Now what "other online auctions" will take advantage of this coming opportunity to gain market share by stealing away part of eBay's current lofty sell-through rate?
I'm not talking about more listings, but rather more listings with bids.
posted on October 10, 2001 06:57:46 AM new
Good Morning Dimview,
While this news is "good" for 2nd tier sites in gaining additional sellers, I don't see bidders leaving ebay unless the checkout is so cumbersome that bidders begin to look elsewhere to do their buying.
I only see it weeding out those buyers who do not or will not use their credit/debit cards via the internet.
What sellers need to do, if they decide to move on to the 2nd tier sites, is to let all their buyers know there are alternatives to ebay and where their items are/will be listed.
Only time will tell what impact this will have on ebay and what benefit this will be to the 2nd tier sites.
posted on October 10, 2001 07:13:54 AM new
I rarely buy or sell anymore on Ebay. I do not like the fees involved with selling and feel they are out to stab the sellers at every corner. I have no idea how this announcement will affect any other sites, but hope it helps all 2nd tier sites as they need it badly.
posted on October 10, 2001 07:55:59 AM new
How does this help 2nd-tier sites at all? All I see it doing is driving even more traffic to the Half.com items once they're part of eBay.
Think this move is going to have any impact on Bidville's sell-through #s?
posted on October 10, 2001 07:59:44 AM new
I see the move that was expected to happen all along as a very smart move for eBay. It is very bad news for Amazon and sites similar to Amazon.
The "other online auctions" should now have an even tougher time competing with eBay. eBay is already a household name and now it will be more mainstream than ever and not just auction oriented. "I won it on eBay!" with be replaced by "I got it on eBay!" You may hear this more and more "Why bother with those little auction sites?"
posted on October 10, 2001 10:06:41 AM new
eSeller004,
If the AFA auctions are any indication of how the checkout feature is going to work, there are going to be several problems with the integration of the Half.com model into Ebay's current structure.
#1) Will the checkout feature require the use of Billpoint, or will other payment methods be acceptable? If checkout becomes mandatory, and Billpoint is the only payment method, this will likely effect many who do not wish to place their Credit/Debit card on line. This will also effect sellers who do not wish to deal with Billpoint.
#2) Will ebay do away with the one on one communication as half.com has? At half.com there is no way for a buyer to contact the seller directly and vice versa. Everything is relayed through half.com.
#3) Will ebay dictate the shipping/handling amount charged for fixed price items as half.com does?
posted on October 10, 2001 11:22:51 AM new
toollady,
Half.com allows the seller to set the shipping fee on items in every category except books, music, videos and games, which have standard shipping fees. They even allow you to offer multiple shipping options that the buyer can choose from. It's real nice and easy to sell on Half as it currently operates.
Right now using the checkout feature will be optional according to eBay. It has slots for other payment options from what I've seen. I wonder if sellers will eventually have to pay for the checkout feature. There's always some sort of fee eBay creates for these new features, and auction management services do charge for it. BillPoint will probably be highlighted as eBay's preferred payment method in checkout so that they can then snatch 35 cents plus 3% from your transaction amount, in addition to listing and FVFs.
posted on October 11, 2001 10:21:28 AM new
Q: Will the half.com listings be converted to auctions-for-a-fee listings? Or will the eBay "buy it now" auctions be converted to forever-fixed-priced listings?
posted on October 11, 2001 07:39:08 PM new
I've previewed the new Checkout at eBaY and it is optional, as well as the choice of payment methods, however, if you don't choose it, it will appear on your auction page with headings and blank terms. It will tell your bidders that you did not choose to use Checkout. The blanks also make it look as if you aren't charging shipping. Best to choose it than look stupid in the eyes of your bidders.
I think the AB has a link to the way your auction page will look. Check it out before you make assumptions.
posted on October 12, 2001 05:18:41 AM new
What's the big deal about ignoring the checkout feature? My payment details are always explicitly mentioned within my auction description. If you read the description you'll know what I charge for shipping regardless of whether there's any mention in the checkout box. Just to be safe, I'll put wording in big letters to ignore the checkout section. Checkout does me no good when I don't want to accept BillPoint or PayPal payments and their associated fees.
posted on October 12, 2001 09:45:22 AM new
Like everything else at eBay, the checkout feature will be phassed in gradually to not cause a great stir. Optional choices will become mandatory over time and the sellers will either comply with the new setup or try their luck selling elsewhere. In the end eBay will have it's way. JMHO
posted on October 12, 2001 10:17:33 AM new
eseller, because it takes up 1/4 of the page and you can't remove it...kind of hard to ignore.
If you do any selling, you'll notice bidders don't always read your terms, no matter how big they are. They could be in red, bold, tall and blinking and they won't read them.
But sure enough, they'll notice if you didn't fill in the terms on checkout. hehehe
