posted on May 31, 2001 02:37:30 PM new
I understand why many sellers are annoyed with Ebay, I really do. I haven't sold in over a year, but it was only because I got tired of giving up my Saturdays to packing and shipping. I still buy, however. If I were still selling I'm reasonably sure I'd be as frustrated as some of you are.
As a buyer, I've visited some of the sites you are thinking about moving to.
As a buyer, they are not interesting.
Three searches I usually do came up with squat on any of the sites (books/information/tapes on a special interest of mine)
One search of common items I usually do came up with a list, and most of them were priced for initial bid far too high to even consider looking further to bid on.
I'll just keep going to Ebay until I can't find what I'm looking for anymore. Figure the odds on that. For every seller who leaves there are 10 more signing on.
I know that leaves you between a rock and a hard place. I don't have any words of wisdom for you. Bottom line any other auction site, from the buyers perspective, is Avis, not Hertz. It's Bubbas Burgers and Launderteria, not McDonalds. It's a Yugo, not a Lexus.
I don't particularly love Ebay and I'm not an Ebay cheerleader. But I am gonna go where I can buy what I want, when I want, at the price I want.
posted on May 31, 2001 04:05:33 PM new
Forgive my apparent presumption in giving out unrequested advice but what you need (what I believe we all need)is a users gateway with a good search engine to ALL of the buying opportunities other than or in addition to eBay.
One place where you can go and be offered the tools to search most other auction venues, classified ads, web pages, catalouge sources, chat groups, virtual malls, B&M locations and maybe even the home phone number of some guy/gal with a cellar full of items that interest you. Items offered by individual sellers on eBay could, at the sellers option, also be included in the search.
You would be a more informed buyer with an expanded, usable and near complete list of sources. I, as a seller, could offer a discount off my eBay price and still make more profit.
One of the strengths of eBay is in elimating the middlemen and facilitating direct contact between buyers and sellers.
The next step in the evolutionary process may be regulating them to a position of only being used when they provide a useful and cost effective service and replacing them with an even more efficient process of matching supply and demand.
Unless eBay really is the surpreme business model to serve our interests (I don't think so!) then maybe we better get on with moving toward the next generation.
This idea doesn't make eBay happy but that is no longer a major concern of mine.
You will have to make up your own mind or let eBay make the decisions for you.
Your choice. Your responsability.
The question we each must answer is "What am I going to do about this?"
posted on May 31, 2001 04:53:28 PM new
GV, that's an important point from any buyer's perspective.
As a seller, I can say that a few years ago there was good money to be made on eBay auctioning unusual items. Today, that market is shrinking, mainly because sellers are knocking each other over to give their items away. (What does eBay care, they get paid whether the item sells or not?)
Who knows where eBay will be in a year or two? Perhaps those items you are so fond of simply won't be found at eBay. As for the other sites, with few bidders, sellers must start the bidding near the minimum amount they are willing to accept.
I agree that at present there is no real alternative to eBay. But sellers should be taking action now to make sure that there is a marketplace a year or two from now.
posted on May 31, 2001 05:11:00 PM new
I agree with goodvibrations.
I have spent the last week signing up and investigating these other sites.
CRAP.....thats all that is offered on these sites.
I have 2 areas I'm an advid collector in. Its NANCY DREW & STAR TREK.
These other sites have nothing or what they do have is CRAP.
Heres the deal......If you really want to grow another site then offer something worth bidding on.
Its my guess that PLENTY of potentional buyers have checked out these sights...BUT...if you have nothing of quality to offer, they will leave and NEVER come back.
Twin...my puter went to hell and I got a new one, but I lost your e-mail address.
Can you e-mail me, we need to chat!
posted on May 31, 2001 05:21:11 PM new
just a thought folks but I don't think it's ebay Its the economy and the administration
Flea markets were great under carter ...when downhill under reagan / bush picked up again under clinton / gore and look where we are now..starting on a 4 year slide.
it's not the site.
posted on May 31, 2001 05:58:28 PM new
I agree with Packer. There is just no comparison with ebay in terms of variety, quality, and generally amazing assortment of goods. But there are lots of goodies on half.com and Amazon, too [speaking strictly in terms of books].
There's nothing stopping an alternative auction site from having nice things, too, but they aren't there yet. I'm losing count of the times I've looked up a book on Bidville, only to find a completely generic web page ad. The only info about the book in question is in the title of the ad. No condition, no description, nothing. Even half and Amazon do better than that [usually, except for a book on half I would like to buy, but won't because there is no condition info...]
posted on May 31, 2001 06:08:51 PM new
packer
I'm speaking of used/ collectable market
ebay is no more than a world class flea market.
natinal class flea markets like rose bowl,brimfield renningers.ect will have a slice of whatever it is you collect.
the point I am making is the slow down you see refelected on these boards is cyclical dependign on power structure vs ebays changes
I just did a search at BidVille and came up with 72 matches for Nancy Drew and 270 items for Star Trek in the books category. Not exactly nothing, but maybe it is crap, I can't really be the judge of that.
goodvibrations has a lot of really good points and it's wonderful to hear them from the perspective of a buyer. I've been trying BidVille occasionally this year, sold a few things back in March, didn't list for awhile, and just recently put some books up. But it doesn't help to attract buyers when you see the stuff that keziak mentions. I know that when I first checked out the book category at BidVille, practically all of the listings were from the same seller, and no pictures at all. The interesting thing is that this seller has racked up a lot of negs because they're selling stuff they no longer have. It's like they have a store and someone buys it in the store, but they fail to remove it from auction. Or someone bids on it on auction, but they don't take it off the shelf in the store, or something.
So, if that's the kind of stuff you see on your first visit to a new site, how likely is it that you'll go back?
Actually, what annoys me most are the technical glitches that interfere with listing, but I've discovered a couple or workarounds for that and so far, I've not been prevented from listing items at all. Although many sellers have (from eBay's message boards) and that also costs: the sellers who can't list, the buyers who can't find what they want to bid on because the seller couldn't list it, and eBay in fees, which you'd think they'd be concerned about at least.
posted on May 31, 2001 06:20:15 PM new
Packer, I'm on a new computer too and I don't have my old address book. You can contact me at [email protected]. Steve
