I would like to see AU get off the ground. I think it would keep Ebay fit and trim as well.
 

I don't edit posts, and if I did it would indicate as such.

There's nothing wrong with your post Dave and it will stick. You perhaps are referring to the removal of your post in the wanted section which contained an inappropriate proposal to purchase pictures of other AW members.

This is a violation of the member agreement you had to read in order to gain membership on this board, and I take it very seriously. It is also why your username was deleted.

I don't know why you posted such a thing, nor do I care. Keep it off of my board and your posts and membership will remain active.
 

On eBay the item was relisted and brought in 19.99 with one bid.

On AU my item was relisted and brought in 20.00 with one bid.

I found my buyer was an old eBayer and still active on eBay.

One item doesn't make for a great comparison, but that's the only one I've tried.
 

First, let me say for a non-AU guy, you're pretty close on the facts ... but not perfect.

AU is not owned by Time Warner, it is owned Times-Mirror. No big deal -- Time Warner is a little bit bigger -- primarily in the movie-TV arena. Times Mirror is still a multi-billion dollar publisher with lots of magazines (Sporting News, Field and Stream = others) and newspapers (LA Times, Hartford Courant, Baltimore Sun, Newsday + more). We are also partnering with other magazines (Whites Guide, Tuff Stuff, Wizard, and more), newspapers (St. Louis Post Dispatch, Minneapolis Star Tribune, McClatchy Newspapers[Nando Net] and more.

Enough about that:-)

There are other areas of error.

For the last ten days, our users have had access to the best... and I mean the best ... auction management program around.

Sneaky Dave said you couldn't edit an auction... you can now completely edit an auction without even having to admit you made an error (unless the auction has obtained a bid -- then you can post an addendum like eBay) This means price, picture, closing date, reserve or not, shipping fee, complete description.

You could even hold a declining bid auction using this method over 14 days. Start something at $100 and knock it down $5 a day until the 14 days (maximum) are up.

We also allow you to set the date and time the auction begins. One can do some really cool stuff with our auction management.

Finally, Dave, I have no doubt that as an early (or earlier) adopter of AU, you got some "house money" because we were passing it around to those who worked with us on market research, those who had registered from the old AU (prior owner) and a few who came in just asking for it in return for promises to list.

Fortunately for us, those days are past.

There are some promotions and if you're one of those folks interested and can't wait... post me. Otherwise, hold on here a week or so and I'm hoping I can convince Mark to share some listing bonuses with his readers. (Don't twist my arm too hard, Mark:-)

Finally, regarding sell though ... Dave is right. Our sell through overall is competitive with eBay. I.e - We have categories where more than 75 percent of the items listed sell. You can pretty much tell which categories those are because they are the hottest ones with the most listings.

Righ now ebay does have an advantage in some of our smaller categories because we don't offer the selection they do. It is selection of merchandise that entices people to register and buy from your auction.

Dave, I think, said he thought we didn't do the advertising in collectible glass that we do, say in comic books.

I can say two things. First, I'm already looking for a place on the web to advertise for collectible glass buyers. (We already do some in the antique/collectible magazine area which includes McCoy, etc.)

Second, I would love to coordinate that advertising with the committment of a dozen or so folks to list so that when I do advertise to glass buyers, they'll be a nice selection, aggressively priced (open bid) when they come.

That's enough for now. I am very pleased about the messages on AU. Do keep them coming. And if you have a question you think I can answer, don't hesistate to post me.

G. Patton Hughes
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by neomax (edited 09-04-98).]