posted on September 7, 2001 09:52:33 AM new
Some sites permit auctions to be relisted automatically, seemingly forever, and I'm curious as to everyones opinions of whether you feel this is good for a site or not.
Note:-- Please just state your *own* opinions, without commenting on the opinions or posts of others. If it strays from this objective I'll request the moderators to lock the thread, if people wish to debate this, kindly start another thread, I'm just looking for 'individual opinion' here.
posted on September 7, 2001 10:15:28 AM new
Just my opinion relayer, but from my findings the auto-relist is a VERY BAD idea.
IF the item has not sold the first time there could be several reasons - Might be ending at the wrong time of day or week.
Could be the description is not appropriate for the item or not complete enough to satisfy the buyers questions - many don't like to email and ask questions.
Could be that an image from a different angle might show more detail.
These are just a few reasons not to use the auto-relist and change some or all information if it does not sell the first time.
posted on September 7, 2001 10:17:57 AM new
Yahoo!Auctions (when it was free) did the research and apparently concluded, in part, that relists were *not* good for their auctionsite. The "other online auctions" need to recognize this as well.
Three, but no more than five, is probably a good number for relisting. And yes, some sellers will use a bulk listing tool to load the same file over and over again. Let them, at least their auction "business" will not be running on autopilot.
posted on September 7, 2001 10:32:32 AM new
Unlimited re-lists I think are a bad thing.
I think 3 auto re-lists can be a good thing. Reason being, an item needs to be listed in order to be bid on. Just because there is no bidder this week doesn't mean there won't be a bidder next week.
posted on September 7, 2001 11:07:49 AM new
The sites should have 2 seperate areas of their site, one for fixed price items and the other for auctions. The auction part should have just one relist and the other for fixed price items simply stay till they are sold.
ebay will soon bring their 1/2.com venue to their main site. Copy the successful leaders if you want to also be successful.
posted on September 7, 2001 11:48:48 AM new
I think that auto relists are a good thing, but within limitations. My preference is 3-5, depending upon the maximum allowed length of time for an auction. I don't think you should be able to auto relist for a total duration (duration of auction times total autorelists) of more than 6 weeks - 2 months. At that point, the seller should take a least a minute or two to analyze the auction for possible changes.
I am a proponent of more fixed price sites, but I even think that these should have a maximum duration. Just like an auction, the seller should analyze the listing after a period of time for possible changes.
I do not think a large number of relists is good for a site because it leads to some stagnation in listings, allows sellers to list the same item at multiple sites, and keeps listings alive for sellers who may have left the site.
[ edited by stavecards on Sep 7, 2001 11:52 AM ]
posted on September 7, 2001 12:07:58 PM new
I don't think auto-relists necessarily are a bad idea. Many of us offer the same items on the free auction sites as we do on eBay. Everything I have listed on eBay and is selling almost as fast as I can list it, is also listed on the free auction sites with the same HTML format, images and everything. The difference between eBay and the free sites is eBay has a wealth of concentrated traffic and bidders whereas the other sites do not. You need the auto-relists at the free sites to generate anywhere near even a 1/4 of the same # of onlookers for a particular auction. Most of the time I'll drop the prices on items at the free listing sites compared with the exact same item on eBay, yet they still won't sell on the free site, but will for higher starting prices at eBay. If it was crap I was trying to peddle on the free sites, the same item certainly wouldn't sell on eBay for higher prices.
Even on eBay I list and relist the same items over and over and over again for months on end and they have no problem selling, so relists in and of themselves are not the problem. The fact that the free sites do not advertise enough to draw in a recurring stream of new bidders is the problem.
posted on September 7, 2001 02:52:10 PM new
It is all in how you look at this subject. Sites under 6 months old really need them, or else they would loose auction count a few days a week,, as many would not relist asap and do it when they wanted to, if naturally it was for free. What would help is the Option of 1 free relist when you originally enter an auction.. or 2 Free relists, I think more than 2 in a row is a bit much.
posted on September 7, 2001 06:37:23 PM new
Just to clarify, by "relisting" I am referring to sellers who have an item that is listed, does not sell, is relisted, does not sell, is relisted, does not sell, over and over again. I am not referring to sellers who have multiple copies of an item that they list, sell, list, sell, list, sell, etc.
posted on September 8, 2001 07:31:15 AM new
I guess it depends on what side of the fence your on...
category I (tried) to sell in has 62,000 listings, 40,000+ are by one seller who has all his auctions for 3-5 days with 99 relists...my piddly little 100 auctions never saw the light of day...couldn't get anywhere near the top of the category listings.
I did manage to sell about 75 books over the course of 6 months, but that's a pathetic number of sales compared to his.
I used 3 relists with my goods, and if they didn't sell, I rotated them over to another site, and they generally sold fairly well.
posted on September 8, 2001 08:48:57 AM new
I don't think the 3-5 day duration with 99 relists makes any difference anymore. Nobody is viewing items at the big wharehouse, especially books. There may be a few sportscard and craft areas that do recieve a fair amount of looks but that by far is the exception rather than the rule at BV.
posted on September 8, 2001 09:24:17 AM new
It doesn't make any difference for anyone. The book section is a real pariah as that section gets few sales and few pageviews. There is a solid cadre of sellers at BV and most have the urge to shop online on occasion and that comprises a huge chunk of the buying done on the site. ( same situation at most small sites )
posted on September 8, 2001 09:53:45 AM new
robnzak,
Where are you listing now? Are you having better success? I need to seriously consider moving somewhere else, at least some items.
On Bidville, you need the relists, how can you sell something with 0 or 1 page views? I have sold some items but am considering other alternatives.
posted on September 9, 2001 06:41:40 AM new
deichen...I sell at several sites, but slid my BV listings over to Carnaby. Granted, their new, but I've been pleasantly suprised by my success thus far.
posted on September 9, 2001 10:04:31 AM new
Thanks, Rob
I need to really check this site out. I really just didn't like the fee structure, free for now, but if I sold items, I would not mind paying a fee. Just not to Ebay!
posted on September 16, 2001 09:17:20 AM new
I used to think auto relist was a fantastic idea.....it proved to work great for me since ePier was a new site I was able to sell items that ran for months to newly registered users that had I not of had them up, the new traffic wouldn't of seen them.
Now...I have a totally different experience with them! My auctions are being held hostage...I was able to remove 50 of them from one user name before being banned from services for exposing lies...now they have my business account with hundreds of dollars worth of items running active on auto list and I am unable to edit or even end them. They are also starting a FVF tomorrow so isn't this a GREAT way for them to keep the amount of auction listing high as well as force items that sell to run into their new broken promise scheme of generating funds. You'd think the 3 accounts I paid for was enough of a rip off for lack of services promised but to hold my auctions hostage? Is this legal? I know it's not honorable! What a good scam though.....no notice, warning, or explanation to the users getting banned/suspended but if ya got auctions running on auto list your're scr*wed!
posted on September 16, 2001 11:29:12 AM new
Notwithstanding the "hostage" issue Goldenpony brought up, I have always thought auto relist was a good idea and here are a few reasons:
1) For a lazy lister (like me), it works!
2) On a site with few pageviews, the item MUST be available to view WHEN the proper buyer appears:
A - I had 50 Coca Cola ads running since day one on Epier (January 2001); they got no bids for months. Then, suddenly, the proper buyer showed up and bid on and won 33 ads for a total of around $200.00. If not for relisting, I would never have reached that buyer.
B - I had several world crowns listed since day one without a buyer. After multiple relists, a fellow showed up and bought two just this past week. Again, without relisting, I wouldn't have sold these.
There are a few other examples of this type but there is no need to list them.
You may say I am a "nickel-and-dime" seller and you would be correct. But even us "weak sellers" need a venue to display out meager wares and auto-relist is a wonderful tool for us.
The flip side of the coin: Potential buyers that search keywords only to find the SAME shopworn merchandise every time, probably won't bother coming back.
