Forum

feedback/condition vs. lowest price
 

So I just sold another book on Amazon yesterday.. not that expensive, between 5 and 10 dollars. However I noticed that mine got picked out of that listing by the buyer even though there were three other copies still available that were significantly cheaper - two were even in better condition than mine! The only advantage I really had was a 100% feedback rating while the other sellers had 97 and 98 percent. I also used much more detailed descriptions than they did but I doubt this really makes much difference.

Anyways it made me think.. obviously price is usually the main thing people see but besides that, how important do you think feedback and condition are to the buyer relative to price? I'm still kind of new to this and I'm wondering if what happened yesterday was just some sort of a fluke.

A lot of this has to do with marketing and people's perceptions on price. Generally people think if there paying a higher price there getting better stuff. This is especially true for books if theres a listing with a bunch of 1 penny sellers occasionally a buyer or two will be willing to pay the $1 seller in hopes of getting better quality.

This happens a lot. I sell many items where I am not the cheapest price. Moreso with used items than new items.

I also purchase this way. If I am looking for a specific book, and the cheapest copy in a given condition is $15 and the seller has 97% feedback, and another has 100% and is a couple of dollars more, usually I will pay it.

Of course, this only goes so far. You STILL need to be competitive. Nobody will buy your book for $100 if there are 10 others for $20.

And the descriptions matter too. It tells the buyer that you CARE about what you sell and are not a quick buck artist.

That's encouraging :)

Another factor may be your location, if it is vis-able. They may be searching for someone closest to home.
Especially if media mail is the method of shipment

Melissa has a good point. Location can also be a factor.

I actually think that a detailed description can make all the difference. I provide good enough details on each item that I sell, and I usually don't have the lowest price. My feedback is 100% as well, so that's another factor.

That crossed my mind too, but then I thought "isn't indicating quality what the condition/description are supposed to be for?".

It does make sense though. I remember when I first told my mom that they were selling a book that she was looking for on Amazon for a penny and she's like "ew I wouldn't buy one for that cheap, what if it's dirty or something?". She's one of those people who are totally computer illiterate though so I didn't pay any thought to it. :bounce:

I agree. I was recently involved in an email discussion with a customer, and I asked him why he bought my item when there were several others that were cheaper, in the same condition and from sellers with the same rating as mine. His answer was that I was closest to him, so he figured he'd get it faster, and the other factors were not large enough to offset that. So it doesn't pay to underprice your item strictly based on other prices.

I agree. The alternative is to be involved in a race to the bottom, which only hurts your profits in the long run. Sure, if you list something and it just won't sell, you may have to lower your price, but that should not be your first option.

Thanks for all the input again guys :clap:

Speaking of all that, I actually did check to see if location was the deciding factor and safe to say it probably wasn't, since it turns out I live halfway across the USA from that person. :D It's good to know that's another thing people do take into consideration though!