posted on October 9, 2000 06:59:37 AM new
I found this on another post here at AW from other online auctions. I found it interesting. Who in your opinion is second to ebay???
posted on October 9, 2000 08:27:59 AM new
I agree with zeenza, though I do county fairs all summer, and they are better then ebay.
As for any other auction site, yahoo, bidbay, golds, etc, I haven't found any that come even close to Ebay, sorry to say.
posted on October 9, 2000 08:28:46 AM new
I don't think there is anyone close enough to eBay to be even considered second to them. It will be a happy day when there is.
posted on October 9, 2000 01:11:25 PM new
eBay has NO competition.
Then why are people sending me checks for items I have listed on Yahoo?
*** Hey I agree with you 100% on that. If people would stop kissing ebay's butt, and try Yahoo they could make money there too. Sure it takes some time, BUT it's free, and they care about sellers, unlike eBay. ***
Yahoo is the number 2 auction site without question.
*** I agree with this as well for now, BUT within 2 years or less Yahoo will be #1. The same people who brag about ebay now, will complain once they lose the #1 spot. ***
posted on October 9, 2000 01:23:01 PM newIf Yahoo were SERIOUS about online auctions, their site would be very werry different, indeed, LOL.
Well, maybe that's a good thing- some of the items I sell, I consistently (well, up until the point I quit listing them on eBay, anyway) got more for on Yahoo than on eBay.
posted on October 9, 2000 01:31:31 PM new
Competition is good for business and I think at this time ebay has some up and coming competition. Not Yahoo, not Amazon, not Gold's, but BidBay.
Yes, they have a lot of growing to do, but I've sold more there in the past two weeks than I have at eBay in the past month.
They have over 1 million auctions listed right now and have just obtained a user base of over 8 million people. This is just in their infant stage.
Rome wasn't built in a day and either was eBay.
No one spammed me to go there, no one begged me. But once I was there, I was welcomed warmly by the users as well as the CEO of the company.
He is a very generous man, donated a full computer system to a woman's daughter who has a terminal illness, just so she can communicate with the rest of the world.
I can't remember the last time eBay or any of the other sites did that.
Sure, he holds contests for selling, bidding, etc, but they're fun. Have you had any fun lately on eBay?
BTW, this is not a bash eBay message. This is a personal opinion only.
posted on October 9, 2000 01:54:23 PM new
mtnmama: thanks for your informative post. i went over to check out bidbay.com, and i must admit that i had a VERY favorable impression.
i do NOT have a favorable impression of eBay-wannabee sites, because those sites dr000l over eBay profit$, but do NOT provide any value-added services, like eBay.
it takes WORK and TIME and ENERGY and MONEY to create a good online auction site. CARE and dedication, NOT drooling over eBay profit$.
that said, i will never register at bidpay.com, as i checked out their community and after having read some very interesting posts, and especially creative ideas from the CEO himself, i came across a messagethread in which i was discussed very derogatorily and this messagethread, itself, was linked to.
i'm very very very glad that i checked out the active friendly community at bidbay BEFORE i registered, as truly i would have been MORTIFIED to read those messages AFTER i innocently signed up for something that DID look creative, inventive and filled with enthusiastic dedication.
b@y, am i under DIVINE Protection, or what? wonders will never cease!
posted on October 9, 2000 01:59:44 PM new
Radh, you know me. I tell it like it is. You have been known to bash ebay from time to time. You've also been known to be very vocal. You and I are alike-we both have bigmouths. And what I said was the truth, you didn't talk to me for a whole year after something I had said to you on another chat board.
However, this doesn't change the fact that BidBay is up and coming. It also doesn't change the fact that we are [b]both[b] very opinionated. That, my friend, is what these boards are all about, right?
posted on October 9, 2000 02:10:00 PM new
The name is BIDBAY, Radh, Bidpay is an online payment service
To each his own I say. When one opens mouth and inserts foot without knowing where the foot has been, one sometimes gets hoof and mouth disease. In other words, check things out before you state "facts".
posted on October 9, 2000 02:14:08 PM new
IMO, eBay has NO competition.
I believe that to be a FACT.
PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
If you decide to infer that those two statements are *cheerleading* for eBay, or that I like the marketplace not having viable competition, then YOU are projecting your own feelings into my words.
posted on October 9, 2000 02:17:22 PM new
AND, incidentally, my special thanks to the CEO of BidBAY
-- Because I am very GLAD to learn BEFORE I almost spontaneously registered at your site, due to the recommendations of mtnmama1 -- that this is the type of tactic you intend to employ to advertise your site and increase your registered user base...
posted on October 9, 2000 02:20:50 PM new
Yahoo is second in my opinion. Get rid of the kids on there and you have something to call credible. Amazon has it's place as well. ebay only has market share at this time. Things could change anytime. The change is in the air.
posted on October 9, 2000 02:21:17 PM new
Nope, neither of those are what I said to you.
eBay may not have any hardcore competition right now, but wait a while. They're going to be taken for a long ride. Many eBayers are playing the field. Many aren't returning.
Too many fees, rules, regulations concerning how, what, when and where to sell, how to collect money, what counters to use, pushing Billpoint, pushing Andale, "it's only a dollar", wanting to put personal info on their EOA (because the seller is too DUMB to do it themselves, they think), many more deadbeats, user verification of SELLER's only, and the list goes on and on .. you know how big it is. You've been there as long as I have. I don't care for it anymore and I know that a lot of others don't either. But I think there's room in this wide world for other sites and I think BidBay has the chance to become #1 one day. As a matter of fact, I think they're #2 right now, if you don't count sites that *think* they're auctions.
posted on October 9, 2000 02:22:54 PM new
empires: that word you use: CREDIBLE, it's a good descriptive word - in the past I used 'viable", but it has the wrong connotation.
posted on October 9, 2000 02:23:39 PM new
Oh and Radh, that wasn't his tactic to advertise the site. I came here after much deliberation with myself. Should I? Should I not? I decided to in order to say what I had to say.
It's too bad you hold that against everyone there. There are many fine people on that site and many fine things happening.
posted on October 9, 2000 02:29:50 PM new
...if you don't count sites who *think* they are auctions...
I think that for all of your disgruntled comments, that you actually do understand what I've been saying, but you are able to put it into descriptive words that I do not have the capability or education to compose.
eBay has NO competition.
That is a four word sentence that I consider to be a FACT, plain and simple --- obviously, someday, there **should** be "VIABLE", credible competition, as the online auction marketplace represents a tremendous amount of money.
Currently there are 1400+ online auctions, and I'm not impressed...
[ edited by radh on Oct 9, 2000 02:31 PM ]
posted on October 9, 2000 02:35:18 PM new
radh~
I agree to the following degree. I'm not impressed with the auction sites either. After all the money that's been made at ebay, they still can't seem to add the bells and whistles needed to take the next leap! It seems as though follow the leader is status quo right now. At least, Yahoo! had their act's together early on, and with little to no funding from sellers. Ebay on the otherhand has raped the marketplace and left bodies behind to burn...
I've seen these tactics emloyed time and again on the Internet.
YAWN.
But, some day, maybe not soon, but not that far off, there WILL be fine alternatives for everybody - bidders and sellers alike, and no viral marketing tricks will be necessary. That day IS coming.
And it will be consumer driven and consumer-centric, as depicted in CLUETRAIN.
I DO understand what you're saying, however, I am NOT disgruntled with BidBay.
As far as auction wannabees, I have a list. I've signed up with a few, listed, got nothing for my time and left. There are a lot out there! Too many IMO.
I'm saying, however, there is one site that's going to take over. The site is only 10 months old, I've just heard about it a couple of weeks ago.
I tested the waters, listed a few things and ran back to ebay to sell them.
They didn't sell for anything over the minimum. One of my bidders was from BidBay and the other a repeat customer.
I returned to BidBay, placed 48 auctions in a week and have had good returns. I have never placed that many on ebay, for to do so, would certainly break my budget. I don't have to budget here, I have the freedom to list and sell what I want without the fee restrictions. (At least for right now). I know we've done this before at the "other place" but that didn't come close to this site.
posted on October 9, 2000 02:40:32 PM new
cluetrain? ...=... marketing only, don't see the big difference between what they're doing and what's already wrong with the whole picture...Nah! not a chance. Not now anyways the timing is way too late.. I wish them luck though..
posted on October 9, 2000 02:47:29 PM newit takes WORK and TIME and ENERGY and MONEY to create a good online auction site. CARE and dedication, NOT drooling over eBay profit$.
Absolutely 100% correct. Amazing what Bidbay has done in only 10 months. Just hit the 1 million items yesterday.
posted on October 9, 2000 03:03:01 PM new
The only statistic where 2nd is REALLY IMPORTANT is listings to profitable sales. Listings alone and members alone may make a site look good but you have to dig beneath the surface to see if the listings are selling and the members are active and making profit.
I know it isn't auction only but Yahoo seems to be #2 IMHO if you're talking about actual #s of sales to listings. They have the dough to advertise. I think Amazon had a shot but are falling. They have too many oars in the water and their Z-shops just doesn't attract enough interest. The price is good though if you sell multiples of the same item.
Other sites may inflate their numbers but what really counts is how many things listed actually have bids and sell. If 10,000 out of 20,000 listings sell weekly, that is a helluva lot better than 10,000 out of 1,000,000. Some people mention BidBay but I bet you cannot even find 5 people who have sold to more than 50 unique customers in the time the site has been open (maybe a year). Browse around at the ratings and they are hands down sellers buying and selling to other sellers that are message board members. If you can find 3 people who have sold to more than 25 unique members that are NOT on the message board, please post. They also say that they have 2 million members. So if that is true, meet my challenge...
I would like to be proven wrong. I've listed and sold there but only to a handful of non-message board members and I think that is more than most do. If I'm wrong and you have sold to at least 25 non-message board members in a period of a year, let me know and then we'll talk.
Niche market auction sites have a fair shot at recruiting targeted customers as long as they have the deep pockets to spend on marketing. The freebie sites may entice sellers with promotions but they don't get the flow of buyers who are not sellers too. Take away the giveaways and freebies and you take away the bulk of the listings because people are not making enough profit to afford to pay for those listings.
The site that is second to ebay is not so much the important question to sellers. Which site is bringing the most consistent profit and sales to its entire BASE of listing members? If people don't sell their items are make any money, they won't stay around long unless they sell multiples of the same item or they are being subsidized with prize money.
