posted on October 26, 2000 08:37:42 PM
Okay a number here have been touting Yahoo as the place to be when ebaY is down and that sales are great for them.
Here's my take on this.
YAHOO 36 items listed 0 bids.
Lots of lookers but no bidders.
EBAY 36 items 26 with bids total sales 430.00
auctions end in a few hours.
Both sites have the same identical items all priced the same.Some are even lower on Yahoo
too see who will take the bait.
So still with all the pain in the rear problems with ebaY its still the place to be.
Sales by weeks end should be on ebaY approx 5,000 everywhere else NADA not a dime.
posted on October 26, 2000 09:01:19 PM
How long ago did you list the Yahoo items, Adrian? I thought you just posted them a couple of days ago?
I will agree with you that Yahoo is the also-ran compared with ebay. But, it isn't entirely without buyers, at least not in my experience.
I've made 6 sales in the last 10 days over there. These were all items, BTW, that had been through ebay twice. I sold them all with first bid wins, FYI.
Make that 7 sales! YAY!
[ edited by fountainhouse on Oct 26, 2000 09:04 PM ]
posted on October 26, 2000 10:16:24 PM
I agree that if you have items that will get bids on eBay, you'll do better there.
Still, I have items that have been though the ebay mill once or twice, and IMHO after that I might as well just hunt Meg down and throw quarters at her. Instead, I move those items to Yahoo.
I have 250 or so there right now. I sell 1 every other day or so, often after having been listed for over a month. In a way, I consider Yahoo to be my 'outlet store'. That works because of no fees. 10 day auctions with 2 automatic relists effectively meen a 30 day listing. resubmitting a batch of expired auctions is an easy nightly chore.
It's just a different mindset. Yahoo has different action and serves a different purpose.
posted on October 26, 2000 10:28:41 PM
Dave..I'm not questioning your strategy, just wondering....
You say you sell one item every other day, so your selling about 15 items a month. You currently have 250 items sitting on Yahoo and it seems from what your saying that the items sit for a month or so before they even sell.
What I'm wondering..why are you letting that stuff sit around...cluttering up where ever you store your merchandise and tying up your money? Once it has gone around a couple times on ebay why not just wholesale it out at a local auction, get it out of your life and house, and get back some of your money so you can buy more things that will sell fast?
Like I said, I'm not finding fault with you, just trying to understand your stategy.
posted on October 26, 2000 10:45:29 PM
I had the same experience with Yahoo. I would love to have a second EFFECTIVE place to sell. With all the eBau outages I will give it another try but they just don't seem to buy tools on Yahooooooo.
posted on October 26, 2000 11:04:19 PM
I do just as well on one as the other I just market it a different way. What changes Yahoo the most is that first bid first win thing (there are other thinds also). They are going to start doing that on Ebay now which will change the market a great deal at least for common things that are sold on ebay. It seems that most of what is sold on Ebay is getting common these days. Plus most people won't want to wait after they get used to the 'new" way and will pass up the bidding wars for the satification of getting it now for more common things. It will also make them smarter shoppers. We all like Ebay because of the bidding wars. I know I do. However there are sellers that won't care and they will put it up pay this and boom they have our bidder. More power to them. This will all take time to change it won't happen over night, but the two markets will be very similiar then. Not a real bad thing, but as the market changes sellers will have to roll with it.
The turn over on Yahoo might be a little slower instead of 10 days (I do 10 day auctions on Ebay.) It might sell right away or in a few weeks. Either way I am making more money with it then I would anywhere else (include local auctions). Quite a bit of them I have more then one item so after it is sold I just resubmitted and don't have to redo all the work. If I know there is not going to be a bidding war or have a good idea of that I don't use Ebay usually. That doesn't mean it is junk its not or second rate. It is just more common (still flea market auction kind of stuff), but not that hard to find. It also doesn't mean people don't want it. They want it for a deal. That is fine as long as I am still making a profit and I am and Yahoo is set up for that kind of market.
Now, I could care less who tries ot doesn't try Yahoo (don't mean to sound rude it just want you to know that I am not trying to push Yahoo.) After all I am not stupid. The more sellers over their after they learn to sell in a different market the more competition. Though not afraid of it I am not going to invite it or push it over there. I am happy with both Yahoo and Ebay. For people that don't make a profit on Yahoo then of course it really isn't worth their being or selling there. That is simple. It is a different market. Maybe not one fitted to their needs or maybe their thinking is to rigid to get out of the one mode of thinking who knows. For the people that seem to have a need to get down on Yahoo and Yahoo sellers grow up. I am not Donald trump and wouldn't want to be, but more power to him. Just cause I can't do what he is doing doesn't mean he isn't having a ball and profiting. If Yahoo isn't your thing just leave it alone.
With the new function that Ebay is putting on their sight that will change things on Ebay much more than many believe. I think the sellers that are doing making a profit on Yahoo now may be be more ready to deal with the market changes. All that need to will adapt though. It is the survival gene kicking in.
posted on October 27, 2000 12:24:21 AM
bAnd how long did it take you to build a clientele on ebaY ??? And how many people know you are selling stuff like this on Yahoo??? And how much did it cost you while you were working on building a following on Yahoo?
Why do you ALL think you will get instant results? It took well over two years of concerted effort on the part of a couple of hundred thousand people to BUILD ebaY into a site where folks could come, list and sell. You all want shake and bake with NO effort on your part.
Check out BargainTownLiquidations who sell on both ebaY and Yahoo. Guess what folks - they sell nearly 100% of their stuff on BOTH sites. Look and learn - adjust your strategies to fit the sites - they are NOT the same. Invest a little time and effort, and stop thinking everything gets handed to you on a silver platter.
Don't want to do it - fine continue to list on and get abused by ebaY - your perogative - but comparisons like this are scurrilous. -Rosalinda
(edited to add - yes I DO have permission to post their name)
[ edited by rnrgroup on Oct 27, 2000 12:26 AM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 01:44:27 AM
ROZ..I don't know about anyone else, but I have never expected anything handed to me on a silver platter....but I also have no desire to build up someone elses business. I am doing this as MY business and therefore will go to the "mall" that has the traffic to establish my "shop". At the moment that happens to be Ebay.
I have no obligation to establish my shop at another mall that doesn't have the traffic, nor do I have an obligation to help build that mall...that is the job of the mall owner (in this case Yahoo). Let them make their mall worthwhile and then maybe they can entice me to move over there...but don't make it sound like I have to help them grow. That is their responsibility.
Also, it is my choice how I want to market my merchandise and if the selling strategy that must be used at Yahoo doesn't suit me then I have no obligation to do business there...or to adjust my strategies.
You seem to be angry that people won't go over to Yahoo...or angry that people report they aren't getting sales there.
You seem to think this is some kind of alturistic movement and people are supposed to forget they have bills to pay. Imabrit supports his family with his sales, he probably can't afford to invest much time in helping Yahoo grow. Why are you angry he reported his experience at yahoo? Or are we only allowed to see the glowing reports about yahoo.
From what I have seen on this and other boards, yahoo doesn't sound any better than ebay. Doesn't sound like they listen to their customers that much and they give canned responses too. What is so wonderful about them and other sites that any of us should change for? You may feel you are being abused by ebay but I don't share your feelings...so that is not a reason for me to change.
posted on October 27, 2000 02:34:54 AM
Well, someone has helped them grow! from the Auction Watch weekly newsletter this morning(are we allowed to quote from that ?) Yahoo has gone from 2,000 items listed last year to 3,000 items listed this year. Don't know how much the hits and sales have increased. I know somehow you can get there from the Tagnotes.Rosalinda?
So who has helped Yahoo grow the most ,do you think? I vote that it's ebay itself!
posted on October 27, 2000 03:28:50 AM
I use 1st Bid Wins, 10 day listings, 2 resubmits and have about 70 plus listings. Hope to increase that to 150 shortly and we'll see from there.
Mostly LPs, books and duplicate items that I have in quanity and are also listed on eBay.
Very uneven sales. Did have some multi items sales this week (6 albums of LP sets to one buyer and three pipes to another)but most weeks the dollar amount is well under $100. Had some liquidation inventory of $150. new electronics that did well on YAHOO but have run out of stock.
The greatest value of YAHOO, at present, for me is that it provides a productive outlet when eBay is having problems. I just go to YAHOO, do some listings and get a mental lift that I'm building towards a less eBay dependent future.
I'm following thru on a commitment to my self to list or otherwise dispose of all preowned inventory presently in my possession. After that I'll see what direction I take.
I expect it will include sharing new items that I acquire in quanity between eBay (auction) and YAHOO (1st Bid) with better preowned items going to auction at eBay and lessor preowned offered at 1st Bid on YAHOO. I look forward to exploring the "Buy Price" on eBay and also use Half.com for some items.
I would be hard pressed to justify my time involved at YAHOO if measured only in terms of present profitable usage versus the alternate of eBay.
I am fortunate to be able to make choices that include personal satisfaction. I have very strong feelings about what I consider ongoing intentional abuse of the small independent sellers by eBay.
Every listing/sale by me at YAHOO is an attempt to become independent of eBays domination and to make some small contribution towards a competative venue marketplace and not viewed as a short term rational business decision.
By using YAHOO I've regained my enjoyment for this work, make a few extra dollars and have achieved some detachment from what I consider is frequent insanity at eBay.
While more intangible than bottom line oriented this YAHOO activity has had an unexpected additional result. I'm becoming more productive at eBay. I go there, do some business and leave. Little or no involvement in their "folly of the week".
While this might not be much of a business plan and may offer nothing of use to others it is what is presently working for me.
I hope each of you will find solutions that meet your needs and will also share them with us.
posted on October 27, 2000 03:37:18 AMYahoo has gone from 2,000 items listed last year to 3,000 items listed this year.
Yes I've seen AW's article on Yahoo's increase from 2 million to 3 million items, I don't think that is the issue, the issue is buyers.
I like Auction Watch, and I'm very aware that eBay has dealt them some dirty deals, but its hard to turn my back on the advantages eBay offers me as a seller.
In the category I'd be listing on Yahoo there's 624 items with a total of 13 bids! I've got 11 items on eBay in the equivalent category these items have been up from 2 to 7 days and total 65 bids.
I don't like seeing eBay have a monopoly, I don't like what eBay has done to other companies with some tactics, and I don't know if I'm crazy about agreeing with Amy , but the buyers aren't on Yahoo from my observations. I'm not prepared to take the losses I'd experience on Yahoo, even if it might be a nobel cause.
posted on October 27, 2000 06:20:22 AM
bAnd how long did it take you to build a clientele on ebaY ??? >>
I would say about six weeks and it kept steadily rising. I have a lot of repeat customers over at Yahoo. I like that stabilty. I have one lady I can count on for at least 30.00 a week and another for about the same. Quite a few of my customers also came over from Ebay. Which is nice saves the fees.
And how many people know you are selling stuff like this on Yahoo???>>
Lots are most of what I sell on Yahoo is books. I think having a marketing degree and a business degree has helped a great deal. (never thought I would say those words ; ). Both on Yahoo and Ebay the difference I see is the way I market it. Howver, I have also watched what succesful sellers are doing.
Last week I had a book in Ebay there were maybe 150 more pretty much like it. Different editions etc. . . No one else hardly had any bids mine was up to forty dollars. However, I could have been just lucky. I do see both on Yahoo and Ebay a lot of sellers don't no how to take advatange and Title words and search engines. I had to study how search engines work and rank for my website. I think that has also help me sell on the auctions.
And how much did it cost you while you were working on building a following on Yahoo?
Nothing really I started selling right away at yahoo. I guess I was one of the lucky ones. What has increased is the number of items I sell. I would say depending how much time I have to work in Yahoo and put things up it is between 30-40 things a week. If I had more time I could easily increase that.
It took me awhile to get of my high horse and get to yahoo. Then it took me awhile to to actually take the advice of people that were selling over there. After I did that and let me ego get out of the way is when things really started to pick up. First rule of marketing is watch the succesful people and do what works. At least I used to have a professor that said that.
You are right MRgroup it wasn't instant on Yahoo. I did start making a profit right away but, to make it a worthwhile profit it took time. I am glad I took that time. I am glad I have a few places to put my eggs in. Makes my life a lot easier with the ebay instabilty problem.
For myself I think that most of the people that can't sell on Yahoo want it all now. Ebay has spoiled them it won't stay that way there either. Ebay will be around for quite a time but the times they are changing. Maybe the people that think there is only junk and can't make money on Yahoo were like I was and didn't want to take others advice on how to sell. I have refined most of what others have taught me, but it really has made a diffrence. Maybe they are to closed minded or maybe the market just doesn't suit their needs. Either way the only thing that matters to me as far as selling on line is that I am making a profit : ) of which I am at both places.
Have a nice day all Tracey
And how much did it cost you while you were working on building a following on Yahoo?
posted on October 27, 2000 06:33:41 AM
but the buyers aren't on Yahoo from my observations. I'm not prepared to take the losses I'd experience on Yahoo, even if it might be a nobel cause.>>
Good day to you. Just to know I don't sell on Yahoo for a nobel cause. Helping homeless animals, feeding homeless animals. Helping children that are beaten are cause that are nobel and my work on Yahoo helps me do that : ).
This tip may or not help you. I hope it does. You seem like a nice person. A lady came in to Yahoo one night and bought a few things from me. I was in a really good mood that night so, when I sent her the bill for the goods I gave her free shipping as a suprise. She now comes back and buys from me every week and spends a good amount. I have done that with a few others and it has worked well. It only cost me a few dollars and in the long run it has paid big time for me. Now of course not all I have done that with have come back. Many have. Helps to look and see if there are regular buyers on auctions by their feedback. I count on my repeat customers on Yahoo that helps a lot.
On eBay I am a power seller - in January of this year I tried out Yahoo because my elder son, who is 39, was using Yahoo and doing fantastic! I LOVE a challenge! I tried Yahoo I bombed, and left. I waited a couple of weeks and tried again, bombed, and left. THEN I got mad - I couldn't understand how he did so much and I couldn't give anything away. I determined to give it a very serious try - RULE one on YAHOO, LEAVE YOUR eBay ATTITUDE BEHIND - things do not work on Yahoo like eBay.
So, by the first of February this year I was determined to make Yahoo work for me. I lost the eBay attitude, worked on how to sell on Yahoo - and today 99% of my auctions are on YAHOO - and we have almost tripled our sales.
You can't bop over to Yahoo, give it a couple of weeks try and leave - especially if you are expecting Yahoo to work like eBay because it doesn't.
I still use eBay from time to time, but for us, YAHOO is where it is at - it is the 2nd to eBay in popularity, it is FREE, it produces when you mentally learn how to work the system, and last but NOT least, Yahoo doesn't crash, and if they did you wouldn't lose your listing fees.
Personally, I don't believe in posting income, I will say this, I do this full time, and have a full time employee to do all the packing - so I believe it is obvious, Yahoo produces, you just have to learn to use the system to your advantage, and leave the eBay attitude behind.
Oh the other hand, you can stay at eBay, we don't need any more competition at Yahoo!
posted on October 27, 2000 06:35:09 AM
I think more depends on what you try to sell in Yahoo. In Ebay, it's near impossible to get a good price on a complete camera system, for example, so I part out junk and list it in ebay. Lots of colectors and wannabe camera repair people n ebay, and the darndest little bits sell at too high a price. But in Yahoo, they seem to prefer to buy whole systems, the more accessories the better. So in there I list an entire setup with bag, filters, flash, everything, and they grab them up using the buyprice.
Very good quality but outdated microscopes have been selling (when I get them) at three times what I'd ever hope to get in ebay. A poster here sold an identical to one I had model microscope for $35. (or so). Mine sold for $170. in yahoo Same with the less desirable models of Zenith Transoceanic radios. I don't bother to list those in ebay anymore.
A no special feature Randall knife, of which there are always five or six in ebay at bids below their cost, sold for over $100. more than cost in Yahoo.
I don't think that the bulk of the people who shop there are collectors. They are looking for good prices on things they use.
As in most all selling, you feel the market, and you feed it. The Yahoo market is not the same as the ebay market.
posted on October 27, 2000 08:21:05 AM
Yahoo died at the end of July. All summer I was selling 20-30 items per week. Now I'm lucky to sell 1 item per week.
posted on October 27, 2000 09:56:15 AM
My sales are very strong on Yahoo - I am doing better now than ever before. I've invested heavy learning the rhythms and nuances of Yahoo and I have hit my stride.
I anticipate a banner holiday season based on the way the sales are hotting up these last few weeks, as far as I am concerned, it's PAYDAY!!!!
posted on October 27, 2000 10:00:53 AM
Sorry Glenda it is bargaintown_liquidation
and just bargaintown on ebaY. That is what comes of posting so late at night...
Amy - not ANGRY - frustrated - and with good cause I think.
Jake, I think the change to credit card only was not well thought out and not well implemented. I understand the reasoning behind it, but am not happy with the implementation - and the root cause of your drop in sales I think.
As to Yahoo being no better than ebaY - well they are better in several ways.
1 - The way the system is set up gives the seller an amazing amount of control of exactly HOW you run your auctions. All the choices are there snipe/no snipe, reserve/no reserve, starttime/endtime, Auction or take it sale, Control over who you let bid, etc etc
2 - The Yahoo listing system is very very easy to use and very intuitive. Their pic services are very easy to use, and totally non-intrusive.
3 - They are not a community they are ROBO site - BUT though you rarely HEAR from them, send in suggestions and hey presto, there is the feature you absolutely needed! They just DO IT instead of talking about it - AND changes in their system DO NOT herald weeks of glitches, bugs and outages. So that means they TEST the darn things BEFORE they implement them. And they don't implement things on the BACKS of their users.
4 - Oh yeah, and the system WORKS - no scheduled/unscheduled/super double secret scheduled down time. Infrequent and very rare outages that last minutes not hours.
I think they have a mediocre search system. I think they implemented the credit card thing poorly. I think they have made a few errors - BUT they are minor glitches when compared to ebaY's lying cheating sleazy ways. I started with Yahoo Auctions when they LAUNCHED - and I hated it! but they have come a loooong way baby, and if they stay the course they will overtake ebaY. By the way - last time I did my indexed formulaic ridden and unfortunately NOT accurate estimate of the listings on Yahoo - I came up with 3.9 MILLION listings - so I guess one of these days I need to do an actual count. Pre Million Auction March, that same formula was giving me a count of 1.7 Mil. And you can disparage listing counts all you want, but they are VERY indicative in this industry of success.
- Rosalinda
posted on October 27, 2000 02:26:38 PM
I have moved some auctions to Yahoo, too.
Must say I am curious about the "ebay attitude." Maybe I am so new I don't have one yet..lol.
So far I am using the same name as on ebay and I have a home page now that lists all my venues.
The "EBAY ATTITUDE," is one which is more likely to be held by a seller with lots of experience on eBay, it is the attitude that many of us "old timers" had,that being that anything we posted on eBay sold, and sold fast and high. It doesn't work that way on Yahoo, sometimes items have to be relisted 2 or 3 times, (OF COURSE RELIST IS AUTOMATIC AND FREE) but they sell, just not as fast, or as high. BUT because Yahoo is free you can run many more auctions, turn items faster if you use the BUY PRICE, and actually, as I said, we tripled our sales when we learned how to use Yahoo to our advantage AND we aren't paying for a site that isn't up half of the time.
For example when I tested Yahoo a year ago, I tested it twice, posted a couple of auctions that had done good on eBay and NOTHING! I did it again, and NOTHING! Then I started analyzing what my son was doing that I wasn't and what he was doing is posting up to 1000 auctions, so that items were always selling, or relisting, and keeping so many auctions running, naturally there were lots of sales, and a constant strong income. When we finally got a volume posted, we got the same results. Strong, constant sales, strong constant income.
AND NO you don't have to be dealing in new items to do this, my son deals in coins. I deal in anything and everything that will sell!
posted on October 27, 2000 06:19:15 PM
Thanks for the clarification of "Ebay attitude".
I guess I did have it for awhile but then 3 comic sets I had on "permanent re-list" sold (eventually). Nothing special- but it wasn't worth listing them on Ebay. This graphically illustrated to me that if you kleave them there long enough- someone'll traipse through and purchase.
In the last 7 to 10 days I've sold things in 24 hours that didn't move at all on Ebay. One thing never got a bid on the E and the second I got twice what I did on Ebay (which was about three times retail- nice little profit and no fees. My feedback conversion is covering my fees right now.)
I've got a lot of stuff now-with a lot of looky loos- not many bidders.
posted on October 28, 2000 03:43:21 AM
I posted that Yahoo postings have increased this year dramatically.
Now, I am a Yahoo newbie and I agree that some things will not sell there maybe.
But are you bringing your buyers there? I am not noble building up another sight but even I know that you have to inform all your buyers where you are at. I do that in my end of auction notices at ebay.I've had people who didn't even know Yahoo had an auction!!
My point being that we now have a viable alternative with a site with 3 million listings. Something that Golds never became with 10,000 listings, no matter how much we wished for it. So now it is up to us to spread the word and promote the site just the way we promoted ebay 3 and 4 years ago!
posted on October 28, 2000 03:48:54 AM
I wonder how many buyers Yahoo lost when they decided to require a credit card? I'm all for making buyers accountable for their bids. I've always thought a physical address verification would be a good tool I think it would scare fewer buyers away.
Many people have been beat to death with stories of credit card informaton being hacked, those news stories sell as well as the Y2K stories sold last year.
posted on October 29, 2000 01:18:14 AM
Roz...frustrated about what? That not everyone wants to use yahoo? That not everyone sees yahoo as a great place to sell? That not everyone thinks ebay is lousy? That some people have tried yahoo and have found it's not all others have cracked it up to be?
That those who have found yahoo to be a yahoobore have had the "nerve" to say so? If you can so loudly and stridently tell everyone how bad ebay is in your opinion, they why can't the person who has found yahoo not to their liking tell the rest of us his opinion about yahoo?
As I see it, you have no right to be frustrated because some choose not to agree with your opinion.
, but the buyers aren't on Yahoo from my observations. I'm not prepared to take the losses I'd experience on Yahoo, even if it might be a nobel cause.