I remember a couple of years ago when Yahoo started auctions with great fanfare. How they were going to take some action away from eBay, and possibly even own the entire auction space because their service was entirely free. Hell, even eBay got a little spooked by Yahoo's intentions, which ultimately led them into an alliance with AOL.
They kept on emphasizing the word "free" like it was the killer app when it came to online auctions, like it was a smoking gun in a murder trial. Well, well, well...how times have changed.
Now they are saying fees will "ultimately further improve the quality of our auctions service"...blah, blah, blah...
I mean why would anyone want to pay listing fees with that Helter Skelter listing format they have? If a bidder isn't going to see my auctions, I've wasted my time and effort, needless to say now, my money!!
I'm not here to defend eBay or anything, but when I look at my sales rate on all sites that I've listed on, eBay is number one, hands down. Of course, not everything eBay does will make everyone happy. Even I have complaints once in a while, but so long as I'm happy with my sales, I'll pay the fees. Now, if they raise their fees, then that's another story...then I'll have to reconsider everything again.
posted on January 3, 2001 01:18:42 AMNow, if they raise their fees, then that's another story
I doubt that Ebay will raise their fees any time soon. They keep adding new features that people are willing to pay for (double categories, highlighting, and buy it now ). That increases their revenue almost as effectively as increasing listing fees and doesn't p*ss people off as much..
posted on January 3, 2001 09:38:53 AM
I am interested to see how the new fees DO affect the level of merchandise on Yahoo. Up until now, I have not listed my vintage jewelry on Yahoo because it hasn't a prayer amongst all the cubic zirconia crap. I feel very much confined to eBay, even though many lovers of vintage jewelry have trouble finding the good stuff amongst the huge glut of items.
If Yahoo does raise their standard of items and it can become more of a collector's marketplace, I would be more than happy to take advantage of a competitive auction place.
