posted on October 12, 2002 10:56:03 PM
Look what I found in ebay's announcements:
**Introduction of Listing Scheduling on SYI 2.0***
We are pleased to announce that listing scheduling is now available on
Sell Your Item 2.0. Listing scheduling gives you the flexibility to
list items on eBay at a starting day and time you choose, up to three
weeks in advance. You can create your listings at your convenience and
control the time they start and end. A $0.10 fee will apply for this
feature, in addition to normal eBay fees.
In addition to Sell Your Item 2.0, listing scheduling is available on
the eBay.com site for Turbo Lister, Seller's Assistant Basic and
Seller's Assistant Pro. In the near term, we will also be introducing
listing scheduling on the Sell Your Item 2.0 form on eBay's
International sites.
For more information about listing scheduling, please visit our
Frequently Asked Questions page.
posted on October 12, 2002 11:07:47 PM
Ebay launch is just another way for ebay to get into our pockets. The basic purpose of it is so you can list your auctions onto the system then have them start at a time and day that you would like it to start. Personally, I would want to pick my closing times and have auctions start as soon as I list them. The way it is set up, your auctions will start and end at the same time. Overall it is an improvement, but in the usual ebay greed, there is a stupid fee attached.
posted on October 13, 2002 04:42:31 AM
If it works the same as the regular listings your auctions will show up in the search engine 2 hours to 3 days after you wanted them to start.
I think a dime per listing is too high a fee.
I don't think I will pay eBay another fee to frustrate me over something else.
They are doing a superb job of frustrating me, with the fees I am giving them now.
posted on October 13, 2002 05:18:27 AM
If you are using AuctionWatch, you can pre-scedule listings anyway, so why pay the extra 10 cents? If you list on eBay directly with several pictures, and pre-scedule, it will be far more expensive than AuctionWatch.
posted on October 13, 2002 05:34:03 AM
exactly amber,
they want to charge the same amount AW charges for launching the auction but they want to charge extra for multiple pics on a sale instead of hosting free as AW does for us
posted on October 13, 2002 06:58:11 AM
ebay may want to offer something that the third party services have for years but they have not, scheduled launch/close times. Longtime auction users can easily see that the dime fee is no deal but newbies might not. If they gladly play 15 cents a pop for extra photos then they will glady pay 10 cents an auction to control the start/finish time of their auctions. There may be a lot of sellers that will say similar to " Now I can schedule an hour or so to write my auction winners right after all of my auctions have just closed."
In many ways the new ebay listing time option makes the third party services look better but in many ways it makes them look like less of a needed service. Overall, I think it hurts the third party services more than helps them.
posted on October 13, 2002 08:13:33 AM
I am staying with AW. I like the features that AW has. I don't use many of them but I like the way the pictures can be enlarged so that the buyer can get a better view. Pretty soon eBay will build a big brick wall around them and we won't be able to use any other service. Well, I hope that never happens. They have the auction, now the CC why don't they just quit at that and let the other services to someone else. Is it called greed or a monoply? or both
posted on October 13, 2002 09:19:17 AM
Since the AW launch doesn't work with me, I have been waiting a long time for ebay to introduce this feature, unfortunately I have to pay to use something that should be included in the listing fee.
I have always realized my sales would greatly increase if I could set the launch anytime when I have idle time rather than only listing at the time when I need it to launch, so it is a feature I have to use depite having to pay the extra .10¢. Less profits but more sales.
Unfortunately this feature has come too late for me, my mass sales are winding down so the pressure to list tons of listings has decreased. It will come in handy this Christmas though when I need to list hundreds of auctions all in the same week.
posted on October 13, 2002 03:56:41 PM
I really wish we could use Auction Manager Pro...we use the EBAYS SELLER'S ASSISTANT PRO....but list during the day and do not designate launch times...We recently uploaded the latest AMPRO AND POW...went to create a new profile and IT CRASHES...so...APPARENTLY WE JUST CANT USE THEIR SYSTEM with our computer...NO PROBLEM WITH SAPRO!!
posted on October 13, 2002 05:10:13 PM
I am confused. I have used the new turbo lister a couple of times and it has the feature of being able to schedule your auction to start when you want it to. I thought they said the turbo lister was free. Am I wrong?
posted on October 13, 2002 06:49:49 PM
I can see eBay down more than usual with a million or two sellers trying to schedule their auctions to end in peak evening hours.
posted on October 13, 2002 07:46:22 PM
Parkman: Yes, the Turbo Lister service is free, but even if you use their delayed launch feature on it, it will cost you 10cents. Sorry.
posted on October 13, 2002 08:30:14 PM
I'm staying right here with Auction Watch also !! Would be nice if AW could extend the launch dates .. betting they will !!
posted on October 13, 2002 10:34:36 PM
I don't intend to pay for what I can get free elsewhere.
Most auction software has that feature already, so why pay eBay?
I don't use the AW posting, but use 2 others, and they have the feature, as do some of the web based auction posting sites, why pay eBay, which will probably foul it up anyway??
eBay hurting 3rd party software & web based auction launching, I don't think so, I am very satisfied with the 2 I use, and wouldn't consider leaving all such info for eBay to mess up - I may be weird, but I've never seriously considered using ebay's posting services -
When eBay bought out AuctionAssistant, I dropped the service, and when to 2 other programs...I use two because I prefer the bookeeping of one, and the launching of the other.
But use or worse pay eBay for such, no thanks!
You are right, newbies may fall for such a feature.
[ edited by JWPC on Oct 13, 2002 10:39 PM ]
[ edited by JWPC on Oct 13, 2002 10:41 PM ]
posted on October 13, 2002 11:13:09 PMYou are right, newbies may fall for such a feature.
A couple of years ago there were maybe 5 million registered ebay users
a year ago there were maybe 20 million registered ebay users
and today there are 50+ million registered ebay users
That's a lot of newbies that may fall for 10 cent auction launching and every falls for it is a newbie that may not try a third party service. That has to be bad for the third party companies.
posted on October 14, 2002 12:34:10 AM
So you're saying they will become content to paying ebay for this feature? People generally go with whatever offers them the most incentive, and a free or cheaper third party service is plenty of incentive.
posted on October 14, 2002 06:57:37 AM
People are also extreme creatures of habit. A dime is a small amount of money. Newbie ebay sellers now have an option to use at ebay what was fomerly an exclusive third party option. One less reason to even look for a third party service. The old ebay listing process was a real nightmare and that alone drove thousands of sellers to the third party companies. Ebay knew this and made the listing process much easier to use for sellers. Ebay knew the third party companies offered image hosting and counters so they added those as well. Ebay will do everything and anything to drive the third party companies out of business. JMHO
Your Aunt Meg
posted on October 14, 2002 07:06:16 AM
Tooltimes is on the right track, by doing this eBay is offering a service that 3rd party sites offer and making it more convenient to stay at eBay to do all your listings... once a seller starts using eBay options, AW and other sites will see less and less new people coming in.
Maybe cheaper, but have to go to another site to do it.
What I do see eBay doing is that they will post their delayed auctions first and therefore delaying outside auction starts.
Ain't Life Grand...
posted on October 14, 2002 10:00:16 AM
If Burger King charged $.05 for a straw, and addl $.07 if you want a lid, another $.03 if you want a napkin, $.15 if you wanted to sit by the window, if you pay a $1 you can move to the front of the line...... This would be kind of like E-Bays fee structure.
posted on October 14, 2002 10:08:26 AM
BURGER KING TRIED THAT ON ME ONCE FOR THE LITTLE BAGS OF SAUCE. .25. THAT WAS THE ONLY ONE I HAVE EVER BEEN IN THAT TRIED THAT. I GOT THE SAUCE AND I NEVER PAID THEM EXTRA.
MC DONALDS PULLED THAT ONE TOO. I BOUGHT TWO CHICKEN SANDWICHES. THEY GAVE ME ONE SAUCE. I SAID HEY,,,,,I BOUGHT TWO SEPERATE SANDWICHES,,,,,I GOT ONE SAUCE,,,,SORRY SIR WE ONLY GIVE ONE SAUCE PER CUSTOMER. HAHAHAHAHA. .25 CENTS IF YOU WANT A SECOND SAUCE?????? UNREAL! THEY STUCK TO THIER GUNS.
posted on October 14, 2002 10:09:11 AM
People are extreme creature of habit when they lack a better choice, or the the thing they are doing or using is near perfect. This does not describe ebay. People, even newbies, hate being gouged by all these fees. It won't take long for a newbie to say, "hey I'm tired of paying a listing fee, a FVF fee, and a launch fee, what can I do to lower these costs?"
posted on October 14, 2002 10:14:49 AM
That's great when they charge extra for sauce, it helps keep costs down. I hate it when I get something and they give me twelve napkins, and 14 butters for my one biscuit. I take it home and use it but it drives up their costs and eventually they have to raise prices. It's the most fair method to charge per use, but customers don't like it even though it is in most of their advantage.
posted on October 14, 2002 10:17:24 AM
Burger King does charge for straws, lids and napkins. It's figured into the price of the food. If you want a great seat at a ballgame or concert event then you pay a premimum over the cheap seats.
Ebay is now offering what the sellers want and what has driven many of them to third party services.
The question of prime beginning/ending times for auctions has probably always been a concern on the traffic on the ebay servers. If ebay had said at the beginning of it's existance that sellers could select any start/finish time they wanted at no charge then a real fiasco would have ensued as 8PMs would be known as ebay breakdown time and the rest of the ebay time as the dead zone. They could handle the small amount of third party sellers that were scheduling their auctions but not everyone.
Anyone wanna bet that ebay doesn't try to charge the third party services for the scheduling option soon?
posted on October 14, 2002 10:20:45 AM
Right, but now every customer may be paying for two straws, six napkins and three sauces, when most only use one straw, one napkin and one sauce. It's not fair to most customers yet the loud complainers who use more than their share, win.
posted on October 14, 2002 10:25:32 AM
Ebay is the only game in town. There is no other auction venue that is worth a tinker's damn ( whatever that is ). The 800 pound gorilla sleeps wherever it wants. Now that there are some many ebay auctions that it places most auction items that are not highly collectible at rock bottom prices ebay can decide to narrow the number by upping fees. What choice is there for the sellers? AuctionPie? Yahoo? BidVille? They are in the driver's seat and know it.
posted on October 14, 2002 10:53:22 AM
Ebay is not the only game in town, AW offers auction launches and there are probably many more launch services out there too.
If you were referring to selling, that is off subject, but who says sellers have to sell on ebay? They can start their own site which many have claimed success selling on; they can open a B&M store which is how the majority of consumer already buy from; Yahoo is a fair auction alternative, or you can sell items at a live auction place.
For those who sell items that would do good only on ebay, then sell that on ebay, and once it's all gone move onto something different to sell that doesn't require ebay. That's what I have been doing, phasing out ebay and my current inventory.
Ebay is far from the only game in town.
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.
[ edited by quickdraw29 on Oct 14, 2002 10:57 AM ]
posted on October 14, 2002 12:56:29 PM
Setting up a B&M is not a cheap or easy alternative. Very few sellers have successful websites. We are all very lucky that eBay doesn't really raise the fees a lot higher than they could actually get away with. They have a rare near-monopoly that isn't a phone or utility monopoly that would not be regulated by the government. They must know that most sellers are not making very much money on ebay because there are too darn many items for sale/auction. One way to thin the herd and make more money at the same time is to increase fees. We are about due for a fee increase anyway aren't we? I for one would gladly pay much higher fees if it meant I could sell my auction items at much fairer prices because they wasn't everybody and his brother selling the same darn thing.
posted on October 14, 2002 03:36:20 PM
More evidence that ebay is making some serious moves on the third party services.
From today's Krause newsletter:
eBay unveils new selling tool; begins PayPal integration
By Tom Kessenich
eBay introduced a new tool for sellers last week and in addition began its implementation of PayPal into its overall service.
eBay Selling Manager is "an online sales management tool that will help you manage your eBay listings and transactions faster, more efficiently and better than ever before," eBay said. "It provides online sales management, but does not upload listings to eBay. Used in concert with Turbo Lister, our new free bulk listing tool, Selling Manager provides a complete system for selling on eBay. Best of all, eBay Selling Manager will be easily accessed online, directly from the Selling tab of My eBay."