Automated pricing

[ravergamer]

Hi all.

So I upload video games for sale no and then when I have an overspill on my collection. I never hold on to a high price, always list them for the cheapest so I benefit from a quick sale and the buyer benefits for getting the game at the lowest price possible. 

I dont have many listings only posting say a dozen games at a time every few months, nothing special, I'm not a business. However Musicmagpie, probably the biggest seller on eBay is being a pain in my backside. For every item I list, musicmagpie undercuts my price by 1 penny for the same games. I don't know this happens until I search through the listings and see this for myself. So I reduce my prices again, and shortly after musicmagpie manages to do it again and all my items are undercut by 1p. 

Musicmagpie must have thousands of open listings, surely there isn't this one person or a group monitoring all the listings and prices? So it makes me believe that there must be some sort of automated pricing that allows for their listings to stay the cheapest. As I write I do think that their prices aren't always the cheapest and they still under cut me by a penny. Example is if a game is listed without a box and it's just the disc alone for sale, this is cheaper than a game with its box. So saying this, musicmagpie isn't the cheapest, so is there someone actually, revising the price each time I lower mine. 

For me it's the big boys bullying out us small fish.  Wish musicmagpie, who make millions leave me alone.

[tressygirl]

Yes Musicmagpie is one of the top 3 biggest sellers on eBay, their prices as they sell in the hundreds of thouands are hard to beat.

I don't know how it works,  that they undercut your items as soon as listed by 1p,  but to be honest there are many buyers who would not be swayed by ' such a saving'  and prefer to give their business to the little guy.

Nothing you can do , it's a business mode they are not going to change from.

[four_mid_able]

I think they have software that picks up on any identical items via the MPN/EAN number etc entered in the item specifics.

[tressygirl]

That makes sense,  and yes,  I'm sure they do.

[theelench]

I agree with you.  I don't buy much music on-line, just a few CDs, but went off Music Magpie because everything I bought was "pre-owned", condition "very good" and was said to have been checked for quality.

I soon found out that the photo wasn't of the CD I was buying, it was something generic and always perfect.  Yet most cases and paper inserts weren't anything like perfect.  The playing quality was usually good but sometimes not, so I don't believe they check every CD. 

I'd much rather pay an extra pound or two to a smaller seller who takes their own photos, with the scratched case, creased insert etc. and has played the disc and knows it's playable.  The "saving" of 1p doesn't interest me or influence what I buy at all.  Music Magpie (and the huge book seller), to me are both a bit like a lucky dip that I'd rather avoid whenever there's an alternative on offer.

[rjwilmsi]

There are certainly large sellers on Amazon who have automated repricing bots/tools - sometimes to be more expensive than the competition as they don't have the item so any sale is fulfilled by buying from another, cheaper seller.

So if there are repricing tools on eBay I'm not surprised.

I would expect that a service like music magpie is high volume, low effort. They probably have somebody spend 5 seconds to check each CD/DVD, which is just longer than it takes to scan the barcode and check the disc is present. After that the item gets added to stock and that's it.

It probably won't work for CDs, but there was a story about an Amazon seller who realized a competitor was undercutting by 1 cent, so they dropped their prices and were able to buy up a whole load of the competitor's inventory on the cheap.

[douglaspuglas]

Have you tried listing without free postage.

When I was listing something a while ago, can't remember what it was now probably a cd or book, but the price was quickly undercut by a big seller by a penny or two.

I changed from freepost to having postage separate and it stopped happening.

I though maybe their software couldn't match the low price without the postage or couldn't see listingings that weren't freepost.

It's worth a try.

[4_bathrooms]

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@four_mid_able wrote:

I think they have software that picks up on any identical items via the MPN/EAN number etc entered in the item specifics.

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That's exactly how it works. They are using eBay's API to find the cheapest price for a given product in the catalogue; MM's application then just prices their item 1p lower and updates the eBay listing. 

[double_o_heaven]

I wouldn't worry about under cutting Music Magpie - thousands of people won't buy from them - customers prefer a more personal touch, especially with descriptions.  And someone they can talk to if things go wrong or are not as expected.

I don't think it will cost you many, if any, sales, by ignoring them completely.

[ravergamer]

Thanks guys for all your replies. Really interesting for yous to say they use software from pricing etc. And for giving me confidence back to selling my items in knowing the one penny, won't change a thing for me.

I did think to myself placing the item at £1 just so, musicmagpie would drop there's to 99p. I didn't as someone could snap mine up for £1 lol

[litp*records]

There is an even better solution.  Just DO NOT enter the barcode (EAN) in the item specifics.  I never do!  It doesn't affect sales for me.  Buyers search by item name, not barcode.   Barcode links to a "catalogue product" and quite often that description is WRONG anyway!

For the barcode number I always enter "Does not apply"

Therefore I can undercut the evil magpie and there is nothing they can do about it...

[litp*records]

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@double_o_heaven wrote:

I wouldn't worry about under cutting Music Magpie - thousands of people won't buy from them - customers prefer a more personal touch, especially with descriptions.  And someone they can talk to if things go wrong or are not as expected.

I don't think it will cost you many, if any, sales, by ignoring them completely.

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You are quite right, I for one would not buy from nor sell to them.  Under any circumstances.  I never buy used items based on a stock photo either.  I've heard all about their "meticulous quality checks".   That company has always operated at a loss and they seemingly exist only to get a monopoly on the used media market. You're better off throwing away your discs and selling bundles of empty cases than sending your DVDs/CDs/games to them for a derisory offer.