posted on August 15, 2000 09:34:06 AM new
Dear fellow sellers: I am including the copy of the e-mail we received yesterday from Jeff Bezos - go to the link for proposed new navigation - keep reading - look at the new setup - AUCTIONS are not on a link on the first page - ZSHOPS are, other sites are, but you have to click on DIRECTORY to finally get to the AUCTION LINK.
This means many potential bidders will get hung up on the first page and NEVER FIND THE AUCTIONS - at best, you have to go deeper into the site to find AUCTIONS!
MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD NOW! THEY ARE ASKING, WE WILL REPLY! WE ALREADY WROTE TO PROTEST AUCTIONS BEING PUT ON A SECONDARY PAGE.
We're writing to ask for your help. Over the last few months, we've
tested several new navigational systems for Amazon.com, looking for a
way to make it easier for you to get around our store. (By
"navigational system," I'm talking about the tabs at the top of our
home page.)
We think we've found a winner--feedback from hundreds of customers in
our testing has already been very positive. But we wouldn't want to
make such a change to how our store works without first consulting
you to see what you thought. So we'd sure appreciate it if you could
take a few minutes to check it out. Just stop by:
http://www.amazon.com/new-navigation
Then please drop us a line telling us what you think. E-mail your
comments to [email protected].
Many thanks for helping us make Amazon.com the best store it can be.
Sincerely,
Jeff Bezos
Founder and CEO, Amazon.com
PS: We hope you enjoyed receiving this message. However, if you'd
rather not receive future notices of this sort from Amazon.com,
please visit your Amazon.com Subscriptions page and sign in using
your e-mail address and password:
http://www.amazon.com/subscriptions
Please note that this message was sent to the following e-mail
address:
posted on August 23, 2000 12:15:48 AM new
Again, I wonder how you're defining failure. Going from 0 to 750,000 auctions in a year and a few months seems like a pretty good start to me. Hard to believe there would be this many listed auctions if no one is selling anything.
posted on August 23, 2000 05:34:08 AM new
Look at the numbers of the items that are actually bid on (which DOESN'T mean that they're actually sold, because of reserves). Hard to believe or not, I've seen other people's numbers, and I've verified them myself periodically. They are simply PATHETIC, and they're real, and to whomever is doing well on this site, more power to you. And why is it hard to believe that an auction site run by a company that's losing 100 MILLION dollars a month is not succeeding? What has this company yet succeeded at besides creating a bogus aura for themselves?
posted on August 23, 2000 06:32:40 AM new
I wondered what happened to the Auctions. With this format, I don't see how anyone will find them. I just started listing on Amazon but I expect I won't do so anymore.
posted on August 23, 2000 08:53:57 AM new
I'm afraid I rather agree with TenTwenty. I was an EXTREME booster of Amazon when it first opened. PEople attacked me for it, in fact, felt I was disloyal to Ebay.
I had all kinds of great hopes for Amazon. I had enjoyed them as a customer. But the very first step they made, those Charter Sellers - shocked me. Very high priced, boring merchandise, I felt exploited (as a buyer). They sold me like chattel and didn't much care if I got a good deal or not. I did feel safer than at Ebay - but ripped off anyway.
It never got much traction past those early days. There were only a few months in the beginning where I felt as if the site was growing. A few sellers made a few sales. Otherwise, it's been in almost constant decline with respect to attractiveness as a buying site. They've used up a lot of goodwill. The rotate sellers like crops.
There were conceptual, mechanical and design problems that have never been fixed. The collaborative filtering that seemed to work so well for Amazon's own business failed, IMHO. It was so upsetting to use, I didn't enjoy browsing.
The sell-through rates reported by sellers was always pretty awful. You could see page after page of ending auctions with no bids at all. I think it's still that way, a year+ later. Now they propose to get the stink off the front page by burying "Auctions" in type near the bottom of the list. I had to search for it.
I am surprised Amazon hasn't already folded their tents, like AuctionUniverse/Auctions,.com. They also had design problems and never got a day of traction. It was all just a big hole in the balance sheet.
I'm very very sad over Amazon's latest changes. I think it sounds a death knell over the auctions business. They're seeking more big partners now, just as Ebay has done. They will open up their own Toys site, Cars site, everything site.
posted on August 23, 2000 09:36:51 AM new
It was great to see so much input on this subject - but, unfortunately, it is not happy camper input.
We started last May on Amazon and were part of the initial rush - it was great!
Since then, like many of you, we weathered the ups and downs all the way to this point.
Our sales are way down and now, since initiating this new tab system, we have no bids at all - all week.
We recently became "Auction Pros" - they actually insist you make a certain quota of money/sales per month to maintain this status - then they implement changes that will doom your sales and knock you out of a position you have earned with hard work and perseverence, as well as loyalty.
In fact, we took about 10 auctions from Amazon over to eBay this week and many sold almost instantly.
We will leave a skeleton listing of about 15 items on Amazon to test the waters and to observe the direction this is heading in.
It is so sad when people who know nothing about the online auction business take charge of making changes and decisions that so adversely affect this venue.
We have met so many great people here on the boards, great, regular and devoted customers, it will be with regret if we have to close down completely and move everything to eBay.
Nothing we sellers have ever suggested or complained about has been addressed in the past, now we witness another brick in the wall - we cannot smash through it, we may just have to back away and go in another direction.
posted on August 23, 2000 10:13:02 AM new
I am EXTREMELY sad about this, to be truthful. I'd really thought Amazon could do this. When they opened, I urged dozens of my favorite sellers at Ebay to jump on board.
Alas, this venue started wrong and never recovered, IMHO. Now I'm really wondering about the rest of the business. Can they do any of it?
posted on August 23, 2000 12:51:26 PM new
With the announcement that Amazon.com is selling cars too maybe there will be a whole new crop of buyers to see our auctions and zShops on Amazon.com. What do you all think? Plus, with Amazon.com able to get so much money for one of their navigation tabs, they might even be able to expand into more markets.
This morning I learned that Greenlight will pay Amazon $15.25 million to become a tab on the site for two years, according to Amazon spokesman Bill Curry.
posted on August 23, 2000 07:58:13 PM new
Curry announced all of the Amazon joint ventures that they are quote "getting paid for" unquote for the past year, including joint ventures with 2 companies that are now in Chapter 11. Only trouble about them were, they were typical Amazon bogus transactions. Last month after the bankruptcy of their furniture venture, Amazon disclosed (before the SEC did) that these transactions were 90% PAPER as in stock, which in EACH AND EVERY CASE of their joint ventures made the transactions either worth a LOT less than they originally announced because of drops in the underlying stocks, or in a few cases, WORTHLESS, actually costing Amazon money...
Amazon creative bookkeeping again, as if the few million dollars (even if they actually got paid, which they didn't), wouldn't make much of a dent in the $100,000,000 a month they lose... That's a LOT of zeroes, isn't it...
You believe any seemingly positive statement from Bezos' scam artists, I have a nice bridge to sell you (I'm still trying to get rid of that bridge, Watafind)...
posted on August 25, 2000 04:55:36 PM new
I could sympatise with all of you until the past few weeks. Wake up. Amazon does not want our business and in fact, never did. They make money selling someone else's junk.
I had the same feelings when I knew I had to return to ebay but even at their worst, they do better and treat people more fairly than amazon ever did. Sad? No. Not anymore. Not when I finally understood what they, amazon, were trying to say.
Their silence spoke volumes..............
Jupiter, I thought you were long gone by now.
Happy Trails.
[ edited by millicent_roberts on Aug 25, 2000 04:57 PM ]
posted on August 25, 2000 09:01:37 PM new
Can you describe the bridge? Will it fit in an envelope or Box?
Has it been used or is it new?
By the Way, YAHOO is doing great for me! I signed up for the PayDirect and got a great symbol next to my auctions. I think this is calling attention to them.
