posted on January 15, 2001 05:22:29 AM new
WHICH SITE HAS THE MOST BUYERS TOO?
I LISTED ON YAHOO IT TOOK ME FIVE OR MORE RELISTS TO SELL TO DEADBEAT BIDDERS!!!
WHERRE IS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE THEY PROMISED?
posted on January 15, 2001 07:27:29 AM new
I think alot - like me - are trying out AuXpal - is very user-friendly and Customer Service is the best I have seen absolutely ANYwhere! We send in suggestions for site changes, additions, etc. and they have been obligining us!!! Take a look - you'll like! Waiting to see if CEO will let us AuXpal newbies in for free lifetime benefits (?) - perhaps for the next 30 days (?) - if so, I think that would be what everybody is looking for. Other option is lowestbids - I've not totally made up my mind about them yet. Regarding AuXpal - they are only approx. 90 days old - but already have over 93,000+ auctions!! What we must do is be sure to use our link buttons (copy and paste) to our current auctions - say at eBoo! Hope this helps!
posted on January 15, 2001 07:55:28 AM new
If you are looking for a new free auction home I would agree that Auxpal has the best potential - though NONE of the current alternatives has any bidding activity. There was none on Yahoo either (even with its millions of users) so how could you expect any of these far lesser known sites to have any bidding activity. I think a far better alternative for Yahoo refugees is to go to NoBidding.com which is owned by the same people who own Auxpal. The site is even more attractive and is very easy to use. You can also have your feedback from all other sites imported there. It is totally free. You just set the price you want and the sale can take place instantly.
Yahoo was an auction site in name only. We posted hundreds of items there (and these are all good quality items that sell 70% of the time on Ebay where we are a Power Seller) and out of those hundreds of auctions a grand total of ONE auction had a second bidder. So why waste everyone's time by running a so-called auction that ends a week later? Ebay is the one and only site that is a true auction and it will remain so because it is the only one that has reached the critical mass of users necessary to have one. There is no equally strong set-price site but NoBidding.com could become one if Yahoo refugees support it. I will continue to do the bulk of our business on Ebay, but I want to be on alternate sites as well (being under the thumb of a monopoly is never a good thing.).
Due to our imported feedback of over 2000, I can stay on Yahoo with my feedback credits for 2-3 years and will do so. I would not pay any real money to be there though as the success rate is incredibly low. I can't see how paying listing fees there could be feasible for ANY seller. I am not here to knock Yahoo (in fact I am a Yahoo stockholder) but I think the new fee structure was a huge mistake for them. I understand why they felt pressured to do it (the need for revenues), but they should have just taken what they could get at this time - which is some money from Final Value Fees. When they finally make that realization - it will be too late - the sellers will have all moved on and won't come back.
[ edited by musicparadise on Jan 15, 2001 07:57 AM ]
[ edited by musicparadise on Jan 15, 2001 07:58 AM ]
[ edited by musicparadise on Jan 15, 2001 08:00 AM ]
[ edited by musicparadise on Jan 15, 2001 08:01 AM ]
posted on January 15, 2001 08:02:14 AM new
I am listing on AuXpal with duplicate or extra items listed at PoOTaH. AuXpal is easy with great customer service and I have had several bids in the week that I have had stuff listed.
posted on January 15, 2001 08:09:38 AM new
I agree totally on AuxPal customer service. I sent them an email in the wee hours last nite about their Verified Member program and I had an answer at 7:30 this morning. That has never happened anywhere! That is one reason I think they have the potential to be the best alternative to Yahoo. I will add some listings there but will do more at their sister site, NoBidding.com where I think you have a much better chance of making a sale. If you scroll through the nobidding.com listings there is a bold SOLD logo on each item that has been recently purchased. However, they, like AuxPal suffer from not enough people knowing about them - but you have to start somewhere. Sellers can help build either of these sites. Where we go (if we go in large enough numbers), the buyers will follow. I think AuxPal/NoBidding are hamstrung by a lack of the funds needed to publicize their names (but with that cost in the millions, most every other site is in the same boat). They will have to rely on word of mouth and that's where people who check them out can help. I like both of them far better than any of the other names being tossed around, Lycos, BidBay etc.
posted on January 15, 2001 09:47:28 AM new
I just got another email from AuxPal customer service that I found to be rather amazing. We have a very large web site and they offered to have one of their programmers extract every item we have listed on our web site and convert it into an AuxPal auction listing! He did not say if there would be a charge to do this so I am waiting for an answer to that. If they can do that economically for sellers their listings could skyrocket very quickly. He said over the next month there will be some big changes there with much heavier advertising and a focus on increased listings. Their customer service people have been remarkably good.
(Full disclosure: I am a fulltime interner retailer. I have no connection to AuxPal and have nothing listed there at this time. I am an Ebay power seller and also sell on Yahoo. I want to sell on every viable site possible so as to be insulated from the disruptions that can occur when one site blows up (like Yahoo has).
[ edited by musicparadise on Jan 15, 2001 09:52 AM ]
posted on January 15, 2001 09:53:39 AM new
I've moved almost all my Yahoo! listings to FairMarket via Lycos. I'm getting more hits and bids there than I have in ages on Yahoo!. However, these are all new bidders with no feedback. I'm curious to see whether the Yahoo! bidders have moved with us (hence the new registrations), or if this is going to be a disaster, come auction-end when payment doesn't arrive. I've got some items listed on DutchBid as well, and am seeing decent hits with one bid. They are also in the processing of building their site and are very responsive to suggestions/requests. I checked out AuXPal, and found it to be wanting in terms of both listings and bids in the areas I sell in.
always pickersangel everywhere http://homepage.netspaceonline.com/~twobar/pickers.htm
posted on January 15, 2001 10:03:34 AM new
I just heard from AuXpal customer service. They will extract all of the listings from our web site and convert them to AuXpal auction listings at NO CHARGE. I think that is pretty amazing and shows their commitment to greatly increasing the number of listings on their site at their own expense.
posted on January 15, 2001 10:06:07 AM new
(anywhere except the L word.)
I am going to be attempting to "bribe" my bidders over to AuxPal.
I have never seen real potential in other auction sites, but I get a feeling if we work at this, it can work for us.
Post some auctions there, put a link in your e-mail sig line, and tell your bidders that you will be giving such and such for every bidder that places a bid, even if they DON'T win.
Just a token gift (or credit), but it will get them registered, and once they are registered, they are more apt to come back.
I put my money where my mouth is, and try to change things I don't like or agree with.
At this point, what i do not agree with is ebay and yahoo.
Look, I have never recommended any other site before, EVER!
But if we are all so fed up with the two giants, well, then let's play Jack and David.
If you want change, YOU have to make it happen. WE have to make it happen.
I vote AuxPal as the best alternative right now, unless something changes my mind.
posted on January 15, 2001 10:38:42 AM new
Pocono you have some good ideas. I also think you have credibility because I have seen your posts in other threads. You are always skeptical and that is very healthy and wise. I also believe that the small auction sites will have a very difficult time reaching critical mass. They are going to have to be very aggressive and very customer-centric. AuXpal seems to have those qualities.
I am not expecting miracles, but even though bidding will be slow no matter where we go for many months to come, it can be profitable if you list as much of your inventory as possible. Then even the infrequent sales will start adding up. We have been successful running a full-time internet retail business and we have made it because we have utilized a variety of different sites. We have our own web site, use Ebay, Yahoo and half.com. I need the revenue from every venue possible to keep paying my bills and make a profit. I could not have made it by using any one of those sources alone - and you most definitely do not want to be at the mercy of any one source.
I will try AuXpal and can afford to be patient since they are not charging anything. I have looked at all of the others everyone else has looked at and I don't see anything else out there that I think has a chance to make it. AuXpal may not either, but since they have shown the willingness to go out of their way to help me - I will try working with them. You have to put your chips down somewhere - and with the cost being only some time invested (in my case not even that since they are going to make the listings for me from my web site) I don't see where there is anything to lose.
[ edited by musicparadise on Jan 15, 2001 10:40 AM ]
[ edited by musicparadise on Jan 15, 2001 10:43 AM ]
posted on January 15, 2001 10:41:20 AM new
we are listing at epier,ebay,edeal,SNAPRAT.COM,a few stragling at yahoo and a couple at epier
so far the most action at a new site we started listing at last week has been snaprat.
posted on January 15, 2001 11:19:16 AM new
I'm giving BidBay a try. They look like they have the best bidder activety. I don't like their ebay look-a-like, sound-a-like copycat approach, but they do have some touches of uniqueness, and at least it has the easy user freindly look of ebay.
Quite frankly, I don't think any of these sites, including BidBay has much hope. Yahoo saw an increase in listings and members along with the online auction wave, not because of the mass exodus from ebay! Where are all these new buyers going to come from? Ebay has resorted to tv ads. Maybe some of Yahoo buyers will follow the sellers to these smaller sites, but really, Yahoo buyers are limited in scope what they buy, and all our complaints that sales or profits are low on Yahoo, will not be better elsewhere (except ebay).
I have to mention http://www.metaexchange.com/ It's been around since Jan 1999 and is growing in categories. It has a BUY IT NOW approach which is very popular, and there's no need to waste time uploading pics or doing listings as it is already done for you. It's mostly new stuff, but some vintage categories have been created. They have super customer service. I asked them to add a category, and within a week they added it. I'm a seller on the site and sales have been really easy to come by as long as long as you have a reasonable price. Just check it out and if your category isn't there, tell them the category you'd like added.
Their customer base is pretty big too, and they do lots of promotions at various shows.
Oh yea, there is no listing fee, only a FVF. You can have a lsiting up for one month, then readd indefinitely.
[ edited by quickdraw29 on Jan 15, 2001 11:21 AM ]
posted on January 15, 2001 03:11:10 PM new
I have started to use AuxPal. I like the site alot and is very user friendly. I have emailed them and stated that I do not mind paying a FVF especially if they use this revenue for advertising. I have started to list some duplicate auctions at this site and feeBays. In my EOA I let my customers know of this new site and the Take it Now option.
posted on January 15, 2001 04:15:11 PM new
For those who are moving to auxpal or anywhere else, what, if any, listing software will you be using since AW only works for the 3? What about pic hosting?Can we still use AW?
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/labelleepoque1/ http://www.labellestudios.com
[ edited by labelleepoque1 on Jan 15, 2001 06:53 PM ]
posted on January 15, 2001 04:51:21 PM new
I've been using AW for my Image Hosting on AuXpal. Although I DO miss the resizing feature YooHoo! had on their site - my pics on AuXpal are kinda big - but at least they are there! One thing about it - you can definitely see the detailing! anyway, last evening, I went into AW's Image Hosting - there's a link to go for resizing/crunching - I tried that, but it wouldn't do right. So for right now - AW is working for me on AuXpal.
posted on January 15, 2001 06:50:22 PM new
I just listed some auctions with Auxpal. Shoot..I think they deserve a little support...their customer service answered my questions within an hour - that was really refreshing!!! Have NEVER had a real response from any other auction site that fast - I usually just get back *canned* answers. If they're going to try that hard, I'll be more than happy to do some listing there for awhile. I really don't expect much in the way of sales at first, but I like the way they're approaching everything. Sooner or later someone is going to do it right and wind up with a heck of a site - there's just an incredible number of disatisfied users from ebay, Amazon & Yahoo floating around that are ripe for picking.
posted on January 15, 2001 06:58:21 PM new
I host pictures on my own web site. I only use Auction software for Ebay as that is my primary site. I do Yahoo manually and will do AuXpal the same. If you have your listings in a database or Excel file, or even just posted on a web site, AuXpal will create your auction listings for your from the information you already have.
posted on January 15, 2001 09:05:30 PM new
Lycos already has a mass loading feature in place, but it's a mess. I did finally get it working. DutchBid announced today that their bulk loader is ready for beta testing. Until that's up and running, it's one auction at a time!
posted on January 15, 2001 09:35:10 PM new
I will be moving all of my auctions to Auxpal. Their customer service is outstanding! I made 5 requests of them and 3 are already done (done within hours) and they e-mailed me back to say they are working on the other 2. It appears they want to build the sight around sellers requests. Built to order, I like that a lot, sure never got any of that on Yea-Who.
posted on January 15, 2001 09:57:12 PM new
Well, I just joined auxpal and nobidding. Im not sure about the auxpal one yet...still thinking on that one. The nobidding looks interesting because its different. The majority of my items will stay on ebay, but I might move the things I want to sell NOW, with no bidding, to nobidding (duh). Anyway...I guess its just me, but the auction site POOTAH just flat out turns me off due to the name. Even though it isnt spelled the same way, its just too close to the spanish name for...well, you know.
posted on January 16, 2001 08:48:32 AM new
AuXpal is moving right along. I am getting quite a few hits and several bids. Not bad for the first week. I have been including their link on all my emails and the family and friends I got to come to Yahoo are signing up on AuXpal.
posted on January 16, 2001 03:44:54 PM new
My signature block is getting pretty heavy!!
I have auctions up on mainly on AuXpal, ebay, edeal, with one left on yahoo, but just couldn't get into Lowestbids. The page refresh was too irritating; probably because I wasn't expecting it and thought my system was crashing each time!!
edeal looked very professional and clean. They even credited me with 1/2 of my combined references from other sites instead of (0) feedback.
Has anyone used their bulk loader? Can you use it for ebay also?
I have been with yahoo auctions for three years and will miss what they had to offer. FVF's are fine with me, but who could afford to pay for every listing?
posted on January 16, 2001 05:02:01 PM new
I'm going to pootah.com and auxpal. Have most of my listings at pootah, but no bids as of today. We'll see..... Maybee I'll concentrate on half.com. No work at all over there!!! But I still have shelfes full of out-of-print books that I would like to get rid of. Anybody have any hints on where to put those?
heikejohn everywhere else!
posted on January 16, 2001 06:29:50 PM new
I'd sure like to see Auxpals plan for revenue growth. Can't see how they can get around never charging fees. Yahoo was the best chance of there ever being a free site for ever because of their ability to target the masses. That's what big buck advertisers look at. As the sellers move to these free sites, the sites costs will go up to meet those needs, such as customer service, and upgrades to servers. Their current revenue isn't enough, I would guess.
posted on January 16, 2001 07:12:47 PM new
BearHollow,
I have deleted your post that copies a newsletter from the CEO of Auxpal. Besides possible copyright issues, the information in the newsletter is just too promotional.
We appreciate your enthusiasm but promotion is against the CG's.
posted on January 16, 2001 07:45:49 PM new
heike55, try Amazon Marketplace for your out of print books. The fees are a bit higher than half.com but it is worth it to be in Amazon's database. There are too many nickel-and-dimers ruining the prospects on half.com, and Amazon has the book traffic.
I just sold an out-of-print first edition there for $50 and it was only listed a few days. I was quite pleased, as I only paid $1.50 for it at a sale.
posted on January 16, 2001 07:46:27 PM new
Pootah had an announcement on their front page since yesturday afternoon that the server they are using was going to be down for maintenance. They didn't know for how long, etc but apologized for the inconvenience.
Hope this helps!