posted on January 12, 2001 01:49:25 PM new
Hello all,
My name is Frits, I am from the Netherlands and I am new in auctiononlinebusiness.
I want to list low-prices items ($3-$5,-). My merchandize is posters/cards/the like.
Since Yahoo just started to charge listing fees, I have a problem.
Other auctionsonline are without listing fees, but they don't auction my merchandize or they have sparse bid-activity.
My problem is: On what auction can I list my items?
Would Amazon.com's Marketplace be an opportunity?
Or perhaps after all eBay, since selling there is very likely (isit?), although they have considering my merchandize a heavy listing fee.
posted on January 12, 2001 02:27:05 PM new
Hi Frits and welcome,
I also sell low-end merchandise, mainly books, around $4 and up. I have found eBay to give me the best results.
I've been selling on eBay since March of last year and tried Amazon and Yahoo in November. Stuff sat on Amazon a month with no bids or sales, despite the fact that they're noted for their book selling. I listed the same items on eBay, and sold several within the first 24 hrs. and the rest throughout the remainder of the listing period using BIN. Needless to say, that didn't give me too great of an impression of my sales potential on Amazon.
And, as others have found, stuff will sell on Yahoo, but very, very slowly. I've been selling maybe 1 item a week on Yahoo, vs. 2 to 3 per day on eBay. Again, making that a non-choice now personally because of the listing fees.
Those are the only sites I've tried so far. But for me, eBay gives me far superior results than the other two.
Be aware that many Americans are not comfortable buying from outside of the U.S. Payment to Europe can also be a problem as I assume you probably can not accept U.S. dollar checks drawn on American banks.
posted on January 12, 2001 03:37:26 PM new
Hello all!
I also believe that eBay is still the best site to list items of varying prices, due to the high volume of traffic. In the past, I listed the most on Yahoo, but with some of my low priced items (European postcards, for instance) that will no longer be an option. I am listing on several sites to monitor where the Sellers (and their Buyers) will migrate. I am trying MSN, epier, and possibly auctionaddict, pending their response to an image uploading problem I am having. We'll see...good luck to all!
posted on January 12, 2001 06:19:04 PM new
Dman3: Everyone has to pay to list on Yahoo's U.S. site. No one has to pay to list on any of Yahoo's foreign sites. However, the foreign sites have very little to zero traffic (or listings).
I've been reading with interest all the topics and replies. It seems there are big changes at Yahoo! Auctions now that the fees have come into effect, so I don't think anyone can predict what it will be like. We can't base our opinions on what Yahoo! was like until now. I think it will take a few months to see what the new trend will be like.
It may be a lot better, since there will be less competition, or worse, possibly less bidders checking out the listings.
Honestly, I've had pretty good luck selling on eBay, but as you know they are more expensive. I would try selling on eBay, since there are always some US buyers willing to buy from European sellers.
As for Yahoo! Auctions, who knows. Check out closed auctions over the next few weeks and see if the items you sell are doing better, worse, or the same. Then, focus your efforts on whichever auction gives you the better results, or continue with both if it's working well.
