posted on February 26, 2001 01:36:17 PM new
http://www.auctionwatch.com/awdaily/dailynews/february01/1-022301.html
Attention all other auction site owners and cheerleaders. Read this slowly and carefully. This article is accurate and will not be the first to declare the race in online auctions is over! Ebay won.
There is clearly no need, no demand, and no market for small auction sites. No investor in their right mind would spend a penny on an online auction venture. Why should they? The next question is this. Why would smaller sites bother wasting their money when there really is no chance of success? Bidbay,Epier,Popula,Bidville,Edeal,and the many others may as well wrap it up. To continue operation would be nothing more than hanging on to an impossible dream and wasting a lot of money doing so.
Ebay not only pioneered this market, but will forever dominate it. No amount of money in the world would allow a "competitor" to be able to market, brand, and dominate as Ebay has and will continue to do. This has been proven by the failed efforts of Amazon, Yahoo, and Fairmarket. All of which had almost unlimited financial rescources to do battle and failed miserably. So, do you think these non-funded small sites have a prayer? Now is the perfect time for the cheerleaders to seperate themselves from their emotions, and accept the facts. Its Over!!
You may not like some of the things ebay does, but to sell or buy anywhere else is simply a waste of time and money.
posted on February 26, 2001 03:03:40 PM new
I wonder if it is possible to quote even more out of context.
I agree that none of the sites that you have mentioned will be the next eBay on the stock market, but there is plenty of room for the niche market auctions.
They said the same thing about Coke in the early part of the century.
posted on February 26, 2001 03:59:42 PM new
Allow me to address your partially correct response.
Yes, there is room in the market. How could there not be, when Ebay owns the whole block. Will it ever happen? Not a chance.
Niche auction sites are just that..niche. They are not the subject of what is being addressed. Even so, items listed on these pop up niche sites would draw far more bids and be exposed to more consumers if listed on ebay. You will see these niche sites vanish soon as well. Its just reality, and there seems to be a few that refuse to face it. Time will tell the true tale. Consumers have heard enough about other auctions, niche sites, ebay competition, and so on. They are a dime a dozen. What it all boils down to is that Ebay is it. Period.
posted on February 26, 2001 04:46:18 PM new
browse4stuff ... as much as I am a fan of competition, I have to agree with you (in or out of context).
The free sites MAY be able to fill a niche market, but how many niche markets do we need for sports cards and used books!
eBay was unique when it started, grabbed the attention of people looking for a deal, and in spite of their becoming more and more like a mall with their powersellers etc., it is still way ahead of whoever may be in 2nd place.
Besides, if BidVille ever gets big enough to scare eBay, eBay will just buy them out. (Maybe that's the BidVille owners' plan??)
Pouring money into these upstarts is just plain stupid. If anyone thinks big shot .com guys aren't that stupid, just look at Yahoooooooooo.
When the money runs out or these guys get bored (whichever comes first), BidVille et al will disappear.
posted on February 26, 2001 05:10:08 PM new
With ebay aligning with fairmarket, now, more than ever, there is an opportunity for the smaller sites to grow.
With this new alliance, ebay is becoming more and more a B2C auction site. Eventually, they will probably become one big cybermall and the businesses will use ebay as a clearance center
.
The mom and pop shops will be looking for other places to list their items so they are not lost with all the "big boy" listings.
posted on February 26, 2001 05:38:36 PM new
Ebay WON, Ebay Won what Online Auctions arent a race or A football game.
To win such a thing would in all honestly be too loose.
To say Ebay won is like saying Ebay is the internet there is no other People on earth who can do anything with the internet is as bad as Al gore saying he created the internet.
The internet is made up of millions and millions of users and more then likely nearly a billion computers and servers.
Never folks is a long long time Ebays days as a person to person auction site for the small seller are numbered they have said so in more then one way over the last two years.
There will be a need for more then one person to person auction site on the web in the next 8 to 15 months when JC penny sears disney and other big companies take all the business we all have built for ebay away from us.
To say they have won is insane as they seek to have big companies like Walmart and kmart auctioning and selling there who needs walmart on the net there is a walmart on ever corner of every urban town.
Ebay is going to get what it wants it want the corporatation and there sales on there site it pushing the flea market dealers out little buy little you really think the small selller will just curl up and die cause ebay says so give me a break.
posted on February 26, 2001 05:41:02 PM new
Well, now 2 years ago , when I started doing auctions ( just for fun but turned into an obsession) I started on ebay and quickly switched to Amazon~ What a site and way more money for books than ebay . Then they did wonderful improvements which killed their site. Amazon had a great chance to make a killing in that market. Now that was 2 years ago. In the space of a month , I have watched bidville grow and grow. I went to that site and just put a bid on 2 books. Then I was a edeal last night and put a bid and won what I thought was a great item. And mostly I sell!
I think there will always be a place for auction because there will always be a person like myself who will bid! If people know about a site they will go to that site. If prices are reasonable and there is some fun in bidding then people will bid. How successful or not , is probably not the question is there are buyers. Buyers will go to auction site as they are always looking , not so much for a deal , but for an item that they can't find in a small town or big city . Anyhow just a few thoughts, and I hope that these auction sites ( who maybe better run in the long run than amazon or yahoo where auctions were simply an afterthought) will give ebay a run for their money. Suz 23 here! lovebooks generally everywhere else!
posted on February 26, 2001 06:29:46 PM new
Ha ha ha (Eday has won) Ha ha ha. I hope now one tells the other sites this it may scare them into shutting down rofl.
posted on February 26, 2001 07:14:28 PM new
It's not over til it's over.
I can remember a computer powerhouse called IBM. It dominated. It grew to huge proportions. It caused the little guy to spring away and become competition.The little guys have grown and flourished.Ebay is at it's point in corperate growth to cause the same.That is why the hopefuls spring up.
Ebay no longer wants to be a home for the small seller.They have made it very obvious.So, we all are looking for a new place to call our own, little, home territory.JustBeads and Popula have been around a few years and are still moving along in their growth. The others are new- but you have to start somewhere.
Ultimately,I think the winner in the auctions race will be not an eBay wannabe.I am working on a sellers Coop that is being developed as more than just another auction.What I have been asked over and over is how can you even think to compete with eBay- they have the buyers- they have the money to back them. My answer is that we don't intend to compete with an inferior venue.And It certainly must be inferior if so many want to leave there.You move on and find something better and work and work on it.
Actually, I find think the definition of winner in this race is what you need to look at. As an analogy- Is the local Mom and Pop hardware store who has been in business for 20 years, and has seen 4 kids raised and educated, any less a success than the chain 84 Lumber Store down the Pike. Is size what makes something a winner?- Or is success relative to what the store or site sets as it's goals. If you make money on Bidville and are satisfied; it is a success. If you are happy to pay fees to Popula because of your sell rate; it is a success. If you are happy selling at a small niche Coop,where you have a voice, ownership and your fees are returned to you - they are winners too.If eBay makes you happy to continue to list there- they are winner too.
So how do you measure success/winning? Money? Beating eBay in the numbers count?Feeling like you have found an online home? Depends on individual viewpoint-doesn't it?
posted on February 26, 2001 08:33:55 PM new
One of my favorite quotes is from someone who worked at the US Patent office in 1899. He basically is quoted as saying that everything that will be invented has basically already been invented.
Another has Bill Gate saying in the very early 80's that he sees no reason why anyone would need more than 640K of RAM (My current computer has 200 times that amount, and I find it slow)
Basically, to say that a company that was founded less than 6 years ago is going to be around forever and will always dominate the market is naive at best! Technology and industry leaders are always changing, and probably always will. Who knows, maybe 10 years from now eBay will be a footnote in the dotcom encyclopedia.
posted on February 27, 2001 07:36:03 AM new
Well, its never "over", as the "game" continues, day in and day out. Its a pretty shallow article, but there is some truth to it.
Ebay can be seriously challenged in several ways:
1. US government declares it a monopoly and splits it up (unlikely, since it has to have a huge negative impact on the general population for this to happen)
2. Someone with bigger pockets decides to throw lots of money at entering the market.
3. Organize as a niche market and challenge ebay only in a small area.
4. Take advantage of new technology (3D real-time video bidding, for example).
The question I continue to ask of auctions like bidville is "how do you intend to challenge ebay"? The article is correct in that a general challenge by a "me too" underfunded company is doomed to failure.
posted on February 27, 2001 09:39:46 AM new
brownnose4stuff, Any moron can list on eBay. The party was over on eBay over 2 years ago and prices continue to decline. Individual sellers depending solely on eBay won't be around for long. Ebay knows this too. Thats why they just signed an agreement with Fair Market to bring in the big guys.
posted on February 27, 2001 09:48:10 AM new
captainkirk; I can list with any auction site and make more money than listing with eBay. Why would I care if eBay is #1 if I make more money on the other sites. I read some good "reviews" on some of your comments on Yahoo. LOL
posted on February 27, 2001 02:35:06 PM new
Browse4stuff and RB
Browse4stuff: Maybe your cheerleading would be better accepted on the Ebay message center. RB: You are consistent!
I will tell you all that if I were to list Hallmark ornaments on Ebay, not only would I have to sell them at about 1/2 the box price or less, but I would also have to pay fees! NO THANKYOU. I can list them on any of the free sites for box price and even more on some, and wait. On Yahoo, I didn't have to wait that long and eventually I sold. Now, that was the Old Yahoo as we remember it about 2 months ago! I will wait patiently because # 1, I do not have to sell at a LOSS, which is what I would be doing at Ebay because there are simply TOO many listings! When I used to list on Ebay only about 1/3 of my listings sold on the first try, and they were all at less then box price.
Yea, I buy on Ebay! I just did a couple of days ago! I got several steals that I plan to relist for much bigger prices on BidVille and wait!
And finally, if these free sites do start charging or close up, then at least I saved fees on the items that I did sell!
I am very very happy about that!
corrected a typo!
[ edited by deichen on Feb 27, 2001 02:37 PM ]
posted on February 27, 2001 05:42:13 PM newI didn't here the fat lady sing
You never know what or who is on the horizon.
I've said it before ebay will help another site succeed deichen said it pretty well. Why would you sale something for less than it worth especially when less is only 40-50% of its value. And pay fees on your losses. The big boys are coming so are more fee increases and ebays control tactics are on the increase.
When the sellers go the buyers will follow. It would take a massive migration of sellers to make a site an instant success. But I say given time and ebays track record. They may get chopped off at the knees sooner than you think.
posted on February 27, 2001 05:58:58 PM new
Toollady!! Nice to see you again! Hope all is well with you and your family!
I'm thinking more along the lines of "when won't I be able to sell on ebay anymore" than on what's going to become of the 'little' sites. They'll be needed before we know it if ebay continues the way they are going. Fairmarket is by far the biggest red flag I've seen yet!
I agree with those who foresee an ebay where 'we' no longer 'fit in'!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have wept in the night, for the shortness of sight
That to somebody's need made me blind;
But I have never yet, felt a tinge of regret
For being a little to kind. Anon
posted on February 27, 2001 06:58:47 PM new
Sugmoi:
Ah, a most intelligent "rebuttal" to my post. LOL. Hey, say "hi" to spreeland while you are at it. I have no doubt she is having a blast venting to the 3 people who visit her chat room. ("ooohh...that captain-kirk makes me sooo mad..." ). he he.
Come back when you care to read what I read and have something useful to respond to it.
posted on February 28, 2001 12:12:08 AM new
LOL...Look who's talking about intelligent rebuttals. Try 267 members and sounds like they have a good laugh every time your name comes up.
posted on February 28, 2001 06:59:00 AM new
hmmm...a "whopping" 267 "members" eh (most of whom appear to show up once, get disgusted, and leave by the way). I'd better rush right over there and defend myself from this HUGE group of people. yeah, right. Yawn.
As I said above, if you'd care to address the TOPIC of how auctions like bidville could topple ebay, come back and contribute something. Your comments otherwise were unsubstantiated, offtopic, and irrelevant.
My analysis stands unless you can disprove it with logic and evidence...but i'm not holding my breath.
posted on February 28, 2001 11:08:55 AM new
I'm impressed by all these intelligent posts. I too agree this isn't a race that has a finish line where a winner can be declared. You could say ebay is winning, but there isn't any real competition.
Yahoo made a nice run at it, but relied too much on their innovation and not enough on promoting the site. Someone with deep pockets could overtake ebay, but of course that is a lot easier said than done. They'd still need to market themselves a little different to capture interest.
If ebay gets too comfy and stop defending their top position with innovation (IBM, Scott, Ford are prime examples), another company could easily beat them out.
posted on February 28, 2001 02:10:55 PM new
Browse4fun...... Looks like you'd like us all to just forget things like hope, progress, better futures, white picket fences and the like.
Won? In all of mankind's history - first,there must be a battle! One doesn't WIN, simply by being the FIRST one there, thus having a big enough cash flow - to bury any competition. Other sites have only just begun.....
Monopoly flag waving will NOT make you very popular in this industry...
Do yourself a favor- THINK before operating heavy machinery like the Internet.
posted on March 1, 2001 11:09:04 PM new
saw the young (to me) guy on a late night TV show a few days ago that started Yahoo....a billionaire now, but only had $3,000 when he started it. I wasn't paying in-depth attention, but he didn't look a bit concerned to me...never even mentioned auctions. Made me realize that we are just focusing on the auction aspect of yahoo and it is a lot more. Not ebay. If they go down auction wise, they are done....not yahoo.
Saw on another post re fat lady singing...if she sang yet, I missed it. Saying all new auction sites will eventually fail because of ebay, is like saying all new stores will eventually fail because of Walmart...
posted on March 4, 2001 07:56:04 PM new
The only thing constant is change! Ebay has been around for what-7 years? That's not very long, just because a viable competitor hasn't srpung up yet doesn't mean it won't happen.
Here's a buyers opinion of ebay-I dislike it, I'd rather browse the smaller sites because at least I don't have to wade through hundreds of listings for whatever I'm looking for. Am I so unique that I'm the only buyer who thinks this way? I doubt it.
Citygirl
posted on March 5, 2001 06:55:21 AM new
I think smaller niche auctions can certainly prosper this way, by focusing on small segments of items such that its fun for a collector in that area to scroll through and randomly look at items.
Randomly looking through a general mish-mash of items, on the other hand, where the selection is unlikely to include anything of interest is a lot less fun. I'd rather use a search engine to look for keywords of interest in those cases, and my typical search on ebay produces 100 or so items of very relevant interest that I can cheerfully look through via the search results. Searches of auctions like bidville for what I like tend to produce only a hit or two, not worth my time to visit the site.
posted on March 5, 2001 06:31:15 PM new
Hey Captain~
I sort of agree with you. If I am looking for something specific I might try ebay, but when I'm just browsing, I like to hit the smaller sites.
Citygirl
posted on March 5, 2001 08:35:29 PM new
To JMHO, no, I think it's Browse4stuff...
Tell that to Burger King, Wendy's, Rally's, Arby's, Hardy's, Papa John's, Domino's...
I could list a LOT more that are providing similar service and THRIVING. Sometimes I like to "have it my way" sometimes I visit the folks that "like to make you smile" or serve those "little square buns".
