posted on October 2, 2001 05:56:24 AM new
Shipping charges will be almost impossible to handle! Yahoo finally had to add a line in the sell your item form for sellers to pre-fill with the shipping charge, so it would be added to the total for PayDirect payments - before they did this, we were always needing to email bidders and explain to them that the shipping and insurance had not come through - now we spend a lot of time sending back "extra" money for shipping on multiple wins! And waiting for the seller to quote exact shipping is always a hassle, there isn't a lot of advantage to "instant" payments if you have to go through the long exchange of emails first. If ebay would give location for all members, not just the sellers, it would make the eoa emails a lot easier - I don't think it would help the stores, but the stores are dead anyway!
Imagine if eBay cut off buyer-seller communication and started taking a 15% flat fee from all sold items. That's 15% from the closing price PLUS shipping like they do with many Half.com categories. So for a $100 transaction they'd rip $15 bucks in fees from the sellers hands!!!
posted on October 2, 2001 06:27:52 AM new
eBay handles shipping charges at Half.com by allowing sellers to predefine fixed shipping costs for a variety of options (1st class, Priority, Ground, etc.). You ought to see some of the sky-high shipping charges many Half.com sellers charge! It seems they hike the shipping fee to account for the WORST case shipping scenarios. It's real easy for buyer and seller to use, but the buyer is getting ripped off in many cases. eBay could easily institute that at the eBay auction site since it works at Half, and then take a cut of shipping as well as they do at Half.
posted on October 2, 2001 07:27:26 AM newI'm sure there are some holes in this
Here's one...
) As a seller: Protect me from ALL chargeback claiming non-shipment if I provide a tracking number.
Under your proposal, instead of a shipping/insurance charge of $1.50 for a 1 oz. item shipped first class, buyers will be charged $4.50 (or more) for priority mail w/ DC.
posted on October 2, 2001 07:38:14 AM new
Checkout isn't gong to work well for those of us who regularly deal with buyers who win multiple auction items... not multiples of the same item, but more than one auction for different items.
I have people who win as many as 15 or 20 of my auctions over a week's time. Adding a set amount per item for each additional item will be a rip-off in many cases.
posted on October 2, 2001 07:54:34 AM new
I quit using the instant purchase options for Billpoint and PayPal long ago when I started getting buyers who won more than 1 auction emailing me that they couldn't adjust the shipping charges for the amount I quoted them for their multiple purchase. (Of course, I knew they couldn't but I guess they didn't know that. And I had to send them invoices anyway because they couldn't figure out how to pay for several auctions through these services themselves.)
I've tried flat rate options for my books, meaning regardless of how many, this is what you pay. Of course, not wanting to overcharge those buyers who won 1 auction led me to price it so "reasonably" that I wound up losing money on shipping to those buyers who won several auctions. So I scrapped that plan after a few months.
I've now gone back to my original shipping practice of charging by weight, just like I actually have to pay it through the PO. Not so sure that's a nice thing, either. I've noticed I have an especially difficult time selling an individual book that weighs heavier, like over 2 lbs. For multi-book shipments, buyers seem to realize that if it's an entire box, yes, it's going to weigh heavier and cost more. Not too much trouble selling them that way.
I'm sort of beginning to understand the practice of sellers charging a fixed rate plus x number of dollars or cents for each extra item. And this checkout feature is going to prompt more and more sellers to go that route if they really want to use this "valuable" tool.
And that will lead to reduced buyer options still as sellers find that a certain continuing number of buyers simply cannot figure out how to input a shipping charge themselves when trying to choose between 2 numbers (1 for Priority and 1 for Media Mail for example). So then a number of sellers who used to offer a choice of shipping will stop doing so to try and fit this "new system".
posted on October 2, 2001 08:01:04 AM new
Just wanted to add:
Those who might still use AW's PSM know what I'm talking about. My comments in my previous post were not meant to be insulting to buyers at all and if anyone took them that way, I'm sorry.
But I used to use AW's PSM (before fee days) and gosh, it was ever so easy for me (the seller). But it was a nightmare for some buyers, even though all they had to do was click little radio buttons to make a selection.
I got incorrect payments quite frequently. When I switched to an automated system that handled all communications through regular email, the incorrect payments stopped.
It's scary.
But, a note on the upside:
Buyers shouldn't object to filling out the form on eBay. After all, it's a site they're registered with anyway.
posted on October 2, 2001 08:18:46 AM new
The less control ebay has over how I run my business, the better! I already have all the tools I need for checkout with my listing service.
QUOTE FROM ABOVE:
As a bidder:
1) Only ship to my credit card listed shipping address.
Problem = my credit card addy is a PO Box .. so I could never get anything sent UPS or FedEx?
posted on October 2, 2001 10:21:50 AM new
I vote: Stay out of my business ebay! Your just a venue, right! Your suposed to be no more than a classified ad in my sunday paper. You get paid for the space and I deal with my customers. MY CUSTOMERS, not yours!
posted on October 2, 2001 12:15:39 PM new
OK, so here's my beef:
Checkout will save time and cut down on the amount of email after a sale.
Whats wrong with good email corrospondance? As a seller I always send out a notification, confirm receipt of payment, notify when item is shipped. I think it's good business.
As a buyer I like to be notified when my payment is recieved and my item is shipped. It makes me feel a little more comfortable with the transaction, and I like the personal touch.
Plus, I have made a lots friends too.
I think email is needed, and shouldn't be cut down in any way. JMO
I agree with glasshappy!
[ edited by luvmy2bears on Oct 2, 2001 12:19 PM ] Edited because I'm having a bad grammer day
[ edited by luvmy2bears on Oct 2, 2001 12:22 PM ]
posted on October 3, 2001 08:32:08 AM new
We have been on EBAY for over 3 years and have sales of over $1 million / year. We have had to adjust our business model on a monthly, if not weekly, basis. The world of dynamic pricing is an ever-changing one and if you don't want to change, you should not be selling on EBAY.
posted on October 3, 2001 11:41:47 AM new
genxmike:
just curious how you will be handling figuring shipping on this new Checkout or are you one of those fixed shipping sellers?
I sell magazines which are shipped Bound Printed Matter and I need my buyer's zip code to figure shipping.
Since I already use a 3rd party management software this actually would be double work for me to be filling in all this information on a closed auction page when I've already done it on the auction management software.
I really don't see much value with Checkout at this time unless you are selling the same thing over and over with the same fixed shipping price and only one shipping method. It also looks like handling multiple wins by one bidder will not be easy either.
Also, how many times will your bidder ACTUALLY try to contact you through Checkout when they get that dreaded page not found error?
posted on October 3, 2001 11:45:55 AM new
I personally abhore this idea - it makes the entire process impersonal and takes away the one on one interactivity that makes ebay special.
I have no intention of participating in this, I prefer personal contact with my customers, it's how I build up my reputation and my following.
posted on October 3, 2001 12:35:31 PM new
If at all possible e bay will weed PayPal out. I dont use billpoint nor do I ever plan too. I have never had a problem with PayPal and I dont like ebay trying to force me to use billpoint either. There's nothing I can do about but I will not be forced to use a service. Heck, RT auctions here are better for me than e bay anyway. More time involved but the prices I get for vintage collectibles are much better at the local RT auction anyway
posted on October 3, 2001 07:49:13 PM new
It doesn't matter whether you use the checkout or not because it will still show up on your auction listing, cluttering the page. Also, if you don't use it, your customers will think that you didn't include the price for shipping or your return policy. Check it out:
posted on October 3, 2001 08:34:48 PM newIf its an option, lets just boycott it...
You can't boycott it. This "option" is not optional. Read the entire discussion that Blanche links to above, and be sure to click on the little "to top" icon to start at the beginning.
posted on October 3, 2001 10:04:55 PM new
I agree w/ GenxMike, with one caveat:
Calling it "Checkout," it makes it seem as if sellers who do not specify Checkout don't know what they are doing. Sellers, eBay will continue to rake over the coals until you fight back-- together.
Quit complaining with these oh-so-hopeful, "let's boycott eBay to make them change," and make an effort to organize, negotiate with strength, and make eBay listen to you, or leave en-masse, to yahoo, Paypal, Amazon or whatnot.
The days when you can make your living on eBay are slipping away. eBay will be making all the profits now.
posted on October 4, 2001 11:17:39 AM new
Hey everybody, I'm not sure if I understand what all the fuss is about. I list only on Auctionwatch. I get a zone chart and postal rate by weight chart from my PO. Or I go into the UPS website for anything over 108" (PO limit) and not over 130" total. It's easy for me to figure postage rates and put them in the proper box at the bottom of the listing page. If it's too large for the PO or UPS I just put in the bottom box marked custom "TBA ON RECEIPT OF MAIL ADDRESS". It works every time. My buyers know their costs up front on the auction except for the large packages. 9 out of 10 mail their address for the large package S&I. So if I'm not seeing the forest for the trees, will someone please tell me what is the big deal. Unless ebay forces out Paypal. Then we have a problem! I don't use Billpoint and don't really want to. By the way does anyone know whatever happened to the referral fees that we are supposed to get from Paypal but mysteriously disappeared into Auctionwatch. I haven't heard about that one for awhile and they still owe me quite a few $5.00 referral fees. Steve
posted on October 4, 2001 05:17:12 PM new
We have a fixed price for shipping on our auctions so that should not be a problem. Multiple bid winners will be a problem but they already are. Many pay by BillPoint faster than I can get an email sent out to them and then they want the remainder refunded to them.
As for a boycott, you can always try. But the facts are that the big sellers will likely be setting up their auctions to comply with the Checkout and they really are the only ones that EBAY cares about.
Everyone, including the big sellers, would love to have another site become as successful as EBAY. But the big sellers are too busy selling as much as they can on EBAY to waste their time trying to build up another site. As usual, the small sellers will try to create an alternative. And as soon as they do, the big sellers will move in, waving money around, and the small seller will be ignored again.
posted on October 4, 2001 07:44:07 PM new
Right now I have several buyers bidding on auctions that have bought from me every year since I've been on E-bay.They like to bid on several auctions and e-mail with request of what they want to be put up on auctions.They sometimes shop for two weeks before I give them the final total of their auctions and shipping.These people always send payment,and never pay on line.I think you will be seeing alot more of this as people shop for Christmas.These buyers don't need checkouts.Checkout is fine for one item.
posted on October 4, 2001 08:00:40 PM newAs usual, the small sellers will try to create an alternative. And as soon as they do, the big sellers will move in, waving money around, and the small seller will be ignored again.
C'est la vie!
And when it happens the "small" seller will complain that they "grew" that site and will talk about finding competition to the current 8000 pound gorilla. Always looking for the perfect site whose owners will never be concerned with the owner's business just with the users' business.
On the current subject....I wonder what happens if it turns out the buyer actually likes checkout?
posted on October 4, 2001 09:33:21 PM new
I wish some of you retail type sellers would pull your heads out of your arses long enough to see that the vast majority of buyers of NON retail type items will NOT be very happy with Checkout.
Of course Checkout will work wonderfully for sales of CD's, Videos, etc-etc-etc, no kidding. As a buyer I could care less about emailing back & forth to swap spit over a $10 CD, but the moment that item I bid on is a NON retail type item, worth perhaps hundreds, or thousands of $$$$, you're damn straight I want the personal touch. I expect most buyers of antique & collectible items will feel the same way.
I can't for the life of me imagine a buyer of a high end antique or collectible NOT being able to email me directly on the completion of an auction, [yes, an AUCTION, remember what those are?] which IMHO is exactly the way eBay is heading with this Checkout crap.
eBay is slowly but surely attempting to set their site up exactly like half.com, and IMHO it STINKS.
