This is too much you say, there has to be a hitch?
Well there is.
To participate in this promotion you have to do the following:
Maintain at least 250 listings per month
Make at least 5 Sales per month
Adhere the Auctionpie code of Ethics
Participate in helping to make Auctionpie the site we all want it to be.
Sell books!
As long as you maintain these terms each month you will not have to pay a single dime to sell on Auctionpie.com
For more info please email [email protected] or you can post your questions and thoughts on www.baypie.com the home of all things Auctionpie and much, much, more!
posted on November 17, 2002 11:48:43 AM new
Jaime is making a bold move to get a large amount of books as a possible magnet for his site. Much like sportscards are a big draw for Bidville, although the sportcard buyers probably little else than sportscards. Many feel BV should specialize in sportscards and become the largest niche seller of the genre. Perhaps AuctionPie can do the same type of thing with books. After a year, if there are a lot of book listings and book buyer traffic then Jaime can institute a small FVF or get some subscribers to a membership plan.
At least he's trying new stuff. Who knows, he may stumble upon a good combination. Good luck Jaime.
posted on November 17, 2002 01:45:20 PM new
Thank you Tooltimes for the good wishes and comment.
I do try.
The original Auctionpie business model was to spend 25% of our after cost dollars each and every month on advertising and try and generally direct said bucks in a fashion that reflected the subscription base of Auctionpie.
IE: if 50% of our sellers sold Sports cards about 50% of our ad dollars would be geared in that direction.
The market place being what it is and with us offering FREE service that means that our ad $$ will not be what we had hoped.
That means that our advertising budget will be drastically reduced and that Auctionpie will have to find new and creative ways to spread the word and advertise.
Our Auctionpie Exclusives for example will be offered to our registered seller base once we have things sorted out.
Right now we are offering a limited run of 100 signed first editions of a book. In this example we would notify our book sellers and give them first crack at the books so that they would benefit in reselling them.
To more directly answer your question. Auctionpie will still continue to advertise and try and bring traffic to the site. This will benefit all sellers.
The thing though is, if we provide FREE service for a year, Book Sellers will have to bring in some of their own traffic too.
If they sit back and wait they will lose a valuable year of free selling.
You also have to remember that Auctionpie encourages sellers to have links not only to their own websites, but to their items on other auctionsites.
I think it's a good first step from Auctionpie to the Book Selling community. If they respond we can elevate the relationship and build upon it.
If the Book Seller's Program works we will be expanding it to other groups. We want sellers to really understand what's going on at Auctionpie and where we want to be.
Some companies spent their way to some success. That doesn't happen too much anymore. In Auctionpie's case we are simply forgoing some revenue and hoping that the selling community responds by giving us a chance.
Nothing is truly free in this world if its any good. We all have to start somewhere though.
I think if any site does good things long enough it will be rewarded as well as everyone that helps do those things.
posted on November 17, 2002 05:49:01 PM new
Evolve is good. Going with the punches in a fight, adapting to changing market conditions, etc. Even the churches evolve, such as no more Latin masses.
posted on November 18, 2002 04:49:17 PM new
Tooltimes you make a good point. The bidville membership fee is coming due, and many sellers would like another site to dump their goods on. Auctionpie should go to battle with bidville and draw some core users away from them. Build a sports card section and advertise in trade magazines. Customer service is badly lacking at bidville, and auctionpie could hurt them with some good service.
posted on November 18, 2002 05:46:15 PM new
Hi Blair,
I know many will disagree, but Auctionpie isn't about competition.
I don't want to take anything away from Bidville.
I felt that there may be a need for a good book seller's alternative.
That and I worked in the Sports Card Industry in the 90's and having been there, done that, simply want to look at different industries.
Also, I think Bidville is a success in many ways. I hope Auctionpie will at some point in the not too distant future also be considered a success. I just don't want it to be at the expense of any of the non-big3 sites.
posted on November 18, 2002 10:20:44 PM new
Jamie:
So what benefit would it be for a bookseller who cannot make 5 sales on your site per month (which then is charged $24.95 for that month because they failed to meet their quota set by you, yet you have no quota to meet for them) due to the lack of decent advertising or bidders on your site?
Why wouldn't a seller just go to another auction site and list their items for free anyway? Such as Auction3.com (totally free , advertises and new), QuicklySell (totally free, advertises and been around), PriceFire (free except for photo hosting and has over 1500 users), AlaskanAuctions (free except for a FVF I think), Bidroo (free and advertises), Bidway.com (free and backed by millions of dollars) or any other small site that each have more users and listings?
Other than waiving a fee that few people are paying anyway, what benefit would a bookseller have at having to meet your quota, restrictions, and ethics? Are you going to guarantee them 5 bids or more per month? Are you going to guarantee them advertising and show proof of that advertising (such as were you are advertsing)?
I mean they have something invested in your site at the point they list over 250 items. That takes time, effort and to guarantee to AP that the items will be sold to any potential bidders which ties up their inventory. Also since sellers at that level tend to have customers already, why should they bring them over to AP?
Also, why didn't you post your AuctionPie Exclusives Press Release here at AW? I must have missed it, or you never posted it. Could it be because it was proven to be misleading advertising since the products are/were not exclusive to AuctionPie that eventually led to your suspension at Mootropolis?
I am certain you will not answer any of my reasonable questions here. However, I thought that people ought to think things through and not necessarily take them at face value.
posted on November 19, 2002 04:53:44 AM new
Your Design. The biggest reason I can think of to support a site like Auctionpie over Auction3 is simply that we are an open site.
People know who the owner is and how to contact him. How do you publish a messageboard and auction site that refuses to publish it's ownership position and contact information like Mootropolis and Auction3? Also, both sites have refused to profer this information when asked for it.
Please don't bring your board wars from Mootropolis over to this board.
For that matter, from what I've heard, you most likely are affiliated with auction3 which would simply make your post a combative attack, no? Especially if you are in fact a site rep?
I have no problem with any seller going to any site. I encourage sellers to list where they feel comfortable and to support all of the smaller sites.
For any further questions from yourself Your Designs please feel free to email me at [email protected]
Also, could you please publicly state in this thread whether you have any affiliation of any sort with any Online Auction Industry Site before asking me any further questions of myself.
posted on November 19, 2002 07:42:01 PM new
Jamie:
I do not work for Mootropolis or any of the sites affliated with Mootropolis. I do not work or have worked with Auction3.com or any of it's affliates. I do not work for ebay.com. I do not work for AuctionWatch.com.
I did not do any designs for Auction3, nor do I do any design work for Moo. I am not a moderator or representative from any site, except for my own design sites, which have nothing to do with the auction industry.
Your paranoia is showing severely. You are looking for conspiracies around every corner. I knew you would use SOME excuse not to any of the harder questions.
I am glad you did not post your misleading press release here, and find it rather strange you didn't.
tooltimes:
You are incorrect, and correct in the same paragraph. I do sell on auction venues a variety of things. I am not a powerseller, no. I do sell on ebay.
As for harsh critic, yes. I would consider myself one. Nothing wrong with it.
posted on November 19, 2002 07:53:19 PM new
Jamie:
My post was not combative, and A3 was not the ONLY site mentioned, but I see you ignored the other suggested sites. You are so absorbed with Moo and A3 you have to concentrate on those sites.
As for contact information for either Moo or A3, why would you care? Neither ask for credit card information or truly personal information. I am not paying for services of either site. Not to mention whenever I have written Moo, I have gotten a quick response.
Also Moo has been around for over a year. Usually if a site has any major problems or something to hide, it would have already surfaced, as we have seen time and time again for many sites. My understanding is that it was designed from the very beginning to be a low-cost managed site, and having people like you call them at all hours of the day and night complaining how terribly you are being treated would drive up costs.
I signed up with Ross's board, and had no problems with giving out the same information I gave at Moo, and I have NO clue who Ross is. There are lots of discussion boards and tech sites I visit everyday without knowing EXACTLY who operates them, where they live or what their blood type is.
Heck, even ebay doesn't publish their number everywhere, because like other sites, they have a way of handling customer service, and that is just like Moo, through e-mail.
I am not certain why you don't understand these things. The world doesn't revolve around you or your site.
So if you feel UNCOMFORTABLE with the A3 comparison, then tell use one of the other sites I mentioned for comparison. We can just leave A3 completely out of it.
posted on November 20, 2002 08:46:05 AM new
The mega book seller at BV has either left of their own free will or has been booted by Bidville so there may be 299,000+ listings to be picked up by some online auction site. http://www.bookconsignment.com
Not a great mass book seller but it would be a big boast to the listing numbers.
posted on November 20, 2002 09:16:21 AM new
Jamie:
Are you calling me a LIAR? I just stated in PUBLIC record I am not affliated, worked, or work for any of the Moo sites. Where you actually paying attention to what I wrote? I have been a Moo supporter since they opened, but that doesn't mean I work for them.
You are delusional. Even when someone answers YOUR questions, you turn around and basically state they are not speaking the truth. So why ask the question in the first place? You apparently pre-determine your answers.
You are trying to accuse me of working for the sites in order NOT to answer questions and to slander my reputation by implying bias. You have done this to people in the past but you used EBAY instead of Mootropolis.
To everyone else here:
Did I not state that I did NOT work for Moo in any way, shape, or form? Was I speaking gibberish?
This is a fine example of the AuctionPie warped sense of management.
posted on November 20, 2002 02:27:44 PM new
Kodi that wasn't nice. We've never had a squabble. Why would one site owner (Alaskan Auctions and your other PHP one) come on Auctionwatch and attack me?
posted on November 20, 2002 02:37:26 PM new
Kodi, YD, whomever.
I come here in peace and will not fight or be combative with any of you.
If AW does not wish me to post and contacts me I won't.
Until they do I suggest that you all observe their clearly posted CG's.
d) be defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening, unlawfully harassing, or invasive of a person's privacy;
a) Harass, threaten, or intimidate another member or AuctionWatch staff. During debate or disagreement, always address the issue at hand, not the individual.
h) Post disruptively in a discussion thread or forum.
This isn't mootropolis that allows, encourages, and even participates in random acts of abuse, slander, defamation of character, and worse in its private forums and public.
Please respect this site as I and the other users do.
posted on November 20, 2002 02:52:35 PM new
The book storefront guy must have been removed either late last night or early this morning. His website still exists.
posted on November 20, 2002 03:03:37 PM new
Jamie, just because I have an 'opinion' that YD is sharper than you, does not mean it is an attack. See, you're just too damn sensitive. After all this time I'd think you'd have a thicker skin.
I think most people here know I'm a site owner, but hey..thanks for the mention
tooltimes-looks like the cards are going to make up for the booksellers loss..700,000 plus!
