posted on February 19, 2001 08:23:00 PM new
My mistake all. I thought that these threads were here so that we could discuss different auction sites. I did not realize that me asking why a business would operate without the goal of making money. Perhaps you are right and this site is just somebody's hobby. If that is the case then that is absolutely great! I see no need for you to attack somebody for asking a simple question like that.
Perhaps we can start over and have nice conversation. Please send me my lines.
posted on February 19, 2001 08:23:24 PM new
Would love to stay and chat, but I just went over 200 listings last night and if I want to catch up with everyone else, I had better get back to work taking pictures for tomorrows listings. ePier username: (opals)
More 50 cent Blacks going on this weekend. I don't think I have any left that are not bid on.
posted on February 19, 2001 08:28:29 PM new
One question before I go. I hope that this doesn't offend anybody, for I mean no harm by asking. Where does it say on the site that there will never be any kind of fees? I have searched and searched but can't find it. I saw a banner that said no commissions, but where does it say no fees of any kind ever?
posted on February 19, 2001 08:31:07 PM new
auctiongaurd: I did not mean my post as an attack nor do I think I phrased it as an attack. I wanted to know if you questioned these things or actions. Some people do and are suspicious of everything that they don't understand. All I wanted to get across is that in my opinion, if something is free, why do we always have to question it?
Wayne.B. Smith
posted on February 19, 2001 08:34:50 PM new
Auctionguard........did you not read my previous post where I said that Mr. Kim is going to make his money?????? Or are you ignoring the possibility that someone (Mr. Kim) has finally figured out how to offer a Free Auction Site to decent people, and still make money.......you are ignoring the answer>?????
posted on February 19, 2001 08:36:50 PM new
auctiongaurd: I think someone said they talked to the owner and he stated that there would be no fees ect. I am not sure. Now I do have to leave and get to work. Again, I am sorry if you took my previous post as an attack and did not mean it as such.
posted on February 19, 2001 08:42:38 PM new
Wayne, a poor box at a church or giving to charity is a heck of a lot different than an alarm company offering a free installed alarm system. They do it because along with the free system you have to have it monitored for three years at thirty bucks a month.
A computer store may give away a free computer, but you have to sign up with MSN for three years.
An auction site will give free services, so to build up a great community. Once everybody is selling decently and making money, they start to charge their fees.
There is nothing wrong with any of the above scenerios. It's business. But, to ask me if I question somebody giving money to the poor box in a church is a rediculous way to debate the fact that I believe that epier will eventually charge some sort of fees.
I don't mind the fees. I like epier and when the time is right, then they should charge fees. Again, this is not negativity, this is business.
Oh, and by the way, if you believe that Mr. Kim is providing free auctions as "charity", then I believe that he is wasting his money, because there are far more deserving charitable causes out there then you. Don't you agree?
Have a good night, Wayne. No harm done. Just chjat!
[ edited by auctiongaurd on Feb 19, 2001 08:43 PM ]
posted on February 19, 2001 08:59:59 PM new
Auctongaurd-- The way in which ePier plan to make money is fairly straightforward. To quote from a news article from last year:-- "ePier combined an online auction house (like eBay) with the escrow account (holding money in trust with an FDIC-insured, income-earning bank account) [..] "The escrow account is one of the arms of ePier. It's paymadeeasy.com. We will help people buy and sell by allowing for free e-commerce. I mean. no cost to the seller. [....] Paymadeeasy.com will be able to work with any other auction sites. It simply allows people to send and receive funds electronically. Western Union charges a fee, ePier won't. "We'll be making money off the interest. We'll put the funds into an interest-bearing account." Kim explains that most sellers won't need the money right away. If the cash load gets high enough, a few days earning interest should yeild a tidy sum (At 6000 items for sale a day, the cash load should get high enough)"
So its not really a case of a company working for ziltch, if it was I'd be highly suspicious as to their motives. As yet the paymadeasy.com payment plan hasn't come online, but when it does I'll be more than happy to use it, especially as it would appear to be what Paypal was *supposed* to have been, before greed once again raised its ugly head.
Don't take what anyone says here personally, a lot of us are very proud and protective of this little auction site that seems to be doing all the right things for all the right reasons. I'd love to see it succeed )
posted on February 19, 2001 09:03:02 PM new
Auctiongaurd: You certainly know how to keep someone around! Now who is on the attack? Please read occasionally - I think I stated that he may be doing it as a hobby!!! Not charity! If his hobby is charitable then that much the better. I don't recall asking him to build this site for me, I am simply listing on it and thanking him for whatever free time he allows me to do so.
posted on February 19, 2001 09:08:42 PM new
beecandles. I wish you would have contacted me directly rather than chastising (spelling?) me in the fashion you did. I will assume you do not know much about sportscards so let me say it like this. I would PAY YOU to take the players cards I mentioned away from me. Lol they are WORTHLESS to anyone but a fan of a team they played for or a set collector and even then, they are penny cards. In other words, I WAS JOKING trying to lighten things up a little. PLEASE laugh! smile! Its all good!
posted on February 19, 2001 09:10:37 PM new
navajojewelry, I could almost see you cliching your teeth as you typed that last message. LOL. Cheer up, we're all friends here. What I said was in the fun of our discussion.
relayerone, makes perfect sense. Exactly what x.com was all about in the begining. Thanks for pointing out that article.
posted on February 19, 2001 09:11:18 PM new
Beecandles one more thing. Honestly I love Epier! the site has great options for sellers and traffic seems to be picking up! I will be listing there by this weekend!
http://ballsandstrikescollectibles.beckett.com/
posted on February 19, 2001 09:18:16 PM new
auctiongaurd: Wrong again, actually I was quite calm and collected and thought I expressed the message that way.
posted on February 19, 2001 09:18:52 PM new
Ballsandstrikes.......OOPs! I did it again...isn't that a good song these days......SORRY but I didn't "get it"...maybe I was having a senior momemt (again).....hate when that happens....cool dude! or dudette!...I am just very defensive of ePier......and knowing me I would give you $100 for those cards......I am kidding........wanna buy some candles?...Hee Hee
posted on February 19, 2001 09:22:57 PM new
Well, here's the thing. Right now Epier is free and their immediate plans are to remain free. If that happens - great! If it doesn't work out that they can remain free forever, then I believe that they will hear our opinions for any proposed fees before they implement them. Like FVF vs upfront listing fees. Epier has just seen (thru Yahoo's mistake) what can happen if listing fees are implemented and I doubt very much if they are stupid enough to do that.
Currently, from a scale of 1-10, I'd have to give Epier a 7 with a strong potential for a 10, but it doesn't happen overnight or in a months time either.
BTW, my ID is LadyScorp at Epier
posted on February 19, 2001 09:29:19 PM new
Lol, its ok! I am a dude but I do like candles so assuming your Epier ID is the same as here, I will give your items a look!
Tony
http://ballsandstrikescollectibles.beckett.com/
posted on February 19, 2001 09:40:13 PM new
Hey Tony......nope.......my User Id on ePier is candlelady and I would make some very special candles for you if you want (and a free gift) if you dare to go there and bid......lol
Hey........life is short...and joy is within our reach........
posted on February 19, 2001 09:53:28 PM new
ePier has its problems, no doubt about it, but I don't see them as being insurmountable.
Over the past month I've listed quite a few auctions on ePier and have sold a few. I've also found some great things to bid on.
I find the listing and re-listing exceptionally easy. The only thing easier is my bulk lister which, unfortunately, doesn't work for that site.
However, there are several areas of the site that more planning and design should've gone into a long time ago. One severe drawback is the way the selling and bidding page is laid out. Currently I have 9 pages of items with bids on them. I'm assuming that at some point they will disappear from the data-base. It's extremely difficult to navitage through them to see what you're currently bidding on as they're sorted by auction number and there's no other way to sort them.
So far I have yet to run into a deadbeat bidder but two people I know have. I have had a deadbeat seller and so has one other person I'm aware of. There is no protection on the site but then again, they don't lie about it, either.
I can't agree with those who feel the site will stay free forever. To my mind it's unrealistic to expect this. The old maxim it takes money to make money still holds true. Currently ePier's payment plan isn't in place, they are running on Mr. Kim's investment. I have my serious doubts, too, that when the payment plan is implemented that the interest will keep them afloat. I believe if that was the case then all of the free payment plans wouldn't have closed their doors as they already have.
I also abhor the front page (love that logo, though, LOL). It's entirely too cluttered but that really has nothing to do with the usability of the site. Most of the time I can access everything fine. And I don't like the fact that they look so much like eBay. Some say it makes them feel comfortable and at home. After what I've been through at eBay I really don't want anything that reminds me of that place. I currently have over 400 feedback on eBay and may list there again but right now am having a hard time convincing myself to do so.
I believe the categories are an absolute mess. Currently there are only two tiers. That isn't enough. I heard the staff is adding 1000 new categories in the near future and have also heard a third tier is in the plan. Ultimately, though, the categories are too much like eBay's and again, when I'm looking for something I end up doing a core-wide search because I can't figure out where to find it.
Well, that's way more than 2-cents worth so I think I'll be moving along.
posted on February 19, 2001 10:04:55 PM new
I Love epier!! They have a great site ! They listen to what their members need and respond quickly. They have the friendliest sellers and buyers I have encountered on any auction site.
IT ALSO FREE !! Which translates to better deals then on ebay since the sellers don't have high fee's to pay. It a Win Win kind of place...Top notch
posted on February 19, 2001 10:07:15 PM new
I think epier has the potential to be an excellent site. They are generally responsive to requests from users, although in some cases they are not communicative. Some categories they ad hours after they are requested; other were requested almost a month ago and they have promised "soon" but nothing has happened. Some people seem to get immediate responsposes from tech suppport (they always answer my emails within an hour, it seems), but I have seen other's post that they have never been reposnded too, so they are obviously inconsistent. Users are generally very generous with their time in helping others. I do not think Mr. Kim is a philanthropist... I believe his plans to make the site pay have been outlined adequately here. I believe that even if they start charging in the future, it would be for things like "featured items". I would not object to paying final value fees, as I think an auction site has to really earn those fees by making the site viable. In fact, i would like to see more money being spent on marketing and staff, and would be willing to pay, even a monthly fee of $5 or something, toward these expenses. I would like to see them associate with a software company that handles auto-generated invoices, etc. There is no doubt in my mind that the site will continue to grow. Personally, my sales have been very marginal and I am a bit disappointed. I had to go list a few things on greedbay, after boycotting for 3 weeks, simply because I can not be without income, and am not getting bids right now on epier, although I have sold 16 items. i have spent as much as I have taken in, as I want to support the site. I think diversification is the key to success and do not think it would benefit me to put all my eggs in one basket, as I have duplicates of many items and can run them simultaneously on several "free sites". However, i intend to keep the majority of my "unique" items on epier. Can't hurt...it's free and easy to relist.
posted on February 19, 2001 10:12:12 PM new
Hello all I am bladepusher at epier. Just thought I'd row in my .02 I like the site I have listed but am not haveing the same luck as the other sellers but in time I'm sure that will change. The atmosphere is pleasant and I realy enjoy chatting with everyone. JMHO Have a nice night!!!
posted on February 20, 2001 06:15:39 AM new
I joined ePier in January, and I have been very happy with this auction site. It took about a week before I began getting bids on items, but things have picked up quite a bit. I have sold about two dozen items in the last few weeks, and I expect to sell even more as the word gets out about ePier. I love that I don't have to raise prices to cover fees and commissions. The ePier members are very helpful, friendly, and supportive of one another, which is also important. Of course, there have been some technical problems along the way, but the ePier staff is working diligently to fix any problems as they are made aware of them, and at least they do answer member's questions and concerns with "real" answers through the tech support forum, and not some canned email response that means nothing. Frankly, I didn't leave eBay just because they raised their fees. I left the eBay community for numerous reasons, the least of which was money. I don't like some of their business ethics; I don't like the way they seem to disdain and disrespect the less profitable sellers by referring to them as "clutter"; I don't like the fact that they don't enforce their own rules concerning dishonest members, who continue to rip people off despite many negative feedbacks and complaints tp eBay; I don't like the on-going, sometimes severe, technical problems that sll their money and people can't seem to fix. WHO NEEDS IT?! Eventhough I made a lot of money there, I have no plans to ever sell on eBay again...GIVE ME EPIER ANY DAY OF THE WEEK!! Even if ePier does eventually start charging fees, as long as they are ethical and threat their members right, I will stay with them.
posted on February 20, 2001 06:30:28 AM new
We started these rating threads to get the pros and cons of the auction sites on the Net. This one, however, became a promotional site. The threads at epier telling people to come over and post here have ruined the integrity of the thread.
posted on February 20, 2001 06:42:57 AM new
I fail to see your logic in locking this thread! I use Epier and so do others that have written their comments in this thread. Many that have posted stated pro's and con's of this site. If you don't use it, how can you rate it. I'm also a member of Auctionwatch and have been for years. If I hadn't read the post on epier about this thread, I never would have known about it. Do you wish people that have never used that site to give their opinions on it? Viewing a site and using a site are entirely two different views. I would much prefer to hear from those that have used it and not just clicked through.
posted on February 20, 2001 06:51:54 AM new
47HarleyGal here......... I have been a member of Epier for almost a year. I have sold things, I have bid on things. I sell on three sites, I just think that Epier is my favorite. The other members are so friendly and helpful. Sure we wish we had more bidders, but I think they will come. There is no auction site that has everything, but you just have to go with the one that has most of the features that you want, epier at this moment seems to have the things I think are important, as far as support and the ease of listing, I like the relist feature. If Epier decides to charge for some features, that is fine, I will support them, if they remain free, all the better.
I have been a member of Ebay since 1996, but they are so impersonal, I like the family feeling of all the members on Epier. Hang out on the chat board, you will see what I mean. Thanks,
47HarleyGal
posted on February 20, 2001 06:52:50 AM new
Auctiongaurd your logic is flawed. Are you suggesting those that are unfamilar with ePier (or any other site for that matter) go and have a *look*, then come back here and rate it? Because if that's so, I'll gladly go have a *look* at Bidville, Bidbay and others, then come back here and "rate" them. Which would of course be useless. It's like rating the handling ability of a car just from watching a commercial for the car on TV. Were it not for the message posted on ePier, I wouldn't have known about this either. But I came over and posted my opinion, *and* rated the site, *and* explained to you in particular ePiers corporate profitability plan. How does this compromise the "integrity of the thread"? Seems to me you were hoping for a slew of negative remarks, because that hasn't happened, you now want to "lock" the thread....
edited for typos
[ edited by relayerone on Feb 20, 2001 06:55 AM ]
posted on February 20, 2001 06:56:34 AM new
That is not what I am suggesting.
I am pointing out the fact that those that have had legitimate questions or crtisisms have been flamed by the faithful and that has ruined this thread. Feel free to start a different thread. I am requesting that this one be locked.
posted on February 20, 2001 07:00:19 AM new
Epier seems to be a good site. Although I
have had about 15 auctions and no bids, I
feel the exposure of the site needs to be expanded. I have had no problems with
listing, images or technical. Other sites
started this way and it took time for it
to catch on. I still list at two sites,
and even the other site is not doing so well
with bids.
cracklnros
Rose Marie Rucki
Most of the time I can access everything fine. And I don't like the fact that they look so much like eBay. Some say it makes them feel comfortable and at home. After what I've been through at eBay I really don't want anything that reminds me of that place. I currently have over 400 feedback on eBay and may list there again but right now am having a hard time convincing myself to do so.