macandjan
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posted on October 18, 2000 07:49:02 PM new
I sell tools. There is no other site that comes close to eBay for tools. Even dedicated to tool sites. Most auctions don't even have a decent category for them. I am actively trying to use Yahoo and I have tried others but none work. - That simple
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ShellyHerr
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posted on October 18, 2000 08:00:00 PM new
Is this the longest intermittent "functionality" issue you've seen????????????? Is this the longest time they've been down, and maybe up for more than 5 minutes???
Some mentioned them being SOLD, is this rumor? Does it have to do with ebay Disney or what? This is freaking ridiculus!
[ edited by ShellyHerr on Oct 18, 2000 08:00 PM ]
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MAH645
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posted on October 18, 2000 08:33:30 PM new
I sell great on E-Bay,even with all the problems.I couldn't give away a stray cat on Yahoo.I sell a few items on CCBid and a few on Amazon.
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whynot
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posted on October 18, 2000 08:43:19 PM new
We've been at eBay for 3 years and have tried and do use other services as well both P2P like eBay, Amazon, Yahoo but also B2C sites such as First Auction, Onsale etc.
We use eBay? Easy. Sales. eBay has the best support on the net. Sure they have outages, everyone does. Where can one spend .25 and get such exposure? No place thats where.
People think eBay is expensive. Well it is compared to other "anyone can sell at" auction sites but at the sametime wasting ones time on some pip squeek site trying to "start up" is ridiculous. Those such sites need to make a commitment to small businesses to A. provide a system thats EVER so easy to use, no manual relisting etc. and that they put at least 2-5 million dollars into advertising the site. eBay promotes the site. They spend LOTS of money doing it. Thats why buyers come and sellers come. Sure, eBay looses a seller here and there. They are like a huge snowball.. As vendors fly off the top more than that are swept up.
Expensive? Your joking. We pay commissions as high as 25% + $2 per sale at some B2C sites.
eBay is the best value out there right now that gets REAL traffic, that TRIES to get more and more traffic and have a great base of "core sellers" that all look at the upstart sites and say... Wonderful... Where are the buyers. If ones wasting ones time its better spent going where sales are even if it does cost more.
Signed: WhyNot!
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csteve1781
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posted on October 18, 2000 08:52:38 PM new
Well, for me the answer is simple. It was the only game in town. Unfortunately, its still the only game in town. And that's the problem with Ebay. They lack the necessary competition to keep them interested in their customers. But when you think about the enourmous overvaluation of their stock over the last couple of years, I think it would have been hard for them NOT to become apathetic.
I don't know what the answer is, but I wish Ebay's competitors the very best. Only through competition will Ebay become the caring, efficient company I know they can be. Its either that, or fall by the wayside.
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dadofstickboy
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posted on October 18, 2000 08:59:01 PM new
I'm getting a little frustrated with ebay but not enough to leave.Last night I'm sure I lost revenue when the site went down at the end of a very hot auction!I've taken auctions that don't sell on ebay and list them on yahoo. On yahoo I just let them ride hoping they'll sell. The big thing is on ebay in aweek the get a hundred lookers on yahoo they get 2 lookers. There just are not buyers or sellers any where that total the amount of ebay's
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CAgrrl
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posted on October 19, 2000 12:46:59 AM new
Yahoo is my first choice for about 75% of my merchandise. Yahoo does have traffic, and a phenomenal international customer base as well. I sell LOTS on Yahoo and I am often able to sell it more quickly that I can on Ebay. Especially this week- my Yahoo sales have been jumping, probably due in part to all the down time Ebay's been having. So although I do have auctions running on Ebay as well, I'm happy to not have all my eggs in one basket, as the cliche goes.
It depends on what you sell, though; there are lots of categories that JUST DON'T MOVE on Yahoo. There is one category I sell that keeps me tied to Ebay as well, because the customer base for that particular category is only actively bidding on Ebay.
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ChloeJoy
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posted on October 19, 2000 01:01:44 AM new
I've tried selling on Amazon and Yahoo in the past with only limited success (even with out of print books on Amazon)...but this time I'm so pissed off that I'm going to try it again and give it a bit more of a chance before running right back to eBay.
Anyone who is disgruntled should try to get this out to the media by writing to:
[email protected]
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whitemist
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posted on October 19, 2000 03:55:25 AM new
WHY do I stay with Ebay --
Cause the CHECKS keep rollin in ) --
I have almost ZERO non-paying bidders due to my use of Second and Final notices --
and the checks keep Rollin in, yeah they keep rollin in.....
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mballai
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posted on October 19, 2000 10:33:53 AM new
eBay outshines its competition in terms of bidder traffic. I could probably sell everything on Yahoo, but it would take a lot longer to do so and I probably would make less.
I am putting more items out on Yahoo first, if they sell...that's terrific, if not they go to eBay.
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RB
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posted on October 19, 2000 10:44:17 AM new
Interesting thread.
As a buyer, I can tell you that my preference would have to be eBay. I tend to buy VHS tapes and DVDs, and the other sites have very little to offer in these categories.
As a seller, I don't really have a preference, although my recent test of the waters at Yahoo leads me to believe that that is where most of the deadbeats hang out.
I was really hoping Gold's could take a shot at eBay, but their management failed to react when the opportunity presented itself during the Great eBay Crash of '99.
One thing that I am curious about tho ... many sellers have suggested that without eBay they could not make a living. What did you folks do prior to eBay to feed and clothe yourselves? EBay hasn't really been around that long, so you career eBayers are either very young (this is your first 'job'), or the odd sales you made when eBay started were so easy, and you have become so rich that you cannot maintain your new style of living without eBay.
To me, it's still just a hobby ...
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fred
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posted on October 19, 2000 10:50:03 AM new
I'm a collector. In the years with eBay, I have built up a great off line seller base.
I want to see these eBay seller be very successful on line & off. I do a lot of off line buying with some of them.
I check these seller listings each week. Some of them I have never bought from but would in a heart beat.
Two sellers post at AW. { Amy & Red-Deer ). I would also buy from Why? Just read their listings. I send many Item listings to other collectors each week. Those two are among them.
I as a buyer, I have had great communications with eBay & the sellers I have had dealings with. bar-none.
eBay down time. Has never been a problem with me. I wish the up time percentage was as good for the companies I hold stock in. I could have retired 10 years ago instead of this past summer.
On a 24hr clock which most equitment is rated on value added, which is based on hits ( parts or use to produced ). With the number of hits eBay receives each day I think that its cuscomer receives one hell of a bargain in value added.
Fred
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imabrit
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posted on October 19, 2000 10:52:23 AM new
RB
Some of us here have chosen to quit our previous jobs and work independantly.Opening our own business.I myself sale paper antiques by way of books and other things.
So as a result this is how I make a living posting items for sale on ebaY.
I always wanted a business like this of my own but never had the resources to do it.
Nor do I still,but ebaY allows me to buy items as I need them and not sit on a huge stock of items in a store.
Plus I can reach more people here than I ever could at a retail store.
So ebaY is still the place for me.
Adrian
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AnnieJean
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posted on October 19, 2000 03:26:44 PM new
Imabrit & Others: I hear you and understand what you are saying. eBay has become, for many sellers like yourselves, the goose that has laid a golden egg, and a big one at that.
However, I'm a bit concerned about your statement "If there was a viable alternative I would be there right now....But if you want to sell lots of items ebaY is it."
There won't be a viable alternative until sellers create a viable alternative.
By just 'hanging in there hoping things will get better' sellers are giving eBay a Carte Blanche to do whatever they want. The situation with disgruntled sellers is much like the one faced by early sweat shop factory workers who were afraid to bring in a union because they feared losing their jobs. The alternative was to put up with abusive and intolerable working conditions.
Now please don't get anyone get off on a tangent about the pros and cons of unions. However, the bottom line is, at least from what I'm seeing and reading on this board, is that eBay treats its sellers, (who pay their bills and keep them in business) like dirt, and sellers are willing to put up with it because there is no viable alterative.
There is a viable alternative and there are several viable alternatives. eBay did not exist four years ago. Every single seller that uses the site did, and managed to survive and make money in the process.
No one is implying that there is an easy alternative, but the options are there if sellers would choose to put the time and effort into using them.
For sellers who are happy at eBay, this is really a non issue. My initial post was directed at the sellers who are very unhappy with eBay. And if sellers are willing to put up with eBay then there isn't all that much to complain about after all is said and done, is there?
[ edited by AnnieJean on Oct 19, 2000 03:35 PM ]
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imabrit
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posted on October 19, 2000 09:58:12 PM new
AnnieJean
Your statement is not exactly correct.Yes there are other sites and I do on occasion use them to see if bidding gets any better but it does not.
Buyers need sellers,plain and simple in any business you go where your market is,where the buyers are.The buyers are on ebaY not on these other sites,at least not enough too make a difference.
Until one or more of these sites do something to attract buyers which they do not seem interested in doing then they will not be able to compete with ebaY.
Just imagine what a good TV add campaign would do this week for one of these sites.
Come buyers and sellers buy and sell with us as we are open for business.
But no one seizes the day so once again ebaY is the only game town.
But just in case I will list items on Yahoo as of Monday and currently double checking Gold's to see what's going on there too.
Adrian
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Frogleg
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posted on October 19, 2000 10:05:34 PM new
imabrit
Big dog = big bone
Little dog = no bone
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firecracker
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posted on October 19, 2000 10:06:59 PM new
I have only just started on bidbay but have had some minor success more than at other sites. Seems like a good alternate when Ebay is down.
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imabrit
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posted on October 19, 2000 10:10:52 PM new
Frogleg
You lost me getting way past my bedtime can you clarify what you meant by that.
Little dog/bid dog thingy
Adrian
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Frogleg
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posted on October 19, 2000 10:13:01 PM new
imabrit
It's Ebay or Nobay
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imabrit
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posted on October 19, 2000 10:16:58 PM new
Now I can go to bed.I wish you where wrong but I tend to agree.However I think Monday I will list a bunch of items on Yahoo,Golds,Bidbay and Amazon and see what happens.
I can list the same antique items on all,I already listed some tonight.
Maybe an interesting experiment too see what happens.
Maybe I will be suprised and I can post results on AW.
Off to bed.
Adrian
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VeryModern
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posted on October 20, 2000 05:34:43 AM new
Regarding deadbeats hanging out on Yahoo, I have less than 1 in 12 sales and since buyers must now register a credit card I have had none. The high Yahoo deadbeat count is news from times past.
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kerryann
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posted on October 20, 2000 05:55:57 AM new
Regarding MAM, I thought MAM collapsed after a visit was made to ebaY and the tone changed from one of "We built ebaY. We can take our business elsewhere if you don't appreciate us..." to, "Let's work together..." and all that fuzzy kind of stuff.
People that are paying their bills with ebaY income simply can't afford to try out other sites in hopes of getting bidders. eBay knows that very well.
Not Kerryann on eBay
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mswyatt
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posted on October 20, 2000 03:30:38 PM new
I agree with AnnieJean if we as a conglomerate would pull all of our auctions off eBay and post them on say Yahoo! then maybe our buyers would follow us. We have built a customer base. We can email each of our past buyers upon pulling out of eBay and let them know we have moved.
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amy
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posted on October 20, 2000 04:42:43 PM new
And moving tons of auctions and bidders over to Yahoo would accomplish...what?
Yahoo is also a corporation...Yahoo also has to look to the bottom line.
The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence..but once you get there you may find it filled with weeds and is actually more of a swamp than a pleasant meadow.
If Yahoo had the number of buyers and sellers AND the activity of ebay, how do we know it would be any different than ebay? Heck..it could even be worse than ebay!
Ebay already delivers the goods...there is no way we can know that Yahoo (or any other site) could also deliver the goods.
We could build up Yahoo to the point that ebay fades away to nothingness and then find yahoo doesn't equal ebay..but ebay may be gone by then and we are left with an empty bag..wondering where the good times went.
I prefer to stay with a proven winner..even one who has minor blemishes, than try to build an online auction paradise that may turn out to really be online auction hell.
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jshumko
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posted on October 20, 2000 06:53:31 PM new
Maybe choosing the best site depends on what sorts of items you sell. There certainly is nothing wrong with trying them all and deciding which one is working best for you.
I've sold a couple of things on E-Bay, but I do the best on Amazon. I like Amazon's setup with one set monthly fee for up to 5000 items. Their bulk loader works great. What I like most of all is their customer service which is excellent.
I also sell on Yahoo and was doing very well until they introduced their new "seller performance" system. Besides the bulk loader calculations not working, I cannot load the number of auctions that I use to or as often as I use to.
I've also sold on MSN auctions. I get very little activity there.
I like any auction site where I can bulk load using a spreadsheet. Does anyone know of other auction sites besides Amazon, Yahoo, and MSN where you can bulk load with a spreadsheet?
[ edited by jshumko on Oct 20, 2000 06:55 PM ]
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