AW Daily - Tips & Tactics - During the Auction: Dealing With Site Outages

Home > Tips & Tactics > Tip

Page 1 , 2

During the Auction: Dealing With Site Outages

by Nancy L. Hix

Where were you when the lights went out? More importantly, what happened to your active listings when your favorite online auction site went kablooey for a few hours? To follow is an overview of what online auction users should know about dealing with those dreaded and frustrating site outages.

Warning--It's a Touchy Issue
Common sense dictates that we do not discuss malfunctioning parachutes with skydivers. It's something from which nightmares arise, and you just don't talk about it, lest you be subject to stares and scorn. I've now learned that with some online auction sellers, mentioning "site outages" evokes a similar reaction. The question "how do you deal with system outages?" brought me several sarcastic responses in online auction message forums. Among the most civil responses I received in email was "I get mad! Hello--what did you expect, unbridled glee?"

In addition, I wanted to know whether they lost money. I should have known what a sensitive topic that is. I had to explain that I was trying to get an idea about proactive measures taken by sellers. If a site outage burned you once, what measures did you take to prevent site outage losses again?

I concluded that there are three types of sellers: those who act, those who react, and those who are tired of worrying about site outages and have adapted a comfortably passive attitude.

Reactive Approach
Several sellers reported emailing the auction site to air their frustration over potential lost sales due to the outage. The consensus among sellers is that the site should issue refunds without users having to request them. Unfortunately, at least one auction site specifies that requesting a refund is the only way you'll get your money back, so reacting is necessary if you hope to get anywhere.

Message board users share misery with company. Vendio member mrssantaclaus directed me to a thread where they held an "outage party" online. In this particular Message Center thread, members posted their photos so their online cohorts could put a face to a name. Other outage party threads call for jokes, recipes, or any topic worthy of sharing with other auction sellers to help keep their minds off their lost bids.

Proactive Measures
Anticipating site outages is an unfortunate but necessary approach when listing high-value items. Wary sellers start their minimum bids at their absolute price floor, knowing through experience that the site sometimes "goes down." Another precaution against downtime is setting a reserve price. Though unpopular with bidders, sellers can sugarcoat it with a simple disclaimer in their auction descriptions:

"Modest reserve set to protect my investment in the event of a site outage."

A few sellers also state in their descriptions that they reserve the right to cancel bids and restart the auction if there's a system outage.

The Passive Stand
Although it's a very sore subject, the most popular attitude among users seems to be accepting outages as part of online auction life. Dudlee, an eBay seller, has decided to take them in stride. "I don't watch eBay downtime as close as I probably should. I just think of it as the cost of doing business," he said. "In over two years, I have applied for credits three times and only once received $1.50 in refunded fees. They denied my request the other two times. It just isn't worth it to chase them down for that small amount of money. If I had the time, however, I'd be on them like a diaper on a baby's butt, just on principle. Unfortunately, I don't have the time."

Next Page | Let's talk