Hey EMC, I have seen many people that are confused and either start way too high, or what the item is worth, and get no bids. So i have gathered some information from sites that run many tests on what is the best value to start your Auction Price at. Your goal here is to make money, not lose it. So the first thing you need to consider is how gutsy you should be when it comes to your business. In the business world, this is called measuring your "risk tolerance." Set the starting price at 1 Rupee. There's been much talk about the attraction of starting your items at just 1 Rupee. There's certainly a definite benefit to that, as prospective buyers will see your listing and think they're the only ones to see your low-priced item--and that they'll be win it at a bargain. Once you list an item at 1 Rupee, prospective buyers will perceive the deal and begin to bid. The item will generate competition, and bidders will hopefully drive up your selling price in a flurry of (possibly last minute) bidding. If you are not sure if it is an item that will not sell, you can search it Via Search Bar at the top of the page, or you can ask around for an average price. Although you may want to get the exact amount you may want to get for the item, you will not get over the cost. For example, you can see in the past where auctions that have started at 1 Rupee or even free, more than 90% of them go over the value of the items worthness. Hope that this thread can help you find and understand the cost of finding your Starting Price. Also Feel free to Debate in here if you need to, but do research before you do.
Ah, but what if I, say, buy a DC of sea lanterns for 55k, and don't want anything less than that? If I set the starting bid to 1r, there is a chance that I may lose money.
yea, but then you will not attract many bidders. When someone visits a auction, and sees an item like you have listed, and it is 55K, I bet you that more than 95% of them will leave, but if it was 1r, you will get all them, and it would have a higher change on going to close to that, or higher. A good example is a DC of Diamonds i had a few years back, here. I started the bit @ 30k, and went to 224640, and at the time that was 30r over the diamond value. But if i where to start it at the exact value or under then i would have got not much higher. Now, if you are looking for the exact amount, and not willing to take a risk, then i would suggest just making a selling thread or a shop at your res to sell it.
The 1r thing is a bit of a gamble but auctions are a gamble. Most items seem to go above fair market value at auctions and then there are others that go "under the radar" and go for far less than FMV. the biggest insurance you have against this is the auction end time. As finch said, if you start low you will have more bumps, USUALLY, and more people that get alerted to new bids or bumps. Setting your bid minimum to what you will take no less than is the whole idea of that mechanic and if you just want to make sure you get that amount you can do that and endlessly bump the auction until someone actually bids. With the auction end time though you make sure that the auction doesn't "go under the radar" 24 hours I see a lot of newcomers to the auctions doing and that's just not a lot of time. 36 hours is less risky and 48 hours is recommended 1r minimum bid isn't required but as finch pointed out, there are some definite benefits
I've started almost every auction I've posted at 1r. I guess to some it's a gamble but I know what I am auctioning and rarely get my 'normal' amounts. Only once has one of my auctions ended with 1r and it was 6 DCs of flesh. I was not at all worried as it was still 1r of profit Something important besides starting bid and the end point is what you are auctioning. You might have a DC of promos worth 2 million but auctioning it all at once will not mean you will get their worth. Personally I would never auction more than a couple different items at once, mostly just 1 type of item. This doesn't mean getting rupees is all that is important, it just means if you auction promos individually, you have a much better chance of getting their true worth rather than many at once hoping for a huge payday.
I like to start low because then the people who bid stuff like 1r get notifications when someone else bids
