posted on February 17, 2002 02:47:46 PM new
There is so much talk about the unknown smaller sites here lately and I just wondered if anyone is looking at Carnaby.com.
It is growing up quickly and it would be good to hear opinions from some of you that have tried it. What do you like best about the site?
My own personal favorite feature at Carnaby is the bulk listing tool called MaxLoader. It is a dream come true for listing auctions. Only thing that could make it better would be the ability to schedule auctions in advance.
Now that bidding is starting to pick up, I really think Carnaby is going to be hot! hot! hot! Rah rah sis boom bah!
posted on February 17, 2002 05:15:08 PM new
The recent Carnaby boost in listings comes from only a few new sellers offering many items. Perhaps they can coax the book seller storefront seller away from BV and add an instant 299,000+ items at one shot?
posted on February 18, 2002 04:22:57 PM new
Ok So you got me I went and spent nearly 2 hours surfing Carnaby.
Where are all them bids didnt you say bidding there was incressing ???
and as well I notice there item counts are not all Right some catagories say there are thousands of items and have less then one page of active listings.
others have page after page of listings but no bids.
I think carnaby could be a great site nice layout and great tools but to be worth a sellers time and effort there have to be some really good bidding going on and as I look it just dont seem to be there at this time. http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
posted on February 21, 2002 04:37:45 PM new
I found carnaby to be a total waste of time. It became bidville part 2 with it's cliqueness and simply complete lack of sales. Glad I went back to Yahoo.
bp
posted on February 21, 2002 10:10:01 PM new
Well I can say I was "hoping" that Carnaby would do something but, nada. I have attempted listing prints on the site for a long time now and have succeeded in closing 3 whole auctions. It's such a shame there are no sites able to compete with feebay!
posted on February 23, 2002 08:35:50 AM new
dimview is correct - the recent boost is the result of a couple of sellers with a large number of listings ...
posted on February 23, 2002 03:39:27 PM newthe recent boost is the result of a couple of sellers with a large number of listings ...
You guys say that like its a bad thing.
Sellers on smaller sites are always moaning that they wish some of the power seller types would give third tiers a chance, & perhaps bring some of their buyers with them, and then when they do give a Carnaby like site a whirl, then we hear statements like the one above, which seem to appear to be negative in tone.
posted on February 23, 2002 06:49:12 PM new
Hey Rob OtS ... if you're referring to me, I'm not sure I understand your comment about sour grapes posts. I merely stated that the boost in listings is the result of a couple of sellers listing a bunch of items. I don't think this is a bad thing or a good thing ... just an observation.
posted on February 23, 2002 09:05:05 PM new
Robnzak,
How are your sales doing on Carnaby compared to a couple months ago? I'm starting to become very discouraged with the site, but that may be due to my category. Still very few sports cards listed, and I have over 50% of the current listings. Trying to hang in there, but no sales and only 1-2 total pageviews per week doesn't offer much encouragement to increase my number of listings.
Do you know what has become of the promised advertising campaign? Haven't seen any evidence that it was ever started.
posted on February 23, 2002 09:47:16 PM new
Rob (OtN)...Hi Pal, the sour grapes line was not directed at you, just a general whine
Hi Steve, Sorry to hear your not gettig the business you had hoped for, but honestly think bv has sports cards sewed up. Of course I could be wrong cause I don't collect them, but they do have the listings.
auction sales at Carnaby have slowed down for me in the last month, but while I still maintain auction listings, I'm concentrating more on my fixed price store there for the time being. I have a little ad over at da MOO with a link to the store, and it's been very effective.
Do you know what has become of the promised advertising campaign? Haven't seen any evidence that it was ever started
um, nope, it's a mystery to me
posted on February 23, 2002 10:28:03 PM new
I recently listed 60 items at Carnaby. After 6 days into a 10 day listing run there have been no bids and one lonely pageview total for all 60 items. That is pathetic. These types of sites will never, ever be able to charge any form of listing fee whatsoever.
Before a certain cheerleader can chime in about attractive listing titles and various other stupid excuses let me say that I do not run any buyers around with somewhat high s/h fees and jump through the hoops clauses like this certain seller does ...
Packaging & Post (priority boxed) is $5.50. Media rate available upon request. International bidders, please e-mail for shipping quotes.
posted on February 23, 2002 10:32:05 PM new
.... and that s/h fee is for a simple hardback book?
What's wrong with $3.50 or $3.90 with Delivery Confirmation and use the free Prioity Mail boxes?
Thanks for the answer. I'm going to keep some listings of duplicate items there for awhile to see if activity picks up. To me, the sports cards on Bidville are an illusion. With all the listings for commons, listings of better cards get lost in the clutter. I'm sure there are still a lot of buyers, but no where near enough for all of the listings. I'm glad that Yahoo is still going strong for me.
I've started giving SYI a try, especially since they also take a spreadsheet for bulk loading. For someone listing a lot of cards, a spreadsheet is much faster to use. I saw last night that you are placing a seller's ad on the front page. Looked all through the site to see information on the ads, but couldn't find it. What is the cost of the ads and can you help me with a link to the info? Your help would be much appreciated.
posted on February 24, 2002 06:22:15 AM new
Bidsbids,
I wouldn't consider a $5.50 charge for S&H on hard cover books to be excessive. I'm not in favor of excessive charges, but I also don't think that you should just charge exact shipping. A small extra charge to cover things such as a book over 2 lbs., packing materials, fees, and other incidental expenses is prudent in my opinion. I know Rob can defend himself, but I think it was a cheap shot to discuss someone's auction listings on this message board. Also since he has a lot of customers, there must be a lot of people who don't consider the charge excessive.
As far as being a cheerleader, I think Rob is far from one. His viewpoint is much like mine. He does try to emphasize the positive rather than the negative. As a seller, this is wise since it's not smart to bite the hand that feeds you. But I have always found Rob to be truthful and willing to discuss deficiencies that he sees in a site.
posted on February 24, 2002 06:51:53 AM new
Morning folks...that certain cheerleader/certain seller Bids alludes to would be me, and I'm kind of disappointed in the cheerleader snipe. Bids, I would have thought you knew me better than that by now. I cheerlead for no site, I try to be objective in my thoughts and posts and prefer to look at things from the bright side. I have often said good things about third tier auction sites, but I've also said not so flattering things about them as well. My comments most always relate to how things affect me and my business.
I wouldn't comment on your lack of views/bids as I have no idea what you sell or the appearance your auctions, but I'm sure they look professional and your S&H is fair, as is mine.
I was recently involved in a long and interesting thread in a book forum discussing presentation, attractiveness of listings, etc. & I put myself out for constructive criticism, and received valuable feedback from other book sellers regarding the way my auctions looked from the eyes of an objective bystander. I've always felt there is room for improvement, and I took their suggestions seriously and made some changes. Of course, with as many listings as I have all over the place it takes time to amend all listings, but for your benefit Bids, below is a newer tos for shipping:
Packaging & Post $2.50 (media rate) or $5.50 (boxed priority). International bidders, please e-mail for shipping quotes
This makes my terms a little easier to understand, less hoops to jump through as you say, the lesser rate is first, with an option for faster delivery shipment second. I still find that most of my customers opt for priority, and while $5.50 may seem somewhat high to you, it is not. I prefer a fixed rate system and it works well for me. It rare that I ship a hardback book for the lowest priority rate, more often than not, the hardbacks I sell tip the scale to the $5.20 rate, so I gouge the customer a whole thirty cents to help offset the cost of supplies.
posted on February 24, 2002 06:59:35 AM new
Hi Steve, you posted while I was typing...appreciate the kind words.
You can find info on SYI seller ads on the site map under the Welcome heading. They offer 10,20,& 30 day ads. Cost from $10 to $20.
Being fairly new to SYI, I found it has helped tremendously in getting my name "known" to the folks over there. It's also a great way to promote my "theme" listings.
Wish you much luck at both sites...oops was that cheerleading?
Thanks for the help. It that link had been a snake, it would have bit me last night. Looked at that page probably 5 times, and never did notice it. I believe that I am going to take out an ad once I get sufficient number of listings posted there.
posted on February 25, 2002 07:36:44 AM new
Hi Rob (OtS) ... I understand
Contrary to dimview's comment about your shipping charges, I find them to be very reasonable and I have absolutely no problem with the way you state them. Being an "international" buyer, I *always* ask first before placing a bid.
Did you ever find those elusive volumes I was looking for? I am sad to report that my best friend of 45 years who was looking for the automobile volume passed away on December 26th, but I am still looking for the teevee stuff for my library.
posted on February 25, 2002 09:17:55 AM new
Hey RB...sorry about the loss of your friend.
I must admit, that I have been lax in my search for folks with a wish list since the first of the year, I had way too much going on, but things have settled and I'll be back on the list in ernest once again.
I would help me if you e-mailed your tee vee list again, you know my number.
Rob
edited for spelling
robnzak - 1st editions
[ edited by robnzak on Feb 25, 2002 09:18 AM ]
posted on March 1, 2002 11:09:35 AM new
Interesting. I, too, have bought from Robnzak and will do so again if he has what I'm looking for.
He's a great seller who represents his items well, packages well, is in constant communication, so on and so forth.
Now, back to the subject. I still hope good things happen for Carnaby. Their site design is excellent. The only thing they need is more users, both buyers and sellers.
-----------------------------------
