posted on February 28, 2001 03:21:09 PM new
Ok...I think I have been patient long enough!
I was selling through 65-70% of all my listings on YAHOO before the fees...
I always sold 80% or better first time around on Ebay.
I have been dissatisfied with the policies of both of those sights...so first I moved all my auctions from Ebay to Yahoo with surprising success...then they clobbered us with fees...so I thought I would give a go with Auxpal...now Bidville!
I have been listing at Bidville for 2 months now...and have had a total of 1 bidder...who has turned out to be a deadbeat. When I first started listing I was getting a good number of pageviews...but now most items receive only 2 or 3! I have dramatically cut my starting bid price (to even below cost levels) and no one is biting...
I will not go back to YAHOO because the site is DEAD now...so I guess it is back to the crooks at Ebay...I will have to "pad" my opening bid price to account for the increased fees...just to break even...but breaking even is better than sitting with merchandise forever!
You did not mention what you sell, but we have kind of a support group going for Bidville auctions. I currently have 95 auctions listed, 41 with bids. that is after 3 closed today with winners. Please email me if you would like the link.
posted on February 28, 2001 05:13:53 PM new
I had a nice little wave of bidders when I first listed there and since then it has gone flat for me as well.
Mine are all set to relist an ungodly amount of times so it is low maintanence.
I'll just make my daily rounds to see if I get any action.
http://www.lovepotions.net
posted on February 28, 2001 07:15:34 PM new
Oh Boy! - I was one of BidVille's cheerleaders! So far, 3 bids (all good-only received one feedback however) - all 3 were from repeat buyers - one from YooHoo and 1 from eBoo! - no new ones (but Thank God for those repeaters)! My patience is about to wear thin - my stuff is just sitting there! Page views from 0 to 3 sometimes 4 or 5. That's pitiful! I have been looking at other sites, but they ALL look dead to me! Of course, eBoo is now my #1 - and actually ONLY site I'm doing anything on. FYI - I sell a variety of things - WW II items, a few Civil War, some banks, movie window card/posters, etc., etc. I think my list is a well-rounded "collectibles" list - any ideas? On BooHooVille am capefeartrading... Oh, yeah - e-mail is: [email protected] - Thanks!
[ edited by capefeartrading on Feb 28, 2001 07:18 PM ]
posted on February 28, 2001 07:45:03 PM new
I felt that way about Yahoo when I moved from EBAY...
So I'm giving it time. I've had about 8 sales since I went with them, and that's not too bad.
I am watching the viewing and seeing nothing til maybe the last few days as far as views, but still am leaving my stuff going 10 days at 5 relists..
I figure it will happen, cause some things I have sold couldn't sell at all on Yahoo.
Just ol bitties opinon
Joan
posted on February 28, 2001 08:19:20 PM new
My sales are great on BidVille. I just had 5 items close today with a take it bid, and I just looked and have 9 items with bids. I have 400 items listed now. I have now sold over 50 items on BidVille and all have paid so far.
posted on March 1, 2001 03:48:35 AM new
chasd7 - how have you been doing with the items you've taken back to YooHoo? I admit - the thought HAS crossed my mind to do the same ?!?!! Would be very interested...Thanks!
posted on March 1, 2001 06:21:26 AM new
This will be interesting to watch.
When a new auction site bursts onto the scene as the "latest, greatest" one, there tends to be a flurry of activity (relativley speaking). Sellers buy from each other, some of their old customers come over to bid, etc. At first things look OK, because it is assumed that it "can only get better".
The question is, with no fees (no income), can places like bidville sustain the initial burst of excitement or not? After awhile, those fickle buyers tend to drift back to ebay, where there are all kinds of neat things to browse (not just a zillion trading cards and romance novels), and then it spirals down in self destruction, a la Golds. And if they do add fees, will all the low-profit-margin sellers depart for other venues, leaving a mere shell of itself?
I'm getting about 30% sell thru.
i.e. costs about 0.60 cents to sell an item;.
I never 100% left boohoo, mauntaining 5 to 10
items on the site (down from 200 plus).
Have 40 to 60 hits in ten days, per item.
I'm sticking to the better items, of course.
If even better items don't selll in 10 days,
just forget it they aint gonna sell.
Was doing real on bidville until the listings
went over 200,000 then it died.
posted on March 1, 2001 08:48:51 AM new
Yeah - Bidville ..... Nice slick site, generally runs smooth and has a clean uncluttered look to it. To bad about the lack of bidders though.
Epier on the other hand is somewhat klunky, cluttered, and just a bit hard to use. Despite all that I managed to sell 27 items on epier since Jan 14th. This is about as good (meybe better) as I would have expected to do on Yahoo.
I wish bidville the best of luck, but I am starting to get a "Golds" sort of feeling about bidville...hope I'm wrong
posted on March 1, 2001 02:48:02 PM new
I cant complain I have sold quick well on Bidville. Even better than I have on Yahoo. I for one will be sticking with Bidville.
posted on March 1, 2001 04:17:55 PM new
I'm going to hang in there for a while let them ride and hope for the best! Started out great all sales were in the first 5 week's all paying customers,even a couple out of the country! Now sales have dropped to ziltch,even looker's are about the same number's! I use bidville as a last chance after Ebay.So let them ride and hope thing's pick up! Hopefully I have nothing to loose.
posted on March 1, 2001 04:22:59 PM newI wish bidville the best of luck, but I am starting to get a "Golds" sort of feeling about bidville...hope I'm wrong
posted on March 1, 2001 05:05:57 PM new
Bids are very slow, but it is such a low maintenance site that I put my stuff that didn't sell on ebay up there and forget about it. Every once in a while I will get a nice surprise that an auction on Bidville has successfully closed.
Competition to ebay? Heck, no, but for slower or non moving inventory it's better than losing .30 cents every few weeks.
posted on March 1, 2001 08:34:01 PM new
Bidville is only 2 months old. What do you guys expect? It's not even listed on Yahoo or other search sites. When you do a Universal Search, Bidville isn't even an option. And yet it has almost 400,000 objects up for bid. One month ago it was at 60,000. Give it a little time.
I've been Bidville for almost one month. I've had 23 successful auctions close. A tad slow, but I expect things to pick up eventually.
posted on March 2, 2001 07:25:14 AM new
2 years ago I started listing auctions on Yahoo. I was teased and laughed at by some eBay sellers who told me "People don't know Yahoo Auctions exist", "Why are you wasting your time on Yahoo Auctions?", "Nobody shops those auctions", etc. And from the sales I had in the beginning I believe they were right. But I continued to list and sales started happening. There were slower times but there were also very busy times and I listed and sold.
Now I hear people saying the same thing about BidVille. Yahoo is no longer a viable auction site as it costs to more to list and relist than eBay. So you stick the stuff on BidVille and let it sit. When the buyers come by there is a reason to bid and come back again.
People are checking it out. I just got an email for a customer who told me she had seen a new auction site, checked it out and loved the way the site worked. She was wondering if I was aware of the site.
I am going to continue to add to my inventory there. And if BidVille fails, so be it. I'll figure things out from there. I would rather see a slow, steady growth there than rapid growth. I had a feeling about Yahoo when I started there (despite naysayers) and Yahoo was well on the way when they decided to quit. I think BidVille has potential. http://www.homestead.com/mainelymontanacrafts/index.html
posted on March 3, 2001 09:09:19 AM new
Howdy Folks! I have every intention of listing my wares on BidVille, and other sites as well. I believe that the site has great potential and will continue to grow. I am not a cheerleader for bidville nor any other site, I do believe that with the current condition of all the auction sites and the dissatisfaction of users that we all need to slow down and give the smaller sites a chance to get up to speed.
There are many good and viable sites on the net, Epier, Dutchbid, UsAuctions, Stuff, Popula, Pootah, 321Gone, JustGlass, WebSwap, tbay, xbid, Edeal, Just to mention a few, that are building a solid foundation, and I suspect that in the long run these and the other small sites will be the sites to be associated with, Yup, sales are slow on some sites, but as the word does get out about where they are and what they are about, the buyers and seller will find them and the sites will flourish.
I started a thread here in the basement with a number of site owners and invite all to look at it. It isn't site specific and it is on topic.
posted on March 3, 2001 09:17:31 AM new
"It isn't site specific and it is on topic."
It's amazing how users have to tip toe around on AW to discuss anything non-ebay topic. I hope these alternative sites and the sellers who list on them consider this before supporting AW in any shape or form.
posted on March 3, 2001 09:43:40 AM new
delphy;
I think that may be a moot point as AW has an auction manager, or some service, that I understand only supports the sites they want, AND THEY ARE GONNA CHARGE FOR THAT. That does not make sense to me, if they want to charge for their service, I think they would do better to let those willing to pay list their auctions where they want to. It could only be better for business for them. Go figure?
posted on March 3, 2001 08:47:21 PM new
Have had 5 or 6 winners including one for a $500 lot of sportscards who DID send his payment in within a week. I am happy.
http://ballsandstrikescollectibles.beckett.com/
posted on March 4, 2001 05:47:39 AM new
I'm starting to think BidVille is a desert. Since moving away from Yahoo, I've sold items on Epier but the items I put on Bidville just sit there. I keep telling myself to hang in there and that the buyers will come. So far, all I'm getting is "window shoppers."
posted on March 4, 2001 07:19:48 AM new
I dont think this problem is related to bidville. It might be, but I believe it is more than that. I sell a full range of things from kids clothes to antiques and back to toys, I dont have one market that I specialize in. Also, I have been selling for about 2+ years now. Yes, when I first started selling on Yahoo, things were like they are now, very slow and then they picked up to what it was just before yahoo's annoucement of adding fees. I have not sold on Yahoo since but have spread my items across bidville, epier, and a few other sites. I was most impressed and got the most sales with those two so I hung in with them. That is, until the slow down that started, for me, about 2 weeks ago. Just recently I added edeal. It looks pretty good and their FV thing looks pretty reasonable. I will see what happens with edeal. I think the slow buying is coming from the market in general right now. People are doing their taxes, the ecconomy has slowed. I will give it all about a month before I do anything drastic. Coming from Yahoo and the problems they are having right now, I am definetly not going back for a long time. As others have said, these sites are new, just like Yahoo was 2 years ago. I want to give them a chance. the only thing I have invested in these sites is time and since the two that I have been using are totally free and the last one is a fv charge only, I can afford to wait and see what happens.
posted on March 4, 2001 10:34:18 AM new
Actually I find that my Bidville sales are starting to pick up. Granted--I do not have my full line of merchandise listed there yet. I currently have under 50 items and am making sales here and there. I am adding items to Bidville when I have a few spare moments. I think, once I get all my merchandise up there--I will do as well as I did at Yahoo. Right now, Bidville, is my experimental site--but being that it is low maintenance, once I list something there, I don't have to go back to it until I sell it.
I feel the same way about Epier. However, I have yet to make a sale there.
posted on March 4, 2001 01:39:56 PM new
Yippee! I have 3 bids! Actually they are only .50 cent items and all 3 are from the same bidder...but who cares! I guess the other day, I was just having a "pity party". It doesn't cost me one red cent - unless I want it to - to just let my stuff sit there. Somebody will come along one day! Everything I have on BidVille now were initially on eBoo - so, if nothing else, I have copied and pasted the auction / information and have it somewhere! Actually also, I am having a few more hits within the last few days! so, I guess, we'll just continue to hang in there - it's not costing us anything and every once in a while we get a nice surprise - like a BID!! Yippee! You know - BidVille is not far away from that half-a-mill point either!
- I was one of BidVille's cheerleaders! So far, 3 bids (all good-only received one feedback however) - all 3 were from repeat buyers - one from YooHoo and 1 from eBoo! - no new ones (but Thank God for those repeaters)! My patience is about to wear thin - my stuff is just sitting there! Page views from 0 to 3 sometimes 4 or 5. That's pitiful! I have been looking at other sites, but they ALL look dead to me! Of course, eBoo is now my #1 - and actually ONLY site I'm doing anything on. FYI - I sell a variety of things - WW II items, a few Civil War, some banks, movie window card/posters, etc., etc. I think my list is a well-rounded "collectibles" list - any ideas? On BooHooVille am capefeartrading...
Oh, yeah - e-mail is: 
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