cjrent
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posted on October 30, 2001 01:03:49 PM new
I have been increasingly unhappy with ebay lately. I posted some auctions with yahoo about a year ago and never sold anything. I sell limited edition fine art ranging from about $150 to $1000 or more. Have things changed or gotten better? I have done some searches and seen nothing really moving. I hope to be wrong.
I know that I wouldnt just switch but I would like to transition.
Claire & Jack Rosen
www.cjrfinearts.com
cjrent
877-276-6702
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stavecards
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posted on October 30, 2001 01:32:21 PM new
Hopefully someone who sells in your area will answer to provide a more accurate answer. However I will provide some general insight. Since the implementation of listing fees at Yahoo, selling at Yahoo has changed significantly. Some categories have improved, some are worse. Also some categories have lost almost all of their listings and may be ripe for a good seller to list.
If your category was flooded with a lot of cheap, ready available listings prior to the listing fees, I would recommend trying Yahoo again. There are many sellers doing better because their good items don't get lost in the clutter that used to exist on Yahoo. But the best advice may be just to list a reasonable number of items on Yahoo for a couple of months in order to gage the action yourself. Also I would recommend using some buy now prices on your lower end items. I believe a number of buyers on Yahoo are coming from other sections on the site and are more interested in shopping rather than participating in a bidding war.
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johnnybravo55
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posted on October 30, 2001 02:12:51 PM new
For books Yahoo is almost an impossible sell now, it was great before listing fees. Most internet users do not even know that Yahoo has an auction. Hopefully things will improve soon as the have promised to drive buyers to the site.
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bearmom
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posted on October 30, 2001 03:46:21 PM new
Stavecards is correct. If you have unique items at reasonable prices, you will probably do as well or better than you did on Ebay. Things don't get lost in the crowd of junk. If you were selling mass produced items that can be bought anywhere, I'd say no.
I left Ebay for Yahoo over a year ago, and have never regretted it. And I was doing about 24T as a hobby on Ebay. Not like a real salary, but it sure paid for my hobby, which is buying everyone else's junk!
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aliceroad
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posted on October 30, 2001 04:16:54 PM new
does the news media ever interview anyone who sells on yahoo? does the public know they have auctions? i was ok with Ebay till lately, but do not know where to go.
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olhickory
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posted on October 30, 2001 04:49:39 PM new
There are apparently a lot of ebay folks considering the same switch-
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/stocks/timarango/10003236.html
I saw Yahoo auctions on the Today Show this morning - Spike Lee sold the seat next to him at a Knicks game for over $100k on Yahoo. Ebay probs, good media exposure, recent site changes may give Yahoo a boost.
Olhickory
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GreetingsfromUK
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posted on October 31, 2001 04:15:46 PM new
Listing on the Yahoo.co.uk site is free. Give it a try!
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beatproducer
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posted on November 1, 2001 08:15:38 AM new
I too am leaving Ebay... With all the changes I think I too may go back to Yahoo auctions. What are our other options?
Here is another article that came out today regarding people leaving ebay for other sites...
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-7744121.html?tag=pt.msnbc.feed..ne_7744121
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bidsbids
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posted on November 1, 2001 08:40:20 AM new
Going back to Yahoo is no option. The only option is to sell your inventory or try local markets or sales. Sad but true.
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cjrent
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posted on November 2, 2001 03:04:08 AM new
bidbids, why would you say that? Why do you think it is not an option?
Claire & Jack Rosen
www.cjrfinearts.com
cjrent
877-276-6702
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bidsbids
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posted on November 2, 2001 09:55:36 AM new
I believe that heygrape said it best in the "How's Yahoo" thread.
posted on October 31, 2001 07:32:56 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Out of the last 100 listings on Yahoo, 1 sale and it's turning out to be a deadbeat.
[ edited by bidsbids on Nov 2, 2001 09:56 AM ]
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RB
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posted on November 2, 2001 12:25:23 PM new
You may have some success with sales on Yahoo, but I wouldn't trust the venue itself for a second. They are totally lawless since they implemented fees and their "customer service" and member support are non existent.
Good luck 
Rob
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bearmom
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posted on November 2, 2001 04:06:09 PM new
Rob, that's really a matter of opinion and experience. My experience has been that if I follow the rules, I have absolutely no problems, other than deadbeats-just like any other site.
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dixielady
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posted on November 3, 2001 02:53:55 AM new
I sell on both ebay and yahoo. I had quit on yahoo when they started charging but decided in June to give them another try. I list and sell more on ebay but since June I have listed 125 auctions on yahoo and sold 44 of them. I have had(as yet) NO deadbeat bidders among the 44. I still have a couple I am waiting for but they are within the past 1-2 weeks so feel like I will get paid. I know that is not great but with sales like they have been lately it is not bad.
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bearmom
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posted on November 3, 2001 06:06:18 AM new
I don't sell full time, but I do keep about 125 items listed on yahoo all the time. I sell about a third of that each week.
My strategy has been to list them as an open bid the first time. If they don't sell within the first 3 tries, then I list them as first bid wins. They usually sell, then. If not, I am now moving them to BV. This keeps my offerings fresh, and I figure if they don't sell in 6 weeks, I need to lower the price and move them out at a place where I won't have to pay any more listing fees.
As I've said before, I have lots of return and multiple buyers. At any given time, I have half a dozen boxes I am filling for buyers. It takes a while to build this following, but is worth the effort. So much nicer to mail one big box than 8 little ones, and these people are reliable payors.
Give Yahoo a chance, and give it a little time. Offer a quality item at reasonable prices, and go the extra mile for each customer. When I see someone has won one item, and is still bidding on others, I write and suggest starting a combination box-you'd be amazed how much this impresses them. It was probably 6 months before I started to see a lot of multiple buyers, and I didn't start seeing this number of purchases until after the fees started. So for me, the new Yahoo has worked great.
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bidsbids
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posted on November 3, 2001 07:40:24 AM new
I do almost the same thing with Yahoo items. Open auction the first go round then a Buy Price a little higher than the opening bid. Mostly books, so they go into the Yahoo Wharehouse after that, much better chance to sell than at BV or other free sites. I had over $1000 in free listing credis and I'm still using that up so there are no fees at all for me and a lot of other sellers still burning throught their free credits.
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RB
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posted on November 4, 2001 07:34:49 AM new
bearmom ... that's really a matter of opinion and experience. My experience has been that if I follow the rules, I have absolutely no problems, other than deadbeats-just like any other site
Do you think reporting a very obvious bootlegger with irrefutable proof (I forwarded to Yahoo copies of his emails to me with full headers etc. wherein he admits he is selling illegal copies of tapes on Yahoo) is against the rules? That's why my account was terminated. The bootlegger continues to sell in spite of his very high bad feedback.
But, he is generating $$ for Yahoo ...
Yahoo is bad news -- they even advertise their bootleg listings on their entertainment pages!
Rob
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exexec
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posted on November 6, 2001 09:30:03 AM new
RB:
Things are changing at Yahoo. They just announced new fee structure. Reduced listing fee and small FVF.
They listened to their customers and took the time to develop a workable plan that benefits all. I like that in an auction site!
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RB
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posted on November 6, 2001 11:05:08 AM new
Fees or no fees has nothing to do with the fact that Yahoo promotes the listing of illegal items and supports the slime who make and sell this stuff. It's bad enough that they allow it, even worse when they advertise it!
[ edited by RB on Nov 6, 2001 11:05 AM ]
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blairwitch
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posted on November 6, 2001 02:55:27 PM new
Bootleg stuff is everywhere. Flea markets, video stores, auctions, etc. Heck at our local video store they will copy a movie for $3.00, and they copy alot! I buy alot of bootleg live concerts off yahoo.
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zymo
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posted on November 6, 2001 05:37:19 PM new
bump
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RB
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posted on November 6, 2001 07:14:22 PM new
Bootleg stuff is everywhere
Well, I guess that makes it OK then.
(sheesh)
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jimtaxi
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posted on November 6, 2001 10:49:01 PM new
I see that ebay at least tries to stop fake stuff by the looks of this AW thread:
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=438218
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marniz
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posted on November 7, 2001 03:49:53 AM new
I read this thread with a lot of interest...I've also been looking for another auction site, especially for the better stuff. From what I can see no other site has much traffic in that area but how could things be worse than they now are on eBay?
A Whistler etching I sold on eBay last year for $1175 just fetched $102.00 for another seller on eBay (fortunately there was a reserve) I started the bidding at $150 and at that time $1175 was the lowest price paid for a Whistler! I'd like to bid on some good etchings at auctions this month but eBay is just no longer a viable alternative and as much as I love them, etchings don't sell well in shows.
Maybe a lack of traffic isn't such a terrible thing.... Not so bad as launching a huge Charity Drive that competes with sellers and then initiating cumbersome changes that kill off business altogether. Also, if more than one eBayer trys out a new auction site for better stuff, it might bring in business. Anybody else considering Yahoo?
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wowwow85
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posted on November 7, 2001 06:02:41 AM new
marniz,
do you have a brick and mortar shop??
may be you should consider a yahoo shop and leave your fine arts items there?
it may take longer to sell but you will sell it at your price.
with auction fever subsiding,it is hard to sell a good piece of item at a fair price in 7-10 days,think of it,7-10 days is not a lot of days to sell any item over 1000 dollars.
also there is so much fraud and fakes on ebay,people who are serious collectors (not dealers) are leery of spending good money and taking a chance.
just a suggestion
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bidsbids
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posted on November 7, 2001 09:05:20 AM new
I think the norm for the last year or so has been to place items with great potential on eBay first and if they do not sell there at a decent price to move them to second or third tier auction sites where listing fees will not eat you alive like they do on ebay.
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wowwow85
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posted on November 7, 2001 09:29:55 AM new
we have a guy down here who sells collectibles and post 1900 antiques.
he is very disenchanted with ebay as everything he listed on ebay did not get the high bids he expected.
he will always ask his bidders if they are dealers or private collectors, 90% told him they are dealers and expect to resell the item at a profit.
he has listed minature persian painting on ivory,antique musical instruments etc and he needs to sell them at high enough price so he can pay his bills and none of these items reach his expectation.
of course he can always lower his expectation and make up with volume.
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