reddeer
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posted on October 25, 2000 03:35:06 PM
Off the AB .........
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml
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runaroundsue
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:00:17 PM
That should be interesting...I've never been very good at setting prices...I usually lowball the items and am pleasantly surprised with the auction outcomes.
Not talking traditional book values, but what would you price a "Bottle Cap Man" at, for instance?
Could be a nice feature for quick turnover and re-investment though.
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reddeer
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:19:28 PM
I'll never use it, it's a great retail tool, but not too good for antiques & collectibles. I often have items finish at 2-10 times what my opening bid amount [aka Buy It Now] is. Gotta luv them nutso bidders!
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runaroundsue
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:26:16 PM
So true.
It will be interesting to see what pricing wars will erupt between the sellers of wholesale goods, if that is the group that will primarily use this feature.
Won't be much different than RL and seeing who can be the biggest and compete the best.
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brighid868
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:27:52 PM
I'm happy. I have wanted to get this feature for a long time. However, I'm confused by this part--the Buy it now thingie isn't available after a bid has been placed? That sux. Yahoo's way is better. Ebay needs to rethink this idea real fast.
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VeryModern
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:28:07 PM
did everyone catch that it is free *during this promotion*.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
There is no end to the suckering is there?
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runaroundsue
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:29:53 PM
Nope, you got me VeryModern....LOL.
Shoulda known better.
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amy
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:30:41 PM
YUCK!!!!!
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VeryModern
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:34:21 PM
that's right! For just another dolla' you can snatch the buyer right out from under your competition.
OR
You can go to Yahoo and do it for free.
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VeryModern
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:37:32 PM
and I love this bit too:
...Buy It Now is an exciting enhancement to eBay because it gives buyers a unique opportunity to buy items in tim...
Just what is unique about paying retail?
LOLOLOL! Who are they kidding, this is high comedy.
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danilynn71
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:41:03 PM
I am interested to see if this has any inpact on bids. No more waiting till the end to snipe at the starting bid???
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reddeer
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:46:13 PM
I doubt many sellers wil use it, even during the free promotional period.
What I don't understand is why they had to drop this bomb right before Xmas.? Seems like just one more new feature to fung up the system.
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krs
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:49:01 PM
It's a good thing as done in Yahoo because you can set the buyprice wherever you please, unrelated to reserve which is also set individually.
So set a reserve as you might otherwise, but set the buyprice much higher, higher than you would ever expect to get.
Once in a while someone wants the thing a lot or doesn't like bid competion and makes the buyprice bid. Auction over.
Other bidders think that the buyprice is the reserve and they can freely fool around below that, but Surprise!! They bought at reserve if noone else bids.
Other interested bidders see the reserve met, and begin to bid as in auction, able to ignore the buyprice.
Pay for it? Sorry Ebay. I've paid you enough.
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amy
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posted on October 25, 2000 04:58:09 PM
So...is it high comedy on Yahoo too?
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krs
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posted on October 25, 2000 05:03:08 PM
What good is any of it, Amy, if you can't have fun?
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VeryModern
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posted on October 25, 2000 05:04:26 PM
amy - I love the buy price. I run 90% 1st bid wins auctions on Yahoo and have for months.
The "high comedy" I referred to is when they act like buying something for a set price is innovative, or as they state "unique". That someone would pen that and imagine people would be nodding in agreement, to me is very very funny.
An item with a price on it that you have to pay if you want it? This is a special opportunity?
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Borillar
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posted on October 25, 2000 05:11:45 PM
As a Seller of New Items, I am happy to hear that eBay is finally taking some positive steps towards users for a change.
I hope that the statement, " . . . will be offered free during the holiday promotion." really does not indicate that they will start charging a fee for its use after the Holidays (whenever that is). I, for one, will be suing it while it is free. When it is no longer free, I will not use it.
I think that eBay will end up giving it away for free in the long-run. We Sellers and Buyers alike are so used to being without it and it is just not an indispensible tool for buying or selling. In the end, I think that eBay will have to conclude the same thing.
Thanks, reddeer, for posting this topic!
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franko122
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posted on October 25, 2000 05:20:52 PM
I cant believe they plan to charge for this. Someone please explain that one to me?
That's like trying to charge bidders to use the search functionality. Dumb. This feature I see as being very helpful to both bidders and eBay. Obvouisly us sellers have been getting along for years here on eBay without it.
Yes I do think it's needed, but no charges please!!!!!
If I'm wrong, please tell me why I should pay for this feature. I am not just saying this because I dont want to give them any more money. I am willing to pay for things such as featured category and such, but this just seems like it should become a part of their base service they offer us.
Thanks,
Franko
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macandjan
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posted on October 25, 2000 05:27:29 PM
I can do the same thing for free by saying I will end the auction when I see I have a bid.
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genxmike
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posted on October 25, 2000 05:40:51 PM
I can see this being a good idea for Xmas when buyers need the item right away. But I hope they do not implement it as a permanent fixture. I think it will kill the auction feel of eBay if people no longer have to bid on items.
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franko122
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posted on October 25, 2000 05:41:33 PM
Heck, we could probably ask John at eBud to do this and save the fees, and have it done automatically.
eBay will probably make this against the rules too once they start offering this feature for 25 cents.
franko
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RainyBear
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posted on October 25, 2000 05:45:16 PM
Oh great... this should increase the frequency of bidders emailing during the auction and saying, "I'll give you $X.00 for your item if you'll end the auction early."
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wednesdey
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posted on October 25, 2000 06:08:29 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong.. But this feature is only good for the FIRST bid? It's not a "take-it" price, so that if one person bids and doesn't meet that "take-it" price the "buy it now" feature is OVER??
Sounds like just another way for eBay to make more $ .. and also will promote a lot of "play around buyers" to bid on everyone's auctions just to ruin the "buy it now" feature for sellers..
Gee.. what else can eBay possibly do to ruin the auction experience?
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mballai
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posted on October 25, 2000 06:42:02 PM
I'm wondering what the fee will be. Actually one might just very well factor that in on the buy price. Just pass it along to the buyer I guess.
I don't like the idea of charging for that on top of the regular fees. It costs them next to nothing to implement it: a data field and a few lines of code.
It guarantees more stuff can sell; a lot of folks just hate waiting for the end of an auction or getting outbid by someone. And it may force higher prices as someone has to foot the tab and we sellers are being fee'd to death already.
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toyranch-07
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posted on October 25, 2000 07:16:33 PM
The fee will, of course, be a new revenue stream for them, but it will also discourage people from placing absurd 'Buy it now' prices on things.
Most of the time I have 'auctions' with a low starting bid and no reserve.
Sometimes I have a high opening bid. I'm really looking for a buyer, not a bidder. I had a bidder the other day who bid $95 in an auction that started at $95. His bid stood for 5 days and then he was sniped by a dollar at the end. Frankly, I would have preferred to close the auction out 5 days earlier and sell it to the first guy. Now he's frustrated because he waited 5 days to buy a $95 item for $95 and he go snuffed out of the deal and now he has to go find another one.
I almost emailed him after he placed his bid and asked him if he wanted me to close the auction and sell it to him at his bid. I wish I had.
With this feature, I don't have to screw with that, I can just sell it to him through the system.
It also works like an auction estimate, in a way. Many auction houses give presale estimates in their catalogs. I know that I have auctions which start at a dollar and go to $200 or more at times. I get questions from people who don't know the value and they ask me 10 questions and then place a $10 bid and are outbid right away. Putting a "Buy it now" price in sets something of a standard for the bidding. It can be used as a marketing tool much as presale estimates are used in real auctions.
Finally, it also may bring back more browsing and buying to the site. People scanning for 'buy it now' deals on items with a greater value.
I think it will be great for my antique and collectible sales.
http://www.millionauctionmarch.com/
[email protected]
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jwpc
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posted on October 25, 2000 07:22:24 PM
I'd heard about this, but obviously something official has been posted, somebody please let me know where the official notification is. Thanks!
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jwpc
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posted on October 25, 2000 07:26:56 PM
Never mind, I see Red Deer has the link at the top....thanks!
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uaru
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posted on October 25, 2000 07:27:56 PM
I'll never use it as a seller. As a buyer it will be interesting, a case of seeing which seller offers the item for less.
Imagine a flea market where the list price on an item could be compared with another identical item in the flea market with the press of a key. "Buy it now" on eBay won't be to the seller's advantage in my opinion, but then I'm a buyer much of the time.
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Glenda
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posted on October 25, 2000 07:29:56 PM
wednesdey: You're correct. If a person bids instead of "buying it now," then the "buy it now" link will go away and the auction will proceed as normal.
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imabrit
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posted on October 25, 2000 07:31:05 PM
I was just thinking if you offer a buy it now price.Does that mean then that it can no longer be considered an auction.
Therefore would this eliminate the possible need for an auctioneers license we have all been talking about.
As I have never seen a brick and mortar site do that.
I think it could change the thinking of the people looking at the auction laws as they relate to ebaY and us again.
Adrian
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