eauctionmgnt
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posted on September 12, 2006 11:43:26 AM new
Well... I just couldn't take the latest eBay store fee hikes... so I've gone out on a limb and set up my own website. I'm still selling my photography accessory line on eBay... but I've moved all my vintage advertisement listings to my new site. If you're interested in seeing my site, it's available at:
http://www.vintagepaperads.com
I'd really be interested in any comments/suggestions that any of you have on my site. All-in-all, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out... but I'm always open to ideas that can improve it!
I've got to say that the entire process of setting up my own site wasn't too bad. I was able to move over 4000+ items over to the site in less than a month. Plus, loading new items now takes about 1/5 or less of the time it took me to list to eBay. I've already had a few sales, and am actively working on advertising the site. (I've been using Google's AdWords campaign) Sales are a little slow to start with... but I'm fairly confident that they'll pick up as more and more search engines start picking up my site. The total costs (Website hosting, advertising, credit card processing) are about 1/3 of what it would cost me on eBay... plus... I can add additional inventory at NO additional cost! It's also great not to have to worry about final value fees, feedback, and the other eBay issues.
Anyhow... I'd really like to hear your comments on my site... and I'd be interested to hear from any one else who has left eBay to create their own sites! Thanks!
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on September 12, 2006 11:46:01 AM new
Looks like my title was clipped! It should have read...
I've Closed my Ebay Store & Created My Own Website
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NEGLUS
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posted on September 12, 2006 12:23:57 PM new
WoW! Looks great! Let us know how it works - I am not quite ready to take that step (can't afford the "downtime" to set it up). Good luck!
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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pixiamom
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posted on September 12, 2006 12:27:00 PM new
I just get a blank page?
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on September 12, 2006 12:28:23 PM new
I'd really be interested in any comments/suggestions that any of you have on my site.
Sigh.
What is the purpose of this web site? Is it to sell paper ads? Because if so, it's doing a crappy job.
You only have one paper ad on your home page and that one doesn't even have a price! And it's a terrible picture.
I'm sorry but I just get so frustrated when people set out to sell stuff on their web page and get laid low by the prettiness factor.
Your type face is way too large. Your banner is also way too large and consumes the prime selling space at the top 1/2 of your home page. That is all that many people are ever going to see. It's your best chance to make money. Don't bore them with talky-talk; if you have some fantastic ads, SHOW THEM! Hook them. Draw them in. Your best images should be on your home page.
Your shipping policy does not need to be on your home page. Sell 'em something first, worry about shipping later.
You don't have to welcome them, much less welcome them twice. They can see you have categories down the left side; that's where everyone puts them. Yours are too big, just like everything else.
Look, this is a visual medium. Someone goes to your site, almost all they see is text. Are you selling words? Or ads?
A better format:
http://www.allposters.com
fLufF
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mikes4x4andtruckrepair
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posted on September 12, 2006 12:35:27 PM new
Lookin good from here. Simple, to the point and easy to navigate. Just what a website should be. No epileptic seizure causing flashy junk that reach's out and smack's you in the face.
 1 out of 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Take a look at your 3 closest friends. If they seem alright, you're the one! - Kyle Stubbins, CMS
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on September 12, 2006 12:35:41 PM new
pixiamom,
What browser / version are you using to try to access the site? I'm just curious... 'cause everything I've tried works fine. If you're having a problem viewing the site... I'd like to try to figure out why. Thanks for any info you can provide!
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on September 12, 2006 12:52:04 PM new
Fluffy,
I appreciate your comments. I'll admit that figuring out what content to put in the center section has been one of the most difficult things for me to figure out. I certainly am not opposed to making changes to it.
Originally, all I had was the first paragraph. It didn't fill up all the "white space", so I thought it would look better with some more content. That is why I added the "about our ads" and the "Our Shipping methods" sections.
I hadn't noticed that the featured product wasn't showing a price. I'll look into that and see if I can get that field to show. I disagree with your opinion on my pictures. They don't look like "new" product shots... nor should they. I am trying to SHOW all the defects, not hide them. It's different selling used items than selling new ones. Customers are very concerned about condition.
The things I don't like about the site you referenced are:
1) I hate frames... they are annoying to use
2) They're selling NEW items... which means they can use pictures for their categories for items that they know they'll have in stock for awhile. Mine are all vintage items, that I only have one or two of in stock. Setting up pictures like this could end up being frustrating... since my category picture could end up getting sold. Not sure if I can set up my webstore to automatically pick one from one of the categories.. If so, that may be a way to go
3) I think they're throwing out too much stuff there on the homepage. It looks cluttered. I prefer a simple approach.
I agree with your comment font size, (for the center section) but feel that the categories on the left should remain large.
Still... thank you very much for taking the time to make your comments. I will definitely take them all into consideration as I contemplate my next batch of changes.
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irked
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posted on September 12, 2006 12:54:51 PM new
MPO my personal opinion is that your website is just great, you did a great job and I am impressed. Very nice straight forward and very readable.... Good luck hope you do well.
Edited to ask is this your personal site or is it through the value web thing and they provide checkout etc for your store ? What I mean does this site have stores and you are just one of them cost etc?
**************
The harder I try the BEHINDER I get.
[ edited by irked on Sep 12, 2006 12:58 PM ]
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amber
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posted on September 12, 2006 01:11:54 PM new
The only problem I have is when I click on the auction, the description is there for a few seconds, and then disappears, and I want to read it.
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on September 12, 2006 01:37:41 PM new
irked,
Thank you! I purchased my web hosting from ValueWeb, which came with the eCommerce shopping cart software. The shopping cart is actually powered by ProStores technology (an eBay company)... but the cost for Valueweb is WAY less than ProStores (go figure) and doesn't charge final value fees like ProStores does. The big advantage, was that I was able to batch import all my eBay listings. (of course, then I had to export them, do a couple of huge GREP find/replaces to get rid of tons of junk, and then imported them again). Still... it did let me get over 4000 items into my store within about a month's time frame.
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hwahwa
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posted on September 12, 2006 01:39:58 PM new
Fluffy choice is for new posters and yours is for vintage.
I would move CLearance lots to the bottom.
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on September 12, 2006 01:40:19 PM new
Amber,
hmmm... what browser/version are you using? The description should stay with the picture when you click on it. The picture should be on the left... and then on the right should be: The title, SKU, description, price, and an add to cart button. Maybe the picture is too large for your window and you might need to scroll to the right. If that's the case... maybe I need smaller pictures (although, I'd rather not since most people like to see the detail of the ad). Let me know what you find out... 'cause, again, if there's a problem I'd like to fix it! Thanks!
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on September 12, 2006 01:43:06 PM new
Fluffy,
I got rid of the "second" welcome and added the price for the featured product. Thanks for pointing those out to me!
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cblev65252
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posted on September 12, 2006 02:33:13 PM new
Congratulations! It takes a lot to move away from the supposed security of eBay and go out on your own. I wish you all the best!!
Cheryl
http://www.kcskorner.com
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amber
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posted on September 12, 2006 02:48:07 PM new
I am using Internet Explorer. The description is there for a few seconds, then the picture comes up and fill the page. I'll try again and see what happens.
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amber
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posted on September 12, 2006 02:49:58 PM new
Okay, I found I had to scroll because it more than fills the page. I don't have my viewing font set very high, so I am wondering if it's too big to get it on the page easily.
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on September 12, 2006 04:59:23 PM new
hwahwa,
Thanks for your comments. I'm just curious... any particular reason why you'd like to see the "Featured Category" section underneath the "Featured Product" section?
Amber,
Thanks for checking on that for me. I'll look into either making the pictures smaller... or maybe better yet would be to move the picture to the right of the description (rather than to the left). Do you think that would be better?
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bjboswell
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posted on September 12, 2006 05:41:47 PM new
"Congratulations! It takes a lot to move away from the supposed security of eBay and go out on your own. I wish you all the best!!"
DITTO I agree it does take COURAGE and I'm impressed. Also to open yourself up to the whole group here speaks volumes about your ability to take ideas and work with or reject them. That says a lot about you... I'm happy for you... let us know how it goes. As my Dad always says "Talk is cheap, it takes money to buy beer"! You GO!!!
[ edited by bjboswell on Sep 16, 2006 07:02 AM ]
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tonimar1
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posted on September 12, 2006 06:48:13 PM new
Hi eauctionmgnt
I like your site very much, I am not an expert on site design but I am a full time shopper on web sites and from a shoppers point of view I find it to be GREAT!
If I was a collector of what your offering It would be very easy for me to find what I'm looking for.
Again I will say YOU did a GREAT Job!
toni
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irked
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posted on September 12, 2006 06:48:24 PM new
BJ U mean bear as in animal or beer as in yeah haw bottoms up. LOL
I congrats all you who have a website to sell your wares. Looks and sounds like mega work and hours of fixins. Someday when I don't have to work out of home to get by I may have to check into it.
**************
The harder I try the BEHINDER I get.
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cblev65252
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posted on September 12, 2006 07:10:02 PM new
irked - You may want to check out eCrater. It's a snap to set up and it's free. They submit to froogle as well. I love the look of the stores you can create there.
Cheryl
http://www.kcskorner.com
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irked
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posted on September 12, 2006 07:25:49 PM new
Thanks Cheryl. Is that where you set up kcskorner the site of yours? Your site is nice too. I LOVE FREE so will check it out.
**************
The harder I try the BEHINDER I get.
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jackswebb
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posted on September 12, 2006 09:31:05 PM new
Nothing is FREE,, it's just built into the total......
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irked
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posted on September 13, 2006 12:52:35 AM new
Well I checked it out and thought nothing like the present so signed up and added a few things see how it goes. I think my url is below if I did it right. LOL
Hum can I put that link on ebay on ME page or not?
**************
My new online store.
http://smartbuy.ecrater.com/
[ edited by irked on Sep 13, 2006 12:53 AM ]
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ladyjewels2000
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posted on September 13, 2006 04:07:55 AM new
eauctionmgnt - Congratulations - it looks great. I don't, however, think a few more photos on the home page would hurt - they don't even have to be something you have in stock for that matter.
Cheryl - I'm going to check out that site as well - your site looks great and ecraters looks like it would be a snap. Thanks
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cblev65252
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posted on September 13, 2006 04:32:44 AM new
jack - It really is free. You pay nothing to sign up, nothing to list and nothing if someone buys. I've already had sales there and no fees!
Irked - If you get your own domain name and hosting (at GoDaddy I pay $3.99/mo and you can also host your own eBay photos there as well), you can redirect it to go to your ecrater site. So, www.irkedstore.com would go to your ecrater site like www.kcskorner.com goes to www.kcskorner.ecrater.com. It just shortens it up a bit. I think it's worth the $3.99/mo. If you do that and need the redirect html for your page, let me know. You can't do it from within GoDaddy. It screws everything up. I know, I tried and had to have GoDaddy reset everything.
Cheryl
http://www.kcskorner.com
[ edited by cblev65252 on Sep 13, 2006 04:37 AM ]
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NEGLUS
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posted on September 13, 2006 04:54:42 AM new
eCrater looks like an interesting site. The "about us" has a link to avery positive broadcast on eauctionair from 2004. Isn't that PandorasBox's "station" (aka Michael)?
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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cblev65252
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posted on September 13, 2006 05:08:52 AM new
Neglus - I think so. I never really checked that out. I'm off to check it though. eCrater is growing at a steady rate. You can check that at http://www.powersellersunite.com where they have counts. The eBay counts have been down for the past week or so.
Edited to add: I listened to the broadcast. Interesting. I really think this site has the potential to go someplace especially in light of the fact that it looks as though eBay would like to get rid of stores altogether.
Cheryl
http://www.kcskorner.com
[ edited by cblev65252 on Sep 13, 2006 05:17 AM ]
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NEGLUS
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posted on September 13, 2006 05:21:57 AM new
Cheryl - I bought something through ecrater about a month ago when I first read about it - was a very smooth transaction and got an email from ecrater a little while afterwards asking for feedback.
I think if I were going to set up a web-store I'd invest my time there before WagglePop (not free and as far as I can tell - no advertising) The problem is, of course, the time. Ebay is still working for me and, this may be short sighted, as long as it does I can't see taking the time to set up another site with less traffic. I'd be interested to hear about sales - keep us updated.
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
[ edited by NEGLUS on Sep 13, 2006 05:22 AM ]
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