[quote author=bargainbloodhound link=topic=3775.msg39399#msg39399 date=1168026939]
Quote:For the majority of that time they've done it in the ways that all large companies are built, by offering a timely or unique product at a good value, but somewhere along the way the "good value" part got lost
1. The only problem with this reasoning is that for the BUYERS the "good value part" hasn't been lost on eBay and in fact the good values have been getting better with each year as average selling prices on the site fall and fall and fall and fall...
2. there is nothing unique about Wagglepop's product for BUYERS...it's a friggin' eBay general auction clone with a limited selection of goods for BUYERS. If you want to see a site that brings something unique to BUYERS (defined as something eBay doesn't offer that BUYERS will be willing to leave eBay for), go look at
www.etsy.com www.bidz.com or Amazon's new
www.endless.com . There really is no reason at this point for the average auction BUYER to move from eBay to another general auction site clone...BUYERS don't give a wombat poo poo about store fees or listing fees so there is nothing revolutionary to BUYERS about a site that offers a monthly subscription plan (which FYI Amazon Marketplace has offered sellers for 7 years) ...they don't care.
Ray (and almost every other small auction site owner over the years) forgot about providing a unique product for BUYERS during WP1 and he's forgotten this time too.
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THANK YOU BBH!
Not only is there nothing unique,
WP IS THE MOST BUYER UNFRIENDLY ON THE INTERNET! And one of the few that CHARGES SELLERS a flat fee for stores. This is not a coincidence.
I DESPARATELY tried to get "buyer value" point across when I first started at WP. Should anyone care to go back in July and read my posts on WP (assuming they are still there).
I was encouraging and wanted to help bring buyers to the site. HOW STUPID WAS I?
I tried to ask what WP could offer BUYERS than other auction sites could not. I did some comparison shopping and found IDENTICAL items on eBay selling for LESS than on WP. I suggested sellers get more competitive. I was met with all kinds of resistance and comments like "if we lower our prices, then buyers will EXPECT deals all the time," or "How can I make a profit?", "but we're not like eBay," or "but eBay sellers RIP OFF BUYERS with the shipping," when, in fact I cited differently with identical item comparison.
So, I suggested offering Red Carpet to ALL new buyers for a limited time to attract buyers on a volume discount basis. I was met with, "Oh, no, that's a program for our ELITE buyers. We want them to feel special," or Karen popping in and telling me I was all wet and needed to take a course in Econ 101 (yes, she actually said that). I offered suggestion after suggestion, but the cheerleaders would jump up and down, chanting the, "you must have faith that Karen knows what she's doing" mantra, "because she is so much wiser and experienced." "Just be patient, Rome wasn't built in a day" and all kinds of rah, rah from Karen about the single-fee system and put-down of my convoluted, regressive "eBay think", etc. BUYER'S DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT. All they want is EASY PURCHASE, GREAT SERVICE, GREAT PRODUCT AT A GREAT PRICE. When I said exactly that, I got myself red flagged, and every post thereafter was scrutinized for "compliance."
Fact is, WP WAS (is) HORRIBLE FOR BUYERS. My buyers HATED it. The Home Page SCREAMS SELLERS, SELLERS, SELLERS, we want you. The search sucks. Checkout sucks. No automatic email of sales, no combined invoice option, and buyers had to PLEDGE to pay an invoice through a PayPal account before they could bid or buy an item. For what? Some of these issues may have been addressed since then, but THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE FROM THE BEGINNING. Most of it was a function of Rscript already (or so I'm told). Sellers got on the boards complaining they couldn't get their buyers to sign up and would prefer to buy their items off of eBay. Most of those sellers are gone now. Buyers who asked questions were labeled "trouble makers" and "trolls."
This all goes to show where Ray's priorities lie.
Contrary to what Karen says, a seller flat-rate auction venue is, by its very nature, NOT a good thing for buyers. This is because the admistrators get their money from seller fees and NOT commissions on the sale. They have
ABSOLUTELY NO INCENTIVE to cater to buyers, make the site buyer friendly, or do anything to attract buyers in any way. The bulk of the $$$ comes from seller fees, so why should they care if an item sells. An item can sit and gather cobwebs in a seller's store from now until Kingdom Come and all is well and dandy with the folks running the venue because the seller pays his $$$$ every month anyway. Â
In this respect alone, as much as I hate eBay, it has better business sense to charge a small store fee and steeper commissions. I learned my lesson. From now on, any other venue I set up shop is either going to be FREE of store fees or FREE period. That way, I know the site HAS to work for ME, or it makes no $$$ from me. Â