posted on April 13, 2001 04:40:01 PM new
Your valued opinions please. In addition to the current system what if we had 30 minute auctions on eBay. This way, bidding could be fast and furious, just like real auctions. Wouldn't it seem to be a lot more exciting than just having the "buy it now" feature? It could be a snipers heaven! And, if you don't sell your item, you can always relist it the old way. Additionally, you could advertise that you offer "Blitz Auctions" and to check them out. This can work on eBay because of the volume of buyers. And hey, perhaps a new and quick source of additional income. At the very least, it would provide fresh commentary fodder on these threads.
posted on April 13, 2001 04:43:35 PM new
It may be fun. But the way the search feature has been working on ebay by the time I found the auction it would be over with.
This may work if the seller listed it as a Blitz auction and chose the 30 minutes that he would take bids though. By that time it should be in the search feature, right?
posted on April 13, 2001 08:59:01 PM new
to me the appeal of ebay is the number of potential bidders and since folks are signing on and off at all times why would you want to limit the number of potential bidders ...If you want to limit the number of bidders why not try yahoo ?
posted on April 13, 2001 10:07:17 PM new
30 minutes is a tough sell.
May work with electronic stuff.
You would have to take billpoint or Paypal, no point in bidding on auction in 30 minutes and sending check waiting 10 days to clear.
I also think number of deadbeat bidders would be much higher as people get caight in bidding action.
Not to mention if Ebay is unavailible for a brief period your item may sell very low not to mention people with slow modems.
Just my take
Joe B
posted on April 14, 2001 07:37:50 AM new
Thirty-minute auctions are a lot of fun, and the bidding can go quite high on some items. There is an online auction site which has this type of auction 20 times a day, on the hour, and many of them get plenty of action.
However, unlike eBay, the other site is not "just a venue," but is operated by a single large vendor for the purpose of being able to unload excess inventory, the quantities of which are too small to sell through the vendor's other methods.
The site has excellent stability, and a search function which will not only bring up what's currently on offer and what's closed, but also what will be offered in the next 48-72 hours. EOA notices go out literally within minutes of the auction's end.
As for shipping, they don't ship out any faster to winners of thirty-minute auctions than they do to their other winners, ten days on average. Shipping is a minimum of 4.95 per item, with no combined shipping unless it's multiples of the same item. Shipping method is whatever is deemed appropriate by the seller, and is only negotiable for small items, from choices offered by the seller.
And there's no such thing as buyer's remorse, because in order to register, bidders must put a credit card on file. Wins are automatically charged, and items can be returned only for site credit, not a credit back to one's card.
Polite, timely e-mails are sent if there's a problem with a winner's card. If the problem is not resolved within 48 hours of EOA, the winner's bid is cancelled, and the item is made available again.
The site also has competent, efficient, LIVE customer service reps, who can handle questions or problems on the spot, and who are available for an extended business day (early morning on the East Coast to late evening on the West Coast) via a tollfree telephone number.
It's (comparatively) pretty easy to run highly successful thirty-minute auctions when the auction site has this level of control over all aspects of the auction process.
But since eBay doesn't offer this kind of structure to begin with, I don't see how thirty-minute auctions could work well there.
posted on April 14, 2001 08:55:15 AM new
TABBINOSITY, Thanks for the incisive report! You've peaked my curiosity. Now, I've got to surf for this interesting site.
posted on April 14, 2001 09:36:37 AM new
SOSOAL, you're quite welcome!
I've found some very good deals at this site, both for resale and for personal use, and often for considerably less than the usual retail. For certain types of items, it has been the "first" place I look.
