posted on February 5, 2001 02:35:17 AM new
I just went through Yahoo's Antiques/Art/Collectibles category and figured the total number of listings in 4 sub-categories: Advertising, Art, Clocks & Timepieces, and Miscellaneous....then I totalled all the listings in those sub-categories not ending by the morning of Friday, February 9th (when free 10-day listings run out).
Are you sitting down?
Those sub-categories had 41,013 listings (considerably LOWER than the totals in parenthesis next to the category names---possibly because they aren't updated very often?....or because Yahoo is doing like eBad did when their numbers dropped---FREEZE them for a couple days. Incidentally, the Police category has 31 listings, NOT the 56, 261 claimed!!!).
Of those 41,013 listings, 9300 (roughly 23%) will not end by Friday morning (plus an unknown number of bulk loader listings ending and relisting Monday & Tuesday---probably another 5-8,000 or 12-20%, but I can't tell for sure until Wednesday morning). MANY, MANY MORE listings will end on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Since the last of the bulk loader listings should start their final 14-day run by midnight this Tuesday, listings ending Wednesday and later won't relist without sellers paying fees. (I think many are bulk loader, since they appear to be---same type item, same seller, same style, same ending time, etc. And I was surprised.....I didn't realize so many people used the bulk loader, since I submit mine one-at-a-time.)
If Yahoo has approximately 850,000 listings NOW, and these four sub-categories are typical of the ENTIRE Auction, then they will have somewhere around 375,000 listings AT BEST, and 190,000 listings AT WORST by the time you take a coffee break Friday morning (UNLESS, of course, sellers start listing like crazy OR Yahoo relists everything FOR us automatically for FREE!!! ).
I saw a handful of sellers' auctions that appear to be "paid" (probably with feedback credits, unless they're bulk loader), as they dominated almost-decimated categories with their 9-14 day listings. Aside from that, it's dead as a doornail with only occasional clusters of bidding on mostly underpriced items.
posted on February 5, 2001 04:16:58 PM new
I randomly clicked some categories today then hit the time left sort to see how many ads will still be running after Friday. Results were only 8-14%. For the site to already be down 75% and show the potential to lose another 85% of that in days is pathetic.
I did notice a seller with hundreds of ads showing new today for 14 day runs. Half of them are opening for 40 cents! That is really wasting credits (I HOPE they are using credits).
To those who still have credits do you plan to start listing again soon? On one hand you won't have much competition, on the other you probably won't get any bidders either. They seem to have already left. Look how much the completed sales pages have decreased per day in most categories. I have enough credit for about 1,500 ads but can't decide if it's worth the time & trouble to relist at this point.
posted on February 5, 2001 05:20:21 PM new
Seems to jibe OK with my personal listing numbers. In early Jan when the fee policy was announced I had over 250 listings in my main category. Now I have under 50. By this weekend if I don't list some more (and I HAVE been adding a few to my listings as they sell down and expire), I'd have 5 left by Sat.
I'm trying to be coldly rational, and keep listing and paying fees where it makes sense. There is an element of psychology there, though, too, that says "The hell with this site, the hell with these managers who did this on a week's notice."
Many of us had been planning inventory buying for months building up to a successful level under the existing rules. The short-notice change forced drastic price cuts to salvage the time and effort invested in setting up the initial listings... photos, scans, text, pricing research. It's real hard to decide to invest a lot of MONEY as well as more time into rebuilding listings with prices and assortments and auction terms that MIGHT be profitable under this new regime.
posted on February 5, 2001 05:56:47 PM new"To those who still have credits do you plan to start listing again soon?"
That's a good question. I'd been SAVING mine to use for featuring when Yahoo revised the fee structure (I figured they'd *at least* decide to give free relists on the present fees being charged), but it doesn't look like it's going to happen.
I waited too long to use my feedback credits. I think it's too late now to use them for listing or relisting, because there aren't any buyers left.
posted on February 5, 2001 06:50:05 PM new
I also notice that a new fine art seller commented on in an earlier thread doesn't seem to have sold anything, is down to half the 400+ listings he started out trying, and that all of those expire in 3 days if he doesn't relist them. Whoops to "quality" I guess.
Maybe there's some slight chance that some junior employee has had the nerve to be saying "Listen to the sellers. This will be a disaster. We need to consult with them and work with them, not just blast them with this new theory you MBA's with zero online auction experience have cooked up while OD'd on double Starbucks expressos." Then some senior Yahoo exec will say, look at this, we started this company as a university internet database, full of ideals of using the technology for little people to communicate with and enhance their lives with and we've just REVERSED that principle for some half-baked theory of forcing "quality auctions" by killing off all the little guys. The hell with it, you, you, and YOU get transfers to Japan, cool place, right? Sideways move, no biggie, right? Now YOU, the one with some guts, YOU'RE in charge. Call these people up, apologize, figure out how we can all work together to make money again. Start with that guy RaunchToy or whatever it was!!!
posted on February 7, 2001 03:47:59 AM new
It looks like Yahoo will have roughly 36% of its current listings left on Friday morning, and 19% left on Monday morning (not counting any NEW LISTINGS OR RELISTINGS). I think that will put the count around 180-200,000 on Friday and around 90-100,000 by Monday morning, UNLESS sellers start using their feedback credits (I expect very, very few people to use actual MONEY to list with no more activity than I see going on.)
BidVille numbers should cross YaWho's on Thursday (when all the 10-day auto relists roll off Yahoo), placing YaWho where on the list of auctions---number 4 or 5 or 6?
Incidentally, I wrote BidVille, suggesting they implement a free "show photos only" gallery feature like Yahoo's, and they wrote back that it's in the works! Posted on their website:
"Window Shop in our Studio Now that the new BidVille image server is in place, we are working on creating a "Studio". Buyers will be able to see thumbnail previews or your items instead of just text titles."
posted on February 7, 2001 08:18:53 AM new
I was listing in Yahoo Canada a couple of days ago in a category which had only 1 listing. Although my listings showed up immediately, the category count still only showed 1 itema couple of hours later. This was late in the evening. The correct number did show up the next time I checked (noon the following day) but I don't know how long an incorrect total was being shown.
posted on February 7, 2001 09:25:20 AM new
Hello everyone! I listed like crazy on the last "Free" day at Yahoo. My last auction will close in 2 days. So Granee, your estimates are about right. (I didnt use a bulk loader)
posted on February 7, 2001 10:15:03 AM new
Back in Yahoo's "Good Old Days" of just a few months ago, I would get an "Auction Alert for "Search terms: colt" every day.
This email used to contain at least 12 new listings per day, and often up to 30 or so. It was usefull to me and very often, I would bid on one of these items.
These alarts have been shrinking, and shrinking fast - just today I got one that contained NO items - NOT ONE LISTING... just the headers and little ad for yahoo.
posted on February 10, 2001 01:41:45 AM new
The drop in listings must have scared the pants off some Yahoo sellers, because there were quite a few new listings today---not enough to off-set the drop, but enough to keep a weak pulse in some almost-dead categories. They're probably relists, so Yahoo still won't have the "new, improved, QUALITY" merchandise they're after....but at this point, I can't imagine they'll look a gift horse in the mouth.
Is it time yet to use up all those feedback credits, or just a waste of time?
posted on February 10, 2001 05:06:39 AM new
Kasmoon,
I have over $500 in monopoly money and I am using them. When the monopoly money is gone that will be the end of my listing on Yahoo. I did have two auctions end successfully last night on Yahoo.
posted on February 10, 2001 05:38:20 AM new
I have credits but just can't find any motivation to use them. I am waiting to wake up inspired but it just doesn't happen.
posted on February 11, 2001 12:25:43 AM new
VeryModern
I'm having the same problem. I've had several items ready to list for almost a week and haven't done it yet. No incentive. My last 30 listings closed with 2 sales. In December I sold more than twice as much as Jan and Feb combined...
posted on February 11, 2001 12:52:38 AM new
VeryModern and outoftheblue,
Ditto here.
I have 560+ Wallet credits left, but don't feel like I'll have any bids on auctions if I MAKE myself list them on Yahoo (my last 208 closed with only 16 successful auctions by 10 winners, at give-away prices---hardly worth the bother).
The money's still trickling in for past auctions (just barely), and it's really going to HURT financially when the flow dries up *completely*.
posted on February 11, 2001 07:02:07 AM new
I know it granee.
I have been paid for my last auction.
I listed (with credits) 3(out of about 500) auctions over the last 7-10 days. The first ended unsold and most likely the other two will also. Fees are a $1 per or whatever and I can't see burning money like that even if it not real!
Now a year ago I spent over $3000 after Christmas for re-sale and this year nothing.
I dropped from the stamps.com power plan - printing $500 a month postage to $200 and now I will cancel once the month I have already paid for ends.
Trickle affect, but also my costs are shrinking too. I used Y Messenger, tool bar, paydirect, more, everyday.
Now I don't even sign in.
It is amazing.
posted on February 11, 2001 04:44:33 PM new
I still have a PayDirect account and a Wallet, and I'm glad I do, because I won the $100 daily sweepstakes drawing a couple days ago (it'll help pay for a new monitor, since mine just bit the dust).
After winning, I read the sweepstakes rules and realized I'd won for transactions put in the "pool" LAST WEEK, yet I hadn't INITIATED any transactions that week!!! The rules state that you're entered every time you INITIATE a transaction (like sending a bill to a buyer), and all I'd done was ACCEPT a couple payments. So I went in and sent a PayDirect bill to every bidder I had with an outstanding debt to me!!!! I guess Yahoo had so few transactions left to draw from, they put in everyone who'd taken part in a PayDirect transaction, regardless who initiated it! I sure wouldn't mind winning the WEEKLY drawing or the final GRAND PRIZE. Anybody want to send me $ through PayDirect, and I'll send it back to you, so we can both be entered??? LOL!
BidVille is really growing, and is very user-friendly, but it's also set up to charge listing fees at the drop of a hat. I don't want to help build another auction and be left out in the cold again.
posted on February 11, 2001 05:24:40 PM new
I can only speak for myself, but I've let all my 325 auctions expire at Yahoo as I can't afford to pay $1462.50 per month just to list. I don't plan on relisting there unless things change. I've sold under 2 names at Yahoo for 1 1/2 years and have avereaged sales about 18 to 30 per month throughout. I am liquidating a large estate and sell higher priced slower selling items. Hope they change their policy and make their auctions useable for sellers with a lot of listings. I've tried Amazon with poor results and Ebay, which has better results than Yahoo but is prohibitive in their listing fees. I wouldn't mind paying a 1% to 2% FVF at Yahoo if it was free to list or cost .10 to list like Amazon. If anyone has found a new auction sight they can recommend, please post. I've tried other free auctions and classifieds with poor, poor results. Not even worth the time.
).
Charlie
