posted on February 14, 2002 08:43:16 PM
I just started using AuctionWatch in January, and I don't know if it's a coincidence, but I'm selling the exact same product and it was profiting me a few hundred a week, now I'm lucky to break even. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience, or if maybe somebody could give me some advice. I did read that when you accept PayPal, auctionwatch doesn't check off the credit cards button for ebay. do you think that could be affecting it? I'm still getting as many hits as before, but half the bids. Is there a way to make auctionwatch check off the credit cards button?
I believe what your talking about is accepting Billpoint? To show that method you have to "My Account" section of AW and then to "Global Preferences" and then pick Billpoint as one of your payment options!!!
posted on February 15, 2002 02:16:33 AM
I sell and buy on ebay and I can give you a couple of reasons why using Auctionwatch may slow your sales.
1. Auctions using Auctionwatch templates and picture hosting take forever to load with my dial up connection. If you're selling mass produced items that a hundred other sellers are also listing, I won't wait for more than a few seconds for your auction page to load. I'll move on to someone who has a simpler, quicker page.
2. If you're using that stupid black background template that AW offers, then I'll skip you completely because the only way I can read the text on those templates is to highlight the area where I think the text may be. I've complained about this to the AW people, but they tell me that it's me. Well, I've tried to read those auctions with several different computers and I still get a black background with no text.
These problems may not apply to you. I'm just telling you what I've found as a buyer. As soon as I see that it's an AuctionWatch auction, I move on unless I have lots of extra time to spare or it's a unique item that I have to have.
posted on February 15, 2002 03:58:22 AM
Best argument yet to maintain a dialup service. The vast majority of bidders are not on some broadband setup and slow page loading is probably the numero uno reason a viewer will hit the back button.
FWIW,I still do not use pix in my auctions; most don't need them and the risk of a slow load is second. Also, minimize the junky GIFS. I certainly don't want to hit refresh if something doesn't quite make it.
posted on February 15, 2002 04:21:21 AM
Have you ever noticed what auctions load relatively fast with dial-up? Yes, I'm shopping for a new service, but I have a cable modem so I can't tell. And apparently that's a very important thing to know!
posted on February 15, 2002 04:36:29 AM
"Have you ever noticed what auctions load relatively fast with dial-up?"
That's an easy one.
1. No template or background color. That goes DOUBLE for wallpaper.
2. No gifs.
3. No pictures that take up the entire page.
4. No Honesty counters.
I'll probably never get a cable modem or DSL line living where I am. And I'll say it again, there are more people like me than otherwise.
This is just my opinion. Lots of sellers insist on glitz and will take the loss of a few customers. I don't think they realize how many customers they're actually losing, but some just will not be convinced.
posted on February 15, 2002 06:57:40 AM
I list from AuctionWatch. My page is simple, brown, no graphics. I use the same template all the time. Loads fast and I am selling better than ever. Most of my buyers use paypal and if they read the check out, which most of them do, they will wait for my email. I do not use an automatic WIN notice. Plain and simple personal email from me.
posted on February 15, 2002 07:52:56 AM
Well, if you accept Paypal, that doesn't mean that you accept credit cards. It means you accept Paypal. If you have a merchant account, then you accept credit cards. Most people overlook this disctinction.
posted on February 15, 2002 08:13:36 AM
sales is very slow everywhere,i am with dial up AOL,and i dont find aw hosted auctions any slower than the rest.
but black background is hard to read,pink is nice for some items.
what turns me off is 75% of the page goes to dictating seller terms of sales,like they are the only game in town.
posted on February 15, 2002 09:39:32 AM
If you're using a pre-fab template, chances are the template formats everything inside an HTML table. That's the way most of them work. Graphics in tables don't display until all the graphics have loaded, so that slows down loading time considerably.
Take a few minutes to learn HTML and you won't regret it. Also, there are many graphic optimizers that can shrink your image files down to a reasonable size. Some are free. The new version of Photoshop comes with a "Save For Web..." option that really does a good job of shrinking image file size. I can get very good results using 128-color dithered GIFs. (Photoshop 6.0 is not free, but it is worth the investment if you sell on eBay.) I will try to provide a link to a free optimizer if I can find one.
posted on February 15, 2002 09:54:17 AM
Thanks for the help... I do have some graphics, but I had even more before when I was selling plenty... I will get rid of the template though. I do have DSL so it comes up fast for me...
As far as those who have commented on credit cards, everybody checks off that they accept credit cards if they accept PayPal... b/c you can pay with a credit card through PayPal...
posted on February 15, 2002 10:38:35 PM
May I suggest another reason why the same auctions are selling for less?:
YOu are listing the same auctions, over and over again. While there are certain utility items that people need over and over again (e.g. print cartridges), the heart and soul of ebay is the rare and collectible item. If I (and other buyers) see the same old item on ebay, we generally move along.
My favorite story: At a local shop that manufactures collectibles, they had a saturday garage sale to get rid of samples and overstock. I bought a number of items, including a 4" x 6" plastic change tray with the Chicago Cubs logo on it. I bought all they had, as I was planning a trip to a Chicago sports collectibles show. I believe I bought 60 Cubs change trays, and they came in boxes of 6. My price, 10 cents per tray.
Well, I sold all of 3 at the Chicago show and had the rest clogging up my basement. I decided to scan a copy of the tray (scan came out real nice)and list a box of 6 on ebay. Imagine my shock when that first lot of 6 sold for $36.00, and I sold another box to the backup bidder for close to that price.
Thinking I had something, I waited a week or two, and sold another lot of 6, this time getting about $15. The next lot went for less, and each time the final price was lower, with the last lot going for @ $3.
I think I found there are only so many die hard Cubs collectors nationwide, and I found them all. Even others that might have paid more realized there might be a big quantiy out there, so they did not have to pay too much.
The lesson to be learned, spread your auctions out over time, use different categories if possible, and keep the perception of rarity out there. And if you have something that is genuinely unique, let people know.
posted on February 16, 2002 06:12:09 AM
Bugler, I appreciate your comments. I do sell something over and over and so does everyone else. I have had to gradually come down on the price, but it seems like now nothing pricewise is helping. I've relisted, taking the template off and telling AuctionWatch that I accept credit cards so they'll check off the credit card box. I hope that'll do the trick.
posted on February 17, 2002 07:31:00 AM
I don't think auctionwatch has anything to do with poor sales right now.I think alot of other events are the problem.We have great wheather for this time of the year,the races are in Daytona Beach right now as well as Spring break.Also all the Olympics are still going. I'm working alot of overtime so I'm listing very little right now.So alot of people are probably like me,they have other things to do for the next couple of months and are not going to be on their computers.
posted on February 17, 2002 08:08:59 AM
bugler1998: There's actually a name for this phenomenon, if only I could remember what it is. I think of it as the Law of Perceived Rarity. I had the same experience with a large group of (yes, genuine) Clarice Cliff pottery pieces. I had to stretch the sales out over two years to get decent prices.
You really can go to the well too often. Sometimes you have to let the water accumulate a bit before dipping the bucket again.
posted on February 17, 2002 09:24:53 AM
I'm selling something electronic... the sales will stop when everyone has it... or everyone that wants it has it...
and i'm experiencing the same number of hits as before. they're just not converting into bids.
my new auction i started last night has 67 hits and 1 bid... i used to be able to count on 1 bid in 10 hits...
posted on February 17, 2002 10:13:58 AM
It could depend on the nature of your electonic device - if the target market is very specific and narrow, the demand may be saturated in the same manner as too much supply can saturate the antique/collectibles market as others have described.
If you're selling something of very general interest, like a DVD player, then I wouldn't think that lack of demand is causing your drop in bids. If you're not doing anything different, have you done a search on ebay to see if you have some new competition? Maybe somebody out there is offering a similar or identical item at a lower starting price, lower BIN, lower shipping price, or something else that might entice bidders away from your auctions.
posted on February 17, 2002 12:25:08 PM
Interesting posts. I was selling sets of 12 stereo views. 1st set got several bids to 25$. 2nd a few bids, to 15$, 3rd a couple of bids to 8$. YES, I have some more but will wait a couple of months!
posted on February 17, 2002 12:39:57 PM
rgrem, are your sets of 12 stereo views identical to each other? If they are, then taking breaks between each set makes sense. But if each set is comprised of different stereo views, then there's no need to hold back since it's the subject matter that sells them. In fact, it probably wouldn't hurt to post the sets simultaneously and offer to combine postage in order to generate bidder interest.
