VeryModern
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posted on November 3, 2000 03:20:16 PM
Just got an email from Amazon letting me know I could now list my USED books to be pulled up alongside their NEW books.
It is called Amazon Marketplace.
If the commission is less - goodbye Half.com!
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radh
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posted on November 3, 2000 03:43:52 PM
I saw that "CLICK HERE TO SELL YOUR ITEM" and rotflol the other night.
Don't break your heart trying to *crush* HALF, Mr. Bezos!!!!
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VeryModern
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posted on November 3, 2000 03:56:18 PM
Okay - so it seems to me that all the garbage books will stay on half. The ones selling for 10 or 20 cents.
Seems to me that high volume sellers with better quality books would be better off at Amazon. $39.99 a month to list 5000 and 5% if they sell.
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radh
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posted on November 3, 2000 04:04:46 PM
I wouldn't sell through amazon.com if it were FREE, and ol' Jeff himself DOUBLED my payment.
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reston_ray
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posted on November 3, 2000 05:52:43 PM
Well I'll do almost anything to help broaden the market beyond the monpolistic eBay.
The commission at Amazon is higher at 15% plus 99 cents but the prices seem higher resulting in a greater net.
I expect the traffic and search at Amazon is much better than what is in place at Half.com.
If you stay on top of your sales I don't see why listing at Half.com, YAHOO (1st Bid Wins) and Amazon isn't possible. What's the chance of a same time sales at two sites within the same hour? Three free listing and let the first customer win. I could always go buy another copy if I screw up and make two sales of one item.
The flat fee and lower commission of the ProMerchants account will be attractive if my sales volume exceeds about $200./250. per month and that opens up Zshops and/or auctions for, in my case, listing of duplicate items at 1st Bid Wins. Remainder dealers will most likely saturate the site with liquidation inventory and Amazon customers who have never been sellers will likely start thinning their shelves. Listing is easy and prices will probable drop quickly.
All the constant site changes, payment option problems and eBay stability issues is making trying to keep up with four sites a problem for me.
I just keep remembering that anything that lessens eBay's stranglehold from around my neck is worthwhile.
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keziak
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posted on November 3, 2000 06:02:41 PM
RR: I've been thinking about the double-listing approach for a while now, so I was interested in reading your comments.
I also agree with you about the dizziness of the constant changes (add into that all the payment services and their changes). Just this afternoon I went onto Amazon and listed a few things...then I saw that the "sell yours'" button had disappeared. Did it just go away? Is it back now? Who knows?
Keziak
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VeryModern
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posted on November 3, 2000 06:09:49 PM
Where are you seeing 15% + 99 cents?
Thanks
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reston_ray
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posted on November 3, 2000 06:36:08 PM
Try
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/subst/help/sdp-pricing.html/104-5792071-2116764
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VeryModern
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posted on November 3, 2000 06:45:35 PM
Thanks!
That's steep. Also fairly nerve wracking because they allow int'l sales and you could get creamed on the shipping. The stuff is being sent surface, but they are telling buyers del. in 3-6 weeks which means deliver in 5-7 weeks which would be norm and then duck, because you get hit with a neg.
I guess if you could keep the price up (everything looks cheap next to Amazon's prices) it may be worth it for some, but seems to me it's no better than 1/2.
These sites just don't seem to understand that WE need to make money too. Well, except for Yahoo. Yahoo knows how to win/win.
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radh
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posted on November 3, 2000 06:48:27 PM
Yahoo - eBay's Half.com Teams with buy.com Creating Internet Movie & CD Powerhouse
"Half.com, an eBay company (Nasdaq: EBAY - news), and buy.com (Nasdaq: BUYX - news), today announced a strategic alliance whereby every CD, DVD, and VHS listing from Half.com will be available for sale on the buy.com site through the first-ever co-branded `Entertainment Marketplace.´ Additionally, buy.com consumers will be able to sell CDs, DVDs, and movies they no longer use through this Marketplace. Half.com will also promote buy.com as a featured seller of new products throughout its site. The co-branded marketplace is expected to launch in Q1 of 2001."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001030/pa_half_co.html
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MAH645
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posted on November 3, 2000 06:55:43 PM
Their fee is too high,I'll stick with Half.Com If sales aren't better than their auctions it would be a waste of time.
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Jereth
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posted on November 3, 2000 08:17:06 PM
If anyone is curious, as one of eBay's larger sellers of CDs, I would have assumed that I would be contacted in earnest by half.com regarding moving or listing items there.
I have had two emails since we began operations on eBay from half.com: I got one email prior to the EBay aquisition, another one soon after. In each case I responded succintly but firmly that for a large number of economic reasons I felt that the half.com business model was not feasible for use by a serious dealer trying to make a living. I provided my phone number and invited them to call and get input from myself and my husband.
No one ever called. I have not sold on half.com and I do not plan to. I also do not plan to sell on amazon.com for similar reasons.
thx Marie
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reston_ray
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posted on November 3, 2000 08:39:58 PM
The international shipping allowance is $12.00.
I just listed five items that were not part of the Half.com data base. The suggested price for my used videos was $16. plus. I listed at $14.95 which is 2 and 1/2 times the average eBay auction price when they sell.
Like most things, this is another option which will have some advantages but is not "the final answer".
Since it exposes preowned product to customers searching the Amazon new book site, the comparison is against new product pricing and allows our choice of up to 80% of the Amazon site price. Anything above an extra dollar per sale will make it more profitable than Half. I plan to list product at both sites with adjusted prices to cover A.s higher fees and then some.
If you feel deeply committed to supporting the eBay relationship with independent sellers I would certainly suggest passing on this option.
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keziak
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posted on November 4, 2000 04:31:35 AM
RR - I am on Amazon all day long for my job, and I've always been interested in getting access to their exposure. This latest gimmick might work. It's sort of like selling on half.com and having to "eat" an extra buck due to the shipping allowance.
But it has to WORK and as far as I can tell, it went down last evening. My listings are in some sort of "Z shop" [which I never signed up for] but I no longer see the Marketplace buttons on the regular database.
Keziak
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mballai
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posted on November 4, 2000 05:40:12 AM
I'll stick with Yahoo--noooo fees and the sales are ok if not great. I actually did a higher volume this week on Yahoo than feeBay. Nothing impressive, but I won't complain.
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kjanosky
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posted on November 4, 2000 10:57:29 AM
Sales for me have been incredible -- I'm gonna take my listings off of half.com -- I sold 4 times my daily sell rate on Amazon's new Marketplace feature, and it isn't even up at full speed yet!
By the way, the reason that you aren't seeing the 'sell here' buttons on their site all the time, is that they say that they will be testing this for the first week or so. A CS rep confirmed that for me... and then I read this on the message board for them:
"If you have checked the Amazon.com listings, you will have seen that Amazon Marketplace items are not yet displayed. There is no need for concern—our present schedule calls for Amazon Marketplace items to appear on or near November 3.
Once we begin displaying Amazon Marketplace items throughout the Amazon.com stores, additional performance testing will continue for one week. As a result, some people visiting the Amazon.com site will see your listings, others will not. "
Good luck to you all -- I'm off to list more items!
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birdwatcher-07
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posted on November 4, 2000 11:06:14 AM
I'm not quite sure what on Earth Amazon is thinking, especially if their search results turn up both new Amazon items and used Marketplace items. "Buy this CD from us at $14.99 or buy it from xyzsoandso at $3.99." Are they expecting to make more profit off xyzsoandso's $3.99 sale? Interesting business plan... 
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VeryModern
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posted on November 4, 2000 12:40:16 PM
kjanosky- I've decided to toss some stuff up. Since there is no "sell yours" link, how are you listing?
Thanks!
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keziak
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posted on November 4, 2000 03:17:19 PM
...and how is your stuff selling if the items aren't appearing in the database?
Keziak
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radh
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posted on November 4, 2000 05:24:57 PM
I think this is a REAL *hoot*!!!!!
Here ya got a NON-Profit eBiz demanding 99-cents per listing and YOU are putting a positive spin on it.
If nothing else, the sage of amazon.com will go down, over & done with HUMOR. You guys are FUNNY.
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radh
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posted on November 5, 2000 11:30:58 AM
*bump* for zbai0267 - who started a THIRD MESSAGETHREAD about this latest attempt by Mr. Bezos to *crush* eBay.
Whadda hoot!!!!!!!
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