Yes, but Is It Really Worth It?

Yes, well, you see I have just been sitting here taking some pics and pounding my keyboard getting a few new listings ready to go tonight. Suddenly, my groove is interrupted (don't you just hate when that happens?) by... a message from eBayland. It looks like, as a Valentine's Day present to sellers, eBay auction listing fees are 50% off on 14 February!

w00t! Yes, my first reaction is one of rejoicing! Perhaps I should forgo some precious sleep to get a few more listings done! Let's take advantage of the savings!

On the other hand, I imagine that is what many sellers will do and the medved stats will show a huge jump in new listings tomorrow. That's good for eBay, and therefore at least indirectly good for those of us who rely on eBay for an income. But, if one were to sit down and map out a cost-benefit analysis on an individual seller's auctions does it make sense to take advantage of the sale?

As a seller, my goal is to maximize the return I get on my investment. I want to sell my widgets for the highest possible price! The listing fee sale will cut some of my costs for sure, but will not the huge influx of new auctions also, at least potentially, glut the market? Instead of there only being 3 widgets like mine for sale, now perhaps there will be 10 or more?

Hmmm.... Decisions, decisions!

Oh, what the heck, I'm going to go ahead and list some more widgets! After all, my widgets are very nice widgets regardless of the potential competition, and... I just can't pass up a good sale!

;-)

Crossposted: Daddy Yak Auctions
Tags: eBay; my online garage sale