Are these pins you are selling? Honestly if you have a minimum price you are willing to sell and its not selling...your minimum price may be too high. I think people have in their brains an idea of what they are looking to pay for something (just like you have an idea of what you want to sell it for), and if its less than what your price is, they move on. It seems simple but I believe its true.

Agreed. If their is no reserve and it's not sellng it's because it's just not worth the starting bid amount to "them".

Since you didn't post one of your auctions I'm going to make suggestions off general auctions I see.
- Make sure you take a lot of high res pics. Most e-bay sellers post only a couple low res pics and that wont help selling something at the $$$ most want.
- Also, make sure they are recent pics. I can't stand it when someone post year old pics. No telling what happened between then and now.
- Don't say it's been "shopped" if all you did was change the rubbers and bulbs.
- Take a video and post it on youtube of the machine running and going through the test.

I know for me personally, if I don't have the above I make the assumption it's not 100% working or "shopped" as everyone throws those things out and 9 times out of 10 they aren't. Heck I bought a said fully shopped machine that was 100% working from a retailer and when I got it the machine was completly missing a major part of it (fluegelhiem door).

Considering that many will be purchasing this without ever getting the chance to play it or see it in person, including as many detailed pics as possible will help ease customer's minds. Also, I'm not sure if it's possible, but perhaps a link to a youtube video to prove that the game is working?

Try using "fixed price" in combination with "best offer" - you get 30 days of exposure for $.20.

Set the price a little higher than what you want, and the little best offer button will convey to buyers that you are willing to deal. This is usually the best way to sell items that are not in especially high demand (high demand items are better served by auctions).

Ebay can be hot or cold. Someone got a seriously good deal off of me this week with my TOM. I lost some cash on it. But, in the end, I am happy I got paid and can move on to something else now.

If it's something that I REALLY want, and I want to spend the "buy it now" price I just avoid
the auction process and use this feature. This way I'm guaranteed of getting the item.

Sniping an item within the last few seconds with the max amount I'm willing to pay usually works
too.

I've sold a lot of stuff on eBay over the years, and I can tell you for a fact that a well written auction is imperative if you want to maximize your profits. Since you are not selling the item face-to-face, you need to describe it in as much detail as possible. You also want to say things that will comfort potential buyers, as well as set your machine apart from the pack. For example, if I ever sell my Tommy, the auction would go something like this:

"You are bidding on an excellent example of a Data East Tommy pinball machine (1994). This machine is from my private collection (my home is smoke-free), and I have owned it for the last three years. It's honestly one of the nicest Tommys I have ever seen. I take excellent care of all my games, and this one is no exception. The playfield has been cleaned and waxed on a regular basis, and the balls have been changed out at least twice a year. There are no broken plastics, and the boards are all in excellent condition. There are a few minor blemishes on the cabinet and head, but overall the exterior is in great shape. Most importantly, there is no flipper button wear, a problem that is very common on these games. It also has the original Silver Ball topper.

The game was really nice when I got it, but I took it to the next level. Here is a list of what I did to it:

* The speakers in the backbox and cabinet have been upgraded with Pinball Pro speakers and a subwoofer.

* LED's have been tastefully installed throughout the entire game, including the backbox. I left in a few regular flashers where I thought the LED's were too overpowering.

* All of the plastics have been replaced with new ones. A full set of plastic protectors has been installed as well.

* The original auto-launch assembly has been replaced with a modern Stern one. This makes a HUGE difference in reliability.

* The original translite has been replaced by one that was hand signed by Roger Daltrey.

* The original Blinder Servo PCB has been replaced with a newer, better designed board from Pinnovations. This board is no longer made, and nearly impossible to find. Here is a link to an article about it:

http://www.pinballnews.com/learn/tommy.html

* A remote battery holder has been installed to eliminate the possibility of acid damage to the boards.

The playfield is in phenomenal shape. The only wear at all is by the VUK and scoop, and both of these spots have Cliffy protectors installed which completely hide the wear. The game plays perfectly, and there are no errors whatsoever. The blinders function perfectly as well. Here is a video I recently took of me playing it:

As you can see, it's a gorgeous game, and you'll be hard pressed to find a nicer one anywhere. I honestly hate to sell it, but I am out of space and something has to go. If you have any questions whatsoever, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Good luck with the bidding!"

Now this is the type of auction that grabs someone's attention and makes them want to buy your machine.

Yep that'll do it gweempose, now how much do you want shipped to me in Canada Love me some Tommy..

You would have to be deaf, dumb and blind to sell that machine.
But a great example of how to create a listing that says see me, feel me, touch me, buy me..

I have been on Ebay over 12 years and my best advice is everything said earlier plus always begin your seven day auction on a Saturday night or a Sunday night, that is "prime time" and when most sales occur..

Great advice, and something people don't always think about. Your auction will end at the exact same time you start it. That's why you should never start your auction in the middle of the afternoon on a work day or at 2:00 in the morning. I usually try to shoot for Sunday-Thursday evening around 9:00 central time. I don't like to have it end on Friday or Saturday night because a lot of people go out on the weekends.

Another tip, always advertise the auction on all the major pinball boards (Pinside, RGP, Pinball Bash, KLOV, MAACA, etc...) Make one post when it's first listed, and then bump it the day the auction ends. The more people that are aware of your auction, the better.

High res photos of the playfield are a must. I see a lot of auctions with just 1 general photo of the machine, taken on an iphone. Phone cameras suck, every last one of them - use a proper one!

Another thing I forgot to mention - if you do list via auction you might want to avoid starting a 7 day listing on a Saturday. It is not unusual for our Saturday eBay sales to be around 50% of the amount of any other day of the week (large sample size - we ship 500+ orders per week).

I was simply going off a logical hunch, but it's nice to know there is some empirical evidence to back up my advice about not ending auctions on Friday or Saturday night.

I agree yopu may be starting too high. People need to be hooked into bidding. Once they start they do not want to loose and the bids go up. You might want to try a lower starting bid. If there is an item on Ebay that the minumbid is fair market value, I will not bid. I prefer to get it local in person, not on Ebay with shipping ect.....

Absolutely. The auctions that end up going the highest are often the ones that started low and got a lot of people involved. People hop on board because they think they can get a great deal. Once they become emotionally invested in the auction, however, they have a tendency to lose site of what their original goal was. In essence, it becomes a competition, and people by their very nature don't like to lose. Of course, the downside to starting an auction low with no reserve is that you risk letting the item go for significantly less than you want.

Agreed when selling dont be afraid to start at a $1 and wait to the last day or so to do a dummy bid as a reserve.

Personally I get put off if I see the seller has set a starting bid that is near or just above what I'm willing to pay... it's much more attractive to me if I see a low start bid, and other people bidding... this gives me the 'I'm not going to let someone else buy this at that price' feeling, and the 'if someone else is willing to pay that much, then I'll bid a bit higher' feeling... admitedly this is a shillers paradise of a thinking process, but I always use a sniper anyway... but just seeing other people actually bidding, gives me an incentive to put a higher bid in the sniper... If you want to sell something, I'd not worry about thinking what is the least you'd take for it... just start the auction at rock bottom and see what you get... if you don't shill, you'll get 100% sales... you might not get what you want for it, but if you want to sell, then you will get that at least

Shilling is a good way to get your account revoked and piss people off. Not the best advice.