posted on November 1, 2000 08:05:27 AM new ioughta When I transferred my feedback, I didn't get my credits, but I was receiving my notices from Yahoo, so I just requested them again and received my confirmation e-mail from Yahoo right away the second time and had my credits within 48 hours.
Also, I am selling in the 90% range on my items at the moment. I do all 1st Bid Wins and I have a niche audience. If you looked at my auction, you wouldn't see any bids because they close as soon as there is a bid. I sometime sell 4 of the same item in one day when they close and I relist the item 1st bid wins. Several great customers have my auctions bookmarked on their watch list and they receive an e-mail from Yahoo whenever I list something new and then fly over and bid the item.
On the other 10%, if they don't sell the first time, I lower the price and relist until it does sell. I have the opportunity to do that because I don't lose fees each time I list.
CAgrrl Perhaps you could feature just one of a category (1 my little pony, 1 book, 1 barbie) with a good link to your other auctions and your auction booth so that people will find you and look at your other like items. This might make your credits go further.
Even at .10 per day for a 10 day auction, it is less than Ebay with all of the fees included--at least for my auctions.
posted on November 1, 2000 09:31:16 AM new
CAgirl-
Paying 10 cents per day to feature a low end item for 10 days is equivalent to paying eBay's fees. You would probably do better to list your items and just pay 10 cents to feature them on the last day of the auction.
If you're listing with "first bid wins" its a no brainer because you wouldn't want to pay to feature the item for 10 days if the first bid will sell the item in the first few days.
posted on November 1, 2000 09:42:21 AM new
Labbies' point is more important. If you list 100 items, featuring 10 of those items with links to your "auction booth" will increase the hits on more of your auctions. Most bidders like to buy multiple items from the same seller to save on postage.
posted on November 1, 2000 02:28:00 PM new
Granee - Bless your heart - since it is in the right place! I know that you want us all to stick this out - since you have found a way to deal with the overwhelming interferance by Yahoo powers- that- be. However, I sincerely believe that once we master this hoop - they have plenty others ready to spring on us.
That may sound negative but I am a positive thinker at heart--- I'm just a realist and have found ALL auction houses are designed for "bait and switch" . The reason being, that to get their foot in the door and slam the competition, they HAVE to offer a better deal. Once we take advantage of the better deal-- the real picture shows up - which is exactly what we are experiencing right now. This is good old greedy Capitalism at work...only we never quite resign it to that.
CAAgirl-- you seem to be on the brink of my theory-- once features are used up, WHAT THEN? .10 a day = 1.00 and some are spending .25 x 10= 2.50- that would NOT be worth it unless it was a 50.00 item and up -- and the hits/sales are STILL not there- so that is money down the drain as I see it.
Notice that you NEVER hear of Yahoo auctions on TV or the radio or NYWHERE.??
Yahoo is NOT promoting their auction site at all -- which is not acting in my best interest, so my realism has kicked in -- and I will be preparing another approach for my online business. In the meantime-- neither ebay or yahoo will get my total loyalty.
I simply don't have the time to mess with all these ANNOYING features an maneuvers to get a listing to sell. If there is one thing I know it is how to make money and when I see this kind of mentality---along with my total time wasted --- the RED FLAGS go up.
I wish all of you the best-- and hope the hoops you'll have to jump through are worth the effort... I'm off to Later, ioughta
posted on November 2, 2000 08:45:40 PM new
Well, featuring one item sounds like a good plan in theory, but since I sell "first bid wins" the odds are good that the auction for that one item would be closed with a winner before many other viewers had a chance to see it or see the link I put in it.
It did occur to me to only feature items for one day. Problem is, that is time consuming. What am I gonna do, wait around for nine days and then on the last day go back in & feature the item? No thanks. The way I sell is labor intensive enough as it is- I need to streamline, not make more complications for myself.
It is still a better bargain to sell on Yahoo even when paying to feature a 10-day item, PROVIDED THE ITEM SELLS! But if it doesn't sell, I've wasted $1.00 or so, as opposed to only having wasted 25¢ by listing & not selling on Ebay.
On the other hand, Yahoo is a relatively stable site, and Ebay sure isn't. Not to mention that Yahoo is nicer to use, at least in my opinion.
The best bet for all of us is really to just have killer feedback & sell through percent and then to just feature selected items out of our inventory. I mean I do like "FREE" but realistically, I don't mind paying for a worthwhile service. I just can't afford to pay $1.00 per item every time I list when sometimes it takes 2-3 listings to sell each one, that's all.
posted on November 3, 2000 02:15:13 AM new
CAgrrl,
The suggestion to only feature the LAST DAY of an auction doesn't really work the same anymore, since the listing doesn't progress to the top over time like it did when the default was "time ending" order. Featuring the last day worked then because people saw it when it was about to close.
Featuring the entire 10 days DOES waste money, since Yahoo doesn't refund for the unused days when an auction closes early, but you're right that the alternative (featuring on the last day) is WORSE---very, very time-consuming. And "first bid wins" kind of defeats the point of featuring, if it's to draw attention to your other listings.
One solution might be to feature a few auctions that have no "buy price" and let them run for 10 days, or that have a "buy price" somewhat higher than the opening bid--they might also run 10 days, but if they close too soon with the "buy price" met, you'll at least have more money with which to pay for featuring. You can put a prominent link to your unfeatured auctions in the featured listings.
I've been waiting for the listing order to revert back to "time ending" before featuring any of my auctions, but it's beginning to look like *ell will freeze over first.
posted on November 3, 2000 05:14:48 AM new
YAHOO WALLET - HELP! I don't know if it is a mental block with me, or sites on Yahoo that are actually difficult to locate. I can not find any place to get in to view my "Yahoo Wallet." Would someone please tell me where it is? I went through the transferring of feedback from eBay to Yahoo, but have never located the area to check and see if it transferred.
Regarding Featuring items, I tried that back a year or so ago and found it non-productive. Perhaps with the new system it might work better, and I would give it a try if I could get into my "Yahoo Wallet" to see how many credits I have.
I have found business on Yahoo running quite well - have only been on Yahoo 9 months, so have no experience in comparing what was happening this time last year on Yahoo. Basically, since we transferred most of our auctions to Yahoo from 5 years on eBay, we have had great success - and sales have basically been steady for us.
Again, someone tell me how to get into the Yahoo Wallet. I have jumped through all the hoops of going here and there to it and still can't find how to get in it.
posted on November 3, 2000 07:33:57 AM newjwpc There may be an easier way, but if there is, I haven't found it. So, here is how I check my credits:
Log into Yahoo
Open any auction that you have going.
Click on "Feature this Item" located on the right side right under the page views, etc.
Scroll down to the little box titled: "Check My Current Balance"
Click "check my current balance"
Voila' !
Also, when I transferred my credits, I waited 6 weeks and then requested the transfer again. I shouldn't have waited that long because when I requested the transfer the second time, I had an e-mail from Yahoo within 24 hours telling me that they had received my request and in that letter, it included a link that I had to use to confirm my e-mail etc. The day after I sent that, I received another e-mail stating that the credits were transferred. I checked and they were right!
posted on November 3, 2000 10:35:56 AM new
>>>>>>The suggestion to only feature the LAST DAY of an auction doesn't really work the same anymore, since the listing doesn't progress to the top over time like it did when the default was "time ending" order.<<<<
Huh????? This is why I feature on the last day now. My regular listings are still buried on the last day because items don't progress to the front page as the auction is abount to end. Featuring the item on the last day gives it some exposure when bidders are more likely to bid on an item. If you only pay 10 cents it will be on the bottom of the featured list but that's better than the item being buried on page 50 with the regular listings. Maybe I'm just missing your point. Anyway, I'm still waiting for my credits to start featuring again. Where do your credits show up? I filled out the form 3 days ago but I havn't seen anything that indicates that I have "credits".
posted on November 3, 2000 12:04:10 PM new
I just wanted to clarify something. I've been running a lot of dutch auctions where the minimum bid is also the buy price. When someone bids, the auction CONTINUES, showing the one bid, until the scheduled close.
The auction then has to be manually relisted, even if you had chosen automatic relist.
So, if you are looking for a small number of your listings to feature to attract attention to all your auctions, dutch auctions might be good ones to pick.
posted on November 3, 2000 01:05:10 PM new
Labbie1:
I only started listing on Yahoo in volume a couple of weeks so this is all new to me. Yahoo seems to have it's quirks! This is an example of how the dutch auction works with a "1st Bid Wins":
- I list a 10-day auction at a price of $10.00 with the buy price equal to the minimum bid
- I show 2 automatic relists.
- I show the quantity as 5.
Scenario 1
----------
No one bids. The auction auctomatically gets relisted.
Scenario 2
----------
- One person bids. The auction continues on, showing a total of 5 items and 1 bid. I receive an e-mail from Yahoo stating I have a winner (and I send out my usual e-mail to the winner).
- The auction closes on the 10th day and I get ANOTHER e-mail from Yahoo advising the auction has closed and also saying I have a winner (this is the SAME winner that they already advised me about in the earlier e-mail - very confusing!).
- I must manually relist and also be careful to change the quantity of items available from 5 to 4.
posted on November 3, 2000 02:10:39 PM new
I have also run first bid wins dutch auctions, and they do work great but mine show a little differently than Irene noted hers do. With mine, when 1 sells the quantity does decrease and shows a bid on the auction page but DOES NOT show any bids on the listing pages. You do get an e-mail immediately every time someone buys and if you sell them all before the auction is scheduled to close, it closes automatically just like a regular first bid wins auction. If you don't sell them all and want to re-list, you do have to be sure that you correct the quantity because on the re-list, it defaults to the quantity you originally entered.
posted on November 3, 2000 02:58:11 PM newstockticker and auctionee Ohmygosh! This is GREAT! I am SO GLAD that you said something! What a time saver!
I have been listing each item individually as a 1st bid wins, but since you cannot list more than one of the same item at a time, I had to keep listing another individual item over and over--sometimes 4-5 times a day! Oh this is GREAT! Thanks so much!
posted on November 3, 2000 03:07:02 PM new
Auctionee:
That's strange. Do you have any Dutch auctions running right now where you have a winner? Perhaps there has been a very recent change in how Yahoo is handling dutch auctions (I only posted my first dutch auction about 12 days ago so I wouldn't know).
I just checked my Yahoo auctions again. I have 1 open dutch auction for 8 items where 1 item has been sold (at the buy price which is the minimum bid). The auction page, my overview of all listings and the category page all show my auction as having 1 bid.
posted on November 4, 2000 12:48:52 AM new
yes, thank you both very much for the info! great to know that!
Irene, you're so right- that would be one very perfect solution to my dilemma! How smart of you to think of it! (I've always been sorta confused by the dutch auction thing & have never attempted one at all, let alone a first bid wins one, but it seems pretty clear now that you explained it all.)
I was also thinking that another good strategy might be to just bite the bullet and try doing 2 or 3 day featured auctions that maybe would start on Thursday or Friday. If the item sells, great, I've made quite a savings over what I would have paid to sell the item on ebay. If it doesn't sell, then I'll just relist, maybe lowering the price if possible, & park it on a 10 day auction, hoping someone who had it watchlisted will come back & bid, or hoping a buyer will find it through search.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that we just have to keep up with the Yahoo changes- Ebay is all right but we definitely can't count on them for 100% of our income, at least not right now with the site in the shape it's in.
Someone else already pointed out that Yahoo's free model doesn't work very well. I've been giving that some thought. I've come to the conclusion that I don't mind paying Yahoo to feature some things because I feel I am getting a valuable service from them. Yes, I do like free, don't we all? but in the long run I would rather have Yahoo grow, be stong, & be financially healthy so we can all continue selling successfully on the site.
I sure wish they would accept PayDirect instead of billing my credit card though.
posted on November 4, 2000 11:05:44 PM new
Well, since I started this thread- here is my update ... sold about 3 items in 3 weeks -- USED TO SELL 2 per day or at least 7 per week..to 10 days which was fine with me especially if a few were high ticket items.
Took everyone's advice - and listed my ebay f/back--- after THREE Yahoo confirmations that the 1.00 per f/back had been deposited -- I go to the acct balance and get INVALID page or something like that....and see nothing but zero...[sigh]
Again today - I get yet another email saying the same thing --- 1.00 per f/b has been deposited but there is nothing there. This is getting very tiring...
It really doesn't matter anymore-- had to start listing on ebay again - since this drought brought on by the CC registrations, the messing up of the search rank/file and who knows what else, has put my auctions into the zero to 2 or 4 view range--- many have zero after 10 days. This all began in Sept with the announcement of CC reg. and all the other shenanigans. I ALWAYS at least got views. I DID love yahoo! I'll list here in spite of it all--- just in the hopes that someone will find me be accident...
So glad for those who are doing fine
posted on November 5, 2000 07:31:18 AM new
Some general comments ...
First, it seems to me that for *some* types of items, those with catalog numbers or ID codes, or very specific "buzz word" descriptions, anyone selling them on Yahoo really, really wants to have buyers increasing their usages of the AuctionWatch search engine. Featured or not, especially if the item is stuck away on a 10-day listing and a "first bid wins" setup, usage of the AW search WILL let even primarily eBay buyers spot it. Unfortunately, the CC validation procedures for Yahoo now may very well have cut way into that sort of "serious but impulse searcher" buyer from immediately bidding.... they SEE it, try to bid, then say "Oh hell, there were other widgets on that search list not here in Yahoo..."
Second, I agree sales have fallen over a cliff on many items, especially non-featured, since the disruptions and the credit card verifications. I think the true effect, positive by eliminating deadbeats and negative by discouraging brand new, but serious, buyers, is presently confounded by other factors.... the economy slowing and stock market tanking among them. I noted in the market a couple weeks ago that Circuit City announced that their sales/earnings would show lower numbers due to surprisingly poor sales during September; I rather suspect there's a parallel there between stock equity losses depressing people from upbeat non-essential item buying for Circuit City PC's, TV's, VCR's, etc and many similar categories in internet auctions. (Of course CC's stock price tanked on this warning, too, further reducing disposable income and depressing individuals heavy in CC stock, round and round in the circle game..)
Third, on how to check Wallet balances, I sort of do a kludge on it... I go to any of my running listings and click on "Feature It"
Then, at the top of the box for typing in what you want to pay, is a clickable text "Check your balance."
Fourth, on usefulness of featuring, I think it partially depends on what you're selling and the way you list. One general type item I list has generally known collectible market values and I seem to do OK featuring a few items as true auctions with low start prices, no reserves, but featured. I've watched carefully on these and note that Yahoo buyers almost NEVER do effective sniping like is more common on eBay, possibly the concept has no area for easy discussion within Yahoo? Dunno, but it appears to me that even if visibly featured with a lot of page views, the price you see an hour or two before the end is very close to what you get, MOST of the time. However... if I feature something with a lower start price I do seem to get more bids and the presence of more bids increases the odds the listing gets rotated "out" into higher level "hot auction" listings. I think some surprising good results have come from that effect, that within a day or so I can see 50 or 100 extra page views, being added to a watch list or two, and bidding, and increased views of other auctions.
Another area I sell in that does NOT have any sort of known cataloging concept associated with it has simply sucked for the last couple months on Yahoo after doing OK through the summer, even with some featuring. I do almost strictly "first bid wins" there and don't dare try below-cost starts w/o reserves.
Knocking on wood.... at least Yahoo doesn't seem to have the sorts of system and data base crashes that constantly plague eBay, and to judge from the sudden complaints about AOL-using deadbeats on eBay, a bunch of the problem buyers do seem to have been run away to grace eBay instead of Yahoo. (AOL on eBay doesn't require a credit card for bidding...).
~
Later, ioughta
