posted on November 10, 2001 05:02:20 PM new
I have seen the new fee structure and it's great-BUT the Yahoo powers that be are sitting on their brains instead of using them effectively- I want to use YAHOO and not use EBAY at all because their fee structure is eating up the profits-But I have just been scanning the listings and it is the most viewer unfriendly site in town-They have to make the home page clearer and stop catering to the "power sellers" in the middle of the page-to the new viewer it looks like all of that garbage is all that there is-Clarify the various catagories and seperate all of the antiques and collectibles under one major heading on the Home Page in a way that seperates it from the Baseball cards and Sci- fi junk- I know the junk sells but so does the good stuffwhen it is showcased properly
posted on November 10, 2001 05:09:24 PM new
If you do not like the Yahoo setup you can always stay at eBay. I've always figured it was both the fees and the incredible competition that made ebay a tough place to sell.
posted on November 10, 2001 05:09:37 PM new
I think your right they deffinately need to make that catagory list more prominate on all pages.
I was a seller on yahoo about two years before I moved every thing to ebay last may and I think you will find most use the search to find item more then the cat list like ebay.
They also use the view by photo only feature more then anything so be sure your best close up get up loaded first.
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
[ edited by dman3 on Nov 10, 2001 05:10 PM ]
posted on November 10, 2001 05:29:16 PM new
i am still struggling to figure out where to list my item,it seems collectibles -figurines go under house and garden.then my bronze statue goes under religion-buddhism??
very few people view my items.
but then look at amzn,it started out just like ebay,it copies ebay categories but since there is hardly any sale and new listings,these categories look rather silly.
why not just have a yahoo shop and wait for customers to search and find your items?
posted on November 10, 2001 07:26:50 PM new
You may want to post over at the new yahoo message board. Some sellers have asked for new catagories, and they have added them. It is going to take some patience, but they are trying which is more than ebay is willing to do!
posted on November 11, 2001 06:22:51 AM new
It does not require Einstein to figure out a simple system and home page- Yahoo has to go back to square one and start with a blank page and sit down with a buyer and a seller- not a power seller that deals in baseballcards- and decide what is needed-Navigating Yahoo is like trying to navigate a maze- THAT IS THE PROBLEM- Why do cybersmarts feel that they have to complicate everything to show how smart they are-actually that's dumb- just becuase it is clear to them does not make obvious to the viewer at large-Give the buyer a reason to go to YAHOO and the Seller a reason to want come there and you have the start of a great relationship-Will check out the message page- Do the powers that be at Yahoo read it??????
posted on November 11, 2001 07:07:10 AM new
One thing about Yahoo that always drives me nuts because I'm so use to ebay's setup is that the search engine is only located on the Auction Home page whereas on ebay it is on almost every page. There goes impluse searches by buyers and a host of other minor things that add up fast.
posted on November 11, 2001 08:45:08 AM new
they seem to be reading the posts & responding all ready put up some requested categories..
on search yes it was unbeleiveable all that time no search on auctions page...WELL they fixed it..but it's at the bottom of the page..very cool,searches warehouse & more too..need to be at top of page i feel...
Yes,,you guys get it...i have literally begged some little sites i was on..
to make it simple for new people...what is wrong with them?
Yes agree don't have a site owner or even a seller test it....i said get a neighbor kinda new to computers.never tried auctions..to test your site....watch them try to sign up, search, try to bid etc..that is how you find what you need to do ..too fancy or complicated..hey, it's the net..supposed to be fun...they just click off & we all lose..
my girlfriend years ago looked at my stuff..she asked good questions she'd never seen an auction..it helped so much...like how long till i should get payment to you, any extra charge for credit cards..(i now have this info in my auctions..just a few sentences makes for more bids & hardly ever get a question)
search & categories need major work..need easy buttons..at least they are trying..
i really like the yahoo bidders..
how about this too...just listed an item..instead of waiting hours to even get into search..gheesh yahoooo in like 10 minutes i had a few hits! wow..also
i have always been amazed at the site stability there compared to ebay..really great..
good luck everyone
[ edited by timetravelers on Nov 11, 2001 08:48 AM ]
posted on November 14, 2001 12:23:40 PM new
Can you tell me in a few simple words: to list at yahoo, do I have to give them access to my bank account? do I have to sign up for their financial services? Can I use Paypal? thank you
posted on November 14, 2001 01:50:35 PM new
Hi again,
I have been trying to list an my first item on Yahoo. Cannot get them to accept my pass word. Where does one go over there, to ask for help. I have been all over the site.
posted on November 14, 2001 02:20:05 PM new
Keep in mind sellers on yahoo have two passwords they need to list items, you need the password you used to register and your need your security password for your yahoo wallet.
posted on November 14, 2001 09:03:40 PM new
It's easy to see the future of Yauctions this time around. Let's analyze the new fee structure of Nov 20 with today's:
Say you sell stuff worth less than $10 that doesn't sell quickly. For $.20 you can now list it for 10 days and if it sells you pay no listing fee. Since auction #'s declined 90 some % when this fee was implemented, obviously many sellers determined sales were too slow on Yahoo..even at it's heyday last X-mas...to justify this fee.
Nov. 20 the fee goes to $.05 for 10 days and the next 10 days is free IF it sells the 2nd time. If it sells, you pay 2% FV fee so on a $5 item that is another $.10.
So when it sells you will pay at least $.15...if it sells the first 20 days. If it sells in 40 days the fee is $.25 (3 listing fees and a FV fee). It it sells in 60 days it's $.35.
Conclusions for this: It's not even clear if this is better than paying $.20 every 10 days with no FV fee. Especially considering that buyer action on Yahoo must certainly be meerly a fraction of Last years. But I suspect for a nickel, many sellers will give it a shot.
I am assuming that this was a 1st Bid WINS auction where the sale was $5 or nothing. If you run a real auction and start it at $1, you need to consider that the price realized is so much less than ePay's, that you are missing out on $ to save pennies. If you can get $5 in 7 days on ePay, and only get $2 on Yahoo, then epay's $.30 listing fee and 5% commission only subtract $.55 from your $5 for a net sale of $4.45, whereas Yahoo's $.15 commission on a $2 sale leaves just a net sale of $1.85.
For higher value items, it's easier to figure. Say you have a $40 item. Listing it on Yahoo for $.05 fee requires you start it at $9.99 or less. That's crazy on Yahoo. Somebody will steal it away from you. So you're required to use a reserve which is expensive and deceptive, or pay a higher listing fee ($.75 now or $.35 Nov. 20) for a 1st Bid Wins listing.
In either case unless the item is one that typically does well on Yahoo, it just isn't worth it now or in the future: ePay is where the action is and the pennies you save on fees will be small in comparison to the differences in amounts realized.
The only exception to this in my personal experience is selling retro video game systems like Nintendo and Atari 2600 at x-mas time. I can run an auction on epay and start them at $9.99 and they will fetch about $50 with the right package and guarantee (I recondition them and include a few games).
Or I can do a 1st Bid WINS on Yahoo at $49.99 and sell them in less than a Week. In this case Yahoo works for me and is cheaper than epay, but what about todays fee vs. Nov 20?
Today I can list it for $.75 ( I sold one in a day yeaterday) and that is my total fee. Nov. 20 I can list it for $.35 and pay 1.5% commission for a total fee of $1.10.
So it's clear that for the few more expensive items that work for Yahoo, the new fee structure is much higher than the current one.
And for the cheaper items, it will attract garage sellers who don't know about Half.com, a few disgruntled ePayers who don't know the defination of a deserted island, and some ex-Yahoo sellers who must learn the hard way once again, that Yahoo just doesn't quite get it.
posted on November 15, 2001 08:35:06 AM newzzyzx000- I am glad to see I am not the only one who feels this way. Very little of what I list starts at under $49. On average it takes 3 rounds to sell an item. I am in a cluttered category that has catered to the large merchants/liquidators every since the fees started. They are featured, spotlighted, tagged premium sellers (from their 1st day on Yahoo). They list huge amounts of the same low end stuff and they don't really seem to do any better than anyone else in my category! I am not sure what to make of it except that buyers just don't seem to be there. Those that are do seem to prefer the "dirt cheap" items even if it is obvious they will be getting exactly what they pay for....a cheap item, at a cheap price. I can't fault them for that. If that is indeed what they want, then they have a wide selection on Yahoo to choose from.
I keep tabs on my categories and find that fewer than 10% of anything sells with the average being about 5%. My method isn't really "scientific" but I am able to see a pattern. Daily I check how many items are listed in a category and then I toggle on "bids" to see how many have bids. I have yet to see anything in any of my categories stand out. As I said the average is 5% of the auctions even having bids and that really doesn't factor in those that are reserve auctions that will not meet reserve!
With the links at the top of each page that now let you jump easily from auctions to shopping, warehouse or classified, and considering that the really big sellers in my categories also have stores, I really believe that I will be forced out. That's just the way it goes.
The only fault that I can see with Yahoo is the preferential treatment it gives some sellers and I really can't fault them on that since they are a "for profit" business! I think I would be asking a little much for them to make concessions for poor little ole' me trying to make a little extra money to help make ends meet. I can see them telling me "hey, we'll give you one of those cute little pink ribbons behind all your items and we'll put you at the top of your main category page under "spotlighted" or better yet, we'll call you a featured seller and put you on the auctionsite home page. Maybe that will boost your business!"
If I could work outside the home, I most definetly would do that! I'd gladly take minimum wage over what I get now!
I do think we will see an influx of more mass merchants since it is apparent Yahoo is actively persuing them so I think with time we will see the auctions as little more than an extension of the shops of the big boys.
I was hoping for a final value fee only...that way I could at least afford to try and continue to list and not have to worry about giving up my meager profit each time I listed an item hoping for a sale. Now I still have to give up at least $.75 ($1.50 average) each time I list + you don't even get views in my category without being "featured" and you have to pay enough to be on the front two pages (I keep track of that too ) or you get no views, so there is that expense and then if/when it does sell I will give them a %. It has gone from bad to worse for me....
I do hope it works out for everyone else and I am sure there are some who will greatly benefit from the reduced listing fees. Good luck to all you stay or decide to give it a try. May you sell everthing you list at prices that will make you do a "happy dance"... Sulyn
edited 'cause I don't know where all those < b > came from! Trying to get rid of them...
[ edited by sulyn1950 on Nov 15, 2001 09:00 AM ]
posted on November 15, 2001 10:39:29 PM new
I totally left eBay December of 1999 - and changed over to Yahoo. From December of 1999 to 2000, we sold like crazy, and out did anything we had ever done in our 6 years on eBay.
THEN, Yahoo instituted fees, and much more, besides fees, they developed a major attitude, canceled auctions for no reasons, didn't make refunds when they did cancel an auction, stopped allowing links to one’s web site, sellers left, and the bottom fell out. We have tested Yahoo since, but not much of anything. We deal in items from $9 to $900, but normally in the $20 to $200 category, and their fee structure, and slow sales just aren't worth the hassle - we went back to e-Greed, at least our sales are good, there are lots of buyers, and should we make a boo boo and have an auction canceled, eBay refunds.
With the new fee schedules, because we almost ALWAYS sold on Yahoo with the 1st Bid Wins, it just won't be worth it compared to eBay. Sales have always been slow on Yahoo and they still don't seem to understand that most often an item has to be listed and relisted to sell, where that isn’t true, at least for us on eBay. Yahoo was really making gains on eBay through last Christmas - and we would never have left, except they seemed to take a fit of total insanity. The "Neighborhood Watch," is another problem.
Oh well, I don't even know what I am doing writing over here!
WARNING: Before you go for their payment system - look in the archives of this site, and see the stories of people having their auction money stolen and/or confiscated by Yahoo!
posted on November 15, 2001 11:32:51 PM new
They couldn't make any money on free listings and no FVF. We begged for low/no listing fees and a FVF and after 10 months to the day they have finally obligued us. Now we'll get to see if the new fees will work out for the sellers and if the auction traffic returns. Nobody likes to live in a town with only one department store and maybe the new Yahoo will give buyers a choice of checking both ebay and yahoo before buying.
posted on November 16, 2001 12:33:46 AM new
hi ALICEROAD there was a hiccup on this on the site i believe a few mentioned it ..there is a phone # for them posted on the YAHOO AUCTIONS message board..you can also read up on it there go to Yahoo auctions home page click community..there is a message board,,then everyone wanted a chat room so in one day they provided one,,it has voice & video too good luck!ps when you type in your security key or passwords be sure not to USE CAPS if you signed up with lower case this is a security feature ..maybe click on password problem link where you sign in ..you should get a feedback form for help..or click on help top of any page..take care
[ edited by timetravelers on Nov 16, 2001 12:36 AM ]
posted on November 17, 2001 08:38:22 AM new
well, today Yahoo accepted my pass word and everything went smootly. I think it is easier to list than Ebay. And I like the fact they put the pcitures first on their listings. I only listed one thing to begin. Have two questions:
What kind of notice do they send to buyers?
Can I put in my listing, a refererence to my feedback at ebay and/or Bargain and Haggle?
thanks again
posted on November 17, 2001 09:30:42 AM new
i dont think you can import your ebay feedback to yahoo.
if you mention ebay,i wonder if it means much to yahoo bidders?or do they just want to go to ebay and bid on your item there?
yahoo has always given big sellers more visibility ,not just auction but also in their yahoo shops.
if you go to the front page of yahoo shopping,you see the same names-barnes and noble bla bla bla,a small area is dedicated to new shops or good behavior shops,by that i mean shops which have higher feedbacks.
ebay is the only place i can think of where little sellers combat with big sellers on equal ground,on an item by item basis,both sellers can get same level of visibility if they are willing to PAY for featured category,featured auction,dual listing in more than one category,gallery picture,bold prints etc,big pictures,multiple pictures .
but this is the way it is in business world.
DOG EAT DOG,and big DOGS eat the small DOGS
posted on November 17, 2001 11:17:06 AM new
Alice, glad it's a better day for you.
In regards to the EOA, it's fairly generic, but they do provide a box for you to personalize your letter with additional information.
I've seen many descriptions in auctions mentioning things like over 2000 (or whatever) positive FB on ebay, so bid with confidience. I don't know if it's allowed but I see a lot of it.
posted on November 28, 2001 08:51:22 AM new
I really like the fee structure on Yahoo but the bidders have all left town. Sure there are a few more listings now but if nobody is bidding who cares. The lights are out in Yahooville.
This is the slowest sales have been on Yahoo since I started selling there. A year ago we were selling 100 items per month on Yahoo, now we are selling 5 or 6.
On the other hand Ebay is slow but steady. Round one for Ebay! Even with higher listing fees it's the place to be.
I sure hope it picks up soon before I lose interest again.
posted on November 28, 2001 09:01:31 AM new
Well, I listed some things on Yahoo but have not gotten a nibble at all. Frustrating. But better than Ebay. I used to do very well on Ebay. Lately I get only low low bids, one non paying, one who found everything wrong from the shipping price, asked me to wait a month for pay, ...when she finaly paid, she was on the computer asking why it did not get there (two days after pay), did not want insurance, when it got there it was "broken", etc. last month the expense on Ebay was as much as I took in. The only place I made any money at all is on Bargain and Haggle. sow, but healthy sales.
posted on November 28, 2001 09:39:49 AM new
aliceroad
Things are slowly picking up on Ebay. We are back above 50% sellthrough consistantly now.
We build a profit into our opening bid, so if that's all we get we don't do too badly. BIN is working pretty well to squeeze a few dollars more out of certain items.
posted on November 28, 2001 07:09:28 PM new
Yahoo will never amount to much as long as they have that cruddy SEARCH. It may sound like a great way for cross selling, however, a buyer usually has to sift though dozens of unrelated auctions.
) or you get no views, so there is that expense and then if/when it does sell I will give them a %. It has gone from bad to worse for me....
