posted on September 24, 2001 06:48:07 PM
Hi everybody. Nice thread. There have been a few comments about listing on Yahoo during AFA. I found this on the Yahoo board - the first couple paragraphs provide an interesting contrast between Ebay's and Yahoo's approaches.
"Dear Sellers,
I originally planned to write to you last week about the results of our
Auctions Survey, but Tuesday's tragic events appropriately took our
focus off of the business of online auctions. Our thoughts and prayers
are with the people directly and indirectly impacted by these horrific
events.
During the past week, Yahoo! has worked tirelessly to keep vital
communications services, like Yahoo! Mail, Messenger, Message Boards,
and Groups running smoothly; to provide users with the latest breaking
news through Yahoo! News, Finance, Health, and Travel; and to aid the
disaster relief efforts in every way we can. Yahoo! Store has provided
the online donation backbone for the American Red Cross, the NY
Firefighter's 911 Disaster Relief Fund and the Salvation Army. To date,
Yahoo! users like you have donated over $20 million directly to these
organizations through Yahoo! Store. Thank you for supporting the relief
effort in any way you can, and thank you for being a part of the Yahoo!
community!
Now, I'd like to share with you the original intent of this email to
personally thank you for taking the time to complete the Yahoo! Auctions
Survey in late-August. The response was truly overwhelming. The seller
community came out in huge numbers to critique, to applaud, and to offer
suggestions to change, improve, and grow Yahoo! Auctions.
The survey has helped us to prioritize changes and improvements to our
service. As proven by the record number of respondents, we learned that
we need to ask sellers for feedback more often. We will listen to your
suggestions and will determine what we can and cannot do. We also
learned that there are a few key initiatives that you want to see
happen. You want us to:
1. Drive even greater traffic from the Yahoo! network of over 200
million users to Yahoo! Auctions.
2. Re-evaluate the fees we charge sellers.
3. Build new and different ways to buy and sell products on Yahoo!
In the past weeks, we have begun tackling each of these three issues.
They are our top priorities. We will keep you apprised of our progress.
By taking the time to offer personal suggestions and advice, you've
indicated that you want to see Yahoo! Auctions improve and grow, you
want the world of online auctions to have choice and competition. We
intend to compete by listening to your needs, by building the best
marketplace possible, and by offering you the best tools and services
imaginable.
I'll be in touch again very soon with further details. For now, know
that we have heard you and are working on the major initiatives
specified above.
Thank you again for your time, and our best wishes to you, your friends,
and family during these challenging times.
Norm Hullinger
VP, General Manager, Yahoo! Auctions
(Please note: You received this message because you elected to receive
it when you completed the Yahoo! Auctions Survey. If you do not want to
receive future updates and information, you may unsubscribe by hitting
reply and typing "Unsubscribe Auctions Survey" in the Subject line.)"
"Yahoo! users like you have donated over $20 million ***directly*** to these
organizations through Yahoo! Store. "
olhickory
[ edited by olhickory on Sep 24, 2001 06:49 PM ]
posted on September 24, 2001 06:48:32 PM
cassiescloset
tomwiii is correct. You will pay shipping if you list an A4A auction. According to ebay "it is part of the seller's contribution". Funny, I've never thought of the USPS as a charity
Do yourself and the rest of us a favor, list your item as a regular auction and make a direct cash donation of the item price.
This way Ebay will save face and it won't hurt our auction businesses.
One other thing I want to say is that local charities are also suffering because of the tradgedy and everyones need to help. The donations are way off for two of my favorite local charities, the Life Long Aids Alliance and the American Cancer Society.
And don't forget to support your fellow Ebay sellers. We need the support right now.
posted on September 24, 2001 06:58:48 PM
Good for Yahoo! I sure hope they mean what they are saying and they are not just blowing smoke. Yahoo stands to gain some serious market share if they do things right and LISTEN TO THEIR SELLERS.
posted on September 24, 2001 09:36:04 PM
In today's market you cannot rely on any one area to sell your product, you have to diversify, rent a space in a group shop, do some flea markets, do a show, there are lots of places to sell, what did everyone do before ebay came along? I have sold over 12,000 items on ebay since 1996 and have been through all the changes and have seen some things bring sky high prices that now bring nothing, I specialize in vintage textiles and vintage clothing but would NEVER rely on just those items, you have to adapt to the ever changing marketplace. I too would be very nervous if this was my only source of income for my family, fortunately it's not. My auctions have been doing fairly well, not great but not bad either. I don't think another auction site is the answer, I would be looking to places to sell other than the internet right now if I was worried.
