posted on January 29, 2002 07:09:01 PM new
I've been selling on Ebay for around 3 years. Recently, I've noticed an interesting phenomenon that I don't think bodes well for Ebay. I've had an significant increase in the number of auction bidders who are not paying, a number of which when I check the site have been become nonregistered users in the last few days.(possibly by their own choice). The interesting thing is almost all of these bidders have several hundred positive feedback with NO negatives. Is anyone else seeing this?
posted on January 29, 2002 07:25:48 PM new
It is odd to see a buyer's account with hundreds of positives suddenly go NARU. I've only seen that happen with one of my buyers and it's definitely perplexing.
Speaking from my own experience, and I've been selling for over three years too, my current NPB rate has been typical - maybe 1% overall. My most recent NPBs have all been fairly typical NPB candidates - recently registered, feedback gets up to between 5 and 10, then the negs suddenly start piling up and the account is suspended. Hopefully your experience is an aberration.
posted on January 29, 2002 08:12:27 PM new
eBay is using somewhat stricter standards than they once were. Deadbeats and fraudulent sellers probably cost eBay somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple million dollars annually.
I think a lot of people are willing to gamble a warning or two from eBay for bidders' remorse. Add a forgotten payment or a lost one and you get NARU'd.
One of the sad things is that people easily forget that this is a business.
posted on January 29, 2002 08:17:43 PM new
there is a trend here,more bidders naru'd because they dont send payment.
i have 4 bidders recently and they have feedbacks around 50.
i doubt if there is a bright future with auction style commerce,thats why ebay pushes buy it now.
posted on January 29, 2002 09:29:02 PM new
I now see more and more deadbeat bidders on eBay and a much higher deadbeat ratio than Yahoo has now. What a change of fortunes that is.
It may be the first recession in 10 years is behind a lot of the deadbeat upswing.
Many auction buyers do not take their auction wins seriously. A fixed priced setup like Half.com has a lot to be desired when it comes to deadbets.
posted on January 29, 2002 09:37:04 PM new
The other big advantage to fixed sites like Half.com is the time factor. Auctions can be quite time consumming and when you factor in the time spent preparing listings, how many of us are truly making a significant profit? Previously, I'd have to say it was worth it. Lately, I'm spending too much time trying to get payment from deadbeaters. I've also seen a significant drop in final bid prices and percentage of listings that sell. When you combine that with increasing fees on the part of Ebay and the postal service, it makes the situation look even less appealing. I think diversification is probably the best approach. List more on fixed sites such as Half.com and spend more time developing a web site. Any other thoughts?
posted on January 29, 2002 10:19:27 PM new
Well there has to be some kind of fallout from all these large companies going bankrupt and all the billions lost in the stock market, all the lay-offs, not to mention all the billions being deverted to security issues.
I read the other day that Sun and IBM and other IT equipment makers are fuming over all the nearly new equipment being sold on the market. One company, I think it was Cisco lost a $4 million dollar router contract to a used equipment seller in NJ for routers for a brokerage company. He got the used Cisco equipment from a defunct subsidiary of AT&T and beat Cisco's price- $1.3 million compared to $4 million. It would be better for these companies to buy the used equipment back and destroy it.
If you have the capital to tie up, it may be the time to start gathering inventory for next year. Some think the economy will be back in shape in 6 months, but I think they are wrong, I would say at least a year.
posted on January 30, 2002 03:45:52 AM new
I wonder if this is true across the board. I think that for new/readily available merchandise it is very likely that people may find the same CD or whatever for a better price and then just blow-off the auction they won - especially if they have a week to keep shopping around.
As ebay has grown so huge, items in this category should probably be sold fixed price - with immediate charge to customer.
I don't think this happens as much with antiques/unique items. Those bidders probably get fixated on the item, and are less likely to walk away.
posted on January 30, 2002 07:31:30 AM new
Amusing article in this weeks ONION about a dealer tired of appraising smurfs. Might catch it on their website. Beware: Not for the easily offended!
