posted on July 8, 2001 10:19:19 PM
I've been a seller on eBay since mid 1997 and have been using auctionwatch's auction manager for quite some time. The auctions I listed this evening used some of the new, basic templates provided by AW. I sell in the same category (vintage toys--1900's to 1930's) and have noticed a significant increase in hits which I believe may be due to the new templates. The auctionwatch storefront link is much more visible on these auction templates than on the previous ones I've used. I like the free storefront but have noticed no significant increase in views nor purchases because of it. I had long ago made the decision that I would never sign up for the option if there was a fee for the service. However, the number of views this evening are consistent and higher among the auctions and different subcategories leading me to believe that the link is easier to see and viewers are chosing the link. Anyone else have any similiar experiences?
posted on July 9, 2001 06:11:20 AM
more hits is great for whatever reason...BUT how can you give credit to AW new templates???? There is now way for a potential bidder to know you are using aw or have the new templates until AFTER they have opened your auction, adding a hit to your total...the instant they click on your toitle your hit count goes up, they do not even see a template until they scroll down to the description.....you must be getting a kickback from AW to pump the new templates up...just a thought
posted on July 9, 2001 07:15:39 AM
My auctions did much better this week than they have in the last two weeks. I was actually checking my auctions those two weeks to see if the titles had indexed!
I'm not sure how templates could increase hits. Hits are just who views your page, right? So your titles have more to do with that than how your page looks. Now bids are different - if you're getting more bids, the templates or the hot weather keeping people indoors might be the reason.
posted on July 9, 2001 07:18:54 AM
Since the hit numbers are consistent between the auctions, it is apparent to me that the auctionwatch link is more visible on these new templates. On previous auctions (600 since January) this was not the case. The hits varied considerably although there were other items in the same category (eg toys-vintage windup). The hits varied dramatically among the auctions during the time auctionwatch first began the store fronts. Now I'm observing more consistency. I believe that a potential buyer is seeing an auction and then selecting the storefront link which was not the case before. I'm still convinced the storefront has not impacted my past sales.
I'm just stating my observations. I asked for similiar experiences not accusations.
By the way, where do I apply for the kickbacks? I didn't find the auctionwatch link for that.
not toybuyer on ebay
[ edited by toybuyer on Jul 9, 2001 07:22 AM ]
posted on July 9, 2001 07:32:15 AM
The templates help if after a potential buyer opens just one auction and sees my auctionwatch link and opens the rest of the auctions. That has not been apparent at all to me in the past. It is now more obvious, this past week, since I've been using a new template. I never felt, in the past, that the link was obvious. In fact, my listing requested a viewer to select the storefront link, which was at the bottom of each auction, to see a quick picture gallery of the other auctions we had up for sale. Even that wasn't a guarantee because I firmly believe that alot of bidders don't read the entire description. If I have 5 different items in a vintage toy category and after 12 hours all the hits are 46-49 each where in the past the same items had hit numbers between 12-36, I see a difference. I hope that this post clarifies my observations.
posted on July 9, 2001 07:36:30 AM
capotasto: Thank you for your response. I had been clarifying my original post at the same time you were posting. I might not have been clear enough although my original post did state the following
......However, the number of views this evening are consistent and higher among the auctions and different subcategories......
Unless you list multiple auctions for the same or very similar items using different templates for each one, and list them at the same time, with sameor similar ending times, (but perhaps using differently worded titles to ensure they have some kind of difference) you simply won't ever have any useful data that would indicate whether using 1 template variant was better than another.
There are just so many other factors involved, I think it is difficult to attribute success at any one week to any one particular thing, bidders & auction hits are just too fickle.
