posted on August 28, 2001 09:22:51 AM
I am currently using Auction Assistant Pro and am considering using Auction Watch. Does anybody see any downsides? What do you like about Auction Watch?
Thanks
posted on August 28, 2001 09:27:41 AM
I like AW, because I can track auctions at home, work, library, or anywhere. It provides a detailed checklist of steps for after the auction. I can schedule and reschedule auctions quickly and easily. Image hosting is really good.
posted on August 28, 2001 09:54:32 AM
I recently was looking into Auctionwatch as well.. but I tried to figure out how much I'd be paying for their services per year. I used July's figures (which is very low), and figured it out to be at least $700 per year on either plan.
No thanks, I'll stick with Auctiva - for $120 per year.
posted on August 28, 2001 10:24:38 AM
Well, on their standard plan, you pay 5¢ per auction plus 1% FVF on each sold auction. On their "power" plan, you pay $200 upfront, plus 5¢ per auction. I list hundreds of auctions every week, so if I only had to pay that fee it's still too much for me. AW wants sellers to think they are getting a "deal" with the power plan, but as far as I'm concerned it's no "deal" at all. I'd be willing to pay $200 per year - PERIOD.
But I guess for now I'll stick with Auctiva for $120/year, and pay no FVF's, and no per-auction fee.
Personally I feel that AW is being very greedy. I haven't seen anyone as expensive as AW in all the program's I've researched.
posted on August 28, 2001 10:45:51 AM
Auction Watch ( auction manager pro) in my opinion is THE BEST, MOST RELIABLE & MOST EASIEST to use ~ I have tried others and didn't like as well
I have been using it for almost 2 years now
And best of all ~ images just about always show up when an ebayer previews your auction unlike some other image hosts
posted on August 28, 2001 12:47:09 PM
gina50, I totally agree with you. I love AuctionWatch. Took me awhile to get used to all the features, but I love it now. IMO, AuctionWatch is the best and easiest way to list.
posted on August 28, 2001 02:04:57 PM
ExecutiveGirl,
I have deleted your last post. You have made it clear that you do not like AuctionWatch Services and are encouraging others to use another service - that's a no-no.
The problems you outline in the post I deleted are generally not problems the membership is seeing at this time and you are giving many people a skewed view.
I have deleted your post because it is promotional in nature.
If you wish to give the originator of this thread constructive criticism regarding AW services, that would be fine, but no promoting of competitors is allowed.
posted on August 28, 2001 03:34:38 PM
I used AW back in the free days, but tired of the problems. I host my pictures on my own web space and write my own simple HTML now. I can list faster, my auctions are clean looking and simple and it's free.
As you're new to AW, I would encourage you to peruse the public forums here and do a site search for topics that pertain to your particular business and auction usage.
There are a couple of public forums dedicated to AW services; doing some research there will likely help you immensely.
I personally still launch all my own auctions (small seller) but have been doing active research here for a few months in advance of the Christmas season...
I will be more likely to engage AW for support once they have implented their interface with eBay's API, begun listing compatability with eBay Motors and the adult areas on eBay and have solved the Sunday and Thursday site latency problems....
Compared to a lot of now extinct dot.coms, AW has one positive thing going for it.....it's still here....that's a good sign in my book...
posted on August 28, 2001 04:53:47 PM
I have been using Auctionwatch for quite awhile. It seems to be very reliable, in fact beter than it used to be.I think its worth ever penny. I've used others and didn't like them as well.
posted on August 28, 2001 04:54:31 PM
I use the SAP program but not without problems. My computer crashed and had to be repaired in June and I had to used my small backup computer that didn't have enough memory for the SAP Memory Hog....net net of that experience....after using Auction Watch for three weeks I couldn't wait to get back to my SAP...with all its problems it is better, faster, and easier to use than Auction Watch. I'm still looking for another Auction Program to use after my free trail with SAP but it won't be AW.
posted on August 28, 2001 05:16:05 PM
I've received good customer service with AuctionWatch, which I appreciate. Can't compare to other services, since this is the only one I've used. We don't list a lot of auctions, either, just a couple per week.
posted on August 28, 2001 09:31:58 PM
There are a lot of variables in making the decision. The following are just a few that contributed to my decision to look elsewhere.
COST--what are you comfortable with paying? I can see paying a listing fee. But I'm personally not comfortable with paying a listing service a chunk of my profit. Other people are.
SPEED--do you have a cable modem or DSL, or are you stuck with a phone modem? If you have a phone modem AW can be painfully slow.
ABILITY TO CUSTOMIZE CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION--If you have lots of multiple item winners and want to calculate winning bids and combined shipping with one click...and/or if you like to add one or two personal words to an email, you probably won't be able to do that easiy with AW.
ABILITY TO STORE TEMPLATES FOR FREQUENTLY USED CATEGORIES--If AW offers this, I didn't figure it out.
I don't expect a free ride. I pay $5 per month for reliable image hosting--and when that site had a short outage a couple of weeks ago, they gave everybody a free month for the "inconvenience." I purchased an awesome auction management program for a one-time fee of $39.95 that in my opinion runs rings around AW (especially in the PSM department). My program lets me prepare auctions ahead of time, and offers infinite control over templates. My listings are done as fast as I can type the descriptions. I can launch immediately, or schedule later listing in batches (where I set the time lag between listings), and never ever do they get stuck in "processing." I also pay an annual fee for a counter service that gives me accurate page hit #s and bid $ info without endlessly refreshing. I figure this "system" costs me about $7 total per month since I'm still amortizing the cost of the program. I can list any number of auctions I want, and that is my total cost, no matter how high my sales go.
I left AW when they first imposed fees; the final value fee just stuck in my craw. I came back for a day when they offered free listings to see if I was cutting off my nose to spite my face. I listed a run of inexpensive items and they did no better than I expected. Even so, the total AW listing/FVF fee amounted to almost $10 for that one day's lousy business, and that is unacceptable to me. Plus, since I'm stuck with a phone modem, I found the slowness of the site excruciating. My buyers hated the online WBN stuff, necessitating a ton of follow-up that I ordinarily do not have to do. I "earned" every penny I will (hopefully--haven't seen it yet) get back from that free listing day.
So, for me, AW is not the answer. For some people it is. Fortunately, you can give AW a try rather inexpensively by listing a few auctions and seeing if you can live with the cost and limitations.
posted on August 29, 2001 06:50:44 AM
ABILITY TO CUSTOMIZE CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION--If you have lots of multiple item winners and want to calculate winning bids and combined shipping with one click...and/or if you like to add one or two personal words to an email, you probably won't be able to do that easiy with AW.
Exactly why I'm not with AW. If it were to change I'd come back but I have muliple winners with every auction set. Buyers really hate muliple emails Then more work for me to figure out the combined totals etc...
If I'm doing most of the work I'm not going to pay AW
Angela
www.pandorastrinkets.com
-0- it's a beady place -0-
posted on August 29, 2001 07:16:58 AM
There are scores of excellent choices out there for pic hosting & auction tools. So, if you want customer service and reliability, you might keep looking...
posted on August 29, 2001 07:32:29 AM
I thought the nicest thing about AW was the integrated image hosting with the auction launching.
However, I stopped using AW when the fees came along.
When comparing services, besides the obvious costs or lack of, one of the most important factors, IMO, is whether you want/need an all-in-one package vs. hosting your images apart from your auction launching package. For me, the latter is the most cost effective and I've found it relatively easy to do.
posted on August 29, 2001 07:46:52 AM
I love AW! They had some problems last year but seem to have worked most of the bugs out.
I balked a bit at first when they started charging for their services, but after I did the math, factoring in the time I have to spend writing descriptions, etc., decided the fees were well worth the money.
The "Inventory" feature alone is enough to make me stick with AW.
I can literally type up a description months ahead of the time I actually plan to list the item and store it for future use. A couple of clicks of the mouse and I have an auction ready to launch.
I can schedule auctions to launch when I'm at work, out of town, or busy watching the
X Files or Pretender on the tube!
Checked out the other services -- AW does the best job for me.
Keep up the good work AW! You guys keep getting better all the time!
posted on August 29, 2001 03:16:01 PM
Auction Watch is the best, but they are far too expensive! I was forced to migrate to another service when the fee structure was announced. I'd gladly pay a fixed flat monthly rate for AW, but the way they have it set up would kill me.
I pay $24.95 flat rate per month for the service I use now. If I were using AW, for the same services, it would cost $75-$100. I can't justify the extra $50 per month with my tight profit margins.
posted on August 30, 2001 04:09:24 AM
I am very reluctant to pay for or use a service that doesn't add value to a transaction for either me or my bidder or one that seeks to take control of how I conduct my business.
The appeal of AW is the same as that of AOL: paying a premium for something canned that might take you all of an extra hour or two to set up on your own terms with more flexibility.
It's sort of like designer shirts or jeans with the name neatly sewn on your chest or derriere; I'm just not sure why anyone wants to pay extra to advertise for free for something that doesn't appear to make much difference in the overall results.
posted on August 30, 2001 04:34:01 AM
Well said mballai, I wish I had said it. The more you learn about doing things the simple way, the less dependant you are on others, in this case AW (or any hosting - posting service). For small sellers especially, the added cost is too much. There are too many things that we HAVE to pay for that we cannot do for ourselves.
Learning to host my own pics on my web space became a challenge for me. In the process of figuring it out, I learned more about picture editing, writing HTML, FTP, and so on. I like learning new things.
posted on August 30, 2001 08:50:33 AM
I like this other service I currently use - it's less expensive, no fees based on auction sale prices. I can create my auctions and schedule them to run later, add as many pics as I like, etc.
It has come to my attention that AW offers some more sophisticated templates than my service, such as side-by-side text and photos. So far that's not a make or break issue for me though.
Then more work for me to figure out the combined totals etc...