posted on December 8, 2000 08:41:48 AM
Since your listing placement on Yahoo depends on your sell through ratio, I decided to do some research and see how well Yahoo's scrambled listing order is doing...
I took three of the major categories that I sell in and sorted the listings by number of bids... Here's what I came up with
posted on December 8, 2000 10:06:20 AM
In my opinion, that shows how bad the current listing order is. Three percent have bids, and 97% are just sitting there! I wonder what the percentages would be if the listing order was returned to 'normal'? I would sure like to see those figures, by comparison.
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[ edited by CharlieOne on Dec 8, 2000 10:07 AM ]
posted on December 8, 2000 11:00:18 AM
This is skewed.
I sell plenty on Yahoo and never show a bid because 95% of my listings are 1st bid wins. This is not to say that I like the *(&%#& listing order scrambled.
posted on December 8, 2000 11:02:40 AM
Hi CharlieOne,
I also noticed something else interesting. When I was featuring some auctions last night there was about 1/10th the number of featured auctions as normal for these categories.
I think people are running out of credits and they aren't bothering to pay for the featuring option. This whole thing was a really bad move on the part of Yahoo. They gambled and lost!
posted on December 8, 2000 11:05:53 AM
VeryModern,
I thougt of that. I have also visited the closed auctions and maybe 1 in 20 are first bid wins. You are right about one thing though, that wouldn't show the amount of auctions that close at the buy price.
Factor in all the variables and the sell through ration is probably still less than 10%.....
[ edited by outoftheblue on Dec 8, 2000 11:16 AM ]
posted on December 8, 2000 11:28:58 AM
Factor in all the variables and the sell through ration is probably still less than 10%..... >>>>>
outoftheblue - I think you are right, but frankly I think the biggest reason is what people are trying to sell and how they are trying to sell it aka JUNK priced SKY HIGH.
If you have something desirable and you price it anywhere near "appropriate", you can sell it on Yahoo and readily.
This is a fact.
Many sellers come to Yahoo with their ebay rejects and then whine they don't sell.
This is also a fact.
posted on December 8, 2000 11:29:07 AM
Hello outoftheblue,
Yes, I believe too, when the freebies of the feature credits run out we will see even more of an impact of non-use. There must be a reason that Yahoo! is so steadfast on sticking with this mess. Could be, with all of the listings sitting there, that their 'auctions listed count' looks impressive to advertising clients. Their clients might think "Hey, all of those auctions will draw a lot of customers to our bar ads on Yahoo!". Companies certainly consider exposure as a number one primary concern.
I have had some sales, and many others have felt little impact. I have lost between 60 - 70% of sales activity, as compared to normal, for me. It depends on what category you are selling in. Some always sell well, and may show minimal impact. While others are being devastated by the current listing order. Usually the ones with huge amounts of listing pages, are hurt the most. Not being user friendly, makes no sense to this user.
posted on December 8, 2000 11:41:04 AM
VeryModern,
You are right to a point, however, take the Clothing & Accessories > Labels category for instance. This is the cream of the crop for Men's and Women's clothing and accessories on Yahoo and the sell through sucks...
posted on December 8, 2000 11:44:37 AM
Case in point, I just sold a Christmas ornie for $65, 1st Bid wins.
Obviously this is the kind of thing people take to ebay.
Price on ebay?
The solds show sales from between $21 - 52 last 2 weeks.
I think I did okay.
Oh yeah..
and no commmisision.
posted on December 8, 2000 11:50:07 AM
I can't speak for all items and sellers. I, for one, do not sell junk items, or overly priced either. I sell like new collectibles that are in extremely excellent condition, bought and stored, not handled. Bought for the express intend to collect and save for future value. I simply will not sell at a loss. I will sit on the items instead, and relist them in the future, or sell them locally. Perhaps even find other venues to sell them.
I have price guides to use, secondary market values, and I also research what these items are currently selling for before listing them, to be competitive. While there is a considerable amount of, what I call, garage sale items listed. There are a great deal of worthwhile items, with experienced sellers who have very reputable reputations, who are being hurt. Even though they are fairly pricing their items, and the quality is very high. Exposure and ease of accessibility is their problem, not condition and/or price.
posted on December 8, 2000 11:51:22 AM
outoftheblue - I don't sell in that arena and so don't have any insight first hand, but I would suggest that sales are slow in the category in general and all over. Thinking about it though - if I were selling this kind of thing (or shopping it) I would use Yahoo because of the 50 thumbnails to a page - quick browsing.
Really though -I just think sales are soft. I was in Target today and noted the "PRICE CUT" (as opposed to "sale" and many many toys. Barbie and the like. The stuff ain't moving. Got nothing to do with Yahoo. People have been flush with their fat portfolios for years now and many many people have seen all gains wiped clean away in a blink. This does not inspire spending like years past. Front page of the paper warns of yet another heating bill increase.
This stuff matters.
posted on December 8, 2000 12:11:32 PM
VeryModern,
Yes, I do think you are right that sales are a bit soft right now. Even Ebay sales are slower than normal (I've noticed a big drop off since the Thanksgiving weekend - Go Figure). I also think that some of the drop in sales are from increased competition. On Ebay for instance there's three to four times as many items in the categories I sell in then normal and I really doubt that the number of buyers has increased Proportionally....
[ edited by outoftheblue on Dec 8, 2000 12:15 PM ]
posted on December 9, 2000 07:40:30 PM
haven't done the caculations yet...
all I could say is that I sell about an average of 2-3 items per day for over 8 months
and many many toys. Barbie and the like. The stuff ain't moving. Got nothing to do with Yahoo. People have been flush with their fat portfolios for years now and many many people have seen all gains wiped clean away in a blink. This does not inspire spending like years past. Front page of the paper warns of yet another heating bill increase.