they haven’t sold. I was kind of glad they didn’t as I listed them all at £0.99 and I’d probably have lost money on the auction just on postage costs. Now I don’t have the space and the models I want to keep and display have been kept and displayed. So here’s what’s currently up on ebay from me:
The swimsuit leela model really is rare. The eva model is the only one of it’s kind I’ve ever seen so I believe they are rare. It was found in a comic/anime store in the middle of Amsterdams red light district. Somewhere near a church by a canal if memory serves. It was found along with another Eva model that was huge, which I’m keeping. In part because I like it and also because it wouldn’t resell as some of the guns have gone AWOL over the last 10 years.
The experiment here is that it makes sense that lower start prices encourage people to bid, so if you start at 0.99 by the time it gets to the price you wanted to list it at (say 10.00) you’ll have a few people competing to win it and the price would be higher than if you listed it at 10.00 to start with. This is true and it works. So setting reserves can help, but everyone sees reserve not yet met so might be put off challenging just to find the seller won’t sell. Also reserves have to be set over £50 so it’s not practical for any of these items bar the PSP. In the promotion though, to get a free auction, you couldn’t use a reserve. So I’ve listed them at reasonable starting prices from the off, which is still free. If they sell great. If they don’t I might relist at 0.99, I might find a local store to take them, or I might just open the boxes and play with the toys like my inner 14 yr old wants me to.