No-comps price ladder
A dated markdown schedule for an item with no sold history: start high, cut on fixed days, stop at your floor.
When to use a ladder
Use it when nothing close has sold. First make sure the history is really missing: search the model number alone, misspellings, lots and other marketplaces. How to price an item with no sold comps walks through that search and the proxy comps to try before you guess.
If nothing turns up, the descending price method lets the market find the price. Start above your guess, cut on dates you pick now, and stop at a floor you set before any offer arrives. Writing the dates down is what stops both panic cuts and never cutting at all.
Before each cut, check the traffic
The schedule says when you're allowed to cut. The listing says whether you should. Views with no offers point to the price, so take the cut. Almost no views points to the title, category or photos. A lower price won't fix that. Fix the listing and restart the clock. When to drop your price has the full table of signals.
The math
| Output | Formula |
|---|---|
| Price at cut k | starting price × (1 − cut %)k, rounded down, never below the floor |
| Rounding | whole dollars from $10 up, cents below $10. Each cut drops at least $1, or 1¢ under $10 |
| Date of cut 1 | list date + days before the first cut |
| Date of each later cut | previous cut + days between cuts |
| Stop date | date you reach the floor + days between cuts |
Cuts compound from the starting price, so 10% three times is 27.1% off, not 30%.
At the stop date
Reaching the floor without a sale is an answer, not a failure. Bundle it, hold it for its season, or clear it. When it does sell, write down the price. Your own sale is the comp you didn't have.
Questions
How much should I lower the price each time?
The site's no-comps guide uses 10% every two weeks as its example. The exact numbers matter less than picking them before you list.
Where should I set the floor?
At the price where you'd rather keep, hold or donate the item. With no comps, your cost is the anchor for that number. Set it before the first offer comes in.
Can I change the schedule after I start?
Only if the traffic says the listing is the problem. Then fix the title or photos and start the ladder over from today.
Why does a price drop by $1 when my cut is 10%?
Cheap items hit rounding. From $10 up, each price is rounded down to whole dollars, and every cut drops at least $1. Under $10, prices keep their cents.
Related
Disclosure What's It Sold For comes from the team that builds FlowLister, an AI tool that turns your photos into a complete eBay listing and prices it from sold listings, with the sales behind the number shown. It publishes to eBay through eBay's official Trading API, using eBay's own sign-in, and never sees your eBay password. Read this site as a guide from a tool maker with a stake in the topic, not an independent review.