If you’re going to get involved in business, usually that means you’re going to be selling something. Not all businesses mean outright sales to make money, but, it can be argued that every business involves selling something. I’m not going to make that argument right now, that’s a whole different story there. However, for the sake of this article let’s agree that if you want to make money, you have to sell something.
The question is, how do you determine the value of the item you’re going to sell? I mean, it if you have an item that’s really worth $100, and you’re selling it for $10, you’re probably going to sell a lot of them, but it’s a losing proposition. I mean, even if you don’t realize you’re losing money, you’re selling the item for less than it’s worth, and that’s not good for the seller. On the other hand, if you’ve got an item is worth $10, but you think it’s worth $100, and you price it at $100, nobody will buy. In your mind, that item is worth every bit of $100. But, if nobody else thinks is worth $100, it’s not.
I used to make a living selling stuff on eBay. I guess I have about five years experience of selling on eBay, and three to four of those years eBay was my primary moneymaker. In those years without eBay, I wouldn’t have really had an income. It is my opinion that eBay is the perfect marketplace. If you put an item up for sale on eBay, you get what the item is worth. Now there are things that you can do to influence the worth, but in general, the final price of the auction is what the item is worth. When I say that you can influence the value, what are you talking about? Well, a lot of things enter there. The quality of your description of the item is a big factor. You should have a lot of good pictures. You should play the item and make it look really good. These things and others influence how much you’ll get for the item. If, for example, you list an item with like a one-sentence description, no photos, and little information, you probably won’t even sell the item. If you do though, you’ll get very little for it. How can that be? How can an item be worth the final price, yet you that hardly anything for it? The value of the item described is worth the price you got. Did you give it a poor description? Well, you did let people know what it was, and the price they gave you was based on what you told them it was.
in the end, it is my belief that the value of an item is based on this statement:
An item is worth precisely what a willing buyer will pay for it, and a willing seller will sell it for.
This simple sentence, precisely defines what an item is worth in my opinion.
No matter what kind of business you’re in, make sure that you are not underpricing the item that you’re selling.
I find determining value of anything can be difficult. This can be true whether you are selling things on E-bay or pricing the ads on your blog or website. I have been thinking about this very issue as of late because I have one website that should be making more money. I just need to figure out how much to ask for!
This may be one of the reasons why Google Adsense is so popular. You don’t have to price it; you take what Google is willing to give.
@Tom Nixon: I know the perfect way to set value, if you are selling on eBay, but it’s not for the faint of heart! Start off your auction at $0.01, and just let it roll! It is my belief that this is the best way to do eBay, because it generates a lot of excitement, and a lot of people will bid. You will always get what the item is worth in the end! 😆
Did you ever have one of those times when E-bay failed you and you ended up selling something for much less than it was worth?
@Tom Nixon: Oh, I have had times when an item went for less than I thought it was worth, but that is rare. In my opinion, it just shows that the value of the item was less than I thought! 😆
I remember one time i was searching the net and I am sure you sold a book about businesses to start in the Philippines but i can not find it do you still sell that book
Indeed, Allan, I sure do. I have a book called “49 Ways to make a living in the Philippines.” You can find it by clicking here.