posted on June 27, 2001 08:20:42 PM new
Word-of-mouth MADE eBay. It was not their million-dollar ad campagin of today...
"Word-of-mouth" is NOT going to make another auction site popular or viable. It's too late, way too late! The excitement and newness era is gone...
Therefore, and don't you agree[?], any new auction concern, regardless of ownership or platform, needs millions of dollars for advertising to be a success! Anybody can upload auction software to a sever, and it's getting eaZier everyday!
I am listing on Yahoo auctions as an alternative to eBay; however, it's only because I have $3400 worth of credits to spend. I don't list on ePier, BidVille, or any other auction.com. They don't/cannot advertise, and it's not worth it.
I'd like to see one of the Co-Op sites take off with aplomb! It is the only type of site USER OWNED[!], that I'd consider worthy of an investment of my time and effort. All the others sites [IMO][private held] will turn into GreedBays if given 1/2 a chance!...
posted on June 27, 2001 08:34:09 PM new
I can only say this, I think most sellers out there are trying every auction site that they think they might sell something on.I also think with so many sellers hanging in there supporting these other auction sites that some of them just might give E-Bay a run for their money in due time.It is working for me,right now I am selling more on Bargain & Haggle than I do on E-Bay! Who ever your posting with besides E-Bay just keep up the hard work, just build the site and they will come.I signed up with SYI tonight and posted a few things,nice site.
posted on June 27, 2001 09:28:18 PM new
Morgantown, I agree with you that the new sites are just eBay wannabees. Still, any competition for eBay is good news. Perhaps eBay sees the handwriting on the wall and that is why they are moving into retail sales. I think for many of us, selling on eBay and the Internet has been an eye-opening experience as to how business is conducted in the real world. The bottom line is always the dollar. What eBay forgets is that those folks paying $100 or $1000 dollars a month are real people with real lives, not just numbers in an accounting program. We can't tell eBay how to run their business, but we can "vote with our pocketbooks" and take our business elsewhere.
Despite eBay's dominance, they are not invulnerable. It's as simple as building a better mousetrap. eBay is not invincible.
posted on June 28, 2001 07:51:44 AM newtwinsoft -- you're darned tootin' ebay isn't invulnerable! Just the nature of the dot-com sector makes that the case. But in addition, they've gotten fatally arrogant. Someone posted somewhere else, "Ebay is not just a venue -- it's the competition." I thought that was well-phrased.
I am astounded at the numbers of discussions and the posters to those discussions about people getting out, going back to a 9-to-5, refusing to list anymore on ebay (like me), supporting and cheerleading other auction sites, starting co-ops (or trying to), etc. There's a certain level of discomfort (or unhappiness) that people will put up with for a long time, but if the trend is unabated, there comes that proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back." Ebay has started to slip over that line for an awful lot of people.
IMO the stats on listings on the MedVed site is fairly startling circumstantial evidence that all is not well in ebayland. (See Reston_Ray's thread.)
I think EVERYone who has ANY complaints about ebay ought to take a look at Gegy. Their CEO has been incredibly attentive and responsive to the comments and complaints of non-members (would-be members). They'll be charging no listing fees, only FVFs (with a limit on relists to keep people from "parking" their losers there), so the emphasis will be on doing everything they can to help Sellers be successful. No ban on links. Imported feedback is a one-time option. Lotsa other good things. I've signed up to beta test -- there's still time for others to sign up (I think beta testing starts Saturday). OH! Almost forgot (a real key thing) - a $1 million advertising budget to attract BUYERS. Live support. Scurrilous Feedback can be removed. The list goes on.
I think people owe it to themselves to check it out. You may not sign up, may not like or trust it, whatever, but it sure deserves a look-see before you make that determination!
As I've posted elsewhere, there's a discussion board (where you'll see Gegy's CEO posting) on OAUA (General Discussion, open to non-OAUA members) and others on Gegy's own forums as well. Right now they're working on getting the site's backend ready so I doubt if you'll be able to acess much other than the forums from the Gegy home page.
posted on June 28, 2001 08:10:49 AM new
I sat there for an hour and a half last night and played those stupid sample games Gegy has up on its website (couldn't beat the damn solitaire game although I did win at checkers!). I think it was off the GegyKids link or something. It's stupid little things like that which will make people visit and revisit Gegy. It's all part of creating a positive and engaging user experience. It looks like a fun site from what I've seen and the Gegy character evokes a sense of fun. Either people love or hate that character, but they certainly can't forget it no matter what they say. Kind of like trying to forget a pink elephant! Most logos you wouldn't think twice about. This one you can't forget and gets people talking.
Clevergirl,
Thanks for the headsup about Gegy details. Companies that disrupt entire industries are born all the time. This one with the proper RELENTLESS advertising, vision, and focus on taking advantage of eBay's many miscues could be one. Let's hope!
posted on June 28, 2001 08:19:41 AM newDespite eBay's dominance, they are not invulnerable. It's as simple as building a better mousetrap. eBay is not invincible.
posted on June 28, 2001 08:45:58 AM new
The on-line auction business as a whole seems to be leveling off. Further dilution with upstart sites isn't going to help any of us (looking at the big picture) unless you can bring new customers to the site(s), and by that I mean not simply taking them away from ebay.
[ edited by loosecannon on Jun 28, 2001 10:13 AM ]
posted on June 28, 2001 08:47:17 AM new
CleverGirl,
How would Gegy be able to import our eBay feedback??? eBay certainly wouldn't give any other site access to it. In addition, how would Gegy be sure you were importing YOUR feedback and not someone else's??? For example, shady users could potentially try and import another user's impeccable eBay feedback as their own.
posted on June 28, 2001 08:57:35 AM new
YIKES! I'm not fond of that idea!
Well, maybe you give it to them, they somehow import your eBay feedback (how???), and then you quickly change your password! CleverGirl said it was a one time thing.
posted on June 28, 2001 09:05:37 AM newYIKES! I'm not fond of that idea!
Well, I guess you have to decide for yourself if you think it is too much of a risk.
Do you use (or have you used in the past) a sniping tool such as esnipe or any of the auction tools on vrane?
Do you use (or have you used in the past) any auction management tools such as eBud, AuctionAmigo, or those here at AW?
If so, you have provided the same information (user id and password) that would be required in order to verify your id to import fedback. There is no way for any program or service to access your eBay account without that information.
posted on June 28, 2001 09:17:31 AM new
They will import your feedback from eBay in a one time deal. They will NOT save your password or user ID.
If that makes you nervous, you sure don't have to do it.
What I like about Gegy, and what I think makes them different at this point, is that they are planning on bombarding the media with ads to attract buyers. We all know a new site cannot succeed w/o the buyers. Well Gegy knows that too, so the money is going to be spent to attract them to the site. Their CEO used to be a powerseller, from what I understand, so he understands the viewpoints of us as sellers. I for one am excited about the possibilities here, and I hope that people don't immediately discount them because they don't like the name or the ugly green guy.
posted on June 28, 2001 09:27:12 AM new
Clever Girl,
With the exception of the Million Dollar ad budget (as far as I know), sellyouritem.com is all those things you mention that gegy SAYS it will be. After the roundtable discussion the other night, I'm not so sure.
I asked about the importing of feedback rating number from other sites and what sellyouritem does is request that the email addy registered at sellyouritem matches the email addy at any other site the transfer is coming from. From what I understand, a staff member manually checks each feedback profile to determine if the profile should or shouldn't be transferred.
Since, in order register, you need access to the email addy you provided for a confirmation code to complete the registration process, it makes sense that the request from the user is the same person on the other site.
sellyouritem also has 2 bulklisters. One is an online version, the other uses either an excel file, or a plain text editor.
edited to add: sellyouritem also has an auction import feature that will snag your auction listing information off ebay and yahoo. Makes it nice if an item doesn't sell, to be able to move it over without much effort. (no password required)
sellyouritem is currently offering a $10 listing credit to new members who sign up using an existing member as a referral. All existing members get $5 added to their account when their ID is used.
If anyone wants to sign up using the ID toollady I wouldn't complain about the referral!
[ edited by toollady on Jun 28, 2001 09:31 AM ]
posted on June 28, 2001 09:27:16 AM new
mrpotatoheadd,
Much obliged for the info! No, I don't use any 3rd party auction management or sniping services so I wasn't aware that your eBay ID and password are already in the public domain. I believe PayPal also requires it, now that I think about it, to insert their logos in your auctions if I'm not mistaken. I don't like advertising for PayPal so I don't allow them to include their logos in my auctions.
I still don't see how Gegy can import feedback from eBay users without eBay providing a data file, which they won't! Are they going to read your feedback #s off your HTML-based feedback page or something??? They could do that with JavaScript or VBScript but the programming gets kinda messy! Anybody know?
posted on June 28, 2001 09:36:45 AM new
eSeller004-
...I wasn't aware that your eBay ID and password are already in the public domain.
I don't know that I'd say they are "in the public domain", but in order for those services to work, you do have to allow them to use that information.
I still don't see how Gegy can import feedback from eBay users without eBay providing a data file...
It was my understanding that they would be importing the number total only, not the entire comments. But I could be wrong...
toollady-
...what sellyouritem does is request that the email addy registered at sellyouritem matches the email addy at any other site the transfer is coming from.
That would work too, but only if you were planning on using the same email address for both sites.
edited to add...
Found this posted by a gegy rep on another site:
Here is the information on the imported feedback system that we will be using:
1- You will be able to import feedback from eBay, Yahoo and Amazon. Those are the only sites that our program supports at this time.
2- You will be asked if you would like to import your feedback when you register at Gegy.com. This is the one and only opportunity you will be given to import feedback to Gegy.com
3- Importing feedback is OPTIONAL. Therefore, the choice will be yours. If you want to import your feedback, you can. If you prefer to start fresh, you can do that also.
4- When the feedback is imported, it will show up in a separate table within each of your auction listings (which our progam will add automatically to each auction you list - you won't have to do anything). It will list the site (ie - eBay, Yahoo and/or Amazon) - and the feedback numbers. It will list separately the total positive, negative, and neutral comments and then an overall rating will be displayed.
5- At some time in the future, once you have established your Gegy.com feedback and reputation, you will be given the option to remove the imported feedback from your auction, if you choose to do so. Note: This option will not be available until December 2001 - so if you import your feedback now, it will remain on your auction listings until that time.
6- When you request to have your feedback imported from other sites, Gegy.com will verify your username and feedback with the other sites before it is imported. This is to protect each member from fraudulent import of feedback that was not earned.
7- At the top of each auction listing, beside your User ID, your feedback rating will start at ZERO. The imported feedback will be added to the body of your auction automatically and be displayed in a tasteful and not overly large table.
8- When feedback imports are conducted, Gegy.com will not store any of your personal user information, regarding other auction sites, that you provide for the purpose of importing feedback.
[ edited by mrpotatoheadd on Jun 28, 2001 09:47 AM ]
posted on June 28, 2001 09:48:04 AM new
mrpotatohead,
True, but if you(general you) really wanted the feedback transferred, you could change the email addy at one of the sites to match, then change it back after the transfer has taken place.
I guess that would work, but you mean they're going to handimport feedbacks for all users that want it?? What if 10 million users signup and request it??? The monotony and sheer size of that job would drive the person responsible outta their mind!!! That might work for a small site with few users like SellYourItem, but Gegy with a million $ advertising campaign is going to attract millions of users. It has to be some kind of automated program. Can you imagine the thousands of wasted manhours if they're not???
BTW, how's the sell-through on SellYourItem??? Is it really worth listing? I've never signed up for the site. Does it have free listings?
Currently basic listings are free. Support said they would give everyone at least 30 days notice before implementing the basic listing fee. Even if they do implement the fee, you do get an additional 3 free re-lists for the price of the original listing.
They also don't charge for a reserve auction and their enhanced listings(featured, bold, etc) are cheaper. FVF are the same as ebay's.
If you save your listings on site in the bulkloader, you don't even have to use the auto re-list option and can just re-list from your saved file. The listings remain in the save file until you delete them yourself.
Considering the site is about 6 weeks live, the sell through is not too bad. I haven't had any sales on this ID, but I do have another ID that I list my pretties with and have been getting good results.
Since sellyouritem also has a buynow feature, the current listings can be deceiving. To get a better picture, your best bet would be to look at the completed auctions. There's a link on the site map to get to the completed auctions.
Their site map is actually useful! You don't run around in circles trying to find what you are looking for!
re: feedback transfer, they say it takes up to 5 days for the transfer to occur. I guess if they don't let the requests pile up, it could go pretty quickly.
Their support staff is excellent. Real answers to questions sent in via email and they do respond quickly. The longest I waited for a response was 5 hours and I think that is only because I sent the email in at 2am. It's so nice to get an answer the first time a question is asked.
They also have a live support board.
If SellYourItem's only been open 6 weeks than low sell-through is perfectly understandable. As far as fees, I don't mind FVFs, but a listing fee without sell-through is a little hard to swallow. It's nice that it's free right now and you get 3 relists free. Thanks for the info, I'll go check it out!
Do they have any sort of advertising campaign planned?
I know there was mention on the support board about an ad campaign being announced in a few weeks.
Also, you can scroll back on their chat boards about a week I think.
posted on June 28, 2001 10:16:01 AM new
I was thinking that green Gegy character would translate real well to TV! A Saturday morning children's cartoon may be in the works. They are trying to get kids to frequent the site and a cartoon would be an easy way to bring kids in. If kids use the site, then parents inevitably will find it as well when checking up on what kids are doing on the Web. If that's their intention, then it sounds like a plan!
The Gegy suite of sites may deserve an infomercial as well while they're at it to sell its features.
posted on June 28, 2001 11:12:47 AM new
Does anybody know what their strategy will be for spending that $1M advertising budget? Seems to me that a budget of that size versus ebay's own advertising and name recognition will have to be spread around in a guerilla marketing campaign.
posted on June 28, 2001 04:09:44 PM newholdenrex - I think the live chat transcript (available in the Gegy forums somewhere) outlined their marketing plans in overview.
Gegy is also going to be very well integrated -- with its own "best of PayPal and best of BillPoint" service (GegyPay) which is going to have some neat features, GegyConnect for B2B auctions, GegyLIVE for LIVE auctions (which they anticipate will bring in a completely new set of buyers, not just ebay retreads), GegyMail, forums of course, and GegyKids which is going to have some neat features as well. GegyPay will be optional, can be used on ebay listings, can be used to fund your Gegy FVFs through your bank account. I think it'll be international-ready immediately or shortly thereafter (don't quote me).
I know a lot of people are skittich about online pay systems, as am I (I was one who quit PayPal not long after they're "always free" fiasco). But cautious as I might be, I'm still willing to take a look at how they handle this and be open to being pleasantly surprised.
The thing that impresses me the most, tho, is how closely they've been listening to EVERYBODY who's been offering suggestions, criticism, etc. The CEO has been personally involved in the online discussions. Very responsive. Further, he's a former (or current??) PowerSeller himself, so there are a few things he knows about, in spades! LOL --e.g., retaliatory or unwarranted negative feedback. Links to your websites (which will be allowed on Gegy).
I just think it's a class act. They say it'll be the largest initial site rollout ever, with funding already lined up for later down the road, career opportunities (incl internationally) already listed on the site, etc.
Frankly, toollady, I don't see a real comparison with SYI. I'm not dissing SYI and in fact wouldn't have thought to try to compare the two sites with one coming out unfavorably vis a vis the other -- esp. since I think there's room (and a need!) for both of them. I myself expect to list on SYI at some point in the future. But I'll be involved with the Gegy rollout first.
Most logos you wouldn't think twice about. This one you can't forget and gets people talking.
CleverGirl said it was a one time thing.