posted on October 5, 2004 01:48:05 PM new
As we all know from past history, when ever Ebay has any competition, they buy it up. Half.com, PayPal, ect.....
I have to wonder how long until eBay will allow this to go on without trying a buyout of overstock.com.
Personally I hope it don't happen, as true competition to ebay is desperately needed. Yahoo is their closet competition, if you can call it that and they don't seem to want to compete.
Anyone want to predict how long until ebay makes the buy out bid?
posted on October 5, 2004 01:52:46 PM new
I think this is a long way off...Ebay purchases when there is real market share taken away, half really took off before ebay purchased them, and paypal was very dominant. I think if OS succeeds, ebay will probably try to buy them, but that won't happen in the near future...
Friends don't let Friends say stupid things like Friends don't let friends vote Republican!
posted on October 5, 2004 05:23:47 PM new
That might be their killing blow!
As sure as God made little green apples, the first wrong acquisition, or the first disgruntled big stockholder, or the right news reporter or the right DA will bring in eBay's downfall. The Justice Department.
posted on October 5, 2004 08:06:47 PM new
Ebay also bought billpoint and Butterfields&Butterfields, both of which were miserable failures. One was shutdown and the other sold at a fraction of what it was purchased for.
It seems like Overstock has been thrown together awfully hastily. In their speed to market they forgot to consider both Amazon and Yahoo who have a much deeper pockets and much more traffic still nursing their bruised egos from entering the auction business. Who would leave Ebay for Overstock? I took a quick sniff around and saw exactly who would leave Ebay.... Crap sellers that's who. I'm sure you'll see the same cast of characters complaining that they are not selling anything there either. Good luck kids.
posted on October 5, 2004 09:02:25 PM newWho would leave Ebay for Overstock? I took a quick sniff around and saw exactly who would leave Ebay.... Crap sellers that's who.
That's funny. I took a look and I don't see any Bidville crap there. So far, there are almost no crap auctions like at bidville. Those of you bottom feeders that live at bidville, need to keep your crap at bidville. Or should I say, deadbeatville.
posted on October 5, 2004 09:13:03 PM new
In another thread, someone posted that Overstock sounded too much like a place to buy new items, and there was speculation that they might later change their name. Maybe they set it up this way in the hopes of luring some of the high volume powersellers away from Ebay. This could easily work out to be a good deal. Send Sears and such to Overstock, and get Ebay back to what it originally was when we were all making the big $$$. It doesn't look like Ebay will split the site between new and used, so this might be the answer. Just thinking out loud.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on October 5, 2004 09:22:36 PM new
sparkz: Overstock has been Overstock since their beginning in 1999. They are in the business of selling "overstock" items (bedding, etc.) Only the auction site is new. I have bought several items from them in the past. They are probably continuing the name for the present because it is recognizable. And maybe they will leave the name as is, who knows?
After all, what does the name e Bay mean??
I don't care what they call it as long as they continue to improve the site and monitor the boards and answer questions and implement the suggestions. Ask Meg a question or complain about an "enhancement" and hold your breath until something happens.
posted on October 5, 2004 09:39:19 PM new
Bill,
My point exactly. They have built a reputation of selling new items at reasonable prices. It only seems logical to extend into the auction arena, at the expense of Ebay. I'm not saying they will only be running auctions for new items from volume sellers, but it's a good way to lift a new site off the ground and carve a niche in there for the antique and collectible sellers. If they work this right, it has a good chance of taking off.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on October 5, 2004 09:40:42 PM new
etexbill I hate to burst your bubble but - you have 8 $3 items on Overstock and last month you sold 2 items on Ebay one for $1.75 and another for $2.50. That hardly makes you a super seller. http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=etexbill
I hope you sell all of your 8 items and make a wopping 30 bucks.
Stonecold - You are right only the old crappy baseball cards go to bidville the 8 old crappy postcards definetaly belong on Overstock.
etexbill - you might want to pass along a suggestion. Tell their web designer to learn basic photoshop and learn how to make transparencies around the goofy thumbs up and thumbs down rating symbols.
posted on October 5, 2004 09:43:59 PM new
Spoken like the true deadbeat bidviller as you are. Some one is jelious that overstock already has more items of value in only a week and a half than bidville has done in over 3 years.
posted on October 5, 2004 09:54:54 PM new
Hey idiot, I think bidville sucks too. Both sites are a cheap repro of ebay nothing new and certainly nothing sophisticated. I just spent a few seconds doing a couple a search queries on overstock and can already tell how basic their technology is.
posted on October 5, 2004 09:56:58 PM new
scout: I hate to burst YOUR bubble but I have not been selling on eBay for over a month, and had slowed way down on my eBay sales for six months or more, as I have a dealers site where I have over 1,700 items listed, and where I'm doing fine, thank you. I only listed 14 items on OS, sold one on "make it mine", have sold two others from eMails after the ad closed with no bids and just sold one belt buckle that did not sell on eBay in several attempts.
The auction selling is a hobby as I have a ranch where I raise and sell registered Longhorn cattle, where I'm also doing fine, and it's all paid for, as is my house, a pick-up, and two cars, if you are also interested in those facts. I don't need the $30.00 that you were so interested in snooping out.
As you can see from my 100% positive feedback on over 1500 transactions on eBay in the past, I was selling more at one time before I lost interest in eBay.
All that said, Now that I have wasted my time explaining to you, I will say to you that it's none of your damn business what I am selling. I hope you can understand that.
Take your energy to your own selling and you may do better.
posted on October 5, 2004 10:10:26 PM new
And, Scout. A good Sylvan Learning Center would help you with your punctuation, capitalization and spelling skills.
Why don't you use some of your vast auction earnings to pay for a course??
posted on October 5, 2004 10:13:48 PM new
"I will say to you that it's none of your damn business what I am selling"
Aren't we getting a bit feisty? You are right, what you do with those "Longhorn cattle" is none of my business. I do have one question though. Farmers say that female sheep are anotomically similar to humans, based on your extensive experiences would you say that this is true of your cattle too.
I wish you many happy and fullfilling days with all your various hobbies and activities on the ranch.
posted on October 5, 2004 10:20:17 PM new
The old "punctuation, capitalization and spelling skills" comeback. If this meant the world to me I would probably spend extra time dotting my i's and crossing my t's, but since I'm watching TV, chatting on IM with a couple of my friends and matching wits with a booger eating cow-poke, I may from time to time misspell a word forget a period and maybe even have a run on sentence. I hope you can still get the gist of what I'm typing.
posted on October 5, 2004 10:58:42 PM new
Ummm...Bill. It's none of my damn business what you sell on Ebay either, and I don't give a hoot. But those Texas registered longhorns sure captured my interest. How much of one of those could I jam into an 18 cu. ft freezer?
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on October 6, 2004 04:41:30 AM new
Sorry to take this back on topic, but as for eBay buying Overstock.com, my guess is "never".
For eBay to buy what is essentially just a clone, it would only encourage more of these clones with the hope of cashing in, and/or possible anti-trust suits. If the market share becomes significant, expect fierce competition with FLDs, listing discounts, promotions, etc. And if they get into that kind of p***ing contest, look for eBay as the winner.
Ebay is dominant because they were essentially the first on-line auction, and the name recognition is unbeatable (I am currently reading a novel where eBay is mentioned). When 99 percent of people think of on-line auctions, for good or bad, they think "eBay". True, there is no real meaning to the word itself, and that is its beauty - they can use it for anything. I would never have even looked at something named "overstock" for antiques had I not read about it here.
posted on October 6, 2004 05:35:19 AM new
Hi... from auctionbytes
Overstock's secret weapon - self taught...
"Holly is the reason we were able to launch auctions so quickly and
successfully," said Patrick Byrne, president of Overstock.com. "She's
a self- taught IT and marketing whiz who has been one of our secret
weapons for over four years. It took her only nine months to organize
a team, manage the development of a website to compete with eBay, and
launch it successfully....
A bit off topic so, since I no longer sell on eBay, after you purchase him for a tidy little sum, and stuff him in those freezers, maybe we could sell those horns on Overstock.
posted on October 6, 2004 01:02:22 PM new
Wow this thread has been the most exciting thing to happen to me all day?????
Shows how boring my life is!
Back to topic now!
Sparkz you are right on again.
I hope ebay won't buy them out either. Without some competition ebay will continue to take our money until we just drop off one by one. We are being replaced everyday so they don't care. However the overall quality of ebay is on the decline.
