What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

[kylehess10]

You push the price up another $1,000,000 dollars:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Joe-Jackson-Game-Used-Bat-Black-Betsy-White-Sox-MLB-PSA_W0QQitemZ310077742925QQihZ021QQcategoryZ60596QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[trsent]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

You push the price up another $1,000,000 dollars:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Joe-Jackson-Game...QQcmdZViewItem

What did that listing cost them? $5.00? It is cheap publicity.

[kylehess10]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

I believe the price was pushed up due to the "50% donation". 50% of $1.5 million is $750,000, which is the original price that they wanted last year. They probably just think that adding more to the price just for a donation would grap attention, or make it seem like it's a good cause, but really they'd still be getting the amount they wanted.

[David]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

Having an item repeatedly offered at auction and not sell is not good publicity. More like a running joke.

[trsent]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

Having an item repeatedly offered at auction and not sell is not good publicity. More like a running joke.

I think the idea is to get people to look at your other listings. There are 1.5 billion users (or less) on eBay so people see this item then look at your other listings, they have no clue what you tried to sell it for last year.

[bigtruck260]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

I think the idea is to get people to look at your other listings. There are 1.5 billion users (or less) on eBay so people see this item then look at your other listings, they have no clue what you tried to sell it for last year.

Right Joel -

Marketing 101...cross reference your products.
I remember when he purchased the bat a while back. Mitchell was never short on publicity.

It's the same reason that online casinos buy grilled cheese sandwiches shaped like Mother Theresa...publicity and for curiosity seekers to check out what they have to offer.

[allstarsplus]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

Right Joel -

Marketing 101...cross reference your products.
I remember when he purchased the bat a while back. Mitchell was never short on publicity.

It's the same reason that online casinos buy grilled cheese sandwiches shaped like Mother Theresa...publicity and for curiosity seekers to check out what they have to offer.

Dave - You got me thinking.....hmmmmm, buy something rare and expensive and get some press time and face time and good publicity.

Marketing 101 was the move by the Chicago show offering the $25,000 to Bartman for 1 autograph. They got tons of free publicity and it didn't cost them much at all. I wonder if show attendence was up because of it.

Kyle, on the new eBay fixed priced auctions in September that will cost him under $1 to relist that item (lol).

Great stuff.

[bigtruck260]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

Dave - You got me thinking.....hmmmmm, buy something rare and expensive and get some press time and face time and good publicity.

Marketing 101 was the move by the Chicago show offering the $25,000 to Bartman for 1 autograph. They got tons of free publicity and it didn't cost them much at all. I wonder if show attendence was up because of it.

Kyle, on the new eBay fixed priced auctions in September that will cost him under $1 to relist that item (lol).

Great stuff.

You're right Andrew. Maybe it was the 500 level marketing class I was thinking of....

If you have the available cash, you can do what Mitchell did. If not - standing on a billboard for a week might be another alternative....

[David]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

Publicity and good publicity are not automatically the same thing. Being unable to find a buyer for a game used Joe Jackson bat is not publicity of the good kind if you're a sports memorabilia auctioneer.

[frikativ54]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

What did that listing cost them? $5.00? It is cheap publicity.

So there's not $0.01 in altruism involved?

[trsent]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

So there's not $0.01 in altruism involved?

I had to look this word up, from Wikipedia:

Altruism is selfless concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and central to many religious traditions. This idea was often described as the Golden rule of ethics. Altruism is the opposite of selfishness.

Altruism can be distinguished from feelings of loyalty and duty. Altruism focuses on a motivation to help others or a want to do good without reward, while duty focuses on a moral obligation towards a specific individual (for example, God, a king), a specific organization (for example, a government), or an abstract concept (for example, patriotism etc). Some individuals may feel both altruism and duty, while others may not. Pure altruism is giving without regard to reward or the benefits of recognition.

The concept has a long history in philosophical and ethical thought, and has more recently become a topic for psychologists (especially evolutionary psychology researchers), sociologists, evolutionary biologists, and ethologists. While ideas about altruism from one field can have an impact on the other fields, the different methods and focuses of these fields lead to different perspectives on altruism. Researches on altruism were sparked in particular after the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964, who was stabbed during half an hour, with passive witnesses withholding themselves from helping her.

After reading this definition, I have one question for you: Are you kidding me? The guy pays eBay peanuts to have thousands of people look at his listing and maybe his other listings. I wish I had something like this to show off and help promote my company.

[allstarsplus]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

The guy pays eBay peanuts to have thousands of people look at his listing and maybe his other listings. I wish I had something like this to show off and help promote my company.

I like the concept but I agree with David that it also could hurt you in the end, but I think if you don't keep re-listing it you may be fine.

Let's face it, it's a tough economy and for the super high end like the Shoeless Joe bat, there are only a few people in the world willing to pay that.

Talking again about BuyItNow and BestOffer and lower fees, I believe in the future we will see more High End!!!

[frikativ54]

Re: What to do when your bat doesn't sell for half a million dollars....

After reading this definition, I have one question for you: Are you kidding me? The guy pays eBay peanuts to have thousands of people look at his listing and maybe his other listings. I wish I had something like this to show off and help promote my company.

That is just a shame. I hate when people use charitable causes as a means to promote their businesses. Nothing makes me as angry, except for maybe unethical dealer markups. It would be one thing if Mitchell Marketing left the price the same and was just going to donate the proceeds to a foundation; then I would believe that it was an altruistic move. However, it's very suspicious when the price gets such an astronomical bump.