Today's ebay bargain...
Mar. 13th, 2012 07:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ffutures...was two dataloggers, a slightly older version of a type we use in our labs, for £12.01 - £12 postage, and the penny it started off at since I was the only bidder! They arrived today and are perfect for our needs, identical (apart from having a serial port and USB converter cable instead of a mini USB port - and the cable worked without any drivers) to the ones that normally cost us £100 a pop - and that's a reduced price because we're trading in old equipment.
Several interesting lessons here:
Why was I the only bidder?
- Because the vendor listed them in wholesale and job lots / consumer electronics instead of the usual Business / medical and laboratory category.
- because he used none of the key-words that might have attracted more interest, such as "Data-logger"
- because the description didn't really say what they were or what they can do, or mention some built-in sensors that might have made them useful for other purposes.
- and I suspect, because £12 postage seemed high if you didn't know what they were.
Why did I find them?
- because I have about 20 searches running on things like manufacturer names, and the vendor did use the manufacturer's name - a really obscure one, but it's one I search on.
Lessons I've learned from this as a seller
- choose a realistic starting price unless I am VERY sure that the item will sell for a lot more if I start low
- choose the right category
- describe things clearly
- use all possible search terms in the item title
Lessons as a buyer
- definitely keep those obscure searches running!
Currently feeling very smug - may not last, but it's nice while it does!
Several interesting lessons here:
Why was I the only bidder?
- Because the vendor listed them in wholesale and job lots / consumer electronics instead of the usual Business / medical and laboratory category.
- because he used none of the key-words that might have attracted more interest, such as "Data-logger"
- because the description didn't really say what they were or what they can do, or mention some built-in sensors that might have made them useful for other purposes.
- and I suspect, because £12 postage seemed high if you didn't know what they were.
Why did I find them?
- because I have about 20 searches running on things like manufacturer names, and the vendor did use the manufacturer's name - a really obscure one, but it's one I search on.
Lessons I've learned from this as a seller
- choose a realistic starting price unless I am VERY sure that the item will sell for a lot more if I start low
- choose the right category
- describe things clearly
- use all possible search terms in the item title
Lessons as a buyer
- definitely keep those obscure searches running!
Currently feeling very smug - may not last, but it's nice while it does!
