eBay

Anonymous · ‎03-24-2016

Ebay you need to bring the auction back. i dont have to get into all the legist, becuz you know you bit the hand that fed you.

pierrelebel · ‎03-24-2016

Sellers can sell at auction whenever they want. It is your choice.

However, keep in mind that buyers largely prefer the buy-it-now format where they can buy immediately at fixed price. Over 85% of all listings on eBay are at fixed price because that is what sells and sellers control the selling price.

However, your choice. You can do as you wish.

realjazz-123 · ‎03-24-2016

Sellers can do as they wish, but notice that latest mega-PROMO does NOT include auction listings!!!

reallynicestamps · ‎03-24-2016

That's right.

It is a promotion meant to encourage sellers to change from selling in US dollars to selling in Canadian dollars.

Since currency will be the seller's choice until June, it makes no sense to extend it to short-term auction listings. The promotion is for listings that may still be open come June.

Seller's can list by auction if they wish both until that date (in either currency) and after that date (in loonies).

There may be a promotion of Canadian dollar auctions on dotCA in late May, or not.

realjazz-123 · ‎03-24-2016

Sorry, but I do not follow. I now list as auction in US currency. What if I agree to change to Can$ but still want auction. The PROMO does NOT offer auction listings, which even between now an June would be welcomed.

Forced currency change should not affect PROMO listing preference.

pierrelebel · ‎03-24-2016

You want auctions - that's OK. List as many auction listings as you wish.

However, eBay is not providing "free listings" promotions for auctions at this time.

realjazz-123 · ‎03-24-2016

Yes, and I would doubt that any new PROMOS will offer auction listings.

It is a clear sign that eBay will likely not be an AUCTION site in the near future. It will have morphed into only BUY IT NOW and while this listing style has become the preference for most sellers, I do not think it should be only those sellers who get free listings. Certain items (vintage OOAK) can generate strong auction interest to the benefit of seller and eBay. Soon these auctions will not be on eBay, even if a seller paid for the listing.

reallynicestamps · ‎03-25-2016

Maybe and maybe not.

But these promos have a business purpose.

At the moment eBay wants to encourage Canadian sellers to list in CDN loonies.

They are doing that by making it cheap to list long running Fixed Price listings in CDN for free.

Auctions are short term.

Some of my FP listings have been running for two or more years. ONe day, I foolishly believe, they will find a 'forever home'. Others sell within hours.

Fixed Price listings appeal to the impulse buyer. And to the 'phone' buyer.

There is a place for auctions, I run them myself from time to time, but mostly I regard them as a waste of money.

Better a FP listing at a nickel a month for six months than a free Auction that isn't seen in its 7 day run because the only potential buyer logs into eBay a day after it closes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7leQB_Oe_k

hlmacdon · ‎03-25-2016

@realjazz-123 wrote:
Yes, and I would doubt that any new PROMOS will offer auction listings.

It is a clear sign that eBay will likely not be an AUCTION site in the near future. It will have morphed into only BUY IT NOW and while this listing style has become the preference for most sellers, I do not think it should be only those sellers who get free listings. Certain items (vintage OOAK) can generate strong auction interest to the benefit of seller and eBay. Soon these auctions will not be on eBay, even if a seller paid for the listing.

The current eBamazonification of the ebay site structure certainly hints far less emphasis on auctions, but I can't see them abandoning the format entirely. It is still a double digit contributor to revenue and you don't give up revenue like that. The current promos are more to assist sellers with larger inventory listings on ebay to transition over to CAD or USD as appropriate. I'm sure auctions will get some love later in the summer once things settle down.

reallynicestamps · ‎03-25-2016

EBay started as an auction site, and while auctions are much less popular than they once were, it is auctions that make it different.

Amazon, Bonanza, etsy-- they are all fixed price sites. And with Amazon the seller is competing against the site itself.

I was wondering actually if there are any generalist online auction sites.

I know of a few auction houses (our own included) which take online bids, including live online bidding. And a few 'bid board' type auctions: an online form of the older 'mail auction' or 'sealed bid' auction.

There was something called eBid being advertised a couple of years ago on TV, but it sounded kinda scammy. Any sites doing what eBay does? Or what it used to do?

hlmacdon · ‎03-25-2016

@reallynicestamps wrote:
EBay started as an auction site, and while auctions are much less popular than they once were, it is auctions that make it different.
Amazon, Bonanza, etsy-- they are all fixed price sites. And with Amazon the seller is competing against the site itself.

I was wondering actually if there are any generalist online auction sites.
I know of a few auction houses (our own included) which take online bids, including live online bidding. And a few 'bid board' type auctions: an online form of the older 'mail auction' or 'sealed bid' auction.

There was something called eBid being advertised a couple of years ago on TV, but it sounded kinda scammy. Any sites doing what eBay does? Or what it used to do?

Many auction sellers have opted to go for social media pages focused on their niche or geographical area, or local bidding sites specific to cities. I know quite a few people that do well through that format, but it does cater less towards niches and more towards household items or more mainstream products. You are absolutely right that ebay needs to do something to better drive auctions given it is a differentiator. Right now they just get tossed in with other listings and lost in the mix. Great for me as a sniping bidder, not so much the sellers.

bozonet · ‎03-26-2016

I generally don't look very much at BIN/fixed price items unless I'm looking at new listings. In my category of interest, if a BIN is listed for more than about 5 minutes, it likely isn't worth buying. If it's a good deal it will be gone in minutes. At least with auctions I have a chance to decide if I want to bid some crazy amount and try to win it.

hlmacdon · ‎03-26-2016

@bozonet wrote:
I generally don't look very much at BIN/fixed price items unless I'm looking at new listings. In my category of interest, if a BIN is listed for more than about 5 minutes, it likely isn't worth buying. If it's a good deal it will be gone in minutes. At least with auctions I have a chance to decide if I want to bid some crazy amount and try to win it.

It sounds like in your situation you would benefit from setting up RSS feeds of customized searches with an external program. There are quite a few RSS readers out there and you can set your refresh times pretty aggressively. When I'm in a heavy buying mode I'll run through a long list of searches and generally catch most good BIN deals very shortly after listing.