posted on January 21, 2001 01:42:50 AM new
Yahoo FINALLY decided that their "Yahoo Stores" merchants will still get unlimited free Auction listings with their Store accounts. TAGnotes says,
"Yahoo Auction Sellers can participate in Yahoo! Merchant Auctions for free if they registered for a Yahoo Store to sell fixed price items.http://auctions.yahoo.com/html/promo2.html Yahoo Store Infohttp://store.yahoo.com/vw/index.html Store Pricinghttp://store.yahoo.com/vw/index.html But you either need a Merchant account, or can sign up for one with Paymentech--charges a $175 setup fee for new merchant accounts (charged only if your application is accepted), plus a monthly service fee of $45. Per transaction they charge 30 cents plus a percentage depending on the type of card (see their terms for details). Yahoo Store charges nothing extra for online processing; it is included in the regular monthly fees. The minimum term of the merchant contract is 6 months."
I don't know if anyone here is interested. I MIGHT consider $100 month IF I did well with higher-dollar items on Yahoo (or sold like crazy in the Yahoo Store), but I don't have a merchant account, I don't sell enough to pay $45 month for one, and I see no reason to get one when I can use online services for a LOT LESS in fees.
I wondered why ExchangePath still has "temporarily unavailable" on their "Refer a Friend" page, and I wrote them yesterday to ask when it would be functioning again. They wrote back and said,
"Dear Member:
Thank you for contacting ExchangePath Customer Service. This message is in response to your previous inquiry.
Due to changes we are making to our system, the Refer A Friend function is unavailable. At this time Customer Service has not been given an exact time when the changes will be complete. As a result, we recommend you pursue other options for sending payments. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Thank you."
I thought it strange they would tell me to use "OTHER OPTIONS" for sending payments. Now I understand WHY they said that.
Another one bites the dust.
[ edited by granee on Jan 21, 2001 01:55 AM ]
posted on January 21, 2001 07:59:01 AM new
grannee
I SPECIFICALLY wrote Yahoo Stores about this, and I'd have to search through my files to find the answer, I did keep it, and they told me NO, that even with a store I'd have to pay for auctions. This was about a week and a half ago - perhaps they have decided to change their policy with the tremendous drop in listings; but I had considered this option, but wanted an answer from Yahoo "in writing" regarding the fact that auctions would be free if I had a store and that is what they told me at that time.
REBELGUNS -
What was your experience with the Yahoo stores????? Please share with us, as some of may be considering this option, and don't want to get into another Yahoo mess.
posted on January 21, 2001 08:14:32 AM new
I was referring to regular auctions and the free forever thing, then their sudden fee blitz. Once bitten...
I must admit I was suspicious of a hidden agenda when I logged on one day after posting for nearly two years and suddenly had to produce my credit card for "security" reasons or whatever.
posted on January 21, 2001 08:41:37 AM new
THANKS - RebelGuns......good reasoning...
I haven't read the Store Contract in depth, but I imagine there are as many loop holes in it, as their is in their User Agreement, which means they can change their minds, their rules, their prices, etc., when they take the notion.
I seriously considered this as an option, till I got the e-mail from Yahoo stating emphatically that auctions for Yahoo Stores were not free. Now, apparently, they are saying they are - and that is a major change in their minds in just a week, so the loop holes in their contract with the store owners much be enormous.
I don't think I want to do business with a company who doesn't know from week to week what they are contracting to do!
With the dramatic drop in Yahoo listings, actually much greater than I anticipated, they may totally implode, and a store account with "free" auctions would be paramount to flushing your auctions down the potty!
Since so many users like granee, states, that the Store avenue is too costly, particularly for those who don’t already have a Merchant’s Account – then, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Yahoo come with a flat fee charge, similar to Amazon’s, which for so much you can post a thousand or so auctions – this would shore up Yahoo’s failing listing charges, guarantee more product on the site, and give a consistent income on which to base their financial projections . Of course, that will only bring the “Spam” they say they are trying to eliminate, back to the boards.
For the time, I think I'll basically stay on the side lines of Yahoo, and see what they are going to do - I'll stay busy posting elsewhere.
posted on January 21, 2001 10:24:44 AM newI wouldn’t be surprised to see Yahoo come with a flat fee charge, similar to Amazon’s, which for so much you can post a thousand or so auctions
Isn't that exactly what this is? Really, the only difference I see is that Yahoo requires a merchant account.
posted on January 21, 2001 09:30:31 PM new
amalgamated2000
Well yes, I suppose one could look at it that way - but a true flat fee I would see more like Amazon had/has which was pay so much and you get so many listings to use as you wish.
No store to set up, no merchant account AND no forced usage of their stupid PayDirect.
I think a number of us have learned our lesson regarding involving ourselves with an auction site and using their pay system.
I personally don't have a problem with the Merchant Account since we have one, BUT "IF", I were interested, I'd be more interested in a flat fee, than having to set up a store, and all that hassle, which I'd rather not be bothered with - I also wouldn't be interested if they forced their PayDirect on the flat fee user.
But alas, I think perhaps Yahoo has destroyed its self - and certainly their credibility with their users, and even a reasonable flat fee would be too little too late.
For me to go for such I'd have to see a User's Agreement written in BLOOD, without all the current loop holes -
Yahoo offers a Merchant Account for the same price as its Store, for those who don't want to set up a fixed-price Yahoo Store. The latest ruling I can see on their site is that you pay $100 month, get your merchant name on your Auction listing pages and the merchant icon next to your titles on listing pages, and get unlimited free SINGLE SUBMISSION Auction listings. The bulk loader info says all bulk loader-submitted listings are subject to submission fees, apparently even for Yahoo Merchants.
amalgamated2000,
Yahoo Store is MORE than unlimited free Auction listings. The 50 items you put in your store (or 1000, if you want to pay $300 month) will come up on Yahoo Shopping keyword SEARCH when a prospective buyer is looking for something. Yahoo takes an additional 2% commission if your monthly sales top $5000, but only if you opt in for "Shopping" (which I assume is the Shopping search engine, though I'm not sure).
If Yahoo were smart, they'd allow a PayDirect account in lieu of the merchant account requirement for Yahoo Store Merchants, and some of their more successful Auction sellers would sign up for Stores.
posted on January 21, 2001 10:16:14 PM new
I think I'll pass on this most generous offer by Yeeehaahhh.
I'm doing pretty well on EPay, so I only have about 10 items a week to list on Yahoo anyway. I have enough credits to keep me going for a while at that rate...
You wrote: "Yahoo offers a Merchant Account for the same price as its Store, for those who don't want to set up a fixed-price Yahoo Store. The latest ruling I can see on their site is that you pay $100 month, get your merchant name on your Auction listing pages and the merchant icon next to your titles on listing pages, and get unlimited free SINGLE SUBMISSION Auction listings. The bulk loader info says all bulk loader-submitted listings are subject to submission fees, apparently even for Yahoo Merchants."
Where on Yahoo did you find this?
After I read all the junk I could find on the stores and Merchant Accounts, I flipped through lots of auctions, and have yet to see a "Merchant's Logo" on any auction page.
I've never used the bulk loader, so that would not effect me -
But, as I said before, I have been wisely advised to sit back and let the dust settle before getting involved with Yahoo again, and that is what I think I shall do. We have a couple of auctions running, but 99% of our auctions on Yahoo are down, well all that were under our original ID are down and we have only reposted a few under a new ID. Nothing much seems to be moving, but it is hard to tell since we are use to running hundreds of auctions, and with only a few running now, I can't tell if sales are off because of our low number of auctions or because the buyers have left with the sellers.
Think we will just hang out with eBay, and some of the other sites for a while, I just don't trust Yahoo at the moment.
posted on January 22, 2001 12:40:24 PM new
granee or amalgamated2000
I have searched all of the Yahoo Auction Site, and I can find nothing regarding a "Merchant's Account" apart from a store. Please let me know the URL you all are finding this information at, as I can't locate it. All I find is endless info on the store.
Thanks!
When I wrote Yahoo a couple of weeks ago asking if the Stores could list on the auctions for free, this is the response I got from Vince at Yahoo. The question is mine, the link after it is his reply.
***********************************
MY EMAL QUESTION TO YAHOO WAS:
My question is, if I open a fixed price Yahoo Store, lets say a small store to begin with at $100 a month, then if I wish to move merchandize that I may or may not have in my Yahoo Store, can I sell it on the Yahoo Auctions AND if so how much will it cost me to post on Yahoo Auctions IF I have a Yahoo Store Front?
posted on January 22, 2001 01:18:12 PM newI have searched all of the Yahoo Auction Site, and I can find nothing regarding a "Merchant's Account" apart from a store. Please let me know the URL you all are finding this information at, as I can't locate it.
Here's one link:
http://auctions.yahoo.com/html/123.html
It states:
"To participate in Yahoo! Merchant Auctions, you must open a Yahoo! Store. In order to participate in Yahoo! Merchant Auctions, you'll need to have a merchant ID that allows you to process credit card orders online."
posted on January 22, 2001 02:16:22 PM new
A friend of mine has a Yahoo store. I asked him to test the situation by listing an auction straight out of his store page. He got back to me just now, still 20c listing fee just like for everyone.
I suspect this is a misreading of earlier language by the Store group that simply pointed out the auctions were free and could be linked to store usage, language that hasn't been corrected. Either that, or TAGnotes is a bit ahead of the curve again... after their good call on the listing fees being forthcoming I don't want to dispute their sources!
As another topic, I noticed there's a beta-program thingy downloadable from your overall Auctions Account page that lets you download ALL your archives of closed and current listings to your HD so you can do editing offline. It works OK, I think, but I can't yet see that it's particularly useful unless you urgently need to limit time online.
Edited to add: Btw, the Store seller involved in fact has a Merchant Account established through Yahoo for online processing, so that condition being met isn't a reason for him being charged still. I continue to think the "free merchant auctions" text in that link was originally intended to mean "there is no additional charge for the 'Store' icon and link appearing in your auction listings." Dontcha all think Yahoo Auctions would be screaming it from the rooftops if there were in fact an alternate payment plan that might halt this listings erosion? OH... they aren't rid of all the junk yet, Ok, now I see...
[ edited by pyth00n on Jan 23, 2001 09:30 AM ]
posted on January 22, 2001 03:16:17 PM new
amalgamated2000
Thanks, that is what I had found, and I didn't find anything which allowed the auctions on a flat fee apart from a store.
AND if they are charging the store owners for auctions, then the heck with that - we already have an active, established web site, I don't need a store for no good reason - which without the free auctions attached, a store would be worthless to me - personally, I wouldn't do one if they were free, just don't have the time or inclination.
posted on January 22, 2001 06:25:11 PM new
Hi Folks,
Our source was Yahoo, and the links were those shown in the first post, where it specifically says Stores get free auctions, but you must have a merchant account - or pay for their pricey one.
We have emailed Yahoo on this a few times and have yet to receive an answer. We will keep trying, and provide the updates as we get them.
posted on January 23, 2001 05:35:54 AM new
SOMEBODY at Yahoo has been busy rewriting Store pages, because now I can't find *any mention* of having a Yahoo Merchant Account WITHOUT having to set up a Store. And I SWEAR it was there just one day ago!
They STILL haven't changed the part that says Store Merchants get FREE Auction listings, though they told jwpc that auction listings were NOT free for Merchants. And it still says that BULK LOADER auctions carry a listing fee, though single submissions apparently don't.
I believed 3 weeks ago, when Yahoo first announced the Auction listing fees, that they hadn't even THOUGHT ABOUT whether their Stores would continue to get free Auction listings, and I believe the decision STILL hasn't been made.
Doesn't Yahoo have a corporate "chain-of-command"? Isn't SOMEONE there responsible for deciding policy? Is it total chaos in YaWhoLand????????????
posted on January 23, 2001 07:34:57 AM new
MRGROUP - Granee -
I think what I am going to do is write "Vince" who sent me the response to my question about "free" auctions with a store, and send him the link about it stating on the site that they are free and see what he has to say!
BUT, remember Pyth00n said "A friend of mine has a Yahoo store. I asked him to test the situation by listing an auction straight out of his store page. He got back to me just now, still 20c listing fee just like for everyone. "
Their friend's experience obviously directly contridicts the link statement at:
posted on January 23, 2001 07:40:54 AM new
MRGROUP - Granee -
I think what I am going to do is write "Vince," at Yahoo Customer Service, who sent me the response to my question about "free" auctions with a store, and send him the link about it stating on the site that they are free and see what he has to say!
BUT, remember Pyth00n said "A friend of mine has a Yahoo store. I asked him to test the situation by listing an auction straight out of his store page. He got back to me just now, still 20c listing fee just like for everyone. "
Their friend's experience obviously directly contradicts the link statement at:
posted on January 23, 2001 10:37:26 AM new
A phone call just com[leted to YAHOO stores at (408)616-3801 they said NO FREE MERCHANT AUCTIONS for people with a Yahoo Stores. Store owwners WILL be charged listing fees. She stated they are going to be changing the
informnation screens "in the near future". This kills a chance to do bulk auction loading for 100.00 a month. Does anyone have experience selling through Yahoo Stores. Is it worth the monthly charge if one has a good line of merchandise.
posted on January 23, 2001 03:31:26 PM new
If I had a store, I would list thousands of auctions right now and let them try to take me to court if they want to collect.
This is just unbelievable. They knowingly post false information in an attempt to push their stores, then when it is drawn to their attention, the say, basically, that they will correct it whenever they feel like it.
posted on January 24, 2001 12:13:44 AM new
I agree, this is the most unprofessional conduct I have ever seen come out of a company (next to PayPal, that is). The promise of free Auction listings for Yahoo Stores should have been amended or taken down THE VERY DAY that Yahoo announced Auction listing fees.
You have to wonder how many Auction sellers they've suckered into creating Yahoo Stores with the promise of free Auction listings.
They came close to getting two of us here.
