Bonsai Auction/99 Cent Bonsai Shadiness - and a better alternative!

[Carol 83]

That's what she said.

No doubt

 

[M. Frary]

No doubt

You know it.

 

[sorce]

Here's one of the last things I sold on the FB auctions sometime last year I think.

As it sits in my backyard yesterday!

I only had problems contacting buyers twice, both new to the book I reckon.
Only bought one cracked pot, a used Iker.

Sorce

 

[Ohmy222]

The pot site seems like smooth transit. The new auction site for trees is not active at all. I have never been a huge fan of FB for auctions as they are confusing some time. I have trouble getting it to update and the sellers can be slow and I really get annoyed with some of the shipping I have been charged. Some reserves are ridiculous. I am amazed at the prices people pay for sure. Either way it is better than nothing.

 

[0soyoung]

I really get annoyed with some of the shipping I have been charged.

PM the seller for a shipping estimate before you bid = no more ugly surprises.

 

[coh]

Shipping costs suck. I've shipped out maybe 5-6 trees, mostly smaller but a couple of them required a fairly large box. One tree went to Florida and the shipping was something like $60 or $70, similar to what the guy paid for the tree.

I've had a couple of buyers grumble about shipping costs but I tell them upfront in the listing "PM for shipping estimate". If they choose not to, that's their problem. If it will require a larger box I say upfront that shipping will be expensive and sometimes give an estimated value to some middle-distance location (like St Louis).

I hate reserves and will not bid on reserve auctions unless I see the reserve price has already been met by others. I don't like guessing games...tell me how much you're willing to accept and I'll base my decision off that.

 

[Lars Grimm]

The pot site seems like smooth transit. The new auction site for trees is not active at all. I have never been a huge fan of FB for auctions as they are confusing some time. I have trouble getting it to update and the sellers can be slow and I really get annoyed with some of the shipping I have been charged. Some reserves are ridiculous. I am amazed at the prices people pay for sure. Either way it is better than nothing.

There are actually a bunch of trees on the tree auction site. If you look at it on mobile sometimes it does weird things and doesn't refresh properly.

 

[sorce]

That's why my shipping is always free.

2 people can't build it into the price....
Maybe three ..

A moron.
A deceptive thief.
Or someone trying to confuse you.

Or all of the three or 2...

That's why my shipping is always free.

Sorce

 

[Nybonsai12]

Shipping costs suck. I've shipped out maybe 5-6 trees, mostly smaller but a couple of them required a fairly large box. One tree went to Florida and the shipping was something like $60 or $70, similar to what the guy paid for the tree.

Shipping does suck! I've sold a fair amount of trees/material on the FB pages and i'm at the point where I don't even want to bother shipping trees anymore. It's just such a hassle to get it packed right in the right size box, wired in, peanuts etc... and then still have to worry about the carrier possibly damaging it or a buyer backing out because it's so expensive.

In the event you or anybody else isn't aware there is another page called Bonsai For Sale Northeastern U.S. Pick Up Only where folks can sell trees for pick up only.

I've sold a few things on there. Not anywhere near the same amount of traffic but I haven't had a bad experience yet and have managed to get things sold for the price i wanted.

 

[coh]

Shipping does suck! I've sold a fair amount of trees/material on the FB pages and i'm at the point where I don't even want to bother shipping trees anymore. It's just such a hassle to get it packed right in the right size box, wired in, peanuts etc... and then still have to worry about the carrier possibly damaging it or a buyer backing out because it's so expensive.

In the event you or anybody else isn't aware there is another page called Bonsai For Sale Northeastern U.S. Pick Up Only where folks can sell trees for pick up only.

I've sold a few things on there. Not anywhere near the same amount of traffic but I haven't had a bad experience yet and have managed to get things sold for the price i wanted.

I don't worry about buyers backing out, if they do they just get banned from the group and the next highest bidder gets the tree if they want it (or if the price wasn't high enough it just goes in another auction). But everything else, yes After doing a few trees I have managed to fine tune the system but it still takes time and there's always the concern the tree doesn't make it there in one piece or the buyer doesn't like it.

The regional sale forum/no shipping is an interesting idea but seems to limit prospective buyers by a lot. I can't imagine people would be willing to drive very far unless a tree is really good or the price is a great deal. Still something I'll check out.

I might have a couple of larger trees that I might try to sell with the stipulation that buyers pick them up at the National show in September. Of course, that is also pretty limiting in terms of potential buyers.

 

[Adair M]

Shipping costs suck. I've shipped out maybe 5-6 trees, mostly smaller but a couple of them required a fairly large box. One tree went to Florida and the shipping was something like $60 or $70, similar to what the guy paid for the tree.

I've had a couple of buyers grumble about shipping costs but I tell them upfront in the listing "PM for shipping estimate". If they choose not to, that's their problem. If it will require a larger box I say upfront that shipping will be expensive and sometimes give an estimated value to some middle-distance location (like St Louis).

I hate reserves and will not bid on reserve auctions unless I see the reserve price has already been met by others. I don't like guessing games...tell me how much you're willing to accept and I'll base my decision off that.

What I don’t like is when they list an opening price of something like $50, but the reserve is $500. And then you see all these bids raising from $50 to 60 to $80 in $5 and $10 increments and wasting a lot of time when they’re no where close. Oh, I know that setting a low start is designed to build interest in the item, but they should start somewhere that’s somewhat near. Maybe start at $400 for a $500 reserve price item.

 

[0soyoung]

The Bonsai Pot Auction guys (the good guys per this thread) did originally and now continue to require that the start price be no less than 1/3 rd of the reserve. As far as I can tell, the 99Cent and BonsaiAuction guys (the bad guys per this thread) have no such rule.

 

[coh]

What I don’t like is when they list an opening price of something like $50, but the reserve is $500. And then you see all these bids raising from $50 to 60 to $80 in $5 and $10 increments and wasting a lot of time when they’re no where close. Oh, I know that setting a low start is designed to build interest in the item, but they should start somewhere that’s somewhat near. Maybe start at $400 for a $500 reserve price item.

Those are funny. You can tell by looking at a tree that the reserve is going to be high and yet people are bidding like that. Entertaining but also a huge waste of time for all involved. Maybe some bid like that just to annoy the sellers who are using reserves like that.

 

[Cable]

What I don’t like is when they list an opening price of something like $50, but the reserve is $500. And then you see all these bids raising from $50 to 60 to $80 in $5 and $10 increments and wasting a lot of time when they’re no where close. Oh, I know that setting a low start is designed to build interest in the item, but they should start somewhere that’s somewhat near. Maybe start at $400 for a $500 reserve price item.

I never bother with reserves. I start the bidding at what I want and hope for more...

 

[canoeguide]

Those are funny. You can tell by looking at a tree that the reserve is going to be high and yet people are bidding like that. Entertaining but also a huge waste of time for all involved. Maybe some bid like that just to annoy the sellers who are using reserves like that.

I bid sometimes just to help the seller out as a bid will "bump" the listing to the top of the "recent activity" feed and ultimately more people will see it. It's also a way to say "I am interested in this, so let's keep probing and see if you've set a reasonable reserve."

As with any auction, both sellers and bidders do some weird shit.

 

[canoeguide]

I never bother with reserves. I start the bidding at what I want and hope for more...

Amen. Or just start it at $1 with no reserve and let it go. If it's worth $500 it's going to get there, unless it's a super niche item that you list on the last day.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I have gotten great deals with no reserve set!
I have also bid $100 on a pot I really wanted.
That was before I bought the house- now I broke. Lol

 

[Norcalkbonsai]

Shipping costs suck. I've shipped out maybe 5-6 trees, mostly smaller but a couple of them required a fairly large box. One tree went to Florida and the shipping was something like $60 or $70, similar to what the guy paid for the tree.

I've had a couple of buyers grumble about shipping costs but I tell them upfront in the listing "PM for shipping estimate". If they choose not to, that's their problem. If it will require a larger box I say upfront that shipping will be expensive and sometimes give an estimated value to some middle-distance location (like St Louis).

I hate reserves and will not bid on reserve auctions unless I see the reserve price has already been met by others. I don't like guessing games...tell me how much you're willing to accept and I'll base my decision off that.

I hate reserves as well. Price starts at $30 and there’s 20 bids, price is up to $300 and still the reserve is not met. I won’t bid on anything with a reserve any more as well. Waste of time.

 

[JPfagus]

Amen dude, I quit it not too long after the 2016 election. It became an echo chamber for everybody’s self righteous and ultimately useless opinions. Can’t make the world a better place by incessantly posting your opinion on the internet. It became all “I, me, me, mine” in the words of John Lennon. Nobody can listen or have a legitimate conversation when the platform is designed to just hold a mirror up to yourself.

I,me,mine was the words of George Harrison. 1 of the couple tracks per album they would let him have.