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| eBay and Gun-Related Accessories |
| 05.30.04 (10:53 am) |
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by Genia V Stevens Well, I was trying to stay away from the "norm" by posting constant updates about eBay changes. Everytime Meg hits the lady's room, it's news worthy. But, when I read about this change, it brought to mind my usual devious comments and I just had to blog on it. eBay has announced changes to its Hunting Category. Ok, so as of June 28, 2004 users will no longer be allowed to sell any assault weapon-related parts or accessories. "This will apply to all parts and accessories related to any firearm defined as an "assault weapon" by federal or California law." So, I started to wonder. What the hell? They're giving people approximately a month to get rid of all their assault weapon-related parts and accessories? Perhaps this has something to do with grabbing those listing fees and final value fees they've already accounted for in this billing period? In addition, users will no longer be allowed to sell any firearm receivers or frames. This includes any completed receivers or frames, or incomplete receivers or frames. To compensate for these changes, eBay will improve search abilities for anyone looking for gun-related items that are still allowed (can you send these things through the mail?). The following subcategories will be added to the Hunting Category: Gun Safety and Storage, Gun Parts, and Gun Accessories. And to get more bang for your buck, the Scopes, Optics, Taxidermy, Reloading Equipment, & Vintage subcategories will be expanded. Now, with all this terrorist activity going on, and the Department of Homeland Security spying on anyone who even resembles a terrorist, I definitely wouldn't buy any gun-related items on eBay. I wonder if this is another grey area. You can sell gun-related accessories on eBay, but you can't sell Arnold's cough drop unless you classifiy it as a collectible. You can sell gun-related accessories on eBay, but this guy had his trading cards yanked because eBayers had a fit. I didn't do eBay's announcement any justice, I know. I'm so sure others will. |
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| Paris Penthouse eBay Auction Benefits Charity |
| 05.29.04 (6:48 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens Bid on Hollywood memorabilia and help raise funds for Project Angel Food -- a daily meal delivery service for men, women and children disabled by HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses. Currently, on eBay Live, buyers can bid on a hand-painted Jeannie bottle, an exact replica from the series "I Dream of Jeannie." The bottle is autographed by Barbara Eden. If you're a Barbara Streisand fan, don't miss your chance to win her costume from "Funny Lady." If you're a Demi Moore and Annie Leibovitz fan, you can win an autographed copy of that famous photo of Demi Moore. You can sit where Elton John used to sit if you win the Elton John Autographed Piano Bench. And for those who want to see Paris in style, don't you dare miss an opportunity to win your chance to lodge at a Paris Penthouse for 5 nights, getting there via business class airfare for two. Check out the Hollywood 100 Auctions to view these items plus much more. All proceeds from the Hollywood 100 eBay auctions will directly benefit Project Angel Food. Auction listings: cgi6.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems &userid=angelfood100&incl ude=0&since=-1&sort=3&row s=50 View the seller's About Me Page: members.ebay.com/aboutme/angelfood100 |
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| Thinking Outside the Box for Your Business |
| 05.27.04 (4:06 pm) |
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Business Blogging by Genia V. Stevens Visit any auction forum and ask sellers about their sales trends and many of them will state that sales are down --not quite what they used to be back in the good old days of fewer sellers and more buyers. Sellers of various products have seen a steady decline in sales as more sellers join the eBay marketplace. Market saturation? Or is this a good example of how easy it is for competitors to enter the eBay marketplace -- well, sellers, that is. How do sellers deal with this increased competitiveness? Some leave and find smaller auction sites to sell their wares. Many will argue that smaller, lesser-known auction sites provide less traffic and won't result in nearly the sales a seller will see on eBay -- even with the increased competition. Others argue a move to a smaller, lesser-known auction site can result in significant profits, if the seller chooses the right product and commits to building his or her business. Is this the key? Commitment? Or is there some magical formula that consists of: commitment TIMES a great auction site TIMES traffic to the site DIVIDED by the square root of . . . well, you know what I'm getting at. The one thing I've noticed so far is that sellers need to put more thought into their creative marketing strategies. Actually, let me restate that: sellers need to be more creative with their marketing strategies -- thinking outside the box and moving away from the traditional means that obviously aren't resulting in much change to their bottom line. And here's where I do my push for blog marketing. No, not necessarily this blog, just blog marketing in general. The problem with blog marketing, though, is it's too much work. Yep. That's right. I said it. Too much work. It requires "[i]too much maintenance and too much thought[/i]." But, isn't marketing a constant process? It should be. If it's not a constant process for your business, that may be why you're not seeing much change on your bottom line. A seller who sells collectible dolls could easily start a blog about collectible dolls. I mean, if the seller has been in the business of selling collectible dolls for quite some time, I would suspect the seller knows a lot about collectible dolls. Starting a blog on this subject would be pretty simple -- and very informative for internet surfers looking for information that's out of the ordinary. And what does this have to do with your auction business? Why, you place links on your blog that lead to your store, About Me page, auctions you have going, and even a link to an e-commerce site you may have. You're the expert, why wouldn't an internet surfer who was looking for information on collectible dolls want to buy from an expert? Of course, you want to keep this blog maintained -- updated quite frequently -- or your visitors won't return. And that's where all the work comes in. Consistent marketing. But, here's where you have the advantage. Google has started giving websites that are more content-focused higher rankings in search results. Websites that tend to be more e-commerce-like (you know, sites with shopping carts on them) are starting to receive lower rankings. By starting a blog and updating it with lots of informative information (with links that [b]point[/b] to your e-commerce site) you could potentially add nicely to your bottom line. Give it a try. Try some "thinking outside the box." Need More Information on Blogs? Business Blogs Covered on CNN How to Blog Blog for Business Jewelry Business Blog: A very well done business blog for a jewelry business. A Penny For |
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| Who Would Want Schwarzenegger DNA? |
| 05.23.04 (5:58 am) |
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by Genia V. Stevens You can buy an airport, a gas station, a fake girlfriend, and belly button lint on eBay. Why not buy Arnold Schwarzenegger's DNA? An eBay seller listed a half-eaten cough drop supposedly discarded by the California Governor at a recent public event. How did the seller market the Governor's discarded cough drop? The seller listed it as "Schwarzenegger's DNA." Here's where the story gets a bit confusing in classic eBay-style. The auction was pulled because it violated eBay's policy for selling human body parts; however, according to an eBay spokesperson, the seller could relist the item if it's classified as a collectible. I guess that would be considered one of those "grey" areas that passionate eBay fans often cite when defending eBay's often conflicting policies. So, following this line of logic, you can sell anything on eBay if you list it as a collectible. Keep that in mind, folks, as I'm sure some intuitive readers are already planning some outrageous eBay ads. |
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| eBay Seller Dresses Canines in Style |
| 05.21.04 (3:50 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens Beth, also known by the eBay ID Mister Barker, sells designer fashions for a man’s -- and a woman’s – best friend. A member of eBay for 2 years, Beth began her canine fashion business in March 2004. Most of the Mister Barker items are bought from distributors and then resold to Mister Barker customers at discount prices. Beth says, “I buy the hats, alter and embellish them, so they really work with a dog. I would love to make more items myself but it’s hard to get a return on the time you spend making the items.” To avoid going over the top when altering a hat, Beth says her husband often offers his advice about a design. Wedding apparel tops Beth’s list as her favorite Mister Barker items. Because so many pet lovers consider their canine a part of the family, pets have a special place at the wedding -– and must be dressed for the occasion. “Besides,” Beth says, “they look so darn cute all dressed up.” When asked about the smallest canine ever dressed in a Mister Barker item, Beth replied, “2 – 5 pound dogs are common. I even got a request for a ferret once.” When asked about the largest canine ever dressed in a Mister Barker item, Beth said an X – large size item will fit a dog up to 90 pounds. She makes sure she keeps those in stock for the Great Danes and Bull Mastiffs. Eventually, Beth does plan to expand Mister Barker to a full blown e-commerce business, complete with its own website. For now, Beth says “eBay is perfect for a start-up business. The company advertises for you and provides excellent traffic that would be hard to do on your own.” If you want to dress your pooch (or Rambo) in style, visit Mister Barker on eBay: stores.ebay.com/misterbarker |
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| Pearl Jam Guitar & Drum on eBay |
| 05.21.04 (2:35 pm) |
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Good news for Pearl Jam fans. You can own a custom steel-string acoustic guitar and custom snare drum autographed by members of the band Pearl Jam. Dontcha just love online auctions? If you want to get in on the bidding frenzy, head on over to eBay and check it out. |
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| My eBay 2.0 Implemented with Some Resistance |
| 05.21.04 (2:29 pm) |
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Many users are very unhappy with the new My eBay and have said that the new features are too fancy and unnecessary. Some critics view the unhappiness as a resistance to change, others view it as genuine contempt for eBay's need to fix something that just wasn't broken. Read the story Some users to auctioneer: Bring back old 'My eBay' if you want to know more. |
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| Tennessee Season Tickets on eBay |
| 05.16.04 (3:46 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens This is what happens when someone like me tries to cover a story about football. I fall flat because I know nothing about sports -- even though I was a cheerleader in high school. This appears to be something important (or huge -- whatever term sports fans would use). The auction is for 2 premium Tennessee Volunteers Home Season Football Tickets -- one seat away from the aisle (easy access to the food, according to the auction ad). The tickets are for seats "on the 40 Yard line and 14th row" -- which apparently means you can see and hear all the action. Currently, there are no bids. The starting price is $2000 and there is a reserve. To avoid the hassle of an auction, you can buy the tickets right away using the "Buy It Now" option at a price of $5000. To view the auction, visit: 2 Tennessee Season Tickets, LL, 40 Yard Line, Sec. U!!! . Hurry, you have 5 days left to bid! |
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| Circuit City Jumps on eBay Wagon |
| 05.15.04 (8:39 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens Ok, so the equilibrium is seriously off here, folks. Circuit City, the nation's 2nd largest electronics chain has launched a chain of eBay drop-off stores. Either Circuit City fears the wrath of eBay, or the company is run by trendy corporate types who said, "Hey, drop-off stores. That's not a bad idea! Let's do it. We'll let people bring us stuff to sell, instead of us selling stuff to them." Can you imagine someone who's used to selling cell phones, now selling crystal to the highest bidder? Who's next? I have my bets on Wal-Mart. Read the story: Circuit City delighted to help you with eBay |
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| Martin Luther King's Hearse on eBay |
| 05.14.04 (5:23 pm) |
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eBay really is the market to unload anything. If you want to purchase a part of history, you can buy the hearse that is said to have carried the body of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to his grave on April 4, 1968. So far (as of publishing this post), the only bidder is a buyer named you-gottabe-kidding, with a feedback rating of 0. I think we can assume that's a bogus bidder. To view the auction, you can go here: |
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| Auction Site Bidchaser Introduces Online Stores |
| 05.14.04 (2:24 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens Bidchaser.com officially announced on May 12, 2004 the opening of the auction site's online stores. The stores were launched as a part of Bidchaser's entry into the Indian marketplace -- recently announced in a press release about the company's marketing agreement with India's K Dimension. Some of the features available to Bidchaser store subscribers include tools to handle reporting and inventrory control, tools to help manage both contact and post sale activities, customizable templates for e-mail communication, and the ability to incorporate personalized store policies and offerings. A Bidchaser store subscriber who lists only auctions, can still take advantage of his or her Bidchaser store. "If the Bidchaser Store's software detects that there are no items for sale at a fixed price in the store, but the member has auctions listed on Bidchaser," explains Mr. Mehta, "it will automatically present a view of the store that displays the merchant's available auctions." For subscribers who sign up before May 31, 2004, a Bidchaser store will cost $35.95 until January 2005. This price provides unlimited access and use of the store until Jaunary 2005. After this promotional period ends, new Bidchaser store subscribers will incur a fee of $7.95 per month, and an additional 5% commission on goods sold through the stores. To learn more, visit: Bidchaser Stores |
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| eBay Updates: May 14, 2004 |
| 05.14.04 (9:08 am) |
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by Genia V. Stevens Sellers will soon get the McDonald's Supersize option at eBay with their pictures -- more and bigger! Sellers will be able to add up to 12 pictures per auction ad. In addition, a Supersize feature will be added. If sellers select this feature, images will be displayed up to 500x375 pixels. If the image is larger than 500x375, potential buyers will have the option to view the image up to 800x600. Pretty soon, all the third party image programs designed to help sellers provide better photos for their buyers -- adios. Thing of the past. But before that happens, check out Epixio.com -- a service that allows you to provide your potential customers with a 360 degree view of your product. As far as I know, eBay does not yet have that feature. Get 1000 Anything Points free! What's the catch? Sign up for a free month trial of Selling Manager or Selling Manager Pro between May 13, 2004 and June 30, 2004. And here's the catch. You receive 500 points for signing up; you receive an additional 500 points if you don't cut and run when your first month is over. You only need to stay for an additional month and the 1000 Anything points are yours. Save yourself, let's see. . . $10 on listing fees using those 1000 Anything Points. And last but not least, eBay will introduce Item Specifics feature in three new categories in Antiques: Silver, Asian Antiques and Decorative Arts. Buyers can search for items using Item Specific categories. Just three more of many categories to search. That's not bad. View the eBay McDonald's Supersize Allusion discussion on our forum. |
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| Psychological Impressions and Online Auction Sites |
| 05.14.04 (12:13 am) |
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by Genia Stevens In class tonight, we talked about customer-driven definitions of quality. And like a typical MBA student, I immediately started applying this theory to my work and how I could make it fit into my next blog posting. I got a little distracted when we talked about one particular definition because I thought of all the negatives. [i]Psychological impressions[/i]: evaluating the quality of a service or product on the basis of psychological impressions. Part of this evaluation is based on personal contact and/or the opportunity to talk to a live person in order to seek comfort when in doubt that your pending purchase choice may not be the right choice. How many online auction buyers actually talk to a live person? I read a "How To" manual once that provided step-by-step directions on how to scam people on eBay. In this manual, the author told future scam artists to respond in disbelief when potential buyers emailed them to say things like, "This looks too good to be true, how do I know this isn't a scam?" The scam-artist-in-training was told to act really hurt and tell the potential buyer that he would never cheat anybody and run the risk of losing his eBay account. Most of the time, the potential buyer would email the scam-artist-in-training back and apologize. That's definitely a seller who's mastered the art of using psychological impressions to create a certain quality of service. I then thought about the many horrific auction ads I've seen that scream "I don't have the first clue how to provide my buyers with customer service." For example, have you ever seen an auction ad that looks like this: "I expect payment by Monday. I ship on Saturdays ONLY. If you don't like my shipping costs, find another seller." So, let me get this straight. . . you want your money by Monday, but I have to wait until Saturday for you to ship my item? The psychological impression I get from that auction ad is: the service quality is poor -- very poor. If there's a problem with the product later, I will most likely not get much help from this seller. Then, there are the sellers who are very good at what they do. If you click on their Me page button, you'll find that it looks better than most e-commerce websites you've seen. These sellers value their business, they have pride in their product, and they value their customers. You can find an email address on their Me page to use for customer service contact, in addition to an 800 number. These are the sellers who are cut deep when buyers give them negative feedback because they strive to provide excellent customer service 100% of the time. As for eBay the company itself and the customer service it provides, I won't even get started. I get an entirely different psychological impression there! |
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| Totally Free Auction Sites: Yes? No? |
| 05.13.04 (3:26 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens There's an interesting discussion developing on TheAuctionBoard's forum about the pros and cons of smaller fee-free online auction sites. One of TheAuctionBoard's members felt that fee-free auction sites will result in market saturation -- users posting too many of the same products and services just because the site is completely free. Of course, I'm always playing the devil's advocate, so I pointed out that I saw eBay as the epitamy of market saturation and rarely is anything free on that site. I used cell phones as an example. A search for cell phones returned over 50,000 results. How can an auction seller who sells cell phones really maximize his/her profits in a market where a search for his product returns over 50,000 products? Actually, the search returned over 99,000 results but so many of those results looked like junk that I estimated the results on the very low end at 50,000. That was a search of auction listings alone -- no stores. Can you imagine if I had searched stores also? Another member felt that fee-free sites would help minimize the owner's fraud liability. Again, I played devil's advocate: See, eBay and the company's corporate attorneys seems to be handling a lot of those issues for the smaller sites -- I would think. If eBay can't be held accountable for the fraud that happens on their site, how could PriceFire or any other site be held accountable? After all, an auction site is just a venue, right? That's what eBay's monkey suits (I mean attorneys) have been able to successfully argue. They've also been able to successfully argue that eBay isn't responsible for any nasty comments left in the feedback section and eBay is [b]not[/b] obligated to remove it. I would hate to believe that a judge was bought by eBay's . . . attorneys and that the law would be any different for any other auction site. If you're like to see the rest of this discussion, visit: Is it good to be totally free at TheAuctionBoard.com |
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| Google to Use Banner Ads |
| 05.13.04 (11:45 am) |
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by Genia V. Stevens I read in my issue of the Entireweb.com Newsletter that the search engine giant Google plans to add banner advertising as an option for those participating in the AdSense program. That comes as a huge surprise to those of us who are used to the zero-graphics search engine style that Google is infamous for creating. It's not clear if the images will show up on Google, or if the images will remain a part of the Adsense program only. The image ad programme launched late on Wednesday in a beta, or test, version, said Tim Armstrong, Google's vice president of advertising sales. He said the decision to wade into banners came after nine months of interviews with Web surfers, publishers and advertisers, and was based on what he called Google's core mission. What could this mean for the many auction site owners and auction professionals who use Google Adsense to generate additional revenue for their business? We just have to wait and see. |
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| Excel Basics May Save You Money |
| 05.11.04 (12:53 am) |
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by Genia V. Stevens So someone told you that using Excel can help you manage your eBay business. You were told that you could use Excel you keep track of what you sold, who you sold it to, and how much you sold it for. Were you told how to use it? Probably not. Many sellers still use the old pencil-notebook-calculato r system to manage their auction business finances. That system works just fine for many, I'm sure. Excel can make managing your business finances more effective and efficient. Learning to use the basics is as simple as a mouse click away. Sellers who enter data into a spreadsheet may start to notice certain sales trends if all the information is organized in one database. This will allow the seller to create a one page snapshot view of sales activities. As I was entering more data into my auction business spreadsheet -- the one I have for eBay specific sales, I noticed an interesting trend about banner design service I listed in my store on the eBay US site. Several of these services sold to non US customers and were subjected to an additional 1% fee ontop of the standard fee: 7.99 PayPal payment Fee: .61 cents 9.99 PayPal payment Fee: .69 cents 15.00 PayPal payment Fee: .89 cents 17.50 PayPal payment Free: .81 cents The listing fees for all the items is the same: .02 cents. Final value fees for all the listed values have the same value assigned -- 5.25% on eBay. As you can see, I didn't really lose money by raising my price $2.00 and selling my services to non-US customers just because there was an additional 1% fee. These are the types of trends you can catch by keeping very detailed records in an Excel spreadsheet. Don't be afraid of Excel. It's a great tool with excellent possibilities. Your pencil-notebook-calculato r method may be working just fine; however, Excel will do handsprings. Well, almost. Free Excel Online Tutorials: Microsoft Excel Tutorial: itlearningmaterials.com/msexcel.htm Full of great information and downloadable word documents. Excel Tutorial: usd.edu/trio/tut/excel: Has information for beginners and those of us who may need some brush-up work. Excel Tutorial: baycongroup.com/el0.htm: So basic, it's like reading [i]1 Fish, Blue Fish [/i]by Dr. Seuss. Learning Excel: extension.iastate.edu/Pages/Excel/homepage.html: Instructional material from ISU. |
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| eBay & AOL Divorce Final |
| 05.09.04 (7:52 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens In a not-so-shocking announcement in March 2003, eBay announced it was ending its marketing partnership with AOL. In that announcement, eBay stated that AOL was expected to "continue its electronic delivery of [the company's] online advertisements for a specified wind-down period." Well, it looks like the wind-down time may have ended and the divorce is final. Random AOL users who visit the eBay website are receiving the message "eBay is not compatible with the AOL software. Please use IE 6.0." Many AOL users state they have not upgraded or changed their AOL software for months, and visit the eBay website daily, so they are curious about this sudden incompatibility notice. Keyword eBay is no longer available on AOL. When users search for eBay using the keyword box on eBay, users are redirected to the AOL search page powered by Google. If you use the keyword box and type in Best Buy, Office Depot, Barnes and Noble, or Wal Mart, those terms still work. Is this incompatibility notice an AOL system glitch -- one of many that AOL users are used to? Or, is this a sign that the eBay/AOL marriage is officially over? |
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| eBay Keywords: Wasted Money or Useful? |
| 05.09.04 (6:30 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens If you're like me, you've had a couple of your auctions closed by a competitor who claimed you were using keyword spamming to crush the competition. What did I do? I was explaining in my auction ad what keyword phrases resulted in top placements for the TheAuctionBoard.com on Google. I was selling ad space and wanted my potential buyers to know that I knew the ins and outs of search engine optimization -- something that should be very important to a potential advertiser. I saw that as pertinent information and essential to my auction description. Well, eBay saw that as keyword spamming although many sellers still use lists of words in their auction ads. To discourage keyword spamming in auction ads and add a few more dollars to the bottom line, eBay started allowing sellers the option of buying keywords and running banner ads on the site. I don't see how that is any different than using keywords to crush the competition, except eBay makes money off of it, but that's not the issue here. The potential problem with purchasing keywords on eBay is that many sellers don't have the first clue what keywords to use to effectively use eBay's keyword program. adMarketplace, the company that actually provides this service, doesn't offer any assistance either. There's a frequently asked questions (FAQs) section that answers all the how-to questions about the mechanics of the service, but there's no assistance for sellers on how to actually be competitive. Google's targeted keyword service AdWords is designed to help advertisers succeed -- not just blow their money on advertising -- by offering a function in the program that suggests keywords and keyword phrases. And yes, Google wants to make money, too. Most likely, the only sellers who will get much use of eBay's keyword program are the sellers who actually know how to use the service. A quick search on Google for keyword research brings back over 4 million results. There are 45 million active users on eBay buying and selling (according to the latest financial report) -- using eBay's search engine to do so. How can adMarketplace offer a keyword program to a community of traders that large without offering any assistance on how to be competitive? So, how can someone new to eBay's keyword program use it to their advantage? Why, use Google, of course! They're the experts. Visit Google AdWords Sandbox and do a search for the best keywords to use on eBay or any other auction site (yes, there are others). This program is free and it's been in use for a long time. It lists the most up-to-date and popular keywords and keyword phrases. Go ahead, crush the competition. |
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| You Can Own a Truck Stop in Florida |
| 05.09.04 (4:11 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens You've seen truck stop decals, truck stop stickers, and even "truck stop girls" t-shirts, but if you hurry over you can see a real truck stop for sale on eBay. This Quik Mart truck stop is located in Zellwood, FL near Orlando. The price is $1,400,000 plus inventory of store items and fuel. This item has been listed since April 19, 2004. Upon checking the item listing, most of the pictures in the auction ad were not viewable. To view the auction ad: Truck Stop for Sale Near Orlando, FL |
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| Profit Off Shipping to Offset eBay Fees |
| 05.09.04 (10:38 am) |
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by Genia V. Stevens It's been heavily debated that many sellers profit off shipping to offset eBay fees -- listing, FVF, and PayPal fees -- since shipping isn't included when eBay figures your final value fee. So, we had a huge discussion once about the ethics of "overcharging" on shipping. Now that I look at it from this perspective, will we see more and more sellers raising shipping costs as eBay fees go up? Will these sellers see less sales? Eventually, there has to be a break-off point and a maximum amount buyers will pay for shipping before they finally get fed up and drive to Wal-Mart. I've seen lots of sellers write in their ad: "If you don't like my shipping policies, don't bid." And the seller is right. Of course this statement comes from the many individual sellers, not to be mistaken with the many small businesses and corporations who are beginning to unload their wares on eBay. I would be shocked to see a Best Buy (the newest corporate eBay seller) ad with that statement in it. Obviously that seller doesn't know the law of supply and demand. As long as there is a substitute good for that seller's product, a [B]SMART [/B]buyer won't bid -- especially with an attitude like that. I know the seller gets sick of receiving emails from people challenging the seller's shipping policy, but what the seller should do is reassess the shipping policy based on those customer inquiries, find a cheaper product source so he could buy the products cheaper -- selling them at a higher profit, or find a new place to sell his goods. On eBay, there are thousands of substitute goods for that seller's product. I don't know who that guy thought he was kidding. Now, these same sellers will stick it out with eBay, keep those shipping charges where they are, and risk losing customers, before they ever try moving over to another auction site with lower fees. The mentality: they make some sales at eBay and probably wouldn't make as many anywhere else, if any. Of course there are the sellers who "overcharge on shipping" because they view shipping as a way to recoup for a labor cost. They are trying to figure out a way to place a value on their time--after all, they have bills to pay too, right? These sellers say packaging an item is a labor itensive activity and buyers should see it that way. Packaging the item I plan to sale when I get back into auction selling isn't a labor intensive activity. I would open the tiny ziploc bag, pop the item in, zip the bag, place the bag in a pretty envelope, seal the envelope. . . well, you see where I'm going with this. The item wouldn't break in the mail so there's no need to be extra cautious. Mailing a book to a customer is not a labor intensive activity to me. Others may disagree and decide to charge a few extra dollars for their time. Packaging china would perhaps be seen as labor intensive; however, I really would expect to receive my china in one piece. Any seller who sells china should feel obligated to take the time to package it well. I certainly wouldn't tell my buyer: "well, I could just throw it in a box for exact shipping costs, or I can take my time and really wrap it well for an additional $15.00. Which would you prefer?" Shipping costs will continue to be a huge debate among auction sellers and buyers. As small businesses and corporations enter the world of online auction seller, perhaps buyers will get used to seeing higher shipping costs as these types of companies generally charge a flat shipping and handling fee for all items. Individual sellers may be able to easily transition to charging a flat shipping and handling fee also. |
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| PayDirect Implements $5 Fee on Pro Accounts |
| 05.08.04 (12:28 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens Yahoo! PayDirect has announced that the service will begin to charge all users with a PayDirect Professional Account a $5 monthly fee. This fee will start on June 1, 2004. In lieu of the fee implementation, the Standard Pricing to receive money will decrease from 2.5% plus $0.30 per transaction, to 2.4% plus $0.30 per transaction. The Preferred Pricing rate to receive month will remain at 2.2% plus $0.30 per transaction. I developed a theory about the possible reason PayDirect implemented a fee for Pro Accounts during a discussion on the forums: [i]TAB MEMBER[/i]: I simply can't justify keeping a paydirect account open when it costs me $5.00 a month considering the extremely limited usage it gets. I understand their business decision to impliment such a fee, and I'm sure they'll undestand the reason I feel it necessary to close my account. [i]Genia[/i]: Perhaps that was the effect they hoped for: getting rid of customers who were producing work that didn't produce profit. That's a very common business tactic. Just because your account isn't being used (or not being used much) doesn't mean it's not producing some kind of costs for PayDirect. Having a ton of dormant accounts in their database takes up space. Information technology people have to maintain large databases -- of what, dormant accounts with 100 active customers? I would liken this to eBay closing accounts that aren't used (well, they claim they do anyway), or banks telling customers they can only have a free account if they keep at least $5 in the account. [i]TAB MEMBER:[/i] I could understand that except for the fact they aren't charging personal accounts. It's not hard to assume the bulk of their accounts are personal accounts and not professional accounts, so if freeing up a ton of dormant accounts in their database was the objective it is a flawed plan. Personal accounts have credit cards and bank accounts tied to them, so security is still an issue with the bulk of their dormant accounts, the only difference between a personal and professional account is the professional account can accept credit card for a fee. Now an added difference is the professional account has a $5.00 a month minimum charge. [i]Genia: [/i] I venture to guess there are more dormant business accounts at PayDirect than there are personal accounts, so the plan to get rid of dormant accounts that aren't making them any money isn't flawed -- if that's the case. Here's why: eBay dominates the market when it comes to auction selling. eBay owns PayPal. eBay is going after small business owners with a vengence. There are many "perks" attached to being a member of eBay if you're a small business owner -- one of which is the ability to borrow $50,000 of unsecured capital through GE (recently announced via the TAB auction blog and here on the boards). Now, we all know that there are other perks attached to using PayPal as a small business owner-- but, you have to list PayPal as the only accepted form of payment in your auction listing, right? Now, as a small business owner, which payment service will I use? PayPal or PayDirect? If the decision was made to say to small business owners, "hey, use those credit cards so we can make a profit, pay us $5 to maintain your somewhat dormant account, or . . . go use PayPal" then I understand that. PayDirect really can't compete with PayPal at this point. CitiBank couldn't do it either when it came to online payment processing. To view the rest of this discussion, see PayDirect to start charging $5.00 monthly Fee As a sidenote, I checked the Yahoo! site and I didn't find any statement anywhere that says anything about PayDirect implementing a $5 fee. This was supposedly a notice one of the members of eBay received this morning. But. . . you know how that goes. |
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| Woolston's Letter to Capitol Hill |
| 05.07.04 (5:36 pm) |
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[b]Warns the Hill About eBay's Tactics[/b] May 4, 2004 The Hon. Chuck Grassley Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-6200 Dear Chairman Grassley: I am writing to provide you and your staff with a competitor’s view of eBay, the online auction company whose lobbyists are scheduled to visit your office this week. In contrast to eBay, we support the streamline tax initiative because it is important to level the competitive playing field and important to the local tax base I am the founder of MercExchange, LLC, a Virginia-based holder of several important United States patents on Internet auction and market processes. We are in business, competing with eBay everyday, through our licensed marketplaces and service providers. In 2000, eBay representatives expressed a desire to purchase our intellectual property rights. Talks broke down when, despite our patent rights, eBay misappropriated our patented electronic marketplace technology. As a small company in comparison to eBay, our only recourse was to enforce our rights against eBay in court. In 2003, the court found that eBay willfully infringed our patents. The case and the multi-million dollar damages award continue to wind their way through the legal process. Based on our years of experience in dealing with eBay management, I would respectfully caution you not to accept their representations at face value. Beneath eBay’s veneer of homespun success lurks a predatory monopolist. Indeed, eBay has a history of misrepresentation. In the run-up to their 1998 IPO, eBay created a myth about its origin, telling reporters, Wall Street analysts, investors and political leaders that the company was created to help the founder’s girlfriend sell Pez candy dispensers. Embarrassingly, Vice President Al Gore retold the fabrication in a 1998 speech. It wasn’t until 2002 that the tale was exposed as a carefully crafted PR ploy to build interest in the eBay IPO. That eBay can point to successful sellers and produce compelling stories of their success on eBay misses the point. eBay profits handsomely from the successful sellers they’ve brought to the Hill this week, as management raises prices to these small sellers with the impunity of a monopolist. By exercising its monopoly power over its sellers, eBay’s opposition to the streamline tax proposal is a ploy for the company to maintain it’s $50 billion capitalization and share price at the expense of the local tax base and on the backs of legitimate tax-paying business. eBay describes the streamline tax proposal as too complicated and onerous for the small user. But eBay, drawing its fortune from its small users, could certainly protect them with a simple software upgrade to make the tax collection job easy and painless. And it is a false premise that eBay has no responsibility to its users in this area. Any reasonable tax increase and implementation cost would be easily absorbed by eBay. After four years of dealing with eBay, we know eBay’s management will say and do anything to avoid accountability to its end users, the courts and the laws of the United States. This week on the Hill, eBay is hiding behind its carefully selected sellers. This feigned concern for its user’s burden in implementing the proposed tax is as contrived as the Pez story. Regulators didn’t punish eBay for intentionally lying to Wall Street to raise money, but lawmakers can at least protect themselves so they don’t get Pez’ed. My personal experience is that eBay has spun a web of deceit regarding our case and others, including: 1) Submitting fictitious diagrams as evidence to the courts; 2) Misrepresentations to the United State Patent Office regarding the content of the Prior Art; and 3) And attempting to covering up its misappropriation by not producing documents in our case. That of course, is a private concern that will be sorted out in the courts. But based on our front-line experience, Mr. Chairman, eBay and their lobbyists are not to be trusted. We learned the hard way that every ‘fact’ eBay cites must be verified and every argument must be viewed through the prism of how it meets the self-interest of eBay’s management. Only caution can assure eBay doesn’t succeed in pushing bad public policy to enrich the eBay management at the long term expense of its users and the local tax base. If your staff has any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 786/385-6644 or twoolston@mercexchange.com. Best wishes, (Original signed) Thomas Woolston Founder and President QUESTIONS FOR EBAY’S OPPOSITION TO THE STREAMLINED TAX PROPOSAL • Why couldn’t eBay, with its vast technical resources, simply implement software to handle this tax processing? • Doesn’t eBay already process payment and provide insurance for the seller and buyer transaction? How could the streamlined tax proposal implementation be any more difficult than that? • Is eBay in effect aiding and abetting a questionable tax avoidance policy by it’s seller’s under existing laws? • Wouldn’t a streamlined internet tax cut down on the internet auction fraud and the sale of stolen goods? The tax proposal would, after all, provide another enforcement avenue for police to charge the sellers of stolen goods with tax fraud. • How is eBay not just a large online fencing operation for stolen goods? Why should eBay sellers and eBay trading assistants (ebay sellers who sell good on behalf of others) have a de facto waiver of State and Local pawn laws that are designed to alert law enforcement to the sale of stolen goods? • Why does eBay as a trusted intermediary in the transaction between buyers and sellers, by at least handling payment between the users, have no obligation to report these transactions to the appropriate tax authority? |
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| Skybound Introduces MeetPoint Chat for Auction Users |
| 05.07.04 (4:25 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens Skybound Software introduces MeetPoint, a chat program that could potentially reduce the amount of negative feedback reviews auction users receive and increase an auction seller’s profits. Paul Young, of the Ontario-based software company says, “if you study the feedback profiles of eBay vendors, you will quickly realize that most negative feedback comments would not be filed if better communication existed between both parties.” MeetPoint is designed to provide a way for auction users to communicate real-time on the user’s About Me page, e-commerce website, or any place where java script code is allowed. MeetPoint provides various features for product users; the ability to use a tabbed interface allowing users to effectively communicate with multiple customers, the ability to see which webpage or auction page your customer is visiting, the ability to view past conversations, and the ability to store answers to frequently asked questions. MeetPoint has an automatic free update feature, allowing customers to keep up with product changes and quickly download and install updates at no additional cost. Young says, “MeetPoint users have an advantage over their competition. Once a visitor directly communicates with a vendor, a relationship is established. The chances of that person placing a bid or buying from that vendor are increased substantially.” To see if MeetPoint has the potential to live up to these expectations, users can download a 14-day free trial. Visit skybound.ca to learn more. |
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| eBay and GE Announce Small Business Financing |
| 05.06.04 (3:38 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens The Wall Street Journal has announced that eBay and GE have partnered to provide eBay customers with small and mid-size business financing. This service is designed for businesses seeking working capital for business expansion, equipment funding, or other services. eBay customers can borrow up to $50,000 in unsecured captial with prime rates from 1.75 to 11.75 percent. For more information, eBay customers should visit onlinecreditcenter2.com/SBLOC/premier/PLOC_En try.html. |
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| eBay Ask Seller Email Feature Updated |
| 05.05.04 (10:11 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens The Ask Seller a Question feature has been updated to include a link to the auction ad and the inquiring member's eBay name in the signature tag. A previous update to the Ask Seller a Question email option included a Dear "seller name" salutation. These enhanced features are designed to further increase security for eBay members. Members are still reminded to never respond to any unsolicited email that request their participation in e-commerce activity outside the eBay marketplace. |
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| eBay Updates Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro |
| 05.05.04 (4:45 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens eBay has announced several updates to both Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro. These updates are in conjunction with the recent changes to eBay 2.0 -- released in beta version to users last month. Sellers who are using either version of the Selling Manager will see new features such as customizable views, printer-friendly views, time filters which allow users to see data through 120 days, groupings in sold view, and bulk feedback in the Selling Manager. Users of the Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro can expect to see these new features this week. The new eBay 2.0 will be accessible to Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro users once the updates are made. This eBay 2.0 will be the permanent version. Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro users are being cautioned that they may experience a back-and-forth switch between the new and old My eBay pages as the new features are introduced; however this switching will not effect any of their information or their ability to use their My eBay page. In other news, eBay has annouced the Consumer Electronics category will receive a facelift in approximately two weeks. A new feature called Item Specifics will be introduced in those categories. An example of these new Item Specific features are: DVD Players & Recorders, Home Speakers and Home Theater in a Box. The ability to search by Item Specifics will also be available. |
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| Making the Most of Networking Opportunities |
| 05.04.04 (9:59 am) |
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By IVAN MISNER Although I advocate that networking is a lifestyle and that you need to incorporate it into everything you do, I also believe that you must honor the event. This means that in some cases you are going to network a lot differently than you would in other cases. For example, networking at a chamber mixer is one thing, while networking at a church social is something completely different. First, we must understand what I mean by "networking." I believe that networking is part of the process of developing your social capital. Building your social capital hinges on the development of meaningful relationships with other people. Since one should always be working on building meaningful relationships with other people, he or she should always be networking. However, that doesn't mean someone should always be trying to sell something to someone, because that rarely facilitates the development of meaningful relationships. Herein lies the misinterpretation of the practice of networking. Some people think that networking means to be constantly selling your products or services. To me, networking means that you should constantly build relationships. The best way to build relationships is to help someone whenever possible. A good networker has two ears and one mouth and should use them proportionately. Hence, if you understand networking to be the process one uses to develop relationships and build one's social capital, then it makes sense that someone should network everywhere—including the church social. They key is that you must honor the event. To truly honor the event, you need to network appropriately. That means your networking approach must be different in a chamber meeting compared to a social event. In both cases, you should make contacts, put people together, help others and build relationships. However, you should not be actively promoting your business in one of those two groups. (Hint: It's not the chamber.) Instead, at a church function, you should simply focus on putting people together and helping others. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Last year, I had the opportunity to attend a formal dinner put on by the "Friendly Sons of St. Patrick." This was a black-tie social event, not a business networking dinner, yet I was able to make a great contact that ended up being immensely successful for me (and, I hope, for one of the people I met there). You see, seated at my table were a prominent senior partner to a major international law firm, a former member of the Beach Boys and Buzz Aldrin, part of the first mission to set foot on the moon and now an entrepreneur as the founder of the ShareSpace Foundation. During the course of the evening, I mentioned to Aldrin that I was working on a new book entitled Masters of Success. He's certainly attained a well-known level of success and has some very strong feelings about the future of the space program, so I thought he might be interested in sharing his thoughts in this new book. After getting to know each other better, I asked him if he would be interested in contributing a chapter to the book. He was. Consequently, he is one of the prominent contributing authors to a book that is about to be released, and I believe it's a win-win for both of us. As you can see, it is desirable to keep your networking goals in sight at all events and opportunities, without becoming a networking vulture or someone that everyone else runs from when they see you coming. Honor the event and tailor your networking strategies so that you fit in without being tuned out. Another very important aspect of successful, active networking is to be sincere. There are people who are so successful at networking that they are able to network virtually everywhere, and it's because they really care about making connections for others, not just for themselves. I have seen that those who network exclusively for selfish gain come across as very shallow and insincere. Make no mistake about it: Networking can be done with a selfish end in mind, but if you are truly living the mantra that "givers gain," you will come across very differently. No one minds the opportune exchange of information that will benefit one or more people, even when that exchange takes the form of a business card at a bar mitzvah. Ivan Misner is the founder and CEO of Business Network International (BNI), which has more than 2,700 chapters throughout the world. He is also the author of five books, including his New York Times bestseller, 'Masters of Networking', as well as Entrepreneur Press' forthcoming 'Masters of Success.' Source: Entrepreneur.com |
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| Bidchaser Signs Marketing Agreement with K Dimensions |
| 05.04.04 (2:52 am) |
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Bidchaser.com, an emerging provider of online auctions and stores and its upcoming automotive exchange, announced today the execution of a commercial contract for marketing, sales and operations in India. The marketing, sales and operations Agreement with K Dimension of Mumbai, India, brings a first-of-its-kind migration program of entire brick and mortar stores into eCommerce enabled stores powered by Bidchaser. Bidchaser's planned incursion includes an aggressive campaign to enlist and then expose unique products from India to the North American market, and by extension to the Global Market. Leonardo Cunha, CEO and one of Bidchaser's founders said, "We are excited about the execution of this important facet of our business plan, and anticipate that it will serve as a pilot for our growth as we bring together an international trading platform where artisans, artists, manufacturers, merchants and shoppers from around the world can come together to exchange merchandise, ideas and good will." The agreement exposes Bidchaser to a market that is expanding at an amazing 79% Compounded Average Growth Rate (CAGR), and is expected to grow to 50 million users by the end of 2004. The initial efforts will concentrate on placing marketing teams on the ground in the cities of Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Orissa and Chennai, with each satellite office managed from the joint Bidchaser/K Dimension offices in Mumbai. The joint Bidchaser/K Dimension team completed a 90 day test marketing, as is currently poised to engage in a full campaign that includes the identification and recruitment of local merchants in the target cities, the provision of sales kits, seminars and presentations, assistance with the packing, dispatch and international shipping issues. About Bidchaser.com: Bidchaser.com draws from the experience of seasoned Online Auction Professionals, a top-notch technical team, and a firm commitment to its membership. The Bidchaser Team has created an online community where experienced as well as new auction enthusiasts can exchange their goods at minimum risk in an elegant, simple, and entertaining format. About K Dimension: K Dimension provides representation, strategic marketing and innovative advertising to North American firms entering the market in India. A complete staff is currently assembled and dedicated exclusively to market Bidchaser and its products within India and neighboring markets. Link to this article: Bidchaser Signs Marketing Agreement with K Dimensions |
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| About Me Pages a Mess at eBay |
| 05.04.04 (2:40 am) |
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by Genia V. Stevens Auction sellers are raising a fuss about problems they've been having with their About Me pages at the online auction site eBay. According to the eBay technical support discussion boards, the problems with seller About Me pages started in late March and have continued up until very recently. Sellers are experiencing missing listings on their About Me pages, tables out of alignment or missing, the seller's name along with the feedback rating moved to the bottom of the page, and feedback numbers not getting updated. Many sellers say that they are receiving the error message "About Me Page Not Found." Sellers claim these troubles started when eBay officials decided to change the way the About Me pages were designed in order to force potential buyers to view the entire page and all its content -- the reason for placing the seller's feedback rating at the bottom of the page, instead of the top of the page where it used to be. Auction sellers use their About Me page as a mini-website to promote their auction business. Many of these pages are registered in major search engines and are always linked from an auction seller's auction ads. Typically, these pages are offered as a free service to auction site members. Sellers use them to provide more information about themselves and their products and/or services. The average About Me page contains seller information, product information, shipping guidelines, feedback review, feedback guidelines, and a link to all open auctions. Effective use of the About Me page could mean nothing but good things for auction sellers. Learn more: pages.ebay.com/help/policies/listing -aboutme.html Marketing Your About Me Page Link to this article: About Me Pages a Mess at eBay |
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| User Review of My eBay 2.0 |
| 05.04.04 (2:09 am) |
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by Genia V. Stevens May 4, 2004 One eBay seller was hesitant about using the new eBay 2.0 while it was in its beta testing stage, but quickly opted in when she learned that she could see how many potential buyers were viewing her auctions. She said, "At first I wasn't going to opt in for the beta because I figured I'll see it sooner or later. When I read you saying that you can see how many people are "watching" your auctions? Well I just had to in and opt in to the new version." eBay users have to click on a link which will essentially make them testers of the new eBay 2.0 beta version. I also chose to opt into the new version. I found the new layout very appealing and I definitely enjoy seeing how many potential buyers are watching my auctions. Of course, this can have its downside if no one is watching your auctions and this lack of attention drags on for days. Another feature I found nice was the ability to add notes to my ended items. These notes can be edited, but you're only allowed 255 characters, so you have to be sparse with your comments. I have an Excel file I keep on my office computer that I use to log comments, but the ability to log quick comments under a buyer or seller's name is very handy -- especially if you're doing a lot of transactions and you're about a day away from blocking a buyer and filing a non-paying bidder complaint! The Quick Glance features are very handy. These features allow you to quickly see who has paid you, who has provided you with feedback, who you need to leave feedback for, and who you still need to ship something to. Of course, there are flaws with the new eBay 2.0 -- as many sellers have pointed out. Sellers are saying that sold items are not showing up in the[b] SOLD [/b] section, even though they are still receiving the end-of-auction notifications and PayPal payment notifications. Other complaints consist of inconsistencies with prices on the item listings and the list of items that appear on seller's About Me pages. I decided to stick it out with eBay 2.0 -- for now. Other sellers are returning to the old version until the bugs are worked out with the 2.0 beta version. |
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| Alternatives to eBay, They Do Exist |
| 05.02.04 (7:17 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens There’s no denying that eBay is the heavy weight champion of online auctions. Started in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, eBay has become a publicly traded Fortune 500 company with reported profits of $200 million by the end of the first quarter in 2004. But all is not well at eBay. Many online sellers are looking for alternatives to eBay. Sellers who seek alternatives point to slow response time to customer service requests, the cut throat competitiveness of online selling at eBay due to its enormous size, the constant rise in fees, and the slow implementation of system upgrades. Where will sellers go to continue growing their online auction business? Yahoo.com is attracting many online auction sellers. Yahoo.com is a major search engine and attracts a very large pool of buyers. Some of the difficulties sellers have noted with Yahoo Auctions is the way the categories are setup. This makes navigating Yahoo Auctions quite difficult for buyers. In addition, many sellers feel Yahoo Auctions is more focused on selling stores than developing the auction site to its full capacity. Bidville.com is an online auction site founded in 1999 as an alternative to eBay. Bidville.com is a publicly traded company that acquired $2.2 million in January 2004 to be used for working capital. In March 2004, Bidville announced that it would launch a chain of drop-off stores, further promoting the future growth of the organization. At present, there are over 1.3 million items listed on Bidville’s site. Categories are well-defined, listing is free, and enhanced features are very reasonable. Check the =http://www.bidville.com/help/...”target=”new”Bidville fee schedule. One of the features sellers really like is the imported feedback option. Sellers can opt to have their feedback from other auction sites imported to Bidville. Buyers will see the seller’s ID from the other auction site so the buyer can then verify the information. The typical complaint from sellers is that Bidville doesn’t get enough buyer traffic. A quick visit to Bidville’s site shows several auctions with active bidding and many sellers with high Bidville feedback. iOffer.com is not an auction site; instead, it’s selling the old way – haggling over a price and making an offer. Sellers can set a price and attempt to be firm, but buyers will offer those sellers a price for their product or service – so be prepared. Listings are placed for 30 days at a time and a seller is free to close a listing anytime the seller wishes. Listings are free but enhanced features can get a little pricey. The best way to get around the need for enhanced features is to participate in the community forum. Being an active participant in the community forum will leave a link to all your listings in all your postings. In addition, this helps you make friends, which gets you listed in those friends’ profiles. Talk about mucho marketing! The problem with this though is that all your marketing is done internally with other sellers on the iOffer website. An additional feature offered at iOffer is imported feedback. One complaint about iOffer’s imported feedback is that you don’t get to see where the feedback comes from. It’s all dumped into one total. Buyers and sellers know that it’s imported feedback, but they don’t know if it all comes from one eBay ID, five eBay IDs, or one eBay ID and ten IDs from smaller auction sites. Bargainandhaggle.com is the first barter site available to e-commerce professionals. It’s definitely a viable alternative to eBay. The site has a nice layout and design. The feedback system is very detailed. It looks like there are quite a few sales (or negotiations, as they are called here) going on at this site. View user =http://www.bargainandhaggle.c..."target=”new”MontanaBlues’s feedback profile to see an example. New online auctions surface often. There are many auction sellers who wish to find an alternative to eBay; that’s obvious because of the existence of auction sites and barter sites like BargainandHaggle, Bidville, and iOffer. While many of these auction sellers wish to add these alternative sites as a supplement to their eBay selling activities; others wish to move all selling activity over to a different site – making it their permanent home. What will auction site owners need to do to compete with eBay? A ”http://theauctionboard.com/bo...”target=”new”team effort between the site owner and the sellers is one way several auction sites have been able to effectively advertise the site on a very small budget. Luck is always good, too! Check our Online Auctions List for other eBay alternatives. Link to this article: Alternatives to eBay, They Do Exist |
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| The Other Side of Imported Feedback |
| 05.02.04 (5:00 pm) |
| Members of TheAuctionBoard.com are engaged in a discussion about the pros and cons of imported feedback. You can view the thread without registering for the discussion forum. Read Imported Feedback, How Much Security Does That Afford You? |
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| Imported Feedback on Smaller Auction Sites |
| 05.01.04 (8:48 pm) |
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by Genia V. Stevens Have you ever wanted to sell on an auction site other than eBay and you were worried about having to rebuild your seller reputation? With all the online fraud happening via online auction sites, many buyers are leery about purchasing items from sellers with little or no feedback. I ventured to the e-commerce site iOffer.com and noticed that many of the sellers there have imported their feedback using the handy tool Mr. Grabber. iOffer isn't an auction site really; it's where you go and haggle with sellers -- wheel and deal -- on a price and offer what you think is a fair price for their product. I asked on the community form about the value of imported feedback from other auction sites -- particularly eBay -- and here's what some of the sellers had to say: As far as importing feedback goes, if I have earned good feedback, I want my buyers and sellers to know I am an honest person. I worked for that feedback and iOffer recognizes that. It takes alot to earn a good rating, and I am proud of the fact that my buyers and sellers have been pleased this far with our efforts to meet their needs. -- treasurebox iOffer.com definitely seems like a great place to sell (and buy) and the community is working as it should. Good people there! Many smaller auction sites offer the imported feedback option. Take advantage of it. It could mean good things for your auction business. |
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| Articles Marketing Partners: Tag-Team Your Way To Success by Genia V. Stevens Due to the rise in eBay sellers -- approximately 60 million -- many auction sellers are finding it increasingly difficult to sell their products and services through the largest online auction house. Creating a promotional alliance with other websites and auction sellers could be the key to your success. Partnership Offers: If you sell CDs, consider partnering with an auction seller who sells home stereo equipment. You could also consider partnering with a seller who sells DVD players, TVs, or even MP3 players. Here are some examples of a partnership offer Read more . . . Auction Advertising: Taking a Closer Look by Genia V. Stevens If you sell on eBay or any other online auction site, you're probably always open for suggestions about how to make your product visible to potential buyers. If you sell TVs, you're probably one of thousands of sellers who do. So what could make you different from other sellers? Consistent marketing. Many sellers who buy advertising don't really understand how important consistency is to their marketing strategy. Marketing is an investment; It's an investment into the success of your business. Read more . . . Marketing Your About Me Page by Genia V. Stevens Many online auction houses offer their sellers a mini-website which can be used to introduce their products and services to potential buyers. This mini-website is called the About Me page on most online auction sites. Productive use of this mini-website could mean generous revenue for the smart auction seller. Auction sellers who wish to use their About Me page as part of their marketing strategy, should ensure the following criteria are met Read more . . . Free Online Auction Tools by Genia V. Stevens Managing an online auction business is no simple task. Serious sellers may find that the cost of running an online auction business exceeds their expectations. Free auction tools help sellers minimize expenses, maximize profit, and manage the selling process. Read more . . . Auction Business Management Made Almost Easy by Genia V. Stevens You may have searched the internet for auction resources only to find yourself experiencing information-overload -- one website after another claiming to provide the absolute best information you'll ever need to run your online auction business. Every company claims superiority; but, how do you pick the right one for you? Read more . . . The www and Your Google Pagerank by Genia V. Stevens I sold a text link to one of my advertising clients on TheAuctionBoard's main page. My auction ad stated that my website's main page had a Google pagerank (PR) of 6. After the client was informed that his link had been placed, he visited my website to verify the placement, and responded with this: When looking at your website it is showing me a 0 PR. Can you explain this or clarify the error? Read more . . . |