posted on November 3, 2001 08:45:48 PM new
those of us that had great success last year with "1st bid wins" auctions all understand the evolution of fixed price selling away from the auction forum. It is inevidable and eBay was quick to see the light when they bought Half.com.
Amazon had copied the half.com approach which is to sell common items using ISBN and UPC codes to identify the item which they have in a data base along with a description and sometimes a pix.
Now Yahoo has just started the Yahoo Warehouse to compete in this venue. In the past week I have just entered 600 books and videos in their system one at a time so i thought I'd share what I have learned so far.
1st of all you only need to enter the item one time...there is no listing fee..and you pay 10% commission on sales. All finances are handled by Yahoo pay direct. Since they are still free I think this is a good deal overall. I don't have to handle money orders, or pay Paypal or relist auctions or compose ad text.
In submitting an item, I kept 2 browsers open: one to Half.com,one to Amazon and one to Yahoo Warehouse. First I search Half.com for the item to see if they have it and how much the competition is selling it for. What I found is that even with head start half.com has, they have not expanded within the categories much (but they have added categoreis). Their database of books and movies is smaller than Yahoo's and many times smaller than Amazon.
But when they do list a common item, there are often handfuls of sellers offering the item atgiveaway prices. I can't understand why somebody would offer a video for $.99? Even if you were cleaning out the attic, why take a tape to the PO for $.99??? And many of those sellers had a thousand + feedback rating..
Anyways, I'm putting my ball in Yahoos court so here are some of the details. When you goto Yahoo shopping and use the search engine, you must reclick a radio icon to search all of shopping (Warehouse and auctions) or else you just get the stores. Many shoppers will miss this.
Once you do search all of shopping, say for TITANIC, you get a series of listings from many areas, one of which is VIDEO. It will return, say, 5 of 100 items. On the top of the list is the DVD edition. What if you want the tape?
YOU CANNOT directly see the rest of the videos in the list! You can click on WAREHOUSE and now you get a listing of 50 VIDEO items called Titanic, none are which the common 2 tape movie from 1997.
However, in the 1st listing which has a pix of the DVD, there is a link which says VHS and says there are 14 sellers whose lowest price is $5.49. If you click the link, you get this DVD: "VHS Collectors Edition - Widescreen" and are told there are NO items offered.
I did this for another 2 movies I have listed on the Warehouse but not only couldn't I find mine, I couldn't find anybody eles'e either!
There is also a problem in listing. Once you locate the item in the data base, often the link to the sell page is broken. it either hangs up or does nothing. I found if there is a picture, there is a way to list: COPY the UPC code to your clipboard from under the pictire, then DO NOT enter in in the UPC requester on that page but back up several pages to the main seller search requester and copy it there. Only there will it work.
As for the depth of the databases, for books, they had about 3/4 of my books in it. Videos was about 2/3. The rest will have to stay on Bidville for now (when is Yahoo going to announce new auction fees?)
So as you can see, I have not sold a single item yet on Yahoo warehouse. Heck I can't even find my video listings, but I did find some of my books.
Conclusions? Too early to come to many. But if the past is any indication of the future, Yahoo is understaffed and move slowly anfd often unwisely. Still, I basically hate eBay and hope Yahoo will someday prove to be some real competition.
posted on November 3, 2001 11:37:09 PM new
I agree with most of your observations on the new Yahoo Wharehouse. I also keep in mind what the item is probably going for on Half.com. It appears that abe books has loaded a lot of books into the database before the general public got its shot at it and almost all of those listings have very high prices. I hope those very high prices do not scare off new buyers to the Wharehouse. I'll try to list a book and see many $15 prices from abe book sellers even though the item is listed in the $3 to $5 range on Half.com. It would be easy to say "I'll list the book at only $10 and get all the action" but today's buyers are very savvy and most know to check out Half.com to see what the book goes for there. You are doing the right thing by gauging the various prices available to buyers. I also think that there may be a small window of oprotunity for sellers to get very nice prices as many Yahoo users do not use either eBay or Half for some reason. That window may rapidly close when Half sellers list their items at super low prices on the new Wharehouse after Yahoo starts it's major ad campaign.
posted on November 4, 2001 08:28:28 PM new
I don't think so.
Anyways I was thinking about what somebody said in a related post about Amazon books selling better. I struck out with Zshops last year but I started thinking about what he said and checked out their Marketplace.
It's expensive: No listing fee but $1.00 plus 15% when it sells. So it struck me on my expensive books, that isn't too bad if I actually get a sale. So this afternoon I listed some expensive computer books and wala...I got a sale already.
The toughest thing about the deal was cancelling the same listing on Yahoo Warehouse. there is no search function from the MY WAREHOUSE page so I had to click through 20 pages of listings and search for a keyword in the title to find the right listing and delete it.
It's now over a week on Yahoo Warehouse, I'm upto 600 listings, and my sales income is still $0.00.
The listing bug is still there. If you see a page with more than one (different editions) of the same item, and click on one to list it, you will not get to the next screen. But if there is a pix displayed do not give up. Copy the UPC # to your clipboard and go back a screen or 2 (don't paste it on the same page you coppied it from or it will choke) and paste that # as if you are searching for a new listing...and you will get to list it.
In case you wonder why I don't tell somebody at Yahoo that, well, you must not have much experience with Yahoo. Trying to communicate with a human at yahoo has been impossible in the past, so I won't waste my time trying until I hear things are different.
The only slack I'm cutting them is figuring they wanted to get this started for the X-mas rush. Now I wish they'd tell the buyers.
The Yahoo Warehouse isn't anywhere near as slick as the Amazon site. If Amazon would drop the $1.00 fee and stick to their 15% commission, they would kick half.com's ass but they way it is now, all their lower priced stuff is priced much higher than half.com and it's hard to imaging buyers don't look both places.
[ edited by zzyzx000 on Nov 4, 2001 08:30 PM ]
posted on November 4, 2001 11:46:31 PM new
smokes, I think the bookseller on BV is called bookconsignment.com and is an upstart rival of abebooks.
ZZyzx, I had the same problem on Half when I had about 600 books listed there. They let you manage inventory but do not let you alphabetize the items after they are listed. It drove me nuts. This time at Yahoo Wharehouse I am trying to list the books in alphabetical order as much as possible.
I personally never look at Amazon anymore when I want to buy a book. I'm sure many users do not use it either. I use both Half and eBay to see where the best deal is to be found. Prices on ebay have fallen so low on books that many times a better deal is to be found there rather than Half.com.
If I can not find an ISBN # or get it to work I go to the Wharehouse main page and search the title and sometimes author if the title doesn't work. When I find the book I need I click on it and find the corrct format ( hardback, paperback, etc ) and hit the Sell Yours link and list it that way with no problem. The only problem I have on rare occasions is it will not have Media Mail as a shipping option and instead lists First Class Mail, Priority Mail, FedX, etc. and it demands you select two shipping options. I believe that a heavy book or other item will default to Priority Mail at the post office at the 12 ounce level so to get around this problem I list both Priority Mail and First Class Mail at $4.35 . It must be a glitch that some books come up with this shipping format switch?
I am a little confused by ebay's decision to blend Half into it's site and rename it Express. Isn't that like Coca-Cola buying Pepsi then renaming Pepsi to Mr. Fizz or so other unknown name? All the brand recognition stuff down the drain. That may work in Yahoo's favor as some users will be confused by the transition and think that Half is completely gone and use Yahoo Wharehouse in it's stead.
posted on November 5, 2001 08:21:17 AM new
what is BV???
dont tell me it is bidville?i buy used books on bidville for bedtime reading.
i disagree that most people skip amzn to shop on half.com.
not every one knows half,com and amzn has a buyer protection program,not sure half.com has one??
amzn is doing very well selling our books on market place,i dont mind the 99 cents transaction fee on top of the 15% commission,but i think they need to give us more shipping ,2.23 is just barely enough for an average hardcopy.
amzn said for books which cost more to ship,that extra cost should be included in the asking price.
with competition so keen,it is hard to always include it in the asking price.
posted on November 5, 2001 12:25:06 PM new
BV is BidVille. I can see Amazon going bellyup in a few years. In the beginning there was Amazon and it was the fixed price king. Then a small auction site called the funny name of eBay started up and grew into a powerhouse. Then eBay went after Amazon's fixed sales with it's very popular Half.com unit. Then eBay went after Amazon with it's entire site and Buy It Now pricing and a similar checkout system. Say bye-bye Amazon.
I'm not an eBay cheerleader and I am just stating the harsh reality of the fixed pricing world ( soon the word auction will fade from dis-use ). How many computer operating systems are there other than Windows? A handful with a tiny % of the market. eBay=Micro$oft.
posted on November 5, 2001 06:21:48 PM new
Has anybody made a Yahoo Warehouse sale yet?
I thought I had one last night but he got off the hook before I could land him.
I was looking at MY WAREHOUSE page and there was a video that popped up in the "Sale Pending (awaiting your confirmation)" area. I checked my email, but there was no mention. So I went back to MY WAREHOUSE and clicked on that pending sale but all I got was the listing. In a few hours the pending sale disappeared from that area and reappeared in the for sale area.
Somebody whose completed a sale please clue me in. Was I supposed to get an email on this? What happened?
posted on November 5, 2001 08:00:03 PM new
You will get a payment confirmation with shipping information. It could have been that their credit card did not go through, maybe it had expired. I did get one sale where I only got the sale notice not the payment confirmation, but it had the customer shipping information. When a customers credit card fails on Amazon, you have to relist. I had my first sale on 10/31 and have had several sales a day. I even have my first feedback. Its great!!!
[ edited by toby5866 on Nov 5, 2001 08:02 PM ]
posted on November 6, 2001 01:41:19 AM new
I was listing books last night and saw a seller with a (-1) feedback. I clicked on it and the feedback read something like this "No email responses in 5 days now! Bad seller!"
I wonder how the abebooks wharehouse seller will do with their feedback? I don't see any feedback for them yet.( still says new )
posted on November 6, 2001 03:49:38 AM new
I saw the seller with a -1 also, they also have bad feedback on Amazon. They probably never confirmed the sale. Warehouse works like half.com. You get an e-mail and you must confirm that you have the book. Abe and the other seller, sell everywhere and do not update there databases on a timely basis so many times when customers place an order, it has already been sold. I was told by Yahoo that if you do not confirm the sale, the buyer should not be able to leave bad feedback. But my e-mail states that not confirming the sale could lead to bad feedback. Right now, if you go on vacation and are not able to ship, there is no way to put your inventory on vacation. I was told by Yahoo that they are working on a vacation button like half.com but they will not have one until after Christmas. About ABE with no feedback, it only tells me that, they may not be selling. I have noticed a very wide range of prices and many are asking a very high price compared to other sellers. I price my books to sell, not gather dust. Now my sales with Amazon (which are very slow)and Yahoo, are back to where they used to be prior to Sept 11
posted on November 6, 2001 08:46:57 AM new
bidsbid said,
I can see Amazon going bellyup in a few years//////////////
not sure it will go under as amzn is the only true e commerce operations from order entry to shipping to bookeeping,most websites are just another mail order business.
but there is something wrong with amzn,cant really point a finger at what and where-possibly the low margin nature of books and the overhead of carrying the operations,also zshop with its format is not helping,40,000 items for 39,99 a month,how many shops really have 40,000 interesting non book items to offer??
what happens is that with slow or no sales,shopkeepers do not work their shops and do not remove items when sold somewhere else,creating customer dissatisfaction.
also for books on marketplace,inviting the big discounters to sell ,is it a good long term viable strategy,we all know it is okay to help others in your field if they can never rise to challenge or replace you,but these big discount sellers have established customer base,what they are doing now is siphoning customers from amzn,none of these sellers like to pay someone 15% commission as the name implies discount booksellers make less on margin.
the name amzn does not work magic anymore,just like sears roebuck and jc penny or woolworth?
but what about ebay?
ebay is not faring as well these days,bids are down and many items end with no bids,fraud is rampant and ebay keeps coming up with more and more restrictions.
i know sellers who just cannot keep paying fees and move to bidville or epier.
i see epier and bidville surviving just because more sellers realise they cant afford to pay ebay for some of their old junks they peddle,they will be paying epier and bidville too,but the fee will be cheaper than ebay.
i think we will go back and see more fixed price storefronts,the criteria for success in cyber commerce and land commerce are converging,the basic business fundamental which apply to land stores apply to cyber stores as well-choose your location,which means choice location costs more;choose your merchandise and presentation,which means unique and quality gifts which cost more to procure,better presentation means better camera and scanner and phototaking skills.
more bandwidths mean more costs.
customers request gift wrapping,packing slip and invoice,which means more work.
no more going to dumpster looking for catchup stained boxes,ups delivery versus post office.
i think the days of just bidding on other people's old junks is fading,take a look at bidville and see how many of these old junks sell,i see sellers selling their closet full of old clothes,shoes and handbags on ebay,who is going to buy your used clothes and shoes??
i read desperate sellers who mentioned they need money to pay utility bill,feed children etc,you just wonder how good are their merchandise?good merchandise cost money to procure and you just wonder if they are so desperate,where do they find money to buy nice things to resell?
not everyone wants to own old stained goods,not when you have to pay shipping .
ebay allows its marketplace to deteriorate,how and when will it step in to shore up its landscape?by raising listing fee?
i dunno,but i know ebay has to take a hard look on its long term strategy and survival as well.
posted on November 11, 2001 12:32:57 AM new
I just listed some stuff on there, figured it can't hurt, except more work to remove from Amazon and/or half. The prices seemed high to me though, I wonder if only a few have listed, and have listed high prices for items. Anyway, I asked what I wanted for them, so maybe they will sell. I like the price structure more than half and amazon, and like that I do not have to relist every month like I do on Amazon.
posted on November 11, 2001 07:44:27 AM new
there are some old threads on amzn discussion on why and how people list books at 99 cents,worse some list them at one penny??
answers vary from-
folks who work for print shops which print these paperbacks in rural small town pick up the rejects for free,so if they list them at 99 cents and get 2.33 for shipping,they come out ahead making a buck(transaction cost of 99 cents of a 99 cents book on amzn marketplace is 99 cents,15 % commision of a 99 cents book is 1.5 cents,subtract both from 2.23 shipping come to a net of 1.22.
throw that paperback in an enevelope,any enevelope,and you net 50 cents in profit.
for those who list books at one penny on amzn marketplace and get 2.23 shipping,one explanation from a disabled vietnam veteran who is always couped up at home is that THESE ARE LONLEY PEOPLE,who crave email notification from amzn -amzn sent two emails when book is sold and one payment notice when payment is deposited in bank account,of course you get email notice too when book listing expired with no sale.
all these emails are enough to keep the lonely folks keep listing at one penny??
when will all these nonsense stop??
who knows ?when amzn,yahoo and ebay cant afford to pay their utility bill,bandwidth etc from these penny a book sales??
