posted on September 26, 2000 11:13:39 AM new
Hi - I primarily use ebay but I am interested in having a variety of selling locations. I recently gave Amazon a try but it was totally underwhelming. I do list a fair amount on half.com, and I've been pleased with some of the sales.
My question: why use Yahoo instead? Am I correct in thinking that Yahoo is totally free, no listing OR final fees to the seller? You can use it as either an auction or a "fixed price" site because they have a "take it" feature like Amazon. I did a search on Closed auctions and it appeared to me that the vast majority close with one bid, presumably because they were "first bid wins" sales?
I kind of like half.com because I don't have to wait on a lot of checks and money orders..but I do have to wait on them to pay me! Yahoo appears to support their own payment system (as does Amazon), as well as PayPal. Lots of factors to consider...
posted on September 26, 2000 04:21:46 PM new
keziak - sounds like you have a good grip on all your options, and yes Yahoo is completely free unless you want to feature an auctions. Featuring is cheap and 1/2 is refunded if your item sells. Paydirect is integrated but nowhere near the % of people use it as Amazon's 1-click. It has only existed for about 35 days and is nowhere near critical mass.
Good luck, and lots more tips down deeper on the board - go to page 2 or even page 3..
Oh yeah?
Why Yahoo???
Because it is free and friendly and it works!
posted on September 30, 2000 06:49:37 PM new
I didn't wait I just jumped in. I too have had success on ebay and half.com. I am really tooling my half.com into a real money maker. yahoo was an option to getting tired of high ebay fee's. I am having limited success but I also only have a feedback rating of 10 in two months, but I have had 26 sales. 2 deadbeats and 24 great buyers. International seems to be bigger on yahoo. for every international sell on ebay I am haveing one on yahoo and no where near the sales. I use yahoo for non ISBN books. Older but maybe wanted by someone. I list them on the bulk loader with auctionwatch with 3 days and 5 relists. If they don't sell in 15 days they go to charity. I also do 1 bid buys on the low cost books. I am going to try a box lot like I do on ebay next month. Selling a group from a series. They draw a larger bid.
posted on October 1, 2000 02:13:15 PM new
I offer this advice from the perspective of an enthusiastic book buyer. I do sell on Yahoo (books & other stuff too) but have never sold on 1/2.com.
I don't buy books on half.com. Why? Because I don't feel the site is buyer-friendly. It's only a good place to shop if you arrive at the site knowing EXACTLY what book you want. Being more of a "browser" myself, I have found "browsing" half.com to be very frustrating. To the point that I don't do it anymore. Sometimes I'll check half.com as an afterthought when I've found a book that I know I'm going to buy, but I've never actually made a purchase on half.com.
I do buy books on Yahoo & Ebay. Why? Because the seller has an environment in which (s)he can really SELL me the book- show me pictures of it, describe it, tell me what if any flaws the book may have. I am a sucker for illustrated books, and on half.com I am unable to see the illustrations, and in many cases I can't even see the cover, so how is a seller supposed to sell me the book?
As a book seller on Yahoo I can say that the turnover rate is not lightning fast. I would describe it as a "steady" environment.
