posted on February 23, 2001 03:01:51 PM
Has anyone done a study to see if using the Ebay "Gallery" is really worth it? I have been using it all along and am tempted to test how effective it is by using it on half my listings.
Any thoughts on the subject?
posted on February 23, 2001 03:08:38 PM
I am mainly a buyer on eBay. I always look in the gallery. It helps cut down the amount of "stuff" to look through. When I do sell once in a while I use it and my items always get bids.
posted on February 23, 2001 04:14:11 PM
I have used the Gallery from the beginning, and created my Personal Gallery last year.
As a buyer, I look at the Gallery first...As a seller, although I have no scientific report (), I do believe it does help; so I will say: well-worth the little bit of change.
******** Gosh Shosh!
posted on February 23, 2001 07:11:56 PMShosh: I've been considering DUMPING the gallery as that "little change" of $0.25 sure does add up when I'm going to be launching 30 auctions this weekend!
posted on February 23, 2001 07:26:10 PM...I guess if I had 30 listings, I might rethink it also...Yet, if it makes me money.....Nothing ventured, nothing gained...
Must say, I have NEVER had 30 listings in one big bunch. My most ever was 22.
Good luck with all of yours...
******** Gosh Shosh!
posted on February 23, 2001 07:32:40 PMHas anyone done a study to see if using the Ebay "Gallery" is really worth it?
EBay published some facts and figures on the special features and gallery options and how they improved sales.
When I saw them say the <b>bold option</b> would increase your chances of selling 20% (it might have been higher) I kind of dismissed the article as <b>baloney</b>. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe some people are whipped up into a buying frenzy with bold text.
posted on February 23, 2001 08:47:54 PM
I've never touched gallery, and never will. I always search, never go by catagory, so I never specifically look through gallery (you can't win my bid with your cheesy .25 cents extra).
posted on February 23, 2001 09:48:06 PM
When bidders click on my Gallery link they are transported to a "Gallery Gateway" page on my TOS website. When running auctions, I monitor the number of hits to the page - it is substantial.
Personally, when browsing eBay, I click the "All items including Gallery preview" link. I want to see the auctions that don't have gallery images, but the ones with images stand out best. It's so much easier to view images than read hundreds of titles.
I have asked many repeat customers about the Gallery, most stated that they do indeed use it during initial search...
MTown
PS. Auctiva and the other showcases cannot give you images within the eBay search - unfortunately!
posted on February 23, 2001 11:24:17 PM
I switched from using the gallery to the 2 category option. I believe it is a better deal. I haven't really noticed a difference using Gallery images, however, I still use it on some of my more expensive items.
[ edited by outoftheblue on Feb 23, 2001 11:25 PM ]
posted on February 24, 2001 08:52:55 AM
As a buyer, I have always opted for the gallery mainly because I hate to decipher all the headings people write, click on one that sounds like what I'm looking for, see that it isn't, click back to the listings,and continue reading. A real pain!! I prefer to click on gallery and scroll down the images, see one I like, click on it, and see the big picture and description.
posted on February 24, 2001 01:04:41 PM
If you want to see if there's a difference, try splitting your auctions for a couple weeks-- list half with gallery, and half without, mixing them up pretty well so there is a similar sample in each group. Then compare average hits on each group. I think hits is a better indication of effectiveness for a small sample than final price, which depends on so many variables that it will skew the results.
posted on February 24, 2001 01:12:35 PM
A test I've used is to go the listing page and see how many gallery items have bids compared to those without. It's surprizing.
posted on February 24, 2001 02:59:19 PM
Greetings Earthlings,
With all the new bells and whistles lately and their expense, I started surveying about a month ago in my EOA notices. I don't use the survey in obvious auctions (ie: auctions for specific niche items) as I can be pretty sure how they were located and I don't wish to pester my customers. I believe this is the only tangible way to find out how bidders are finding stuff. Even if you offer two identicle items with and without the added features, i don't think you can rely on the results because of certain dynamics. The fact that two of them are for sale and the interested parties for the item vary from week to week. It would be hard to say if one suffered because the other was enough to satisfy the interested parties that week., etc. Anyway, its a hard thing to set up a controlled experiment for at best, so I decided to just ask.
Here is the EOA I use when surveying:
=============================================
Congratulations !
You have placed the winning bid for the ebay auction of item #XXXXXXXX. we are looking forward to sending you your new purchase and bringing our transaction to a prompt and successful conclusion.
Please contact us when it's convenient at <[email protected]> to confirm this notification and to recieve payment details. Please also include your proper address, phone number or any other shipping details required for us to prepare your parcel and correctly forward your new purchase. Please consider the request below when you respond.
Hope to hear from you soon.
THANK YOU........Seller.
=============================================
We are very curious to know how you found our auction for this item! If you would take a moment and tell us in your reply we would greatly appreciate it. Of course, you don't have to if you don't wish to bother with it.
Just answer by putting the simple phrase in your reply: Q=(then enter any of the appropriate responses below by number) example: Q=1,6,7
1. SEARCH item (title only).
2. SEARCH item (title & description).
3. BROWSE within a main or sub catagory.
4. BROWSE specific catagory NEW auctions.
5. BROWSE specific catagory ENDING auctions.
6. CHECKED our auction list after viewing one of our items.
7. BOOKMARKED our auction page.
8. GALLERY browse/search
9. OTHER circumstance.
Feel free to elaborate if you like and this would be great time to comment on or criticize our auction. Remember you are not required to participate in this, and we heartily thank you whether or not you do!
=============================================
Even this way is somewhat flawed, but so far here are the (spotty) results. Don't forget I've only been doing it for a little less than a month and I only ask about 60% of the WINNERS.
Many answered to more than one method. I find #6 happily surprising , but #7 somewhat dissapointing. I think some peole may be just being nice or telling me what they think I want to hear (in #6). I tend to use the gallery only for those items that I think have a great visual appeal that could help them sell. Probably only about 20% of my auctions. I have no idea what the "other method" that people responded to #9 on is. I don't want to bother them too much to ask! No one has added any extra comments so far. Certainly the result will vary with the type of merch you sell.
These result should certainly be taken with a grain of salt, but it gives a starting point for analysis and a way to guage how changes will improve our sales. I think after about 6 months of data, that will enough to start taking the info more seriously.
posted on February 24, 2001 03:05:23 PM Dang! After talking up the Gallery so much, just went to check my Personal Gallery for 3 items listed YESTERDAY between 2:30 and 3:15PM....Still NO Personal Gallery...
posted on February 24, 2001 03:28:10 PM
Hello long_gone and whatever planet you are from -
Interesting analysis. I think since your numbers do not add up to 100%, you must be allocating the full weight to responses where multiple reasons were given for finding an item. You might want to allocate the weight so that your percentage totals to 100%.
For example, if 10% indicates 3 & 6, you might only want to allocate 5% to each of the two categories.
The results of #6 is not surprising at all. Sometimes one searches or browse items but will not bid on that particluar item. The price may be too high already or the item may have just close or whatever. Or the item may have numerous bids already and I am curious to see what the excitement is all about. Thus, I will pull up the item even though I have no intention of bidding. However, in such cases, I will often try to see what other items the seller is offering and may find another item worthwhile. Thus, accounting for reason #6.
This is a reason I always believe one should offer a run of similar collectibles at once just to enhance the chances of any of them being view and sold versus running a lone item.
Regarding #9, I personally would have a fair number of auction purchases from referrals of friends. That is, I know what areas my friends collect and whenever I see something they might want, I would email them the auction. They, of course, would do the same. If you have a large group participating with each other, #9 can grow.
Also, I wonder how much of #9 is possibly due to buyers bookmarking other buyers' bids.
Nice survey and thanks for sharing - may be I will copycat you one day.
posted on February 24, 2001 03:48:00 PM
Hi Laum1, Well, like I said many responded to multiple ways that they found my item. I think they are confusing finding THE item in question with how they find all, some or most of their items. I'm not comfortable presume to break that percentage down so that it works out to an even 100%. I think I'm able to ascertain the info that is crucial from this flawed study. I hope.
Also some of the grouping is my own doing as so many (but not all) responded to both 1 & 2, and 4 & 5 combined with the fact that I don't have that much data as yet. So I combined those similar responses together.
I should also mention that only about half of those asked responded at all to the survey. I consider this valuable information in guiding us to spending our money efficiently and our savings and resulting effectivness could be substantial. We're considering offering an incentive for winners to participate in the survey, such as $1.00 off shipping for answering or something like that.
Your right, grouping similar items definately fuels sales and we do that earnestly. Even if it means holding items we expect to find more of. Good point about #9! I was baffled. I put that in just to be thorough.
posted on February 24, 2001 03:59:39 PM
By the way, I should mention that I only do #5, 6, 7, & 9 on a regular basis. Once a while I do #1 in order to come up with some new sellers.
I find #2, #3 and #4 to be too time consumming for large categories.
Also, the high percentage in #5 indicates the need to study closing auctions in particular categories carefully. If the category is small, one should try to avoid any large volume sellers in those categories. Otherwise, your listings will get lost among volume sellers with large number of listings closing the same night as you do.
posted on February 24, 2001 04:15:52 PM
great topic -
I used the gallery until June 2000; then stopped.
As the hashed over word - went straight vanilla.
Everything under $10.00, no gallery, etc. %of fees dropped - sales remained constant (collectibles and antiques- pocket watches, glass, dolls)
However, I think the gallery and dual catergories have their place - except I can't seem to justify it expense wise.
You all made very good and informed points...thank you....food for thought in this changing market....
posted on February 24, 2001 07:51:06 PM
long_gone,
Thanks, your survey is just the kind of research that I was looking for. I only run about 20 auctions a week and don't think that is a large enough sample.
Can I assume that the low response to #8 means no one much uses the Gallery to search?
I wonder if people use the Gallery to see sellers other items, once they find you?
Good work.
Other than Ebay, who might have access to search stats?
posted on February 24, 2001 07:55:08 PM
HeyHey.. It DOES work. One of my old customers, who bought a restored piece 2 years ago, and saved my Email from back then just Emailed me to say she went to the Gallery, searching for another, and saw something to her liking...and it was mine.... I just LOVE that...
******** Gosh Shosh!
posted on February 24, 2001 08:53:42 PM
Freyj, I wouldn't be too fast to judge the effectivness of the gallery just yet. Especially based on my little survey. It almost seems like you might like someone to give you the reason to not have to spend that extra quarter!
I hasten to remind you that I only use the gallery on about 20% of my auctions, I've only used the survey in about 60% of my EOA's and of them, only about half have answered the survey. Add the fact that I've only been doing this for a month and it's plain to see that there is very little data to make judgements on so far. Especially for the gallery.
I have no experience to relate with the "personal gallery" that has been mentioned by Shoshona and others.
As mentioned by some already, I also heartily believe that the dual catagory option, when appropriate, is a VERY signifigant tool to boost exposure for the money. I still don't want to be too quick to compare it with the gallery, which in SOME catagories is probably a strong tool as well. I think an example of a good catagory for the gallery might be any type of art, perhaps, as items of this class are visual by nature, so its logical to expose it in a visual manner.
Tha being said you would think that something like a post card, which also is a visual item might benefit from the gallery. I'm not too sure about that one, as post cards are heavily identified with themes and places. The visual is pehaps secondary with something like a post card. I recently listed a group of match books with specific themes on the labels. I listed in both Paper/matchbooks and in the catagory of their labels theme. The buyer had an ID related to the theme. I assume he saw it in the theme catagory rather than the matchbooks.I can site several examples like this.
I sell some posters occaisionally, and I wouldn't think of listing them without the gallery. Has it helped sell any? I'm not sure, but when sales were slumping (they always sold but the prices and hits fell off some) a while back, I started to do this and by coincidence or not they seemed to recover back to normal and the hits definately increased. Not immediately though, I might add, so maybe buying activity just picked up in general.
I think the most important thing you can do as a seller to determine which features to use is to put youself in the buyers position for every aspect of every auction you list. As a matter of fact, when I REALLY want to see how to sell an item, I try as best as I can (with whatever knowledge I have of the item at hand) to pretend I'm looking to buy one myself and set about finding one to purchace. I don't mean casually, REALLY transpose your frame of mind! I consider EVERYTHING from the quality of the pictures to the cost of shipping and sellers terms as if I wanted to buy one. It is absolutly amazing what this exersize can do to open your eye's about selling. and when I do this, in most cases, I feel completely prepared and confident how to properly market and sell that item.
There are some factors that might hinder my perspective though, such as, I am by ideology (that I find pointless to debate, so don't bother to engage me) opposed to purchasing with credit cards if it is not an emergency. So its hard for me to equate the importance of whether a seller offers credit card options from a buyers point of view. I'm sure I have other deficiencies that limit my ability to see from the average buyers eye, but I think I have a good handle on the important things. I sell unique items and I really don't think their potential is impacted that much by the forms of payment accepted, but thats another issue altogether.
Sorry to ramble so, hope there's something in all that crap that helps someone.
[ edited by long_gone on Feb 24, 2001 09:04 PM ]
posted on February 25, 2001 09:39:55 AM
long_gone,
Thanks for the thoughts. Your common sense approach to using the customers perspective is wise and I will keep it in mind.
posted on February 25, 2001 09:51:28 AMlong_gone...
I like your survey... I have a possible answer to your #9. I SEARCH within categories frequently. Since it isn't specifically mentioned in your survey, I wonder if that's what those folks choosing #9 are doing.
posted on February 25, 2001 12:17:35 PM
Well, another person, looking through Pottery, Roseville, in the Gallery, found my Roseville, found my Email addy on my About Me page, and just wrote regarding doing restoration for him, on his Roseville...I wish all these people would BUY, but hey, I'll take the restoration money... )
So, YES again, on the Gallery...
******** Gosh Shosh!
), I do believe it does help; so I will say: well-worth the little bit of change.
Dang! After talking up the Gallery so much, just went to check my Personal Gallery for 3 items listed YESTERDAY between 2:30 and 3:15PM....Still NO Personal Gallery...