posted on June 18, 2001 08:15:42 PM new
I just listed some $1-sale auctions. Several of them got bids minutes later. AWESOME!! and these were cards I had on Bidville for weeks!!
posted on June 18, 2001 11:29:53 PM new
Tack me on here as a believer, as well.
In between signing up sellers for this event I managed to get a few listings up today too.
By the time I was finished with those listings I had bids on at least four of them. Right now I have bids on 11 auctions, 3 of which aren't even included in the $1-sale. One of my $1-sale listings has 8 bids!
I'm very pleased with the results and hopefully this trend won't be just a flash in the pan but continue.
I've been extremely impressed with the cooperation I've received from the folks at BidVille.
Sure, maybe they're not advertising great guns but what I've seen today shows me just what can be accomplished with very little.
posted on June 19, 2001 04:51:31 AM new
My question to all for sites like Bidville, is where do they make there money? It may sound crazy, but as a seller, I don't mind paying a fee because if I am going to invest my time and help promote my items on a site, I want to know that it will be there for the next day, week or year.
It used to be that not too long ago you could have a viable internet site without charging fees, but with ad revenue in the toilet, and the stock market no longer euphoric about tech stocks, I just have a hard time believing that a company can succeed and grow (investing in infrastructure, support staff, etc.) without charging fees.
posted on June 19, 2001 08:29:48 AM new
Bidville makes their money from advertising and charging for premium services. I know I pay $10 a month to Bidville for credit.
Bidville must love these $1-sale because it draws in buyers and sellers. Also, the sellers are more eager to use up their credits. I personally put a good number of items in the "gallery" that weren't in it before.
posted on June 19, 2001 08:30:51 AM new
Kitcatclock, the auction sites have very large margins, especially these small sites which only have maybe a staff of two-three people working. While they probably aren't getting rich yet, they likely make enough to cover their bills. Ad revenue allows them to keep going.
posted on June 19, 2001 10:20:42 AM new
kitcatclock,
"It used to be that not too long ago you could have a viable internet site without charging fees, but with ad revenue in the toilet, and the stock market no longer euphoric about tech stocks, I just have a hard time believing that a company can succeed and grow (investing in infrastructure, support staff, etc.) without charging fees."
My sentiments exactly! Couldn't have said it better myself.
posted on June 19, 2001 12:42:51 PM new
I can completely understand and agree with the thoughts on where a free site gets revenue.
It definately takes money to make money. Unfortunately I don't know where all of their funds come from or if they make enough to meet expenses. I truly hope that at least for the moment they do.
However, I will say that if BidVille started charging a FVF tomorrow I would still list on the site. When I look at a service I'm contemplating using I look at the price and decide whether or not it's worth it. If BidVille could keep up the momentum this sale has drawn in it would be well worth a Final Value Fee.
I signed up for the $10-month Premier membership the first part of this month. While $10 isn't a huge amount there are many sellers who do use it so this does generate some income for BidVille. If they can keep their overhead costs on the low side they very well could be making a small profit already.
posted on June 19, 2001 03:06:42 PM new
I See. I didn't realize that Bidville charged premium Memberships. I just didn't understand because the hardware to run an auction with 500,000 items has got to be a significant cost, and I KNOW that ad revenues are hovering at somewhere around $1 per CPM (thousand impressions). To give you an example, a year or year and a half ago they ran for as much as $30-45 per CPM. Even a site getting millions of visitors cannot make a living off ad revenue alone. I still think they'll have a tough go of it selling monthly subscriptions, but who knows..
I always laugh at postings on this site that blast eBay for their fees, and then complain about lack of support everywhere else. Can't have one without the other. It's the tough road we travel..
I tried Bidville once but had no success. Maybe I'll take a look in the future.
posted on June 19, 2001 05:03:44 PM new
Kitkatclock, you're so right about advertising money. The current industry is having to join the 'real world'.
Often times what I see happening is a website that was previously successful and making a profit by selling a service are turning into corporate entities complete with stockholders. An individually owned company can make a steady profit without needing to constantly grow. However, the corporations must continue to increase profits and in order to do so cut expenses here and increase costs there.
I agree--there can't be good customer service without something to support it. The only real problem I've ever had with eBay's fees was the 10-cent increase for 10-day listings. Other than that I felt their fees were reasonable. My motives for avoiding that site go way beyond their fees.
