posted on September 17, 1999 04:55:06 PM new
From my understanding though, the bidbucks rebate only applies if the winner of the auction is a member of bidsafe (buyer or gold)? I have yet to have a bidsafe member bid on, let alone win, one of my auctions. So the rebate incentive wouldn't be a lot of help there.....
It will be interesting to see what the new site design looks like. I hope you aren't going to try looking like one of the other auction sites.
posted on September 18, 1999 10:51:35 AM new
I think the only people that don't like the bid safe program are either crooks or just do not understand it. I am a seasoned seller, been on AU for well over 1 year and eBay for several years and I love the bidsafe program. I encourage people who want to use escrow on other auction sites to run it through bidsafe. I have sold many bidsafe items. Not every one that wins a bidsafe auction chooses to use bidsafe it is just a option. I just sold a $280.00 item but they choose to mail me a money order. But at least bidsafe was a option.
I have experienced higher sale amounts on some bidsafe auctions because people knew they were not getting ripped off and it was being charged to their credit card so they bid higher amounts then they would have on a non bidsafe auction. Bidsafe has nothing but advantages and no disavantages.
As a buyer I love using bidsafe. I do not have to worry about a shady seller describing something as mint yet when I receive it is anything but mint because with bidsafe I do not have to accept the item. I love the no hassle buying that bidsafe offers. I bid on the item and if I win it is automaticaly charged to my credit card and shipped right away.
The $20 I pay per year for having bidsafe I get back in Bid Bucks so it ends up costing me nothing. The free insurance on everything I ship ends up paying me to have bidsafe. The Bidsafe checks are mailed within 3 weeks of the sale which is half the time the other escrow companies take. The free insurance I have on my inventory is another plus. I just do not see why any reputible seller would not use bidsafe.
posted on September 18, 1999 05:40:55 PM new
PAT: Insurance is free with UPS....and $20....that wouldn't often cover 6 of our items...and that is for a year!....you are still beating a dead horse....AU has lots to offer, but realize if you are going to attract the "Power Seller Types" of eBay - stuff like this just won't cut it...we aren't interested in free insurance that wouldn't cover a weeks worth of shipping, or having an auction company in the middle of our already busy schedules with their escrow programs - push your good features....YOU have a great many but harping on the BidSafe is a major turn off to experienced sellers - we don't want it on eBay or anywhere else....at least not pushed down our throats like eBay tried, and AU does....AU does by its endless harping on what a great feature it is - but realize it hasn't attracted the bidders either....push your unique points.......you've worn this horse out and it hasn't worked....
You have a great site, functionally....push that.
posted on September 18, 1999 06:28:18 PM new
Recon:
The insurance covers up to $3,000, not $20, for one or for 5000 items (if you sold that many) shipped in the course of a year.
And, if your item is rejected by the buyer and returned to you, its insured on that trip too (whether or not the returning buyer insures it or not.)
Sure, UPS insures all packages to $100 ... but they do charge extra for insurance above that. There is not even the hidden charge of return receipt (another extra cost service on both UPS and USPS) for insurance up to $500. We do require that the item be shipped with a return receipt and be trackable if it is over $500.
Recon, its obvious that you misunderstand the program.
Hey, it's totally voluntary but frankly, I think about ten times before I personally bid on a regular auction anywhere where I've got to mail off a check. I also decline to give my CC number to every merchant but then I'm just cautious.
posted on September 18, 1999 07:14:52 PM new
Pat brings up a great point. I refuse to call someone on the phone and give them my credit card number. If either person is using a cordless phone you can listen to the call on any scanner and get the credit card info. I will either not bid on the item or if I want it real bad mail a check or money order. Recon and the other "experienced sellers" will not be getting my business as I only bid on bidsafe auctions. I can't believe a "experienced seller" would want to miss out on sales. I am more experienced then most sellers on ebay, auction universe or the other auction sites and I am 100% FOR Bidsafe. Why??? Because I understand how it works!!! Also not using bidsafe means you can not have First Bid Wins Auctions and they have become very popular with some bidders. Pat, Correct me if I am wrong but First Bid Wins bidders get a Free Bidsafe membership when they bid on a First Bid Wins item.
posted on September 18, 1999 07:58:02 PM new
MrAuctionman:
You're right, we offer free BidSafe to anyone who either registers as a BidSafe buyer or seeks to buy a First Bid Wins item
This membership simply entitles you to bid using your credit card. It also earns you a "verified" user icon -- which is the bidsafe icon. It is free.
Your membership, Wes, is BidSafe Gold, which carries with it selling privileges including the credit card acceptance for any auction you want to use it on. The insurance program covers all your auctions.
posted on September 18, 1999 09:51:54 PM new
Well, I think it is a bit harsh to say that if you don't want to use Bidsafe you are probably a crook. I understand Recon2000's position that he has a better deal with the individual merchant account and UPS account than going with the all-inclusive Bidsafe program. But since I am not an "experienced" seller because I don't want to put out the money for a merchant account, I like the options that Bidsafe gives me and I am grateful to AU for making it available.
I signed up for CCNow about a year ago, so lucky me locked in the 8% rate to process a transaction. That is still a pretty chunk of change especially when you factor in the additional 5% FV fee from Amazon/eBay. OUCH! Or I can sell on AU and get the same service plus insurance coverage for less than half that amount. And the listing is free! And I can post auctions at 10pm on a Wednesday and have them end two Sundays later at 5 in the afternoon if I want!
I have a full time job, so right now auction money is extra cash in my pocket. I don't make a push to list massive amount of items and I haven't gone out of my way to aquire stock to sell. I have enough stuff from my 20+ years of collecting sitting in storage to keep me busy for many moons. So I may be a "small-time" auction seller but I am keeping my mind open to the BIG picture.
Pat, I don't suppose you have any AU pom-poms you could send my way? I imagine them in blue and white... GO TEAM AU!!
posted on September 18, 1999 10:27:36 PM new
I didn't mean that anyone who does not use Bidsafe is a crook, I was trying to say that they just do not understand the program fully. But a lot of people (not all) who are against the bidsafe and the escrow concept are people who either do not have the item or are afraid the buyer will not accept it due to it's poor condition or other factor. AU advertises "Auctions you can Trust" and using bidsafe this is 100% true. With all the scams and fraud being perputrated on the other sites it is so nice to have a auction that you do not have to worry about. I consider myself a experienced seller but I can't seem to bring myself to set up a merchant account and pay all those high fees to do so. If a customer needs to use his credit cards I simply run it through AU. You can use bidsafe for your sales on other Auction sites not just Auction Universe.
posted on September 20, 1999 07:22:03 AM new
mrauctionman wrote:
"I have even taken ebay and Amazon buyers over to AU just to avoid the i-escrow transaction and to increase my bidbucks."
Am I understanding it right? You sell on another auction, but use the credit card service of AU's Bid$afe to complete the transaction? How do you do this? Thanks for the information.
posted on September 20, 1999 11:34:33 AM new
Rebecca, yes you are understanding it right. You can use the bidsafe program for your auctions on any site. I am going to tip my hat to Pat because he explains this much better then I could. Pat, here's your cue........
posted on September 20, 1999 03:16:16 PM new
Rebecca:
As Mrauctionman points out, it is possible to do this.
However, we don't specifically market BidSafe to do this and we make no warranties or guarantees at all about this specific use of the BidSafe First Bid Wins program.
That said, some BidSafe Gold sellers use BidSafe's First Bid Wins sales format as a credit card charge program.
Let me emphasize that by doing this as a BidSafe First Bid Wins sale format, you are giving the buyer the absolute right of refusal of the item. They can refuse the product for any reason. This rule does not change because your item was originally sold elsewhere.
Your buyer bids and wins, AU runs his MC/Visa card and it presumably gains approval within about 20 minutes and the deal is done, save your shipping.
That is what we expect to happen and what probably will happen.
Still, we don't "officially" recognize this process because we are not an escrow service in the legal sense of the word. (If we were a formal escrow service, we'd have had to design the service so that no one other than the specified bidder could complete the transaction.)
BidSafe is not designed that way. It is designed to help seller's sell and buyers bid and to facilitate the transaction between them. In that context, it only makes sense to allow as many bidders as possible.
Using it in this "specialized" way -- as a credit card acceptance for auctions sold elsewhere -- means that if another bidder did come along and bid on your item, it could cause a problem, but not a big problem. Still, it does create "an issue" that will take service a little time to resolve.
So, can you do it?
Yes. You are at liberty to list any item you want -- save adult items and some other specific categories. This means that you could list a specific item at a specific price and suggest that a specific buyer be there to buy it first. As FBW's is not technically an "auction" format -- it is a straight sale format -- your prior contact with the buyer/bidder is not a violation of auction rules on bid manipulation (as it would be in an auction format).
Does the First Bid Wins system work to do this effectively?
Yes in practice, this system appears to work quite effectively.
Is it absolutely foolproof?
No, it is not foolproof. It is possible for someone to jump in and be the first to bid on an item intended for another person. If you say this auction is restricted and only so-n-so can bid, most folks would respect that. Some "(everyone has one but only a few be one)" might not, though and that would create a small mess.
Pat
(edited for length -- waaaay toooo loooong -- and clarity)
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Neomax
I too am concerned about the lack of bids on AU. AU was the first auction site that I used for sales and I am a big fan of the Bid$afe program. Amazon made some moves recently that come close but I still believe that Bid$afe and FirstBidWins are the best programs available - especially with your free listings!
All that being said, I have been getting much better results on Amazon lately. Listing the same item on both AU and Amazon, I consistently got more interest and higher bids on Amazon. I would rather sell on AU than anyplace else but I've got to go where the buyers can be found!
P.S. What became of the "FirstBid15" promo idea discussed earlier in this thread? On occasion, I have used Amazon's 10% discount for the first bidder but I have not seen a clear correlation between use of the option and sales. I would be willing to open up 20 new listings for the program if that will help get some traffic back on AU!
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posted on October 2, 1999 01:06:17 AM new
Hi Sportsbean:
I think you're right. Bidsafe is a better program than 1-click bid.
I looked at Amazon's agreement and it is kind of amazing the gyrations that they have gone to, to avoid being involved in a transactions. Did you see the language about no charge backs? Jeeze.
The bottom line to sellers is that amazon charges their 5 percent on the first $25 and 2.5 percent on the balance (all sales under a grand) plus 4.5 percent and 60 cents for a 1-click bid transaction. On a $50.00 sale that works out to $4.83 including the listing fee.
That compares to our 2.5 percent flat commission and 3.5 percent service fee for BidSafe or $3.00 flat.
Percentage wise, that's 9.66 percent on this $50 sale compared to 6 percent at AU ... and you still have to pay shipping insurance on Amazon. That's 61 percent less money at AU for more service.
Your post is as much about AU having bidders as it is the comparative costs and convenience of of BidSafe vs 1-click bid. It is obvious if we concentrate on the tools, we win hands down.
Sportsbean, it is a harsh reality but the Internet follows the herd mentality. If the buzz says eBay ... then eBay's hot. If the buzz says Amazon ...
Strategically, I liken the online auction wars going on now as being roughly analogous to the US Civil War. Look at the history books and in 1861, 62 and 63, almost every victory, at least on land, went to the Confederacy.
Still, the North, because of its resources was still in the game.
AU has resources that have really never been in play. Our ability to bring those resources into play will make a difference.
The nature of the resources makes a difference too. Both Amazon's and eBay's resources are from the digital world. Part of our advantange, as well as our disadvantage, is that our resources are from the physical world.
The battle field is drawn. We are all fighting for the consumer, the buyers. That's why we do more for less.
Sportsbean, despite the title of this thread, I can assure you that AU is not dead. We've just begun to fight.
We have an excellent chance at victory, although we need folks like yourself to list and sell product with us.
You might ask, "What's in it for me?" My answer is better tools that cost less to use -- 61 percent less.
Rebecca