posted on December 21, 2000 11:20:33 AM new
I am a previous egay seller moving to Yahoo...any tips that people can provide me, is there anything different I should do with Yahoo to maximize sales and profits?
posted on December 21, 2000 11:34:07 AM new
During the past year Yahoo's stock (NASDAQ symbol YHOO) has fallen from around $250 to $25. In developing an online auction website Yahoo!Auctions has failed to capitalize on the millions of page visits made every day to Yahoo! itself and then greets those that do take a look with disordered listings.
So, what to do.
You will make some sales, but Yahoo!Auctions is perhaps best considered a place to practice writing elementary HTML for distinctive auction descriptions.
If Yahoo!Auctions ever manages to devise an efficient online auction website, though, they will give eBay a run for the money. But not now.
[ edited by dimview on Dec 21, 2000 11:35 AM ]
posted on December 21, 2000 12:10:46 PM new
Buy on Yahoo first to get some feedback. I leery of bidding on items when the seller doesn't have any feedback.
"If man were to be crossed with a cat, it would greatly improve the man, but deteriorate the cat." Mark Twain
posted on December 21, 2000 04:04:29 PM new
CharlieOne- you silly boy!!
tc- I TOTALLY agree with Irene!
There are lots of people who will tell you that selling on Yahoo is a waste of time, that nobody buys anything. There are also lots of people who post that they move their Ebay rejects to Yahoo & relist them endlessly until maybe one or two sell. I have a feeling there is quite a bit of overlap between the first group and the second group. Gee, I wonder WHY?
I recently featured an item that ended with more than 2,000 page views. So don't tell ME Yahoo has no customers, I don't buy it. The trick lies in getting them to see and buy YOUR items. The "secret" to that is having desirable items at desirable prices.
One suggestion I would make is to use every digit of the space allowed you for the title. (Once you get used to Yahoo's Ebay's will seem soooooo little!)
Another suggestion is to make sure to load your first pic through Yahoo so you have a gallery thumbnail.
Another suggestion I would make is to use a buy price whenever possible and to state in your title that there is a buy price. You have ample room in title space to do so.
Another thing I would do (if you want to) is include your email address in your auctions. One great thing about Yahoo is that that is YOUR choice- unless you include it in your auctions people won't have access to it until they actually win your item.
posted on December 21, 2000 04:06:37 PM new
oh yeah- one more thing. In my experience, accepting PayDirect has a positive effect on sales, especially if you use a buy price.
posted on December 22, 2000 10:20:22 AM new
First, don't compare Yahoo to Ebay.
I love the 1st bid wins! auctions!
When looking at a category, those auctions do not show up because they close as soon as someone bids the price, so just looking at categories will not give an accurate count.
Also, you can now search by closed auctions in a category. Go and look at the auctions that successfully closed in your category to see how they sold those items and what the going price is on Yahoo. If it is acceptable, list at the price that you want whether you use 1st bid wins! or regular 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 day auctions and enjoy the lack of new charges on your Credit Card!
Also, I agree that PayDirect is very helpful as well.
posted on December 22, 2000 01:13:30 PM new"When looking at a category, those auctions do not show up because they close as soon as someone bids the price, so just looking at categories will not give an accurate count."
How true that is labbie1. When checking back through my 'Seller's closed auctions' file. About 98% of my sold auctions contain only one bid. They were either First bid wins!, or the one bid was placed near the end of the auction, (when the 'time ending' listings were used). Yahoo is not the high bidding venue, as feebay is. Comparing the two, at this stage of Yahoo's growth, I feel isn't very practicle. I just hope to see Yahoo get to be number one, without also having the same attributes as feebay.
Charlie