posted on November 2, 2001 08:23:58 AM new
Can ebay survive without featuring the basic mom and pop auctions that made them a success? It's obvious that ebay is putting less value on the core business that they started with. All their fees and restrictions are downright discouraging, and the numerous newer ebay features like Stores and Half.com directly compete with the basic auction poster. I get the feeling that they really don't care about small sellers anymore. Is the basic auction necessary for ebay to be a successful company? What do other sellers think?
posted on November 2, 2001 08:46:45 AM new
Small sellers are not very important to ebay since they are working for the stockholders, not for us.
Their efforts are directed at the big sellers of big ticket items since it will help Meg et cie. reach their billion dollar goal by 2005 or whatever it is. They love that an ebay motors sale is for a thousand dollars, it takes a hundred ten dollar sales to reach that, and we sellers can be such a pain in their butt.
If ebay didn't keep dropping their pants in public it wouldn't be so embarrassing - items like the ebay stores and Auctions for America are two big failures available for all to see...
What has happened is that the drive for growth has made us inconsequential, and their neglect of us, and our needs an opinions, has serious side effects.
As you point out, the uniqueness of the small seller is the uniqueness of ebay itself. We did indeed - TOGETHER - create the marketplace and the model. We are being squeezed out, ignored, and are not a very big part of their "golden" future. But their very future may not be so "golden" without us. Already the flow of new buyers has slowed, deadbeats are on the increase, and that is because they are thinking mass market not niche market.
Another problem. Ebay is not only seeking big ticket items, they are looking at attracting high volume companies who will unload their excess inventory of thousands of $10 plastic gee-gaws.
Then ebay becomes a venue primarily for overstock and seconds, an online dollar store. Then the only attraction will be cheapness, not the fun of finding something unusual and special. Take the fun out of ebay and replace it with so-called bargains, and the customer base will be full of deadbeats and bottom feeders. Yuk.
posted on November 2, 2001 10:08:26 AM new
The real money is in the big sellers with big items. 5% of $5 is only a quarter. 5% of $200 is $10. The bike shop on the corner may have started selling used or low-end bikes but it now sells only expensive racing bikes with nice profit margins.
posted on November 2, 2001 10:31:57 AM new
Although many armchair CEOs think otherwise, eBays decision makers are far from stupid. They are a corporation, bound to the demands of the eBay shareholders. If their exhaustive market research shows the most profitable path to be big ticket fixed price retail sales, then you can be sure that's the way it'll go.
As for the rest of us, it's adapt or be plowed under. The last century is littered with defunct small businesses that couldn't or wouldn't change or keep up with the times.
eBays days as a mom & pop collectible auction site have been over for a while now, the big question is who will emerge to successfully catch all those who jump?
Although I dislike them, I'm betting it's going to be Yahoo.
posted on November 2, 2001 12:44:20 PM new
The economy will also dictate much of what happens at eBay in the near future.
I think buying things on eBay will be the first thing to go in a consumers budget, and many sellers are already seeing that.
But I don't think mass marketing by large retailers is going to be a success for eBay. eBay presents branding problems among other things for retailers. At this point eBay will be forced to recognize that the venue is a flea market and will never be a mega shopping mall.
I don't think the used car market is suited for the internet, unless it is done strictly by small region categories, and/or for rare and collector cars.
I wouldn't buy a used car that was 400 miles away, or for that matter 100 miles away. I have every used car I might want within 25 miles now, why would I want to go further ? Think of the problems of dealing with someone hundreds of miles away if something went wrong ? If you buy from a dealer from 200 miles away and they offer some sort of warranty, won't that be nice if you have to transport the car 200 miles for warranty work - or even 75 miles for that matter? Or just making arrangements to pick the car up or have it transported is a hassle. This is normal practice for car collectors, but not for the average used car buyer.
But in any event, there is an economic shake out coming and it is the first since the internet became popular. I am anxious to see how ISP's fare as the unemployment rate climbs. When someone gets laid off do you think they will keep their internet service ? Will it be the first or last thing to go or will they switch to a lower cost dial up service with fewer bells and whistles ? We'll be finding out soon enough. AOL just announced it has moved a top man into the internet side because growth had stalled.
posted on November 2, 2001 05:12:34 PM new
This has sadly been the trend for the last 2 years and YAHOO is the logical one to inherit EBAY's castaways but they don't seem to want to do it-The same small businesses that made eBAY the Gillionaires that they have become are out there looking for a new home but no one is paying attention-All YAHOO has to do is advertise in the media, online, etc that they welcome buyers and sellers of antiques, collectibles and all that other good stuff and they will come in droves-
posted on November 2, 2001 07:11:07 PM new
"I am anxious to see how ISP's fare as the unemployment rate climbs. When someone gets laid off do you think they will keep their internet service ? Will it be the first or last thing to go or will they switch to a lower cost dial up service with fewer bells and whistles ?"
LOL-- I might be living in a 1977 van down by the river, with only the clothes on my back and a bag of chips my only food stock, BUT I'LL STILL BE ONLINE IF IT KILLS ME!!
posted on November 2, 2001 07:32:48 PM new
I tried yahoo a few times and didn't sell one item....the same thing happened at bargainandhaggle.com and haggle. I sell a little of everything on eBay and am still selling about 70% of what I list. I'm a "small seller" like the majority of you folks and for now I seem to still make a bit of profit on eBay. I'm still open to new sites tho'. Have a good one ya'll!
posted on November 3, 2001 12:40:35 AM new"I am anxious to see how ISP's fare as the unemployment rate climbs. When someone gets laid off do you think they will keep their internet service ? Will it be the first or last thing to go or will they switch to a lower cost dial up service with fewer bells and whistles ?"
Very few will give up their internet addiction. I'd rather give up the TV cable and then hook up the old rabit ears with tin foil trick to replace it. Looks like hell but works.
posted on November 3, 2001 03:22:10 AM new
I am just a small seller 10-20 items per week, but I will stay with ebay because that is where the traffic is
unlike a lot of other sellers, this is just my major hobby, the money is welcome but not our main bread n butter. this makes all the fees we pay go down much easier.
as far as sell through rate, in the last month to 6 weeks, ours has gone up to 85-90%.
I am not sure whether this is the items we are selling or fewer auctions for buyers to dig through.
IMHO though, if ebay does price the mom and pop sellers out of their shop, they would only be hurting themselves. buyers are looking for the items we have found at a yard sale in Ohio or Florida because they cannot find it in California or New York. We are here to stay methinks.
