posted on September 20, 2001 10:49:56 PM new
Like many small eBay sellers, I am disgusted with eBay's new scam, Auction for America. The reasons are many, and have been stated here, and on eBay's Community Forums. I will be listing some items on Yahoo! auctions in the next few days, a first for me, and I want to strongly encourage others to do so. As a seller who can not afford to pay shipping costs for items I'm willing to donate to A4A, I feel it will be relatively useless for me to list anything with eBay while it is going on.
I think all of us who are fed up with eBay's BS should list on Yahoo! while the Auction for America is going on. Perhaps this will send a message to the brass over at eBay. Even if Yahoo! Auctions has less traffic, that might be mitigated by the fact that non-A4A item bids seem to be drying up anyway. At least at Yahoo! the playing field may be more level. Their pricing certainly has eBay's beat, and sellers who can't afford to pay for shipping will not be forced to compete with those who can.
Instead of fuming over eBay's shameless tactics, let's try to put our energy into supporting a real alternative.
posted on September 20, 2001 11:11:07 PM new
I'm thinking of testing the waters there with some slow-moving items that may/may not go for opening bids. Would be the first listings for me since they started with the insertion fees.
posted on September 20, 2001 11:24:14 PM new
I'm thinking "What have I got to lose?"
At least if I post items on Yahoo! that don't sell, I won't be out nearly as much money as if I'd listed them on eBay. Better yet: if they DO sell, I won't be out nearly as much money as if I'd listed them on eBay!! Seems like a win-win proposition to me.
Dissatisfied eBay sellers could take a glum situation and use it to our advantage if we put our money where are mouths are...
posted on September 20, 2001 11:33:33 PM new
I've sold on Yahoo for one year now and I have never seen Yahoo so slow as the last 2 months. If it weren't for the free credits I received from Yahoo from late last year I'd never even think of wasting money on listing there at the current time. Good luck on your exodus to Yahoo.
( free credits were given at an exchange rate of $1 listing/featuring credits for even point of your feedback from eBay minus any negative feedback points on eBay ... example an 1,150 feedback rating on eBay with 50 negatives yielded $1,100 in Yahoo credits )
posted on September 20, 2001 11:40:13 PM new
bidsbids--
I'm interested in what you say about Yahoo! being slow for the last two months. Do you think it's more than the typical summer/vacation slowdown?
I've been trying to find recent stats on auction website traffic, but having no luck. The most recent I could find on AW was for November. Don't they track auction website traffic anymore, or did I just miss it?
I wonder if Yahoo!'s dropoff in traffic has been worse, percentage-wise, than eBays...
posted on September 21, 2001 02:57:59 AM new
I moved to Yahoo nearly a year ago, and have not regretted it. I was concerned when they started charging fees, but it accomplished exactly what they intended. The thousands of junk listings disappeared-admittedly, so did some really good sellers. But now my items are not lost between listings for 25 and 50 cent items. More exposure, more sales.
I quit completely in June for a rest, just started again. Sales have been good. In fact, the few things I listed on Ebay sold, if at all, for a price I could have gotten on Yahoo easily.
Last but not least, Yahoo! Paydirect is free, easy to use, and I've never had a problem with it.
posted on September 21, 2001 04:21:46 AM new
I would also like to see more sellers on Yahoo right now. Many categories are wide open due to lack of listings. I list selectively, but steadily, and I am happy with my results. Some items get as many hits as I see on ebay. I also have some regulars who would buy more, I believe, if I had more of what they are looking for [audiobooks].
posted on September 21, 2001 04:58:14 AM new
I am already on Yahoo. I sell on both places. The last 2 weeks I have done better on Yahoo then ebay.
I'm thinking of testing the waters there with some slow-moving items that may/may not go for opening bids. ""
Now that makes a lot of sense if you can't move them on ebay why try to move them on Yahoo. That is no test. A test is to put one of your average sellers or better moving sellers on Yahoo and see what happens.
You put the slow stuff on of course it is going to move slow. So many sellers do this them grip because it doesn't move fast or for enough. They kind of shot themselves in the foot because then they get discourage and go back to one place and I am one person who is glad to have several places to list.
I always sell on Yahoo and the last two weeks I was glad I didn't give up when during the summer it was slower. When Ebay was dead I was getting hits on Yahoo. The only thing I can guess is that people went to look at the News on Yahoo then cruised around a while and looked through the auctions.
I to dislike very much the way E-bay did the whole Auctions for America but have spent the last year weaning myself from them to otherplaces including my own wensite because I don't like the way ebay does things.
