posted on January 3, 2001 08:14:16 PM
I've noticed the threads that eBay is DOWN (yet again) and YAHOO will begin charging listing fees. While all this is going on, EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE is complaining that "sales are down" or "the fees are killing us".
Has ANYONE BESIDES ME noticed that online auctions are NO LONGER AUCTIONS???
A REAL auction gives you a thrill, buyer or seller! Nobody knows for sure what the item will go for. But eBay, Amazon, Yahoo, Excite, etc. are NO LONGER AUCTIONS! They are just SALES SITES!!!
WE, THE **SELLERS** have screwed this whole thing up! When you offer an item that you bought at $1 for $5 MINIMUM BID, then you NO LONGER have an AUCTION, you have an "offer to sell".
Auctions used to be EXCITING! But no longer.... Everything has a MINIMUM BID, a RESERVE PRICE, etc. So WHY go to eBay, Yahoo, etc.???? If I want to shop at K-MART I have one just 3 minutes from my house!
YES, some sellers make money by offering INFERIOR quality merchandise at a ridiculously LOW PRICE, but have any of you SEEN THE QUALITY (actually the LACK THEREOF) of the $29 leather jackets (plus $15 s/h, of course!) that cost the sellers $21.00?????
Is it ANY WONDER tnat buyers are now skeptical?
Until a site that does REAL auctions (bidding starts at $1 - NO EXCEPTIONS!) no dutch auctions and NO "ridiculous reserve" auctions (ie. the item is worth $40 and the RESERVE is $40) comes into existence, then the online SALES sites that claim to be auctions will be in DECLINE!
Yes, a reserve would actually be OK for a "Rembrandt" painting but NOT for a $15 Walkman. Until this site comes into existence then the online auction community is living on borrowed time.... The buyers are NOT totally STUPID, they WILL figure this out!
I still SELL on eBay, but I rarely BUY there anymore... WHY??? Because, if I see a seller offering INK JET CARTRIDGES for $5 each, I figure that is the MINIMUM price they are willing to accept... So, I just complete the transaction OFF of eBay! It's not as if the seller auctions these and get a price ABOVE the minimum bid for each cartridge!
These auctions have 1000+ quantity listed and RARELY get over 25 - 30 bids. So the seller is HOPING that he will get REPEAT BUSINESS. And he PROBABLY WILL! Which is GREAT... but it is NOT AN AUCTION!!! It is a sale.
As such, eBay, Yahoo and Amazon might as well list themselves as "classified advertising" sites. Of course, that does not carry the panache of "AUCTIONS" but it would be a whole lot more HONEST!
