article: Getting the best price for your unwanted wares online can seem like a fine art, but researchers have found a simple trick that could see your bids soar. Economists plotted how much goods listed on eBay sold for and discovered that items with precise prices attract higher offers than those with round numbers, such as $1,000. In fact, sellers who end their price with ‘00’ typically receive offers that are five to eight per cent lower than those with more specific prices. US researchers claim that exact prices of goods on eBay attract higher offers than round numbers. This chart shows that when the posted initial price is of a round number (the red dots), like $1,000, the average counteroffer is much lower than if it is a non-round number (the blue circles), like $1,079 . In terms of the study, the word 'odd' is used to represent an unusual number, and not the opposite of even. Competitive options for buyers and sellers can define a limit beyond which they will not go, but there is still a range of prices that fall within those limits, Professor of Strategic Management at University of Toronto, Joshua Gans, writes for The Conversation. Within that range, sellers are looking for a higher price while buyers would like a lower one, so each has an incentive to signal to the other their willingness to be a tough negotiator. Sometimes, however, sellers may want to send a signal they are willing to be less tough, such as when they are keen to sell an item quickly. One method is to lower their starting price, but this isn’t always desirable. Sellers on eBay who end their price with ‘00’ typically receive offers for their goods that are five to eight per cent lower than those with more specific prices, such as this watch example . While eBay is used for auctions, the bulk of its business comes from 'Buy it now' sales, such as this iPhone. The study found that prices that end in '00' as above are more likely to sell quickly, but may not attract the most lucrative counter offers from sellers . Researchers from Cornell University, eBay Research Labs and the University of California, Berkeley, have addressed the problem in a new paper. Researchers from Cornell University, eBay Research Labs and the University of California looked at pricing strategies within the confines of eBay’s so-called 'negotiation platform'. Most trades on the site are listed for a  ‘Buy it now’ price and the seller can give buyers the option of making them an alternative offer. For example, a seller of an iPhone may list a price of $1,000 (£660), and someone might come back with a counteroffer of $800 (£530). This could go on for about three rounds, in line with eBay rules, and could last up to a week. The study found that when the initial price is a round number, such as $1,000, the average counteroffer is between five and eight per cent lower than if it is a non-round number, like $1,079. In fact, the economists said sellers can even end up with a higher counteroffer if they list at $997 rather than $1,000. But sellers with round numbers are more likely to close a deal six to 11 days sooner, and are up to 5 per cent more likely to sell at all. Matt Backus, Thomas Blake and Steve Tadelis looked at this issue within the confines of eBay’s so-called 'negotiation platform'. While some people associate eBay with auctions rather than straightforward sales, this hasn’t been eBay’s main business for about a decade. Instead, most trades are listed for a  ‘Buy it now’ price and the seller can give buyers the option of making them an alternative offer. For example, a seller of an iPhone may list a price of $1,000 (£660), and someone might come back with a counteroffer of $800 (£530), to which the seller could then accept or make a new offer. This could go on for about three rounds, in line with eBay rules, and could last up to a week. But the study shows that when the initial price is a round number, such as $1,000, the average counteroffer is between five and eight per cent lower than if it is a non-round number, like $1,079. In fact, the economists said sellers can even end up with a higher counteroffer if they list at $997 rather than $1,000. ‘In other words, you are better off initially asking for a lower price if price was all you cared about,’ Professor Gans writes. The researchers believe that what is going on here is ‘cheap talk’ - an easy-to-make statement that may be true or untrue with no consequences for dishonesty - and not an otherwise reliable signal. There are some sellers who don’t just care about price and, absent any other way of signalling that to buyers, they set their price at a round number. The researchers applied their findings to house sales and discovered that people looking to sell their house quickly should pick a round number, but if they're willing to wait, an odd one is more likely to get a good price . While the study is new, Professor Gans said the technique to sell houses (a stock image is shown) as quickly as possible, or for as much money as possible, is already used by estate agents . Alternatively more patient sellers may be using non-round numbers to signal their toughness. Either way, the last two digits of the price is 'cheap talk'. But sellers with round numbers are more likely to close a deal six to 11 days sooner, and are up to 5 per cent more likely to sell at all. This is interesting because the last two digits of a price make little difference to the price, Professor Gans notes. The authors wanted to see if their analysis would work in other markets and whether they could guess what the cheap talk prices would be. They found was that while the effect they observed didn’t happen for all other prices, it did arise for prices that ended in 99 cents. Prices ending in 99 cents, or 99 pence, are very common in shops and send out the same type of signal as the ‘00’ prices, they said. The researchers also discovered that people looking to sell their house quickly should pick a round number, but if they are willing to wait, an odd one is more likely to get a good price – a trick estate agents already use.
highlights: Researchers claim using exact prices when selling goods on eBay attract higher offers than round numbers .
  Sellers who end prices with ‘00’ typically receive offers up to 8% lower .
  However, goods with round numbers typically sell faster, the study claims .
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