posted on July 9, 2001 09:19:16 AM
I hated Andale Post Sale, only used it for the counters, and there are millions of counters to be had elsewhere.....
posted on July 9, 2001 09:48:00 AM
I used Andale way back when they first came out. When they introduced fees, the 2.95% was waaaay too steep for me.
So I purchased software that resides on my computer and that worked fine for about a year. The problem with desktop software is that most of them don't use the API. So every time, and I mean every time, eBay changes something with it's pages, the developer has to change the program and you have to download a new copy. In the worst month, this happened 5 times.
So I started searching for web-based auction management again. The ability to launch auctions at a future date, and have the program automatically send emails to winning bidders saves me so much time.
I use auction works. And I was in for about a month before they raised their fees.
Now I am not one of the sellers who thinks that everything should be free. I run this as a business and I pay a reasonable fee for the services I use.
But what pi**es me off the most about these services is they want a %% of the sale. That is, IMO, greedy. I utilize their servers just the same whether my auction closed for $5, $50 or $500 and the fact that these companies want a %% of the sale is just ridiculous.
It begins to feel like everybody wants to bleed the auction seller dry. I can understand eBay getting a percent. I can udnerstand they payment service getting a percent (because in the offline world, that's the way it is). But an auction management service getting a percent of the sale.GREEDY!
posted on July 9, 2001 10:49:46 AM
As a buyer I avoid auctions that have andale for after-the-transaction functions. Even if I really want their item I usually avoid having to jump thru all of those stupid hoops.
posted on July 9, 2001 12:14:18 PM
candibates1..........
75% of all ebay auctions use andale??? hog wash.......thats an awful high number......too damn high to be true......i think andale is blowing smoke up everyones skirt on that one
posted on July 9, 2001 01:29:11 PM
I use AuctionTamer for my auction launching and post-sale management. I use PhotoPoint for my image hosting.
The only drawback (to those who feel it matters) is that it's not an all-inclusive method. The photo hosting has to be done independently from the rest of the process.
The good part is that I don't have to pay ongoing fees each month to use these services. (Yet..)
I think that the 75% includes everyone that uses an Andale/Honesty counter, as well as their other services. Since they provide the counters for eBay, and since most auctions use counters, the 75% maybe accurate. How know though--its all just propoganda.
posted on July 9, 2001 05:27:25 PM
"i think andale is blowing smoke up everyones skirt on that one."
Andale's "over 1 million sellers" do indeed include people on ebay that simply click the box use an honesty counter. If you only take into consideration launches from each company's "commerce manager" (ours being Auction Manager and Auction Manager Pro) AW outranks Andale quite handsomely.
AuctionWatch's Auction Manager and Auction Manager Pro are the most widely used third party auction management tools on the market today.
I think this is my favorite Andale marketing page, though:
posted on July 9, 2001 05:50:54 PM
I am a new AW user and refugee from Andale. No service is perfect, but Andale got so caught up in the Freedom roll-out that they ignored serious problems confronting users of their-then current system. My pic files got so messed up I couldn't even access the majority of my pictures and got only a "we're looking into it" for more than a month. Their customer service reps try and were always pleasant to deal with, but the engineers are either idiots or managed by idiots.
In my few weeks on AW I have been impressed by these boards and the quick response to my stupid questions and legitimate problems.
The only thing I miss from Andale is its automatic calculation of shipping charges (once the buyer enters an address) for items where weight makes a difference. Hope AW figures out a way to copy that functionality and then I'll be all set!
Gerald
"Oh but it's so hard to live by the rules/I never could and still never do."
