posted on October 23, 2000 10:13:37 PM
I've been looking forward to November for SIX MONTHS... I've been accumulating hundreds of DVDs and videos for the pre-Christmas shopping period.
I was going to start next week. Now I'm not so sure.
Does anyone believe that eBay will have these "functionality" issues cleared up in a week?
Right now I've almost made up my mind to wait and see... Perhaps ten days.
My current auctions are doing okay... In fact, some of them are doing great. But I'll never know if that $24 item might have sold for $10 or $20 more if eBay had been running smoothly 24/7.
Another reason for all sellers to start their items at the lowest acceptable price. You "one-cent" sellers have my sympathies. Too much risk there for me!
"My possessions are causing me suspicion." - Neil Finn
posted on October 23, 2000 11:17:45 PM
waspstar
I started selling on eBay last december and basically missed xmas, but was there in time to see what I missed. Have been thinking about it ever since and started getting ready about a month ago.
With all the problems and todays revelation about turning off view other auctions. I sent a email to eBay saying I would not list anything until their site is functional for at least a week straight. Judging by this past week its not worth it.
I'm going to spend the next two weeks writing Yahoo auctions. Always thought there wasn't time but now I guess eBay made the time for me, plus Yahoo is completely free! Whats to lose.
Until recently we have been totally dependent on eBay, we have started "testing the waters" on other sites but haven't really gotten serious about it.
It usually takes at least a month of large postings to get results and start building a following, so this eBay thing happened just in time to get ready for xmas somewhere else too. I'm now looking at it as an opportunity maker.
Maybe Yahoo will end up as a big xmas bonus, or possibly 50/50 with eBay. But wait! If its 50/50 and Yahoo is free, I will drop ebaY like the dead-beat bidder they are!
Also, Sunday before last, when ebaY was partially down and couldn't post or get any work done. Found myself at the computer with actual leisure time! Started looking for a dvd movie (that I would probably never have time to watch). Found a few cheap deals but the shipping was 4 bucks. They all had deals on free shipping for multiple winners, but couldn't look at their auction lists. Guess what? I found myself shopping on Yahoo for the first time ever!
posted on October 23, 2000 11:55:22 PM
bidding in my category has been WAY down. I still list, but only out of force of habit.
You should write your auctions so that they can be posted on ebay OR yahoo. no ebay specifics in the auction, no 'look at my other auctions' link (ebay provides it anyway), no mention of ebay at all. I advise using a blank pic for your picture and including the pictures inline using the IMG tag - this also allows you to push your TOS below the image - get them looking at the item as soon as possible. Don't rely on site-specific pic hosting - that ties you to one site. Instead, shoot for HTML that you can cut from an eBay auction and paste right into a yahoo auction.
Notice that I didn't mention amazon. amazon auctions are toast.
posted on October 24, 2000 12:20:44 AM
Dave
Good point, we write all original html for auctions, but from here on will make them "generic", especially since the "view other auctions" doesn't work on ebaY anyway.
Also, I just figured out something on my bottom line, even if Yahoo has $300 less in sales I am still $200 ahead a month because they have no fees!
All those fees add up in a hurry.
Everybody should keep that in mind when considering a new site, especially when one site is sticking you with fees when they are down.
