posted on February 8, 2001 12:52:41 AM new
In the category in which I posted Yahoo (porcelain figurines, miniatures and porcelain) there are quite a few new listings. Most of them are at fairly high prices (25% off retail). I assume they are posted by somewhat that also maintains a Yahoo store. Do people who pay for Yahoo stores get to list auctions as part of their store fee? Is Yahoo's "grand plan" for their auction site to just become an off shoot of their store fronts?
posted on February 8, 2001 06:34:43 AM new
There are problems of semantics in the store feature text mentioning auction participations. Earlier the stores had mentioned using the auctions as a free addition, possibly *implying* it was something special even months ago when it wasn't at all. "Stores" didn't correct the text when the listing fees were instituted so completely incorrectly implied a storefront user would get free auctions listings.
You don't. Store listers pay exactly what Auctions division charges everyone. You also have to sign up for online credit card processing, not necessarily a bad idea, but an extra expense upfront that's painful if you don't have sales volume from the Store and Auction sites combined that justify card processing in addition to/ instead of Pay Pal, etc.
The Store division looks to me to be somewhat in competition with the Auctions.... as a speculation, though, somebody "up higher" might have made a policy decision to try to "drive" auction users into buying into the Stores for direct revenue from that area. Not sure I take that idea very seriously, though.. if Stores and Auctions don't enhance each other, I'd think users would just abandon the Storefront area, too, after trying paying for it for a while.
posted on February 8, 2001 06:35:07 AM new
That is a good question because Yahoo has spoken on this subject of "free auctions" for store front - out of both sides of their mouths. One day someone found where Yahoo stated their store fronts got free auctions, and about the same time Yahoo e-mailed me saying they didn't, and then the person who had found the statement on the Yahoo page about free auctions for store fronts found it missing when they went back to locate it......who knows, AND WHO WOULD TRUST THEM anyway?
You could pay today, and them change the rules tomorrow - Yes, I know that wouldn't be legal, BUT, do you think that would stop them?
I seriously considered this approach, but after Yahoo told me no, and someone else found a yes, and then we couldn't find a straight answer - and in the light of the things they have pulled in the last month I wouldn't trust them enough to invest $100 a month and expect to get anything they promised.
