posted on June 28, 2001 08:47:35 PM
Sneaky of ebay...while we are all in the throes of suffering major carpal tunnel due to FLD, they throw up the announcement on the upcoming pricing format for ebay stores now they are coming out of their trial period.
Here's straight from the AB:
***Pricing for eBay Stores***
Thank you for your continuing interest in eBay Stores! Thousands of sellers have set up Stores, and are filling their Stores with unusual and interesting items.
As sellers build their stores during our free trial period (ending September 1st), many have had questions about pricing after the trial period ends. Pricing for eBay Stores will be as follows:
*A $9.95 monthly Basic Store subscription fee will be charged for each Store;
*An initial five-cent listing fee will be assessed to each unique listing in the Store. If multiple quantities are attached to the listing, only one listing fee will be assessed. (For example, if a seller lists one large blue t-shirt, there will be a five-cent listing fee. If the seller lists 100 large blue t-shirts, the listing fee will still only be five cents. 50 small red t-shirts will cost an additional five cents. (Multiple quantities must be for identical items.)
*Regular eBay Final Value Fees apply to all Store items.
There will be no subscription fees or insertion fees for those who open their Store before August 1st, until September 1st. For those who open their Stores after August 1st, subscription fees are waived for 30 days, but insertion fees will be charged.
There will also be an opportunity to purchase featured placement on the Stores main pages, after September 1st. Pricing for this featured placement will be announced shortly.
NOTE the last paragraph...here's where the big boys will gain most favored seller status over the small seller. They'll buy their way into the top slots
posted on June 29, 2001 05:43:19 AM
The eBay Store pricing isn't bad. They want to set it low enough where they can possibly kill off Amazon ZShops and maybe Yahoo Stores (doubt it since Yahoo's store layout is 1,000 times better), and then when the competition is dead, RAISE PRICES all over the place like they do with auctions!
spelling errors
[ edited by eSeller004 on Jun 29, 2001 05:43 AM ]
posted on June 29, 2001 10:00:13 AM
LOL
there is no need to kill amzn zshop,it was never a source of threat to ebay.
as for yahoo store,ebay has to do a lot more like bringing in professional artists and retail consultants,the yahoo store layout must have cost a fortune to create!!
yahoo store shoppers look for new items with no chip,crack,craze,hairline,dirt,scum,ding,flea bite,tear,bump to give as gits for wedding,birthday,graduation,father;s day,mother's day.etc.
may be it is coming to ebay stores,as it has its own hub and search away from auction!!
posted on June 29, 2001 10:19:56 AM
Try the eBay store out while it's still free of listing fees and membership charges. It doesn't hurt as long as you don't care about losing your About Me page. Might as well see what the sell-through is like for that format. Heck try to sell on every single viable venue out there! Multiple revenue streams from many separate sources can grow into one large aggregate revenue stream!
posted on June 29, 2001 10:20:58 AM
OK- I don't get it. I looked at the stores of about a half a dozen sellers, and all I saw was a list of their current auctions. Doesn't look like much of a "store" to me- what's up with that?
posted on June 29, 2001 10:45:05 AMYou've got to use your imagination!
I don't imagine I'll be doing much shopping at any store that requires me to make an offer and check back in a week to see if I can actually buy the item at that price, but that's just me...
My AboutMe Page has now been replaced by that damn toe tag. Though my AboutMe info did manage to slide over under the "About the Store" section w/o me having to make it do so.
Now what the devil do they have a blank toe tag & not one that says "store" or something to identify what the hell it is. The average buyer won't have a blooming clue what it means.
It's also more than a bit frustrating that the "fixed" inventory items are done like an auction which is confusing..even showing up in your auction list rather than a fixed storefront inventory list.
I'd prefer to have a way to input the fixed inventory w/o having to deal w/the "auction" format & have it included in my auction lists. ebay has GOT to revise this decision before they confuse customers & sellers any further.
Is it an auction or is it a store item? Only ebay knows for sure (and they aren't telling).
posted on June 29, 2001 02:13:02 PM
With a store you also lose your "see seller's other auctions" link (because your auctions are now in your store, and what's up with that?)
And your store items look just like a BIN auctions!
I'd rather take the $9.95/mo fee and put it toward listing BIN auctions, I think it would get a lot more eyeballs.
posted on June 29, 2001 02:24:56 PMIs it an auction or is it a store item? Only ebay knows for sure (and they aren't telling).
Well, that can't be good for anybody with a store. As I noted above, I looked through several sellers' stores, and all I saw were auction items.
I won't be looking at any more stores any time soon if the setup stays the way it is (no way to differentiate the "store" items from the "auction" items).
posted on June 29, 2001 02:52:30 PMall I saw were auction items
Some sellers may have nothing but their auction items in there right now.
ebay is missing the boat on this one. The screens for inputting "fixed priced items" are virtually identical to the "auction items" screens, except you can list them in one of your "store categories" (which you can designate or just have everything in a large jumbled mess.
Then the "fixed price items" are included in your seller list just like an auction listing, the only difference is you don't really see a beginning/ending date on the viewing page. Again...stupidly confusing, especially for the newbie.
The only thing that differentiates the "fixed price item" from the "auction item" is the toe tag. Having a toe tag (not the one next to the seller's name) means it's a "fixed price item" as opposed to an "auction item".
ebay, if you are listing...the format is DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. You are going to confuse the crap out of buyers & sellers alike. You MUST differentiate the entire format & screens for the fixed price from the auction items if you expect the store fronts to be a success.
I have both auction items & fixed price items up in my store and it's still takes me a minute to recognize which is which. That's counterproductive for everyone.
The storefront is going to HAVE to change or the whole thing is going to become a big ho-hum.
posted on June 29, 2001 04:00:21 PM
As a seller who has a store (doing pretty good, btw) + I have auctions. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who looks at the list (my own) and wonders is it auction/store? It takes a few minutes to adjust.
Sad I only have about 80 items right now and even I'm confused in my own store.
