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Rose Bear CottageI had listed a teddy with a reserve auction and noticed it didn't draw much interest, so I did as I use to in the past and relisted with a $1 No Reserve. Yes, I'm nervous, 
:pray: But in the past I always began my auctions this way. I didn't have a clue what to ask for the teddy, so I left it up to the collectors via bidding. What are your thoughts? Do you think this will draw more attention? Since I began working fulltime, remarried, and changed my last name and business name, I feel I have had to start all over again. In fact people here have asked if my name use to be.......so I thought I would solve the mystery. My previous name was Debbie Plank and I use to sell under the name planksporch. When I remarried I thought it proper to drop Plank 
and carry Quinones. I offer now under Rose Bear Cottage by Debbie Quinones.
Delartful BearsI am way too nervous to do what you're doing. I know one girl who does the same thing with what she calls her clearance bears. It works out well sometimes for her, other times, not so well.
It's a huge gamble - I Just hope it works out well for you. :hug: Your outfitting is amazing on the bears - it astounds me to think of all the details in it - just amazing.
Goodluck :hug:
Danni
debbie - about the marriage thing -
im mrs coombes - i hope for life - and have also been mrs cross ... i stuck to trading as catherine owen and im glad i did ... people have always known who i am lol
and i just simply explain thats my busiiness name, or ' i trade as'
and its fine
id be nervous doing £1 or $1 !!! good luck
i hope it works out
cat xxxx
Bear Paws by RoxanneHey Debbie,
I think that yes, it is a way of getting collectors attention. It received mine with this post 
If you are concerned about not being recognized by your collectors, would your new hubby be offended if for a short time that you might add in the subtitle something like-
Formly known as Debbie Plank id "planksporch." Or something of that manor?
Happy Spring to ya'll! 
Rose Bear CottageI did use Plank-Quinones for a few listings and he doesn't mine. I was thinking that due to not listing consistant for two years didn't help. Going from a full-time teddy creator who listed every week along with the San Diego Teddy and Doll show to becoming almost non existant didn't help. I signed up with a credit card company that offererd a website that I do not care for the lay out of either. To new beginnings now. My main goal is to get the teddies and friends into collectors hands and develop an interesting website. Of course all in my spare time. :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
I couldn't do it. I did a Reserve Auction and got no interest. After a couple days I removed the Reserve and instantly got a bid. I don't think it's necessary to list these gorgeous, time instensive bears at $1.
I am not knocking people that do it and this is strictly my opinion. But when you low-ball something it strikes an unconscious nerve with people..."Why is it so cheap?" "What's wrong with it?" And even though it may be NONE of these things, it's a gut reaction. You have to set a price that reflects your time, effort and pride in workmanship. If an artist is willing to list something at $1 they run the risk of selling it for $1. My bear ensembles take 12+ hours to complete and there's no way I'd sell for one dollar. Again, this is only my opinion.
Posts: 1,836From my years of "market research"....(snooping on ebay and watching auctions for my own information :crackup: :crackup: )..... I've found that auctions that start at $1.00 with zero reserve set are from folks who know that their bear/creation/doll/sculpt will at least end very closely to their retail price, or the price they would sell for off of eBay. Most of these artists, from what I've seen..not a science here...wind up with bids that are higher than that amount. (I'm sure sometimes they have a bad week....) But it's a great marketing tool for those who need not be nervous to use it with collectors. (Think about posts regarding the "thrill" of the bidding. What's more thrilling than seeing "X's" bear/doll/creation within reach??) These same folks didn't start out using this method of selling, not from what I've noticed.
Me...I wouldn't do it at this point. It's too risky to loose a piece of art that I personally value. If my piece doesn't meet my reserve it just means my collector wasn't there that day/week. I'm not putting all of my hopes and dreams into one auction...there's always another auction, web site, show, or private event.
(I kept my maiden name for my business...and pretty much in my day to day life. I do hyphenate now and then and will do a solid hyphen once we have kids...but for now my name is my name and was for 32 years before we got married.....long engagements will make these things happen!! )
:hug:
~Chrissi
Burlison BearsI just did my first $1.00 bid with no reserve. I was scared to death actually because it was such a cutie and took me around 20 hours to complete. Normally my bears on average sell for $65.00 on ebay. This one was fought over and went for $51.00, which is close but not close enough. I depend on my bear money to help pay our bills. This is my only job and so I need it to sell at what I'm used to or higher. But I do think it was good advertising. I had a lot of people take notice of it. And it ended up going to a person who bought a large teddy from me a year ago when I had first started! I don't even do large teddies any more!
My husband wasn't too happy with me doing a $1.00 bid either! You see, he's begun to count on my bear money as part of our household income as we're always struggling with our financial situation.
He was however very surprised that it went for so much. He told me he thought it was going to go for $5.00!
I don't think I will ever do another $1.00 bid/no reserve. At least at this time. It's just too much of a risk for me.
-Eliza
Rose Bear CottageIt's great to see the different posts here on this subject. Yes, in the past I was a confident that my auctions would bid beyond the cost of my time and materials and that was my only income being single. In fact recently I decided to try it again and was satified with the results. I've already noticed more attention on the relist with no reserve. Someone mentioned to me in the past whom was a big eBay auction fan of starting hers out at $9.99 to look at what a month of sales is versus the individual auction. Jennifer, I totally agree with you on your comment though. I would not want to give the impression my creation is not worth the deservable $$ it is.
Bears by Jodi
Wazza Bears AustraliaThats interesting
I have been adv to try and start my auction with a $1 but have a reserve just to see what the market think of my bears. This was from a very good artist. I believe in her theory. I will give it ago next bear I make. just making orders at the moment.
Rose Bear CottageIt is a chance we take and as I see from the current listing, much more interest is being shown. I've also noticed many wait right to the end to bid these days. I've seen this with many of the artist bears. In the past bids would come in at all times throughout the auctions.
Rose Bear CottageEllen, your last post brings up even another question. I have had collectors years ago say they did not like the 7 day auctions because they would lose interest. For years I would only do 3 day auctions. I only recently used the 7 days because I not only want my dollars worth of what eBay is charging and that I want to make sure the listing is seen by many. What seems to work best for you all?
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)I agree that 7 days seems too long for buyers (lose track of the items they mean to check on, loose interest, spend that part of the budget on something ending sooner, etc) It's a quandry with no right or wrong answers. I've only had a few week-long auctions and never a 10-day. I've also never used 3 as that seems too short. And I'm not well-enough known to go with 1 day!!
So I use 5, beginning on a Thursday, Fri or Sat so they end on Tues, Wed or Thurs, with a weekend in there for those that surf then and weekdays for those that browse then. I end at the optimum time for US bidders, 7 PST (8 Mountain, 9 Central & 10 East coast.) That has worked best fopr me for 2 years, but you must become regular - - in that the offerings are on a regular schedule (for me it's every other week) at the same time and for the same length.
I usually have at least 30 items on watch. I go through the list every few days to delete the Ended ones. Anything I'm really interested in I bid right away, through eSnipe. I see nothing wrong with sniping, as the Seller may not get the full amount that I was willing to pay, but my early-placed bids do not reflect interest and panic others into keep raising their prices.
As a Seller & a Buyer I can see both sides, and wouldn't we all like to get the most and pay the least! But you win a little & lose a little - if you deal in this market place you have to become philosophical - it all balances out in the end.
I set my limit - what it's worth to me - and never look back until after it's over and I get the email saying I won or 'Bid Too Low'. As a Seller I like to see an early bid and it's nice when a few bids are added during the time as it shows interest, but most bidders now seem to have shifted to the buying pattern like mine, bidding in the last minute.
I avoid bidding wars and trying to outguess my fellow bidders and keep hedging my bids up & up.... and up. No Buyer's Regret here - I'm fine with staying within the limit I originaly set, that I know I can go up to. And I'm happy to say that I win 99.5% of the auctions I bid on. They usually are much less than half of what I put in as my max bid.
This week I came within 1 penny of losing something. The automatic bid increment would've not accepted my bid at the end (as not high enough) but by placing my bids on the first or second day, my earlier bid ranks higher and takes home the prize!
There are a few other strategies I use - trade secrets, learned the hard way - through Experience!!
Rose Bear CottageBobbie, I like your method of the 5 day auction and ending during the week on a Wednesday or Thursday. When I ran 3 day auctions I would list on Monday to end during the week also and did very well. I may try that again the next time around.
MarylandHello dear people! 
I've been reading all of the Ebay threads with great interest because Ebay puzzles me. I'm a VERY small-time bear artist. I have a regular, full-time job that pays most of my bills so the bear-making is a side-job, a hobby, for me. But having a regular, full-time job means that I have a lot less time for bear-making. Plus I sew all my bears by hand and that's even more time-consuming. So I'm not usually able to build up a lot of stock.
I live in the Maryland area and we've lost many good shows. We do have two good shows each year, but the waiting list to get into these shows is quite long so I haven't had chances to exhibit in either one of them. Because I work full-time and don't have a lot of stock, I haven't been able to go to shows other than local ones. So I've turned to Ebay.
I sometimes wonder if I'm "under-pricing" my bears. I can sell smaller ones (around 13 inches) for under $100 on Ebay, no reserve, without using Featured Plus. I've tried listing them for more and also with a reserve, but with poor results. Right now, I have a larger, 16 inch bear listed at no reserve with a BIN in Featured Plus for 10 days. I had tried him earlier without Featured Plus but no takers. I did some re-working on him and then decided to try out this format.
If my bear doesn't sell this round, then I'm considering listing him at $1 with no reserve, most likely not on Featured Plus. I'm thinking that -- hey, maybe people will see this as something really "radical" and that this will spark interest and get my dear little furry buddy a good home and will at least get me back the money I put into his materials.
Or I may end up just keeping him as my own. Or else I might donate him to the Washington D.C. Expo Good Bears of the World auction. I am an active local chapter member of Good Bears of the World and I've donated some of my pieces for the past couple of years. Of course I don't get any money for my donation, but I get the good feeling of having donated to a very worthy organization. Some of my bears have gotten good homes that way and also, people get to see my bears.
Anyway, thanks for reading all this rambling. Bear hugs to all!
Bears by EdieI personally don't think that buyers would judge a bear started at $1.00 no reserve as only being worth $1.00 in the makers eyes (or anyone's eyes for that matter!) - I think they are smart enough to know it is a ploy to get interest generated in the item! I have tried it but as others have said you end up sitting on pins and needles the whole time wondering what will happen! I've only done it on bears that I thought were so good they would have to get bid up very quickly - but they didn't! People still waited close to the end to get serious about bidding! I think it might be a little less risky to try this if you have a good mailing list so that you have lots of your collectors aware of it and they won't let it go TOO cheaply! If it does all you can do is hope it at least got some more awareness for you and you have really made someone's day - possibly someone who could not normally have afforded one of your bears.
Rose Bear CottageI agree with your comments. Even if I haven't made what I believe should have been the lowest acceptable dollar, I fell so good knowing someone is very happy to collect one of my creations. It all balances out in the end.
MarylandA couple of years ago, when I was just getting started selling on Ebay, I listed a bear on Featured Plus with a no-reserve, starting bid of $19.99. I got burned this time, as I ended up having to sell the bear for $21.00, which barely paid for the Featured Plus. I took a bath on the other Ebay fees, the cost of materials, etc. Someone got a nice bear done by a beginning artist and she was happy with the bear did give me positive feedback. Still.....
However, starting a bear at $1 rather than $19.99 might give some sort of psychological boost to the bidders. Who knows? I might make it a 3-day auction or even a 1-day auction; I'll have to think about it and I'm very open to any advice here. At any rate, I'll let my current bear listing finish and see what happens.
Why not try a 7-day auction, starting at $1, with a Buy It Now for your typical retail value? That would clearly indicate to buyers what quality your bears are, while also pulling in interested bidders.
Mind you, I've never sold anything on ebay, but I used to have a friend who supported her family of three entirely by selling paintings on ebay this way. Of course, her Buy It Now price was usually around $200 for a small piece which took her only an hour or so to make.
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)her Buy It Now price was usually around $200 for a small piece which took her only an hour or so to make.
Wow - would that we could all work like that. For myself, my $200 items take the minimum of 2 - 3 days to create....
FenBeary FolkHi everyone, I think that you must be brave to list at $1, I think I would find that just too nerve wracking.
I have found it very difficult to find the right price to list at, due to me being relatively new at selling them, in the end I went with the costs, I can't afford to take a loss, not that I am saying any of us can, him indoors would go nuts if I listed at $1 due to him having no concept of how it feels to make a bear that someone wants to own or how personally you take it if you have no interest. He thinks I heading for second childhood :crackup:
Anyway I do think that it generates interest though and I have read some very interesting posts on pricing and everyones different ways, I suppose that its just trial and error at the end of the day :hug:
Now where is my paint brush!!!!!!only joking
Bearhaven BearsAfter reading this post I thought why not give this $1.00 starting bid a go, so my latest bear I have listed on eBay I started with $1.00 opening and no reserve. I'm a risk taker and always try to look on the bright side of things, who knows it may be the ticket I need to get my sales back on track.
I have been away from eBay for quite awhile and sometimes it takes drastic measures to get noticed with so many bears to choose from. I think the $1.00 starting bid at least gets buyers to take a look. So far I have 3 new bidders and to me that in it self is worth any loss I may incur on this particular bear (he is my sacrificial lamb), now don't get me wrong I can't afford to do this on a regular bases. Bears are my only source of income and I would be crazy to take to many hits, But for me this is the road I'm willing to take for now to build my name up again. What I need is to get people to see my work then it's up to the bears to do the rest, and I look when I see a bear listed with a $1.00 opening bid cause I'm courious and even I can splurge and spend a $1.00 on a bear.
I don't think a opening bid reflects on the quality of the bear I have seen some bears with huge prices and I wouldn't spend a dime on them and there are some amazing fella's out there with crazy low prices. So for me I let the bear speak for itself and I don't care who makes it, if it captures my attention that is what I'm drawn to and not the price.
I'll let you all know how this plays out in the end for my bear, I have faith though that he will wind up just where he was meant to be, they always seem to know just who needs them the most.
Take care
Hugs Deborah
MarylandHey Deborah! I saw your $1 auction on Ebay this morning. Lovely bright-red Teddy! I noticed that the bidding is now significantly higher than $1. I'll be keeping track of your auction and see how you fare. Good luck!
