Learn to buy and sell antiques and collectibles

Motivating eBay Auction Visitors To Bid

Here's a question sent in by a reader:

How do I turn watchers into buyers? I have lots of watchers, but how do I get them to bid? And yes, I have a action statement, place your bid now so you don't miss out on this fantastic item, etc.

Your action statement is a good start. Try to get the reader to visualize owning the item with an ownership statement.

Here's some examples off the top of my head:

This item will amaze your friends.
Just think of how much fun you will have with this.

Even a statement listing faults can get the reader thinking of your item as something that fits into his life:

This is a great project for those snowy winter afternoons. Instead of shoveling snow, you can spend a few relaxing hours cleaning this up, and then have something you will be proud to show your friends.

All that being said, the fact is only a small percentage of people who look at your auction will bid. Maybe 5 percent as an average. Maybe less. This is because a lot of people use eBay as entertainment or to see what items they have are worth.

I know a lot of train collectors who watch items on eBay only to check the value of their collections. They have no intention of buying anything. They just don't have anything better to do with their time.

Sometimes an action statement and a ownership statement will get these looky-lous to bid. Most of the time, there is little you can do.

After all, to get the highest selling price you only need two bidders. I bought an item last week on eBay for $215. There were only two of us who bid more than 40 dollars. I was only willing to spend $225 so the seller got almost every penny I was willing to spend.

I don't think the number of people who look at an auction is important. Think of it like a billboard. Sure thousands of people will see it every day, but only a very tiny percentage of people react to it, and buy something.

The real way to get these people off the fence is to drive them into your website. Get them onto your newsletter list, and start building a relationship with them. Write your auction descriptions so they resonate with the serious bidders because you need to get two bidders on every auction, and then try to entice the entertainment viewers to your website. The Auction Revolution covers writing your description, and shows you exactly how to move people from your auctions to your website.

Terry

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Terry Gibbs has taught over 7,000 people how to make a good living on eBay. Terry's most recent eBay instruction manual is The Auction Revolution . The Auction Revolution is your guide to eBay and beyond. Here on Iwantcollectibles.com, you will learn about buying and selling antiques and collectibles, and about eBay.