What a letdown this auction was. What could I have done better?

[cjedmonton]

In my opinion, this auction fell several hundred dollars short. I thought I had all the bases covered for a quality listing. Can anyone shed some light on where I may have lost some bids?

Quick review:

1. Clear title with no spelling errors. Check.

2. Informative description. Check.

3. High quality scans. Check.

4. Favorable ending time. Check.

5. PSA/DNA certified. Check.

6. 100% feedback with 13+ years as an Ebay member. Check.

7. Free expedited shipping with tracking/insurance. Check.

The only reason I ask is that I'm about to start the process of listing the rest of an estate lot I picked up, and am not sure if it's worth my time to go with an auction house or stick with Ebay.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110905341260...84.m1559.l2649

[ibuysportsephemera]

I'm a publication guy, not an autograph guy, so here is my opinion fwiw..... I actually think that you did very well with it. The program without autographs is a $50 to $100 program at best. It looks like you had 7 or more different bidders, so to me you had good interest from different buyers.

I think that you should have included Brooklyn Dodgers & New York Yankees in the title. Both Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers are very popular searches. Perhaps the cover being clubhouse signatures combined with authentic autographs on the back even with the authentication is a turnoff? Why only 3 pictures? I would have shown pictures of the condition of the inside and when I auction a ws program I always include the team photos. I also think that because the Cy Young autograph is on the back, it makes the piece difficult to display.

Just my 2¢.

Jeff

[Cardboard Junkie]

Aloha, I think the "main" scan should be of the cover. Using Yankees, and Dodgers in your title would be good. The scans might be better if using a black background. Free shipping is good. Also I think some collectors from the states just flat out wont buy from canada. I do think you might have gotten a couple more bucks. Go figure. dave.

[GrayGhost]

I think people were a bit scared of, maybe figured value was lowered a good amount by the forgeries, even if u did describe them .

[cjedmonton]

Thank you all for some insight. A pity if there's some bidding bias going on, but I agree that having Dodgers/Yanks in the title might have attracted more visits. Since space is limited, I decided to focus on Cy Young instead.

I'll take this advice and apply it to some other items in the lot. Thanks again.

[thecatspajamas]

Only thing I can see is ending on a Saturday during the summer, you may lose some bids from those who are travelling, on vacation or engaged in outdoor activities when the weather is nice. I realize that every auction can't end on Sunday evening, but that does seem to be a popular choice to catch folks when they get back in town (assuming they will have to be back at work Monday morning).

Yes, lots of bidders use sniping programs these days so that it really shouldn't matter when the auction ends, but you would be surprised how many still "snipe" the old-fashioned way: by sitting at their computer and manually putting in a bid in the last few seconds. If they can't be at their computer when the auction ends, they just won't bid.

[Deertick]

Several things FWIW:

• Format of description. Larger font, some color or bold the main description. Break down the names in a list format and cut down on the bios.

• More pics as said before

• This doesn't help IMO:PLEASE NOTE: Bidders with an overall feedback of less than 25 and/or 98% positive will need to contact me first before bidding. I realize we all had to start out somewhere, or may have had an unfortunate outcome to a transaction in the past, but that doesn't mean I don't want this transaction to go as smoothly as possible. Communicating with me before bidding will probably go a long way toward achieving that for both of us. Bids from these members without contacting me first will be deleted. Thanks in advance.
  

How many page views did you receive? That will tell alot about whether it was an effective title.

[cjedmonton]

I only got about 250 views, which was also disappointing. Right category, bold title, etc...

In hindsight, I probably should have avoided the blurb at the bottom. However, I thought the comments on each indivdual was a nice touch. After Young, I'd bet most bidders were unfamiliar with who signed the program (even HOFers Clarke and Connolly).

Water under the bridge now. Again, I'll try to incorporate some of these suggestions in the next round. Thanks.

[Jay Wolt]

Keep in mind the economy is hurting and many items aren't reaching the heights of a few years ago.
Did you spam the lot on the B/S/T section? If not, this could have alerted a potential bidder or 2.

[cjedmonton]

Good point about the economy, and no I didn't post on the B/S/T because I'm brand new here and am not entirely sure how that works, etiquette-wise.