dbest
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posted on June 22, 2001 06:03:31 PM
This is the question that is on every ones mind. There is no doubt that the time will come when bidville takes a gaint step forward. But when that time comes no one will know. It has laid the fondation down which has been pleasing to most while ebay and yahoo continues to shoot themselves in the foot. It is a matter of time before the wounds will not heal and people will set up and take notice of these nice quiet auction sites that slowly and smartly start gaining the momentium. I expect some of this to start happening proably this fall when maybe the business recession begins to improve. Ebay knows this is a threat and is fighting hard to keep the monopoly on their business. At this time they will be forced to lower their fees to be in the game. what do you think?
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dreamgirl
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posted on June 22, 2001 08:16:46 PM
dbest
I agree with you. Most sane people (buyers and sellers) will only take abuse just so long. The little guy should leave the Big Dogs and the Power Sellers and find a site in which they can grow.
Has anyone noticed the money that Ebay has been spending lately on promotion and advertisement. Something has happened to their bottom line and they are worried about the new kid on the block that don't charge fees for almost everything. Next thing you hear they will probably institute a fee structure you must pay when you sign into their sites for the day. There doesn't appear to be an end to the abuse and personally I think they have lost many sellers over the last few months and the buyers are finding alternative sites where items can be purchased at more responsible costs.
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relayerone
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posted on June 22, 2001 11:52:01 PM
"When will bidville turning point come"--"This is the question that is on every ones mind"-- LOL-- certainly not on *my* mind--- Bidville is as moribund a site as all the rest, and as much as I hate to say it, eBay have no fear whatsoever of competition at the moment, its all too damn fragmented, much as the Napster audience has gravitated to countless other (smaller and ineffectively fragmented) sites.....the old adage "Strength In Numbers" has never been more apt, but oddly enough, the "big sites" greatest weapon at the moment is the fierce loyalty shown towards the individual "small sites". Think about it 
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RB
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posted on June 23, 2001 07:19:33 AM
"Something has happened to their bottom line and they are worried about the new kid on the block that don't charge fees for almost everything."
As much as I don't like eBay's power tripping, BidVille to eBay is like a flea on an elephant's back. They probably don't even notice it's there, and if it does start to itch, they will just stomp it out.
OTOH, if people actually started buying stuff at BidVille, eBay may pay them some attention ... probably buy them out and convert it to their Sports Card Division.
I'm not talking about the sales of $1.00 items that thrive in BidVille, but rather the big ticket items that could hurt eBay if they were bought somewhere else. Unless BidVille starts promoting it's own site, the big ticket items will never end up there.
JMHO tho ...
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AuctionBoss
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posted on June 23, 2001 10:59:02 PM
Let's be honest here... Never!!!
Here's why.
1) They don't advertise. Everything is from word of mouth. That is fine for sellers, but advertising is needed for the buyers.
2) They have no revenue. I don't care what kind of company you are. A company cannot survive without a revenue factor.
3) If they change to fee charging site now, they will loose momentum, and lose a good part of their member base.
Those are the plain facts. If you want to believe them, then you understand. If you don't, then I do not know what to tell ya..
Just my personal opinion, but I could be wrong...
AB
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bidsbids
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posted on June 23, 2001 11:31:40 PM
I certainly agree with all of these comments. I think Bidville's listing momentum has already slowed considerably as it has only increased a few thousand items in the past few weeks. The small amount of revenues coming in can not come close to meeting the expenses of that web site.
What would you do if you were the founder of Bidville? He is certainly in a bad position as the site is way too small to charge anything other than a modest FVF on sold items. He apparently has no available funds for promoting his site. The "tell your friends" gambit certainly isn't working any longer. How long can the site exist in it's current revenue model? A lot to think about.
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uptoolate
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posted on June 24, 2001 02:13:40 AM
Dreamgirl
"Has anyone noticed the money that Ebay has been spending lately on promotion and advertisement."
Yep, they realize that's how you stay #1- by constantly having your name in the public eye. Why does Coca-Cola run 50 commercials a day? Same reason.
I honestly don't think eBay is the slightest bit worried about Bidville and there's no reason they should be.
eBay's total listings have dropped about 300,000 (to a mere 5 million) in the past 3 weeks while BV's have only risen about 24,000. If you make a huge assumption those 24,000 are from eBay, where are the other 276,000? My guesses are:
the eBay sellers stopped listing for vacation
the eBay sellers stopped listing due to the usual summer slowdown in sales
the eBay sellers stopped listing to let their anger from the changes subside and are testing a small & random selection on various sites before making a serious decision
Whatever the case they will likely return to eBay when they find no viable alternative.
It's too bad but BV is not one (at least not for fast or over $10 sales). In months of studying the closed lists in many categories almost all sales have remained .10 to $4.00. Results like that are not going to encourage any "power sellers" to give the site a try. BV needs power sellers to bring variety for one thing (I still have to buy at eBay or Yahoo because no one ever lists what I'm looking for at BV-and it's not anything unique or rare). Big time sellers also need to come bring their large customer base since BV refuses do any advertising whatsoever.
Taking a risk only because it's free might draw some but without results serious sellers can't just let stock sit around long. I also don't believe BV will remain free for long. They can't be making that much money from banner ads & Premium memberships. Listing fees wouldn't please a lot of people with so many .10 to .25 items on the site and miniscule sell-through. Staff & costs for billing + collecting fvf's on such small amounts wouldn't be prudent either so it will be interesting to see which way they go on fees.
My honest assessment for now is BV is adequate for extremely patient sellers of very low cost goods. They can't become a serious contender in online auctions without big-time sellers and without advertising.
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emak
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posted on June 24, 2001 07:19:20 AM
I have to agree with most of the sentiments listed here. I love BV and have been there almost from the start. It's a very seller-friendly site with terrific CS, but the buyer volume just isn't where it needs to be yet. I agree that listing fees would be tough to implement since the items sold are mostly lower $$ items. There is some revenue generated by the Premiere memberships, but I can't imagine it's anything more than enough to stay afloat. Personally I think their best route would be an Amazon-type approach -$x dollars a month for listing "X" number of items. Maybe even set up different tiers for different volumes. I hope to see something happen to pull in more sellers but it will be tough without advertising.
I've been keeping a close eye on another site that's going to be here in about a month - gegy.com. FREE listings, a moderate FVF, and from what it sounds like, an aggressive advertising campaign right from the start. They appear to be serious about giving eBay some competition, and I think things are going to look much different by the end of this year. But that's just my opinion of course  .
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kitcatclock
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posted on June 24, 2001 08:51:55 AM
Everyone must remember- The only way to be number one is to be generating revenue.
McDonalds cannot run its operation with only a handful of people, and neither can any other business (on the web or in the real world). And how can you afford people? REVENUE.
My prediction, if Bidville gets any bigger, it will implode due to lack of resources.
-KC
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tomwiii
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posted on June 24, 2001 09:48:18 AM
the turning point?
When feeBay buys them out!
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telwil
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posted on June 24, 2001 12:14:56 PM
What I find interesting is the people saying EBAY is mean and greedy they need to be nice, but keep selling and buying there like they are ebay employees and cant leave. But let other sellers that are tired of being treated like dirty make a move and listing in the smaller sites and try and build them up and these same people sat back and run down the sellers and the small site. (Interesting) At least some sellers do something besides talk. JMO. Have a nice buying/selling day
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bidsbids
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posted on June 24, 2001 12:16:32 PM
Why would eBay buy them out? It would be more profitable for eBay to leave the site alone. Disgruntled eBay sellers can leave their site and head for the green pastures of sites like Bidville and see that there is no traffic/sales there and return to the only game in town.
I've thought about the FVF and agree with an earlier poster that there are way too many 10 cent items to make that option workable. How about this possible revenue structure ... no listing fees ( let's Bidville keep that promise intact ) and a 5% FVF with a 25 cent minimum fee on ALL sold items. That will rid the site of all the very low end items and free up server space and rid the stigma of being a dime sportscard site.
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cuff
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posted on June 24, 2001 12:35:54 PM
Sounds like a monopoly to me. BidVille's turning point is Now. I thank the stars above that BidVille is NOT another Yahoo or eBay.
msCuFF@BidVille
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dreamgirl
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posted on June 24, 2001 02:10:53 PM
Now let's assume all of the NaySayers are right with their Business 101 lesson that Bidville can't survive without revenue. What those of us who are willingly to do what we are doing now have to loose if Bidville goes under. We understand that to get the masses you have to have a very large advertising campaign at somepoint in time. I'll remind you that ePay had been around awhile before it's first ad campaign. You don't just advertise something that has little to offer and bugs to work out and improvements to make right out of the box. That's not bright in my opinion. You don't want to leave bad taste in people's (customer's and seller's) mouths. So you crawl before you walk. The people running Bidville have the right idea and they also have backing. You don't get backing without a Master Plan developed for the long haul. There have been articles written regarding the Bidville start up and plan.
In the meantime, we at Bidville are enjoying it thoroughly having fun talking with each other and greeting new people daily. We take our joy in small steps and don't happen to be greedy enough to demand giant steps.
Have a good day.
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jmcsportscards
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posted on June 24, 2001 02:26:41 PM
All these people bashing Bidville. Where were you three years ago when Ebay started up, did you even have a computer or where you even online?? Bidville is 6 months old, you must be worried if all you have time for is bash the new guy. Bidville is taking in revenue through premier meberships, and the old saying stay true, "a mouth can tell a thousand souls". You all mentioned Bidville in you complaint, hum, you must have been to the website and see that it does exist. SO NOW WHO SAYS OUR WORD TO MOUTH ADVERTISEMENT DOES NOT WORKING.
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dbest
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posted on June 24, 2001 04:06:04 PM
All of these negative comments are actually good for bidville and maybe other auction sites. Time is on the side of bidville not for ebay or yahoo. Bidville will slowly climb that wall of worry upward while ebay and yahoo will slowly climb that wall of worry down. And the difference will be the fee system. But as time goes on and people contine to hear about free sites they will be somewhat attracted to them. It was actually possible for yahoo to eventually overcome ebay in a matter of time as people became more comfortable with that site. But they shot theirselves in the foot and continue to degenerate. Without advertising it will be slow but enevitable ebay and yahoo will lose momentium. Have patience and look how far you have come. Danny
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AuctionBoss
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posted on June 24, 2001 04:15:52 PM
Dreamgirl,
If you believe what you say, then you really are in a dream.
AB
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jimhhow
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posted on June 24, 2001 06:24:06 PM
Well, she ain't alone. So if enough people dream it, it's real.
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dreamgirl
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posted on June 24, 2001 06:38:47 PM
You Know AC I've probably lived a lot longer than you and through the years I've found the world a nicer place if you believe in dreams and allow dreams for yourself and others. And WOW! when those dreams come true what a glorious picture. One has know hope of feeling the glow or experiencing real joy unless one knows how to dream.
Have a wonderful day and life....Try dreaming.
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RB
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posted on June 25, 2001 09:43:58 AM
"And WOW! when those dreams come true what a glorious picture."
In that case, get ready Tia ...
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