posted on October 8, 2001 08:58:48 PM new
Hello--I've recently been thinking about running some auctions on Yahoo as opposed to Ebay. The fees are killing me.
I'm just worried that things won't sell on Yahoo.
How do the fees compare?
posted on October 9, 2001 10:08:55 AM new
What would be thirty cents to list is only 20 on Yahoo, and no fvf. On the other hand, you may have to list it several times to sell it. I've found that reasonable starting bids on quality merchandise along with NOT padding the postage! works well on Yahoo. I sold for nearly 3 years on Ebay, over a year now on Yahoo and no regrets. Occasionally I will list an item on Ebay for the heck of it, but find that the end price is generally no better than I get on Yahoo.
The biggest problem on Yahoo right now seems to be (again) the same items sitting there every time you look-just fewer of them now. When I list a batch of new items, the buyers jump on it. You will have that same advantage of offering fresh items-IF you're selling collectibles, one of a kind items. If you're selling retail stuff like everyone else, don't waste your time, the site is full of big time retailers.
posted on October 9, 2001 11:06:01 AM new
Ebay has the double-or-nothing relist option that is often called the "free relist" option instead of the "free if it sells the second time" option. eBay charges an extra dime for a 10 day auction and 15 cents a photo after the free one if you use their service. So Yahoo has the edge on these factors.
Ebay has a huge edge on traffic but that is offset by 6 million items to eat into that traffic and cuts pageviews/bids way down. No matter what, if you have a desirable, unique collectible item .. first research it on eBay and list it there because traffic is desirable on these items.
posted on October 9, 2001 04:45:11 PM new
The two posts above have offered some very sound advice. If you have a truly unique or rare item, the odds are that you will do better on Ebay because of greater chance of a "bidding war". However, if your item is not unique or rare, I would give Yahoo a shot first. More readily available items seem to bring as good a price as they do on Ebay or even better. If you list on Yahoo, I would recommend also including a buy price. Number of buyers on Yahoo will pay a reasonable buy price in order to secure the item.
posted on October 9, 2001 09:59:37 PM new
I agree that items may need to be listed 2 or 3 times to sell, but it's working out for me this way: I am selling enough items on the first listing that I think it evens out having to pay a relist on other items.
I agree that there are some big companies that sell on Yahoo - actually there are one or two that I think could do much better simply having a Yahoo store and it wouldn't fill up auction categories with cookie cutter listings that are sometimes mis-categorized and usually identically priced. However I am amazed the amount of neg and neutral feedback at some of these big sellers - I would caution any bidder to read feedback carefully of ANY seller at ANY site.
Something else I don't like is the TOS some of them use - I saw one listing that had a TOS to the effect that if the seller felt that a problem had a successful resolution (regardless of your feelings on the deal) they would report any negs to Yahoo on the basis that they had done everything they could for you, but you chose to say something bad anyway.
IMO, any TOS that attempts to control the feedback the buyer leaves post sale, is a sign of a seller to stay FAR AWAY from. OTOH, I don't mind a TOS that gently encourages a buyer to leave feedback, as long as it's not pushy about leaving a certain type of feedback.
Yahoo ID: grantje
posted on October 10, 2001 01:44:46 PM new
I just started selling on eBaY 6 weeks ago. I had started auction selling on Yahoo! two years ago and everything was fine with the "old" Yahoo! for me. Now for items I sell (which varies across many catagories) I'm not getting any sells and few views. With eBaY all but three items of the twenty listings sold. I've increased the asking price on Yahoo! to cover the cost at eBaY as new start price and have sold, most with the BN feature. Still want the Yahoo! of the past as my free credits will run out well before the holidays.
'ladele' here only
posted on October 16, 2001 06:36:52 PM new
"Ebay has a huge edge on traffic but that is offset by 6 million items to eat into that traffic and cuts pageviews/bids way down. "
Are you kidding!!!???
I was once a Yahoo seller and when I switched to eBay nearly a year ago (after those ridiculous listing fees on Yahoo started) items that were sitting on yahoo for weeks and sometimes months I sold the first time I listed them on eBay, with over 200 pageviews on single items!!!! Yahoo was nearing death before the fees started and now I visit from time to time to "window shop" and I cannot even find a pulse!
Bottom line Yahoo always has been and always will be a second rate site and the notion that they will ever compete with eBay is totally laughable. Sure Yahoo may only charge .20 cents per auction and eBay is a .30 cent fee plus FVF, but 95% of all my items sell the FIRST time on eBay. With Yahoo you may re-list that ".20 cent" auction 30 TIMES! Before it sells.
There really is no comparison.......
[ edited by mandalore on Oct 16, 2001 06:37 PM ]
posted on October 16, 2001 09:56:05 PM new
mandalore, your axe should be nice and sharp after all that grinding, but your message is all old news with no current facts. You said you stopped listing before yahoo started fees, so you have no idea how long an item would take to sell given the current structure.
We all know ebay has higher sell through. We also know that yahoo has better UI, is faster and more reliable. Face it, they both have big flaws that you or I could drive a truck through, but in terms of tools and services, they aren't that far apart. Yahoo lacks the audience and the sellers, but as they said today, they are doing things to try and address that, and I believe they will restructure their fees very "soon"
(as mentioned earlier today)
It's best for all sellers and buyers to have true competition for ebay, and I'm betting that this is moving (though slowly) in the right direction. Think positive!
cheers,
wb
posted on October 17, 2001 03:39:03 PM new
I agree with Stavescards on the idea that the rare stuff should be on Ebay. With the tremendous amont of pageviews you get on Ebay, it can only help when people look at the rare item. Yahoo has a lack of bidders compared to Ebay, but does very well with cheaper easier to find items. There are some people that wont go to Ebay just because they hate them, so to list some on Yahoo cant hurt. I have recently just started selling again on yahoo since the fees. I have not been dissappointed yet selling cheaper items, however will remain to eat the fees of Ebay in hope that the rare stuff I sell will draw the bidding wars and in turn, big bucks.
posted on October 22, 2001 10:31:09 PM new
Is there a single positive thing (besides traffic) about ebay compared to yahoo?! I can't seem to find any! Terrible customer service (same with half.com... weeks before you get an email back!), ridiculous charges (just to add a picture, list for 10 days instead of 7, and let alone the fvf!). None of that at Yahoo which also facilitates the management of the auctions and provides free electronic payment services and free detailed counters! Finally, in the few months I've experienced ebay, the number of times of the site being down or not letting you sign in, revise, relist or even list kindda makes you think what ebay is doing with all the money is making outta our pockets!!!
posted on October 22, 2001 10:43:36 PM new
Well, I was a Power Seller on eBay and switched to Yahoo 2 years ago - for that 1st year I doubled my sales on Yahoo over eBay - BUT when Yahoo started with the fees, and stopped allowing links to one's web site, the bottom fell out, and I haven't been able to move much since.
We have 4 web sites and we do most of our sales there now - I post occasionally on eBay and once in a blue moon on Yahoo, but don't get much from Yahoo now, and actually don't expect much, plus Yahoo is such a pain to list on, all the "security" and such to get through to list -
Basically, I'll stay with eBay, items sell better, and quicker. The endless listing and re-listing one has to do on Yahoo is costly and time consuming, plus there are fewer buyers, so in the long run I save money by using eBay.
