posted on October 6, 2001 10:21:45 PM new
A logical (for AW) - but very sad - decision to draw a line in the dirt. Checkout will be a direct competitor to current AW Post Sale Features, and it's only reasonable that AW needs to maintain that service in order to justify the increased costs of the BE plan or a proposed new Power Plan.
The good side for AW users is that current Power Plan will not expire any earlier than next March, and there will be adequate opportunity for the large volume listers to give Checkout a fair shot before contracting for BE.
posted on October 9, 2001 04:19:32 PM new
If the Checkout at Ebay is mandatory (which it is, seeing as how it will be on every page), then how are we going to list through Auction Watch if you aren't going to update for it? Don't get me wrong, I don't even want the darn thing. I totally see why it would tick you guys off to have to change things around all the time to suit Ebay. But since most of your auctions are listed at Ebay, how can you not fix this so we can use you? Will I just have to find another host and service? It is alot easier to find them than another auction venue, sad to say. I don't want to have a blank checkout if it is going to be on my auction page regardless of whether I want a checkout or not. I can't even go in and revise them after they are listed thanks to Ebays technical glitches. So what are all the folks that use you guys supposed to do? I figured I would have an easier time getting an answer from you than Ebay.
posted on October 9, 2001 05:58:37 PM new
Thanks for answering so quickly Christopher. Ebays announcement about checkout states:"Sellers may select to not provide Checkout information such as shipping & handling, sales tax, and insurance when listing an item. Even if sellers do not provide Checkout details, buyers will be able to access Checkout from closed listing pages, My eBay, and End of Auction notices. They may use Checkout in this case to send sellers their shipping address and request more information. Sellers can respond using their current methods."<p>The checkout will appear on EVERY auction, whether the seller chooses to enter the info in or not. The buyer always has the option of using it, and if the seller doesn't have the info in there the seller is going to look unprofessional. I don't want to have that thing on my page, and not have the correct info in it if a customer chooses to use it.
So buyers will have the option to use the Buyer end of this new feature even if the seller chooses not to use in in their listings. It sounds like it will not show in your actual auctions, much like your WBN here does not show in your actual auctions, rather just an available tool when the auction closes.
So, if your main concern is looking unprofessional because these will be in your auctions, it doesn't sound like they will.
It does sound like they are going to be giving buyers a means of contacting the sellers before they even have a chance of sending any post sale notices of their own, causing a lot of double-work for the seller and buyer if users choose not to use eBay's own tools.
posted on October 9, 2001 07:10:33 PM new
The unprofessional thing comes in when the buyer wants to use this at the end of the auction, and finds the information not there. I know it is not your fault, the whole thing stinks. But that still doesn't answer my question. If it is there and my customer wants to use it (my customers are always right), I would like to have the info there. I won't be able to do that listing through Auction Watch. Maybe I am alone here now, but I see this as becoming a HUGE problem when it is actually implemented. Not just for the sellers who use 3rd party listing tools, but for the 3rd parties themselves! I think some buyers will like it, and my main goal is to please them (even if I hate using the darn thing). Other Ebay listers may feel the same way when this thing does come out. Is there any hope that Auction Watch is going to help it's users here?
We will certainly forward on a request for it to be added to the site in the future, however we cannot give any ETA on when or if this would be added to the site.
Ideally, when this does go live, it will indicate that the seller has opted out of using it, rather than submitting a form to them with all blank spaces. Hopefully eBay would see that as appearing unprofessional as well.
posted on October 9, 2001 07:38:48 PM new
Thanks Christopher. I understand why you guys wouldn't want to do it. I suspect alot of customers will want to use it, though, and I will just have to figure out a way to give my customers what they want. Thats my job.
posted on October 9, 2001 08:51:55 PM new
I understand that they will not be showing Paypal as an option.....that we will have to use OTHER, and hope the buyer clicks to see what OTHER is. The eBay Checkout will promote Billpoint. Is that they way you guys understand it?
posted on October 10, 2001 05:41:40 AM new
There's a thread over on the Ebay message board started by Jerry that shows what your auction page will look like when you have not filled out the Checkout information. I don't think there is any opting out of this as some form of Checkout will be on every auction page. It will appear at the bottom of the page after the description according to this thread. Then, when the auction closes, Checkout jumps up to the top of your page, eagerly awaiting your buyer to fill it out! YUCK!
posted on October 10, 2001 11:06:57 AM new
Maybe it is time to leave Auctionwatch and go with Ebay's services if they are unwilling to add this new new feature.
Below is right from Ebay:
When will seller tools support Checkout and the new eBay Payments?
The Sell Your Item form fully supports Checkout and new eBay Payments features at launch. Mr. Lister and Seller's Assistant products will fully support Checkout and eBay Payments changes shortly after the initial Checkout launch. For tools provided by third parties, we are giving providers 30 days notice. If these providers belong to eBay's API program, they will have access to our system to help prepare for the feature change. To find out if your tool will be affected, we recommend you check with your service provider.
posted on October 10, 2001 11:28:08 AM new
You know, I might be interested in using EBay's tools instead of paying a third party, but EBay's tools suck.
Their Auction Assistant is buggy, full of holes, doesn't let you make your own templates, the templates that it provides are pieces of crud and it doesn't have any post sale dealings.
Their 'checkout' option serves Billpoint, so if you'd prefer to use Paypal you're just out of luck.
I don't even like the way that Billpoint handles things, or else I might use them. I just don't understand how, if EBay is the biggest auction site around they don't provide all of the necessary tools in one place.
posted on October 10, 2001 11:40:12 AM new
I use Billpoint and have had no problems so far. 40% of my buyers choose this service.
I will keep my fingers cross and hope Auctionwatch will allow us at least the option of using CHECK OUT.
As for Ebay's auction tools, I used to be a subscriber when Blackthorne owned Auction Assistant. As for the bugs, Auctionwatch has sure had their fair share!
posted on October 10, 2001 11:51:50 AM new
We really do not want to use anything that promotes Billpoint, as we used it for a while and had so many problems we disonciuned it, HOWEVER the checkout is a nice feature and AW should incorporate it now that they are API.
AW is close to being the best 3rd party service provider around, mainly becasue of ease of use, although they too have many problems.
It seems inconceivable to me, that being an API provider with eBay, that they will not incorporate this funtion for the sellers.
With the huge amount of noise going on at eBay message center, and the impact this will have if they indeed force everyone into using their own system tools/payment options we will continue to allow feedback on this issue in this thread.
If however you would like to start a new thread to leave feedback for us on implementing this checkout process into the system, please do so in the feedback forum.
posted on October 11, 2001 03:40:19 AM new
Here is my concern. I am a seller who lists 150 auctions per week. Ebay is forcing a CHECKOUT option which is going to change things. For one, I use Billpoint and the PAY IT NOW BUTTON will be gone as well as the ability to send Billpoint invoices because these things are now to be implemented in the CHECKOUT OPTION. This will mean that I have to manually REVISE every auction that I list through Auctionwatch and manually update the CHECKOUT OPTION that will APPEAR ON EVERY AUCTION (like it or not) because Auctionwatch does not want to add this feature. Am I the only one that is concerned?
posted on October 11, 2001 10:58:40 AM new
Heavens no maplelaffs! Any seller that uses a 3rd party listing service is going to have to put in alot of extra work. There are many Auctionwatch and Ebay users that don't read these threads. They don't even realize the work we are going to have to put into this thing most of us don't even want. When it is actually implemented, other sellers are going to figure out how complicated this whole thing is. I wonder how many sellers out there won't know a thing about it until the checkouts show up on their auctions. I reckon we will be hearing from many more users shortly.
posted on October 11, 2001 11:36:18 AM new
I pay auctionwatch to make my life easier as an Ebay seller. I am not looking forward to manually adjusting 150 auctions per week!
Ebay is FORCING us to use this. Having it at the bottom of each of my listings with everything left blank because Auctionwatch won't add this feature, will make me look very unprofessional.
Auctionwatch, please consider adding the this new feature (checkout). Let your users decide individually if they want it or not.
At least give us the choice.
