posted on August 24, 2001 08:19:26 AM
SmittyAW >
There is already a thread opened by you for this topic and you were asked to not open a new thread. Therefore this thread is locked. The thread for you to post under is:
posted on August 24, 2001 08:29:29 AM
Hello Dimview!
Hope your vacation gave you a nice rest.
I sort of cut a deal last night with the mod squad that I thought you would be in agreement with.
Starting September 1st each site will only have one thread for total stats.
The bid rate and the current listings will appear in a single thread to make life easier on the mods.
And on that note, I'm off the computer till tonight, when mommy duty ends for the day.
posted on August 24, 2001 08:37:35 AM
Dimview..you are correct and I have locked the old thread. Maybe next time you could request the old thread be locked before you start a new one to avoid confusion. On my part, anyway!
posted on August 25, 2001 07:50:57 AM
RB and toollady,
The "holiday" was fantastic. Taking the Scotia Prince between Portland and Yarmouth saves about two days and around 900 miles of driving, so that itself is a big plus. And Nova Scotia has great folks, great food. Next year's vacation just may be another repeat.
Have to mention two trips this summer to West Virginia. Both were to Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, and they too were very nice.
The "deal" with AuctionWatch sounds workable. Maybe we can just use subject titles like "Bidville stats - September", "ePier stats - September", etc.?
posted on August 26, 2001 04:39:04 PM
heike55 >
Well, all I have on bidville is 8 pageviews out of 170 auctions. What is going on?
That's becoming increasingly common given Bidville's stagnant sell-through rate, which might well be the reason we're *still* waiting for their sell-through rate report for the week ending August 22 -- four days ago.
posted on August 26, 2001 08:42:13 PM
So now the numbers expert is also an expert on the quality of listings. Geez these boards were SO peaceful and friendly last week.
http://ballsandstrikescollectibles.beckett.com/
posted on August 27, 2001 03:13:10 PM
Now Dimview, don't you think it's a little presumptious to assume that all sportscard sellers have the same opinions? Having sold cards (at shows and now the net) for nearly 20 years, I can definitely tell you that you can no more get a consensus opinion from a group of sports card dealers than you can from any other group engaged in a like activity.
Also if I do not dispute every opinion that is posted in AuctionWatch, does that mean I agree with it? To me, that is what you are telling the previous poster.
posted on August 27, 2001 04:08:05 PM
To finish my thread above, I don't think it is so simple to say that high quality = high sell through, at least on a per item basis. It is probably more accurate to say (at least as it concerns sports cards), that high demand = high sell-through. The "highest quality" cards are not always the highest demand, usually due to price.
I think it is also simplistic to say that the reason for the low sell-through on the free sites is primarily due to your perception of low quality items. Before I explain, it is my opinion that all of the general listing free sites suffer from low sell-through. Unless I have missed one, the reported numbers for all of these sites (Bidville, Epier, Carnaby, SellYourItem, etc.) is in the low single digit range (1-3%). I personally due not see the sell-through on any of these sites high enough to make it stand out from the others. In my opinion, the primary reason for low sell-through is name recognition. None of the free listing sites have anywhere near the name recognition as Ebay, or even Yahoo or Amazon. Also the continual proliferation of auction sites just splits the buyers that do search out an alternative to the more recognizable name sites.
Until a site starts to develop name recognition, the "quality" of items on the site will make little difference to the bottom line sell-through rate.
posted on August 27, 2001 05:14:12 PMI personally due not see the sell-through on any of these sites high enough to make it stand out from the others ... the continual proliferation of auction sites just splits the buyers that do search out an alternative to the more recognizable name sites.
Well, now there's two of us that believe this
I don't think there is any more "room" for these freebie sites. The still-called auction market has actually become a Giant Mall with very few real bargains and even fewer fight to finish bidding wars. What makes a site like Bidville think they can attract buyers and sellers from the best stores in the Giant Mall with what little they have to offer? I know, there's 7 gazillion items listed there but that's all they are ... listed there! I also think that when eBay tires of this gnat, they wil just buy it and file the domain name for some future project. Right now, I doubt if all the sales that have occurred on Bidville to date is even noticed by eBay.
Of course, the way Bidville is going now, they'll shoot themselves in the foot soon enough all by themselves.
And with all due respect to the Carnaby guys who are probably the friendliest and most helpful auction people out there, less than 4000 listings after a few years doesn't spell success in my mind.
Amazon and Yahoo will continue to have some auction success because of their names and related internet activities.
posted on August 27, 2001 05:36:25 PM
I can never see eBay buying BV, ever. BV serves a very useful purpose for Bay. Many sellers and buyers become disenchanted with eBay for a variety of reasons and dream of greener pastures. Many times these disenchanted eBay users look for and find the biggest free auction site out there and they think they've found the Promised Land. After a few months of near zero sales of their auction items eBay suddenly looks a lot better.
posted on August 27, 2001 06:22:56 PM
"and even fewer fight to finish bidding wars"
But the "wars" still exist on some items, I had a Little Tikes toy catalog sell on ebay last night for $51.49. 3 bidders (all with 100+ feedbacks) took it from $15.00 to $51.49 during the last minute and a half. God bless the "big sites".....
[ edited by wlaschin on Aug 27, 2001 06:24 PM ]
Well, we almost totally agree. I do think there is a room for some (maybe 2-3, who knows?) of the free sites to establish themselves in the auction market. Ebay seems to be on a path to become more of a mainstream storefront and elite auction house rather than a general auction site that it was in the formative years. If this trend continues, that creates an opportunity to capture the buyers and sellers still interested in a general auction site. However, it is going to take sites with patience to grow the business, some good start-up funding to spend on advertising to get name recognition, and willingness to stay with minimal fees until a base of buyers is established.
What has me baffled is that almost none of the newer free sites are trying a different concept. To me, only Bargain and Haggle is really trying to establish a new concept. The other free sites are trying to become the next Ebay. I think some would be better served trying to become a niche site serving two or three related collectible areas rather than trying to cover the entire auction market.
posted on August 28, 2001 07:18:50 AM
"I think some would be better served trying to become a niche site serving two or three related collectible areas rather than trying to cover the entire auction market."
I believe that the founder of BV has already tried at failed at the beanie baby niche market at least once. With 56+% and growing of BV's items being sports related it looks like BV is going for the sports niche now. Why not make a rule that says only sports related items on the site? It'll be tough to compete with beckett.com with it's 3.6 million items though ....
Although this is a Bidville thread, wasn't specifically referring to them in my posts. Since it seems that a new auction site is starting every month, I find it curious that almost none of them are trying a different format or trying to appeal to a niche market. In other words, you can take away the names and the colors and the "gimmicks", and they are all trying to be Ebay clones. I would think that at least some of them would try a different tactic in order to offer something really "new". In my opinion of the new sites (less than a year old), only Bargain and Haggle is trying something truly different.
It is interesting that you mentioned Beckett. That was the example of a niche site that I was thinking about when I wrote my post and almost mentioned them. Beckett is definitely a recognizable name within the sports card market, and has a site that offers much more than selling and auctions to attract visitors and potential buyers. If Beckett were to decide that it really wanted to do auctions seriously, it has the potential to be a major competitor to Ebay in sports card auctions. This is an example that there is the potential for a company to carve itself a successful piece of the auction/internet selling market if they abandon trying to be an Ebay clone.
posted on August 28, 2001 09:51:04 AM
Bidville's owner had a niche site called nobidding.com that was almost all beanie babies. He calls it a success till the beanie baby market fad faded and there was another beanie baby site set up by him that may have also failed. A niche market can be a dangerous thing if your niche item is a fad item.
I agree that the new sites are all really ebay clones and no one has tried anything revolutionary. Actually nobidding.com was a great idea in the half.com mold but it was almost all beanie babies items. I wish BV hade been set up in a two-tier setup with one section being a conventional auction site and the other section being a fixed price item site. I've read that eBay is soon going to unite it's Half.com site with the eBay site into a single website. No other auction has tried to copy this no-brainer setup. Buyers want an auction and they also want a store, why not have them both under the same roof? The BIN option is very successful at eBay and that is further proof that many buyers "want it now".
posted on August 28, 2001 10:15:55 AMThe BIN option is very successful at eBay and that is further proof that many buyers "want it now".
Thus amplifying my argument that the on-line auction world is turning into a Giant Mall.
I use the BIN feature frequently on eBay. I may end up paying a bit more for something, but I don't have to track any bids. I guess I am the opposite of most buyers ... I check out the new listings first, not those that are closing soon
Dimview please keep stats per site to one thread. Your posting privileges are in serious jeopardy and you will lose them completely if you continue to ignore our requests regarding stats per site.
posted on August 28, 2001 07:58:50 PM
Lol I was paying you a sincere compliment. I didnt comment or refer to any specific moderation decision.
http://ballsandstrikescollectibles.beckett.com/
posted on August 29, 2001 07:52:55 AM
Now now. everyone is entitled to their opinion. Nerds, Geeks and even people who have a real life. In fact I am impressed with someone who can use a calculator and tell us what those numbers mean. Although if it were me and I spent my time putting up the numbers, if I had done a good job, the numbers would speak for themselves. Of course if I had no idea what I was doing, I would have to explain my numbers to everyone.
http://ballsandstrikescollectibles.beckett.com/
posted on August 29, 2001 08:23:56 AM
Even more interesting is that two groups can look at the same eight-weeks of sell-through rates and see things differently:
posted on August 29, 2001 08:49:18 AM
Very few people want to admit it but most items on BV are "parked". It's only a little better than parking them on your hard drive. Most sellers must be praying for a white knight auction that advertises their site or Yahoo to drop the listing fees so they can move their items.
