posted on March 5, 2001 07:32:50 PM new
I have a feeling AW thinks the fire will die eventually and everyone will settle down and there won't be a mass exodus. BOY! ARE THEY DEAD WRONG...get this AW...as the owner of an Auction Listing Service, besides consignments, we teach our clients how to sell on Ebay...in the past 6 months I have offered my services to over 2 dozen people...5 of which have become at least bronze level Powersellers...and we still continue to be busy with new people who want to learn to sell. My point is this...I use AW and ALL the people I have taught to sell on Ebay do too. Let me also say this...before I found AuctionWatch...I left your competitor specifically because they decided to implement fees. I stopped promoting them...and I will stop promoting AuctionWatch now. So, when people say they are going to leave...I believe them..they can and will take a lot of other people with them. The last of my auctions with AW are running now...I will no longer be listing here.
I am happy to report I have tried another service that is software based rather than web based...and I am very happy with it since it offers all the same features I use here at AW. As a matter of fact...it is sort of ironic they have just now slashed the price of this program...$39.95 instead of $69.95.
Being hypothetical - Prior to the institution of fees there were 100,00 Users of the services. [pick any darn # that suits you.] the take from these Users is '0'. Of course there were ad revenues from the subsequent 'spambners' [Banner & spanners]
Well after some time the advertisers have learned that the Web is filled with people who click OFF the banners as fast as they see them. So....declining revenues. What to do.
AW institutes fees.....and the User Base drops to say 20,000. Each one generates 20.00 per quarter. Thats 400K and you only have to service 1/5 of the mooch...uh custome
IF AW charged the 100,000 users a flat rate of say ... just $5.00 per month with no FVF or .05 -- That would generate $1,500,000 dollars per quarter and there would still be 100,000 loyal customers. (Oh yea, with the difference of $1,100,000.00 per quarter more than in your scenerio they could probably afford to provide service to that many users.)
posted on March 5, 2001 08:12:08 PM new
Yes,
The program "cix" mentions in his post is the same program I was referring to in my comments above. I figured AW would have pulled my post if I mentioned them by name.
posted on March 5, 2001 08:36:18 PM new
Have you ever tried to schedule your auctions from your pc with your friendly auction software? I think it would work.
posted on March 5, 2001 09:07:19 PM new
AW you really need to evaluate your situation, no one will give a FVF and now with all the other management systems going out of their way to get our business I believe you have lost most forever.As I was checking out alternative sites this weekend I almost fell on the floor laughing when one site had a huge banner saying "We Welcome All Former Auction Watch Users" ! You had to know the competition would jump on this opportunity to grow their user base with all your unhappy customers. I know eBay just sees this as another chance to make more millions that you will loose.Why is this concept so difficult for AW to see? The 4.95 cap is nothing more than an insult. Maybe a flat 4.95 fee is what you really meant?? LOL I doubt it!
posted on March 5, 2001 09:32:54 PM newThe surveys we conducted with regards to fees revealed that most users felt that it was most fair to charge relative to sale price, as users who are selling $5 to $10 items with a small profit margin would not want to pay the same flat fee as users who are selling high-dollar items with a larger profit margin.
That statement makes no sense, you provide the exact same service to an auction ending for $10 as one that ends for $1000, so shouldn't they pay the same, since your service was the same (that means flat fee).
Feel free to ignore the question as you do everyone else's.
posted on March 5, 2001 10:18:16 PM new
They are not going to change their mind, the response has made it clear. Should be interesting to see what happens here after March 14 - The problem is that even if they change their mind and drop the FVF, most people will have found alternate ways, and at that point won't come back at any price. With the sinking of so many dotcoms, it has been really interesting to watch some of them self destruct.
posted on March 5, 2001 10:24:56 PM newAW management
WAKE UP, your biggest competitor is presently signing up one year flat fee contracts with your biggest sellers for MUCH LESS than your $200 fee + the nickels plan. Once they sign up, they won't come back for at least a year. All you will have left on March 15 is guys like me that sell a few dozen items here and there during the year. That's if I stay or you survive. La crème de la crème is presently setting up accounts at your competitors.
You are overpriced for your big volume sellers.
Don't wait till march 15 to revise your position. By that time, your biggest potential customers will have setup shop elsewhere. They can't wait for an eleventh hour announcement from AW. They need to plan ahead for their business.
posted on March 5, 2001 11:22:07 PM new
"A great deal of analysis and evaluation went into our decision..."
Sounds nice, tells us nothing
"...based on survey data..."
"...revealed that most users felt that it was most fair..."
AW gets an "A" for the most ambiguitous
most repetitive use of terms that mostly
explains, well, mostly nothing.
Would everyone who received a survey please raise their hands? Anyone? Anyone? What did they ask? How many were returned? How long did the study take to complete? Wait, I know the answer to that one...a great deal of time."
posted on March 5, 2001 11:23:12 PM new
I'm WebTv and even I don't need AW.
$200 a year for me to host my images? You gotta be kidding!
Why was AW not right up front about fee implementation, as honesty was? Their info was right on their home page....clear...couldn't miss it. I felt like I was trying to solve the world's deepest mystery trying to find out if just using image hosting would cost and, if so, when would they pull the few images I have on AW? Only have one there I care about anyhow, cause my pics show better from honesty.
This would affect ebay..course not if AW is leaving their message center free....and why, do you suppose, AW is doing that? Why would they not close it off to all but those who stay and pay? GREAT QUESTION....NO MYSTERY TO THAT ONE....not stupid here, either
So thanks for the simple info AT LAST to my simple question. Will just retake the one pic I care about ...lotsa other sites are WebTv friendly, cheaper and some even free!
If I don't need you, why would all these puter people with so many more tools than I have need you?
Something seems radically wrong here, which explains all the mystery...
posted on March 6, 2001 03:35:38 AM new
Fees for select services. I keep seeing this - but it appears to me that the new fees apply to all worthwhile services with the only exception being the message boards. Am I missing something? Yes, I understand that searching the fewer AW auctions post 3/14 by way of Universal Search will probably remain free. So? Anything else of significance??
posted on March 6, 2001 06:17:50 AM new
Took the weekend to learn how to make a template, not pretty, but neat.
Stored all my photos on my hard disk and a R/W disk. I use a R/W disk to work both at work and at home, therfore AWPro not necessary anymore.
Loaded all the pictures on my ISP - no fee.
Posted a dozen auctions on Sunday. First one took over an hour, last one about a minute. Didn't use a bulk lister and can't find Mr. Lister, but I will, eventually.
Use QuickBooks to monitor my profit/loss, a simple Excel to monitor my correspondence.
All looks like it will be just as easy to do, especially as I gain efficiency through modifications.
Goo Bye, AW. Keep in mind, you can't run an airline without the pilots.
posted on March 6, 2001 07:41:23 AM new
I thought I could live with the 5c fee and 1% of my sales--after all, on a $100 sale I'd only be paying them $1.05--a heck of a lot cheaper than my booth in the mall. Then it finally sunk in that in order to use their image hosting, I was going to have to pay the $200 fee. I'm like MANY of you lurkers out there--don't know how to make a web page, wouldn't know how to launch an auction if I did, don't know which software to buy or how to run it, and none of my friends do either. (I'm sure I could learn, but at this point I just plain don't know how.) Enter a few nights of wringing my hands wondering how I could justify spending $200 for my meager sales. This morning, thanks to e-bay's boards at their site, I found a wonderful FREE site that compares with Auctionwatch. It will launch my auctions, host my pictures, etc., and all I have to learn is how to click through their system. So for all of you out there worrying and wondering--there is hope. There are other companies out there that provide a viable alternative to Auctionwatch and don't charge. You can keep on doin' what cha do...
posted on March 6, 2001 08:10:08 AM newI'm like MANY of you lurkers out there--don't know how to make a web page, wouldn't know how to launch an auction if I did, don't know which software to buy or how to run it, and none of my friends do either. (I'm sure I could learn, but at this point I just plain don't know how.)
Just a suggestion- it might be in the best interest of everyone to learn these things before the alternatives you've found to AW begin to charge, too. Otherwise, you're likely to be spending a lot of time hopping from one (currently) free site to another, as the fees are implemented (and they most likely will be).
Figure out what you need & what you can afford, and look for a site or a software package that fits those needs. Maybe it's not free, but knowing that you are not subject to the whims of the marketing department at some faceless dotcom company will at least give you some peace of mind.
posted on March 6, 2001 08:41:37 AM new
I calculated that if I stayed with AW with the final value fee I'd be paying LOTS per month so I signed up for a service that is approximately $15 a month flat fee, no FVF ... way less than what I'd pay here even without FVF.
posted on March 6, 2001 10:02:14 AM new
Well folks I am so stupid I dont' even know where to look for web pages and stuff. And how does a web page help me launch auctions. And where do I find these templates and learn HTML. Guess I need to go to the bookstore and take out more books. Hope I can learn it all in less than a week, cause I dont' have a lot of time to study and keep my business going. I will be forced into paying whatever AW wants to charge cause I am too old to learn new tricks LOL. It is harder when you are as computer illiterate as I am. Honestly, after owning my computer for barely 2 years, I just learned how to cut and paste and use the Word Pad feature LOL. I am 46 and female,no excuse for stupidity, but what few things I have learned come from trial and error, books, and these boards. I hate change too LOL.
posted on March 6, 2001 10:16:43 AM new
Okay, guys and gals, let's stop being helpless. You can launch your auction right from ebay free of charge, or use ebay's bulk listing tool, misterlister, which is free as of now. All the html you need to know is <p> for a new paragraph and how to put in your picture (assuming you don't want to use the 2 free pics that ebay provides). To insert pics, you type <img src=urlofyourpicture.jpg or gif>.
All the html I learned I picked up on the ebay html tutorial. Load your pics onto the webspace your isp already provides, and you're ready to go.
Obviously, if you sell hundreds of items, you may need something else, but for me with 5-10 item a week, this works just fine. AW has been a great time saving device, but it's a convenience, not a necessity!
posted on March 6, 2001 10:38:01 AM new
I am seriously questioning the legality of charging users a percentage of their income for rendering a service. If that is to set a precedent, then soon, AT&T, PG&E, Pacific Bell and all companies rendering a service will want a piece of OUR pie also, above and beyon the monthly usage fees....
AW is NOT and auction agent, and I sincerely feel they are NOT entitled to a piece of MY action.
Someone with a legal background will soon be able to look at this very closely.
Sure, some users have already signed up to become sacrificial lambs to this EXTORTION plan. Good luck to all....
******** Gosh Shosh!
posted on March 6, 2001 10:51:17 AM new
Hi Shosh...
I really doubt that the FVF is illegal, as long as folks agree to pay it.
I think the only question is...how many people will actually agree to fork over a chunk of their gross to use a service? A service that is not necessary to their business...but simply a convenience?
posted on March 6, 2001 10:59:38 AM new
I just now saw that the fee has been capped at $4.95. Although I would personally benefit from such a drastic reduction in FVF, I still say that even 1 penny is too much; this service is NOT crucial...and DOES NOT list our auctions: EBAY, YAHOO, DOZENS OF REAL auction sites do.....
As someone mentioned in the other thread, it is like dubious dubya's tax cut: to benefit those who can AFFORD TO PAY any fee, LEGAL OR NOT...The small fry is still burdened with the bulk of the Taxes levied.
Well, that's it...There is nothing to add.
TTFN
******** Gosh Shosh!
posted on March 6, 2001 11:43:48 AM new
Susanc--I suggest you go to e-bay's help boards, specifically their community help board, and scroll down to the discussion on "Auctionwatch and listing software." It will relieve your mind!
Mrpotatohead--I couldn't agree more. The only problem is, the 14th is a week away and by then we'll have to make a decision. Yes, I can skim through Auctionwatch in a second, or speed through e-bay's listings, etc. But--like Susanc, when it comes to htms, web pages, etc. I'm out of my league--at least for the time being...
5 cent flat fee no more 
