posted on September 10, 2001 07:25:59 AM new
I would like to know what others think about a tiered service offerred by AW and what would it have to have for you to want to use it and pay a bit more?
I would like to see a flat fee on space for pictures in a tiered format.
posted on September 10, 2001 01:47:33 PM new
I've been watching the stats on my web site to get a feel for picture hosting (been running some auctions this past week; first time in awhile) and have found that the stats program gives me a precise accounting of bandwidth, number of requests and referrer location.
I would imagine such tools exist, likely in far more complex form, on AW.
Maybe then, they could offer a tiered fee for picture storage, based on the volume of the storage space and a nominal, customary bandwidth (number of hits per period, likely per month). Then, if a user gets extraordinary hits and runs over the bandwidth allotment, they could be billed extra, much as my web host does to me.
As far as auctions go, I think there should be a flat fee for listing, tiered to the number of auctions listed per month, with volume discounts applying. As server and programming resources remain essentially the same regardless of the value of the merchandise, I believe the FVF should be suspended or have the cap greatly reduced. If this means an increase in listing fees to offset the revenue stream customarily received from the FVF, then so be it.
Powersellers (eg, those who list more than 500 auctions per month, for example) should have access to support 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year since the market they cater to is global and business is being conducted somewhere in the world every minute of every day. Most powersellers IME earn all or most of their income from these business transactions and deserve top drawer support to go with the top drawer fees they pay AW. Another consideration is that many powersellers also have AW storefronts which are available to the public 24/7 as well and support of this venue should be just as timely.
Lastly, site stability should be job number 1.....To that end, I recommend (if not already implemented) that the auction management areas of the site be completely separate, even physically seperate, from the rest of the content at AW. IMO, they should should be served from redundant backup servers which serve no advertising whatsoever. Repeated threads in the MC have sent a clear message that users don't like the slowness of the site and they don't like advertisements interrupting their work and use of the auction management areas, which they have paid a fee to use.
Most of the users who post comments such as I have shared are long-time AW customers or business owners (such as I am) who have extensive experience in meeting their customer's needs. Listening to customers and then hearing them is a critical key to long-term success as a business owner.
I would submit that most of us who post here would like to see AW succeed....the better AW is at what it does, the more successful we can be at what we do...
