NetTrends: Best things on Internet may not be free for
long
By Andrea Orr
PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov 8 (Reuters) - Internet users were stunned last week when
Napster, a company whose name has become synonymous with free music online, adopted
a plan to charge money for its popular service.
They are likely to have to start paying, or paying more, for a lot of other Internet services as
well.
posted on November 13, 2000 06:33:13 PM new
Never used Napster, so I could care less about that. (Our modem is too slooooooooooooooowwwww) and anyway we like buying CDs.
BUT I wonder how much Yahoo will be charging & for which services? I think it's only fair that they charge for international calls, and realistically it's only fair if they charge for ANY long distance calls. I'd be bummed though if all of a sudden there were like a huge monthly fee to use any of Yahoo's services. I'm just now starting to rely on them for a lot of stuff- those nifty maps & directions for example.
We all know what the reaction was to PayPal's shift out of the "free model".
And that little blurb about Ebay, well I was a little confused? OK first of all Ebay hasn't been free as long as I've been involved (which hasn't been since the very beginning, so what do I know?) but what are they talking about when they say a $19.95 fee to list items in 2 categories? Is that really how much they're charging? and why is ebay even included in the article? Just wondering.
posted on November 13, 2000 06:40:06 PM new
The main thing I took from this article was that all these dot.coms are failing and so won't be spending the IPO big bucks buying ads, so it's gonna be plan B.
Seems the election, subsequent dropping of the stock market, possible dismal holiday shopping season, a postal rate increase, and further charge for internet use may severely depress ability to buy and sell online.
posted on November 13, 2000 06:59:39 PM newBUT I wonder how much Yahoo will be charging & for which services?
Yahoo's model for auction pricing is fantastic. Basically, you pay what you think it's worth. The more you pay, the higher your item is listed. If you want a free listing, you can still get it.
Then they reward success by refunding half of the fee when an item sells.
I think that as far as Yahoo itself is concerned, their best bet is figuring out some way to charge for listings.
They've already started in this direction by introducing an expedited review service that cost $200 and can get you site listed in as little as 2 weeks.
I think they will soon start charging for all submissions, probably in some graduated way.
And Yahoo is one thing, Napster is something else.
Napster became "successful" because they give away something they don't own. Yahoo spends $10's of millions of dollars on content each year. Napster spent $0. And they still don't actually make any money.
posted on November 13, 2000 07:03:56 PM new
amal- I know about their auction fee structure. I was referring more to their OTHER services. Free as of now, but for how long???????? But you are correct- the unthreatening way they've introduced their fees is COOL!!!
I was referring more to their OTHER services. Free as of now, but for how long???????? But you are correct- the unthreatening way they've introduced their fees is COOL!!!