posted on January 16, 2001 08:28:18 AM
I've been away from ebay since before Xmas and was wondering if there had been any threads regarding what I thought was a terrible ad by ebay. It ran on TV and in local newspapers here in the east. The gist was, Lost it, Broke it, Just want it CHEAP, come to ebay. As a seller on ebay I really resented want it CHEAP! I sell antiques and 1920's 30's vintage items. I can't call some off shore supplier to send me a gross at .50 ea to replace what I put on ebay. CHEAP never is a good word to use as far as I am concerned...."Good Buy", at a "Savings". But if they really want it cheap get up at the crack of dawn, fill your car's tank with liquid gold, brave all kinds of weather and spend a full day to find one or two items that you MIGHT be lucky enough to make a buck or to on. Any comments on the above?
Zilvy...."I started out with nothing and I still have most of it"
posted on January 16, 2001 08:37:43 AM
Hello Zilvy,
Obviously the ad was not directed at the collectors or potential collectors out there who have an appreciation for the value of the items they are interested in.
I think the ad probably was hoping to appeal to the folks who like to hit flea markets and second hand stores looking for bargains.
Obviously, the eBay marketplace is very diverse and one can hardly expect that one advertisement will appeal to all segments of the marketplace.
posted on January 16, 2001 08:43:52 AM
As one of those collectors, "cheap" brings me into the shop every time. And if you haven't checked, throughout its history ebay high bids are rarely anywhere near what you'd pay in a shop - whether the item's new, antique, vintage or just plain junk.
posted on January 16, 2001 08:49:05 AM
Hello Codasaurus
It surely was a mixed message...the TV ad showed one dog digging in the yard and burying a strand of knotted pearls, a violin, and an electronic something among other things. The least pleasant was watching another dog lift his leg to pee on an ottoman. While yet another dog pulled on a dining room table cloth, breaking crystal, dropping silver etc, til it was able to eat a roast beef. Maybe the targeted audience was for Dog obedience schools, or DOGS. I detested it and felt if ebay wants buyers to come looking for "Cheap" maybe with all their money they should be giving back to the community and offering rebates out of their own pocket or better yet REFUNDS to the sellers who pay the bills.!!
Zilvy..."I started out with nothing and still have most of it."
posted on January 16, 2001 09:02:17 AM
We are selling in a wholesale marketplace...the ebay ad just played up the reality of our selling venue. It let the potential customer know that just about ANYTHING they want can be found on ebay and they can expect to get the item at lower than retail...in other words, CHEAP!
The customers are coming to ebay BECAUSE of the fantastic selection and the fact that they can normally get the item CHEAP.
Cheap isn't a bad word...it does not suggest poor quality...it is a word that will get a bargain hunter's heart in a flutter. Ebay is the collector's dream...a giant antique store that has unlimited stock at bargain basement prices!
posted on January 16, 2001 09:16:39 AM
Hi Amy, I guess the AD like anything else in life is all in the way it is percieved. I have been in sales "Real time, Real World" for over 25 years....cheap is never used to offer up a bargain. A couple of synonyms for cheap are Tawdry, Sleazy (these are not two of the seven dwarfs) LOL! Inferior quality or work by definition not a nice image. Example of my type of item. Retail $200 antique Limoges hand painted hair reciever from the mid 1800's. Reserve auction of $135. I know I won't likely get retail...bid gets up to $56. High bidder writes I bid $56.
are you going to sell it to me or NOT?? Answer: "NOT" (This ain't CHEAP)
Zilvy "I started out with nothing and still have most of it"
posted on January 16, 2001 09:49:20 AM
Zilvy...but when the buyer tells his friend about his buy he says..
"And I got it CHEAP...you won't believe how CHEAP it was"
The word cheap has two very common meanings...one is the way you are interpeting it, the other means "very little money". the buying public is aware of both meanings.
If the public is told "this item is cheap" they may think "shoddy'...if they are told "you can get this cheap" they will think "Aw, it won't cost me much money".
The ad, with its visuals, gave the impression of a consumer who was well-to-do. The house was large and obviously cost a nice chunck of change...the yard was well landscaped and maintained, another clue to an owner with a good income. The inside was nicely decorated and furnished, another indicator of a consumer who can afford good quality merchandise. The table was set with what looked like fine china, good crystal, fine linens and sterling flatware...again, a clue the owners had money and good taste.
The dogs were burying camera equipment, jewelry, musical instruments...although these items could have been shoddy items, the clues from the ad suggests the items were in fact high quality items that are normally expensive.
So the total scenario is of an upper middle class consumer who needs to replace some of their high-end "stuff"....and it is suggested that if they go to ebay they will find EVERYTHING they need and they will be able to "buy it cheap". The ad is NOT suggesting the items are cheap (ie..shoddy) merchandise.
I think the ad writers were very good ones...they were able to suggest that the merchandise on ebay was of high quality but sold at low prices. They knew how to manipulate images to make the viewer see "expensive merchandise"...make the consumer aspire to own those items and then let them know they could get this "stuff" at a really good price (cheap). Many consumers would like to be able to own this quality merchandise but cannot afford it...the ad was letting them know they probably COULD afford it if they shop ebay.
posted on January 16, 2001 10:01:16 AM
The merchandise may be "cheap", but the postal rates are not. Adding the shipping to the price makes most items cost more than in the retail stores.
posted on January 16, 2001 10:02:19 AMZilvy...Thank you!
I totally share your views on the use of this word. If someone wants "cheap", that someone should do the Salvation Army, Good Will, dumpsters...Not my shop, nor my Antique Booth, nor my listings. Once I relist, the price becomes "reduced" but never "cheap"; at least in my mind...
To each his/her own...It IS all in the perception, and I do NOT perceive myself as "cheap"...
posted on January 16, 2001 10:16:14 AM
Thank you Shosh, I was beginning to feel like odd man out on my take of the "Cheap."
We could use "Bargain", "Great Buy", "Super Deal" but please don't say CHEAP!!
Our language usage like our dress has become sloppy and much too casual. Let's strike a blow for upgraded images.
As one of my buddies stated, "If you are what you eat, then I am either fast, cheap, or easy." Whoa do we need hellllp!!
Zilvy....."I Started out with nothing and still have most of it."
posted on January 16, 2001 10:23:28 AMZilvy...I shall change my sig line to "I am a Snob, and PROUD of it...."
I frequently get retail and above, for some of my auctions, because thank goodness, there are buyers who recognize quality and are willing to pay for it.
And what I eat would definitely tell the world I am a Snob...
********
Gosh Shosh!
posted on January 16, 2001 10:32:12 AM
I think I saw the ad you mention, and I thought it was in extremely poor taste. The ad seemed to be emphasizing the meaning of "cheap" that you're talking about. I thought the ad was full of negative stereotypes about ebay sellers.
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on January 16, 2001 10:35:43 AM
I've said this in other threads, I'll say it here too. My main beef with the ads was that NOWHERE, at NO TIME, was there any indication of what eBay actually is (a website), or where it can be found (www.ebay.com). I was talking with someone at a holiday party recently, who had heard of eBay and had a vague idea of what it is, and she had a vague sense that she ought to check it out. "How do I find it" she asked me. I can imagine she is probably very representative of the ad's target audience.
posted on January 16, 2001 11:01:23 AM
I avoid standard TV like the plague! I hate ads so much that I basically only watch PBS; so I never saw those Ebay jewels... and probably never will...
Waving Hello @ twin...
********
Gosh Shosh!
posted on January 16, 2001 11:11:32 AM
Hello again Shosh, I can tune out the ADs most of the time, however, it really hit home when ebay ran two full page ADs in the Boston Globe, side by side. The word "CHEAP"
was 3" high....and you now what I just realized, I was so turned off by that I don't know if they even gave the web site address or not. Some ADs TV, Newspaper etc. are so "cutsy" that you remember everything except what they are about!!
Let's NOT say that you are a SNOB, let us say that you have good taste and a finely honed sense of the better things in life. OOOHPAH!
Zilvy..."I started out with nothing and still have most of it."
posted on January 16, 2001 11:13:56 AM
I personally thought the commercial was cute.
And I, for one, am glad that ebay is advertising. A lot of people do not know what ebay is. When people ask what I do for a living, I tell them that I sell electronics on ebay. And most of them have never heard of it.
Someone said earlier that the commercial did not say that ebay was a web site. A lot of commercials today leave you with confusion as to what they were advertising.
As for Ebay spending money on advertising. I have heard a lot of people talking about how ebay should be giving back to sellers and buyers instead of advertising.
Well, I say if you don't like the prices go somewhere else.
Quit griping!! Ebay is a business, and yes, I am sure they make a lot of money. But they do have employees. And the object of the game is to "make money"!!
posted on January 16, 2001 11:18:59 AM
Hi, Shosh. Hey, you're not missing much. I appreciate that eBay is advertising heavily. I've seen both commercials several times, especially the doggie commercial. I just do not get that one. It's trying to be cute but I think it misses the mark. Certainly not in the same league as Alka Selter's "speecy spicy meatball" ad, now there was a classic!
I defended this commercial before I actually saw it, but dogs pissing on ottomans isn't exactly going to make me drop everything and run over to eBay.
posted on January 16, 2001 11:20:25 AMZilvy...OOOHPAH! makes me want to break plates at a Greeek Taverna...
...Why is it that people are not allowed to express opinions without being told to "go somewhere else" ???
This is a very big world, and there is plenty of room for everyone.
Expressing an opinion is NOT
"griping", but rather, it is exercising our fundamental rights.
******** Gosh Shosh!
posted on January 16, 2001 11:22:54 AMtwin....but dogs pissing on ottomans isn't exactly going to make me drop everything and run over to eBay........I am SO glad I missed it...
posted on January 16, 2001 12:06:19 PM
Shosh-- exactly! The message I got was that if I buy an ottoman (or a quilt, etc.) on ebay then it will have been peed on by somebody's dog, or if I buy dishes then they were nonchalantly or deliberately thrown about before being packed to send to me. That really makes me want to shop on ebay -- NOT! (Actually I haven't seen many ebay ads -- since I rarely watch TV -- and that was the only one I've seen that offended me.)
For ebay to be advertising is good -- if they actually promote the use of ebay, rather than discourage it.
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on January 16, 2001 12:23:59 PM
Dear Shosh,
The only ones who tell us to go somewhere else when we express an opinion (not gripe) are the ones with closed minds and open mouths!
Old Town, in Chicago has some of the Greatest
Greek Taverna's wish I could remember specific names....what do they call that wonderful flaming cheese dish that they serve in wedge shapes??
Zilvy
posted on January 16, 2001 02:58:04 PMAdding the shipping to the price makes most items cost more than in the retail stores.
Duh...not if you set your high bid with shipping in mind. Of course, if somebody wants to outbid me nonetheless - well, I can hardly resent someone who has demonstrated a singular lack of good sense
posted on January 16, 2001 03:49:26 PM
I like to register another vote against the CHEAP word....In this life, I do my damm best NOT to pay retail for anything....I consider myself SMART or Thrifty, but certainly NOT CHEAP!....everytime I see the stupid commercial, I cringe to think of the image that non-eBayers are getting....&...I agree with the point made above, regarding the closing shot/word being eBay with no Dot Com after it....Alright, dot coms are getting a bad rep, but it would be nice if those folks lookin' for their CHEAP replacements actually knew where to go!....
That said, I would like to add that they do repeat the commercial often, and it does grow on you (like mold or fungus ) which is the objective with advertising. Good or bad doesn't really matter, unless a Cleo is the goal, but to get the viewer to remember the commerical/product that's a hit!
I still do wish I would tune in one day & find some of the great great ideas that were written in the eBay commerical thread brought to life....Those were great!
posted on January 16, 2001 05:44:58 PM
Us Easterers have learned way back when - that the word CHEAP is not the way to go.
So many other ways to spell it, say it or breath it. Just plain distasteful to use such a word ! And we teach our young ones
early that things are not cheap, we explain
that inexpensive, no so pricey, better priced, etc, etc. is a better term. The little tykes learn fast. (California education amazes me, to see that they use CHEAP so boldly.)
posted on January 21, 2001 01:24:36 PM
Twinsoft ONCE AGAIN I'm with you on that one. (And YES speecy spicy meatballs was a classic!) I don't watch TV, but finally saw the commercials just this week when a friend had the tube on. I couldn't believe what I saw - P.U.!!! First of all I didn't think it was clear either, regarding WHAT Ebay is. Also it puts in mind a vision of broken, dirty "cheap" crap, all falling apart. I didn't get it at all. I thought it seemed more like an advertisement by an Ebay adversary. lol It certainly wouldn't have prompted me to go find out what Ebay was. Yuk.
Rocker
posted on January 21, 2001 02:57:14 PM
I LOVE CHEAP! I regularly search on that word when looking for hotels, airfares, housewares, etc. I also use it in conversation and refer to myself as cheap regularly (in the monetary sense, folks.) I see it as reclaiming the word into a positive. I'd like to open a antique store called Cheap Tschotchkes. I bet I'd have to beat the buyers off with a stick.
(Actually I haven't seen many ebay ads -- since I rarely watch TV -- and that was the only one I've seen that offended me.)
Rocker