Just think of all the lisitng fees Ebay's going to generate the day they switch all the listings on Half.com into fixed price auctions on Ebay.
Think it won't happen? Think again. Here's a quote from the article:
The final step, which will begin next year, is to transfer all sale items listed on Half.com to eBay's site...
Sigh! I knew this was coming as soon as I saw Ebay had bought out Half. I knew there was no way Ebay would allow sellers to continue to list items for free. It took longer than I expected though.
posted on March 7, 2003 09:52:58 AM
I hope someone deos. That would be a good thing for all these wanna be auction sites to do.
I have never listed on Half.com because I assumed there were same fees as ebay. You mean so far there aren't?
I buy off half.com alot
>^,,^^,,^<
MEOW pft pft
On Half.com, you only pay when the item sells, fees are deducted from the sales price, Half collects the funds and shipping fee, and you can leave your items in there endlessly, with no further maintenance for the most part. After the sale, Half takes out a small fee, and sends you the remainder plus what USED to be more than enough (usually) to cover the shipping. You could put your items on hold while on vacation. Great venue for selling books. I buy there too. After Ebay took over, I started getting less than enough (by a few pennies) to cover the shipping by media mail.
Really bad thing I found about Half.com was if a customer was not pleased with what they got, they could complain, get a refund AND keep the item.
I used Half's instructions to list a softcover book by using the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) on the book. Standard procedure. When the book showed up in the listings, Half had entered the ISBN wrong and showed I was selling a hardback, but I didn't notice. The customer who bought it complained. I told her to ship it back and I would refund. She complained again to Half and they refunded her money and she kept the book. Half charged me back, including shipping.
I had the softcover vs. hardcover difficulty with the ISBN a number of times, and had to keep an eye out for it on each new listing.
But the other really great thing about Half is that THEY HAVE WRITTEN THE LISTING ALREADY! And sometimes have a picture of the book too. You can upload your picture if they don't have one.
Then all you had to do is determine condtion, pick it, and describe any flaws. You can list book after book very quickly. And many books (except collectibles, I believe) sell for more than they do on Ebay because they could sit there until the right buyer came along.
Of course, Half is also flooded with hundreds of cheap copies of some books that sold millions of copies. Or thousands that were printed of a particular one that didn't do so well at bookstores. But searching seems to be easier to me than on Ebay. If a seller has 50 of an item, it is always in one listing, never 50 different listings.
Anyway, the above will continue for a bit longer. Supposedly, until next year. But don't hold your breath if you list there. Keep an eye out for the switch and be ready to pull your listings.
There were millions of books listed, last time I checked as I remember. I forget where I can look to find out now. Old age, I guess!
I can betcha Ebay is going to institute a "temporary reduced listing fee" for Half.com sellers the day the switchover occurs, in an attempt to keep all the listings. It would still put millions in their coffers. I doubt Ebay will drop all those listings in one fell swoop. I'm not sure what would be involved technically to switch them all to Ebay listings.
Whatever they do, they will likley take little steps meant to not alarm the sellers too strongly, then start with a little fee here, a little fee there. Many sellers of the low end books will be priced out of any profit, and thousands of books that were cheaply available will be no longer for such great prices.
It may take some sellers some time to wake up to it, but expect the number to fall.
It actually makes business sense from the viewpoint that there are thousands of books that are not in demand listed that are using up valuable server space and earning no income for Ebay while they just sit there. Again, Ebay will weed out the smaller sellers.
Patty
[ edited by meadowlark on Mar 7, 2003 10:40 AM ]
[ edited by meadowlark on Mar 7, 2003 10:41 AM ]
posted on March 7, 2003 10:59:02 AM
I buy all my contemporary books and DVDs on half.com. The prices are the lowest I can find anywhere and I haven't been disappointed yet.
posted on March 7, 2003 10:59:29 AM
amzn is hard to compete with free shipping,and its customer service is much more cordial.
it has a protection plan for customers,if he complains and seller refused to budge,amzn cough up and refund out of its pocket.
if book is lost,seller shows usps receipt and thats good enough.
these apply to amzn marketplace sellers,not zshop items sold as zshop items.
amzn isbn listing is more accurate and more complete,it shows pictures,often a few pages of the book content.
ebay flops again!!
posted on March 7, 2003 11:03:18 AM
Have to agree (YUCK!) with Whiney (for a change!) -- AMAZON MARKETPLACE beats the heck out of HALF-ASSED.COM for sellers!
Better prices realized! Feadback is ignored! Payments like clockwork!
I left 1/2 18mos ago & never looked back!
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" http://tinyurl.com/5duz
posted on March 7, 2003 01:26:17 PM
Oh, sh*t. I have netted over $5K on Half.com, much of it from books that would not sell on ebay because they were too arcane.
I always felt that the amazon fee structure created higher costs for the seller. Not true?
posted on March 7, 2003 05:37:27 PM
yes.amzn marketplace 15% commish is pretty steep.
prices keep getting lower too,i guess some sellers who mark down their books are desperate,after amzn 15%,what is left ??
posted on March 7, 2003 06:57:27 PM
Tomwiii: I keep thinking I should look into Amazon Marketplace but honestly, whenever I try to get information about how it all works, I strike out. Do you know *exactly* where that info is? Half.com hasn't been so great for me in the last few months and I wouldn't mind giving Amazon a try. . . .
posted on March 7, 2003 09:54:54 PM
tomwiii: Two questions.
* Is the shipping allowance Amazon gives you adequate?
* I'm thrown by their requirement of an "exact match" when it comes to out of print or collectible items. Do they really mean that I can't sell my collectible wallpocket unless I can find an "exact match"???
posted on March 8, 2003 06:11:01 AM
Half.com still works well for me.
Here's a couple of things that keep me (mostly) away from Amazon marketplace:
1. Items only remain listed for 60-days. After that Amazon automatically de-lists the item.
2. The final value fee at Amazon is $1.00 + 15%. If you are selling a low dollar amount item, it is simply not feasible to list it on Amazon.
I do, however, like Amazon's shipping reimbursements. They are much more generous than Half's and almost make up for the extra dollar they take away from you at the end of the sale.
posted on March 8, 2003 07:07:47 AM
Okay, Tomwiii--one final question and I'll leave you to a peaceful weekend.
* About the 60-day limit on keeping items listed--do they give you any warning (the way AW does for de-listing images after a certain period of time)? Or, let's say I list 50 books--do I do my own record keeping on when they were listed so I'll know they're "gone"?
(I suppose the smart thing would be to list them in batches of say 10 - 20 at a time and make a note on my daytimer.)
Can they be picked up somehow and relisted at the end of the 60 days without the tedious original relisting?
posted on March 8, 2003 08:25:40 AMRoadsmith: AMAZON sends you an email at the end -- just click on the link & relist! I don't keep track of when items end, I just throw them up & they either sell, or I get that END email & I re-list then.
That's also a good time to review the listing & see if someone else is undercutting ya
If you sell A LOT, ya might want to go with the MONTHLY program -- it eliminates the $0.99 fee
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" http://tinyurl.com/5duz
