posted on November 7, 2001 10:35:12 AM new
Why not have a flat fee for small (you could set the totals) amounts of image storage?
That way those of us who prefer to load directly could still use the site and you would make more than you are now in most cases.
I wouldn't mind a $5 to 10 a month fee for a 100-200 photo limit, but 10 cents each is just too much and now I have to worry about other people stealing my pics and me getting charged for it as well.
posted on November 8, 2001 10:32:06 AM new
Hi Diana,
Thanks for the reply. Now I am going to really push it and ask another question.
I have recently been playing around with the competition just to see what is out there. I only found one program I liked any where close to yours. It charges a flat rate of $19.95 a month or a little cheaper if you go with the annual fee. The program works great, there is never a delay in launching and revisions to auctions are flawless and quick. The after sales management is very easy to use and I like being able to look at everything and tell what has been shipped, etc with very little work on my part.
However, your templates and pictures far surpass theirs. I would love to continue using your service, and would even pay a little more than the $19.95 a month for yours, but why do you insist on charging a final value fee? As far as individual listing fees go, there just doesn't seem to be many of the sellers left who have a 50% sell through. I might sell 75% tonight and only 20% next week. It is very eratic and the fees are killing us all (the small item sellers).
Wouldn't you think it would be a wise move to maybe even undercut the competition a little instead of making your fees double theirs?
Just a thought from someone who would really like to continue using your service but just can't afford to!
posted on November 8, 2001 12:07:36 PM new
Lindajean, if you're willing to share the other company you're using, I'd like to know. Please email me at [email protected]. Thanks.
posted on November 8, 2001 01:22:44 PM new
lindajean,
Thanks for your feedback. It is useful to understand the decision process sellers use when evaluating services.
I've been reviewing the sales history of thousands of sellers when looking at various plans. We chose our variety of plans to meet the needs of as many as possible.
You asked about why we have a final value fee as a component to our pricing. The erratic sell-through you describe is a primary motivator for this pricing. We need to charge a listing fee of some sort, since our costs are mainly related to serving the images and auction templates, etc. But we defer much of that cost coverage to the final value fee to avoid undue burden on auctions that don't sell. Basically, costs then scale with selling success.
We have modeled several monthly plans, but they have never proven to be the best pricing method for most people. In fact, I reviewed your sales history for August and just looked at your eBay and AW accounts. For the way you sell, it appears you would pay far less than the subscription amount you described by using our Standard Plan. And the Standard Plan doesn't cost a cent in the months you decide not to sell. In the monthly subscription case, in the months you may be away from selling actively, you still pay (knowingly in the case of a yearly sub, and possibly unknowingly if you forget to cancel that month). The Standard Plan is pretty efficient and scales with your success, especially for someone who sells at your volume, sales price, and sell-through.
I will continue to monitor this thread and others to see if we need to make a change. The sign-up response so far to the new plans has been very positive, but we will always seek to find ways to improve. Thanks again for your feedback.
It is true I have been a little slow, but that is because I have been getting everything ready to list. I plan on having from 100-200 items out at any one time starting December 1. I have about 50 ready to go now and will work on more this weekend. That was why I was looking for other service providers. At 600 to 800 a month your fees would be way too high compared to a flat fee.
Thanks anyway and I am sure you must know which competition I am referring to, but since there are so many I will be happy to let you know if you would send me an email.
