- Online Auctions: Pros and Cons
- Fixed-Price Listings: Pros and Cons
- Buy It Now: Pros and Cons
- Choosing the Right Selling Format
Buy It Now: Pros and Cons
There’s one more option, however, that might be the best of both worlds in certain circumstances. I’m talking about eBay’s Buy It Now (BIN) option, which lets you offer the option of a fixed-price purchase for online auction items.
With the BIN option, you offer an item for online auction via the normal bidding process, but also offer the option of a fixed-price purchase. The BIN price is obviously higher than your starting bid price; if a buyer is interested enough to pay the higher price, he canand then receive the item immediately, without waiting until the end of the auction period.
The BIN option is nice if you have a large quantity of similar inventory to sell. In this scenario, the BIN price becomes the de facto retail price of the item, save for those souls who would rather sweat out the auction process.
The BIN option is also popular during the holiday season, when buyers don’t always want to wait around seven days to see whether they’ve won an item. Desperate Christmas shoppers will sometimes pay a premium to get something now, which is where BIN comes in.
Buy It Now is also a good option when you’re selling used or collectible merchandise and have a set price in your mind that you’d be willing to settle for. Go ahead and start the auction process, but be happy if someone is prepared to pay the BIN price.