Wagglepop 2: Deja Vu as Auction Site That Left Sellers Stranded Reopens

[amy]

The fact that his little tiny auction has drawn in so many stable quality sellers is something that very few (if any) other small auction site has achieved. .

I've yet to see a single PeSA member go anywhere near WP because they realize it's not a place to waste your time at unless you list solely as a hobby and don't need the money to pay your bills..  They are however heavily represented at Overstock, Amazon, and uBid where there are buyers.

A "warm fuzzy" is hard to prove with numbers, and right now, people are getting that warm fuzzy at wp.

The history of the OAI has shown that "warm fuzzies" on the boards don't reflect reality in most cases.  People on the boards (but not the average auction seller) had warm fuzzies about vaporware Gegy while ignoring Yahoo which had (and continues to have) buyers--and the list of "warm fuzzies" felt on the boards which were in reality actually "cold lumps of sh.it"  goes on...

[Anita]

I don't care what site sellers and buyers end up on... I just hope they LEAVE eBay.

[stardust]

232/13/7356 

[amy]

[quote author=Anita link=topic=3775.msg18296#msg18296 date=1153522182]
I don't care what site sellers and buyers end up on... I just hope they LEAVE eBay.
[/quote]

I hope they leave eBay too which is why I hate sites like Wagglepop.

I care which sites sellers end up on because over the years crap sites without the necessary financing or infrastructure like Wagglepop have done more to keep sellers at eBay than any spin eBay's cheerleaders could ever come up with.  Every time there's a site like Gegy or WP the result is the same--sellers quickly discover there are no buyers,  and head back to eBay permanently because they're convinced no place but eBay has sales.

If sellers would ignore the forum spamming boinktards like Ray and instead go where there actually are buyers they could leave eBay permanently.

[Anita]

[quote author=amy link=topic=3775.msg18302#msg18302 date=1153524633]
[quote author=Anita link=topic=3775.msg18296#msg18296 date=1153522182]
I don't care what site sellers and buyers end up on... I just hope they LEAVE eBay.
[/quote]

I hope they leave eBay too which is why I hate sites like Wagglepop.

I care which sites sellers end up on because over the years crap sites without the necessary financing or infrastructure like Wagglepop have done more to keep sellers at eBay than any spin eBay's cheerleaders could ever come up with.  Every time there's a site like Gegy or WP the result is the same--sellers quickly discover there are no buyers,  and head back to eBay permanently because they're convinced no place but eBay has sales.

If sellers would ignore the forum spamming boinktards like Ray and instead go where there actually are buyers they could leave eBay permanently.
[/quote]

Good point.  I think I got it now. 

[vitalfinds]

[quote author=amy link=topic=3775.msg18302#msg18302 date=1153524633]
If sellers would ignore the forum spamming boinktards like Ray and instead go where there actually are buyers they could leave eBay permanently.
[/quote]

I guess I'm going on gut instinct now, and it would be real easy to be wrong about this one, but I just think that although it's been hard so far to break people away from ebay, in reality, it shouldn't really take a whole lot.  Online users are a pretty flexible bunch - and if a tidal wave begins, then there's a good chance that an investor or two may want to get involved with the momentum.

[stardust]

There was some guy who came in on FAS after WP had exploded.  He was anxiously searching for a reason WHY the stampede happened...what circumstances would lead folks to do it again...did anyone think he could resurrect WP...what did Ray have that other folks don't...how could he instigate something like this in the future and become the next pied piper?  Does anyone remember? 

Well, as ebay readily knows, they can do what they want, cuz no one is ever ready.  Too bad....

[sneakymagenta]

Tidal wave my ass. Reread the tale of how small the fee protests in '05 and '06, and the move of sellers to WP1 and WP2 have been compared to past seller protests.

[quote author=thentavius link=topic=3775.msg14507#msg14507 date=1148077086]

The protests over eBay's introduction of checkout in 2001 were far larger and resulted in far more listings being moved to other OAI sites like Bidville, BidBay,ePier, Carnaby,etc.

Ditto for the outcry over the combination of eBay's site problems and Pierre Omidyar's infamous "it's only $1 dollar" introduction of reserve fees in 1999 and the stampede to Gold's Auctions, and other OAI sites.

Ditto for the outrage over eBay's plans to introduce banner ads in 2000 that resulted in the Million Auction March, and the estimated moving of 500K-1 million listings from eBay to other OAI sites like Yahoo...that's 500K-1 million listings moved from eBay compared to WP's 11K.

Yep. Yep. And Yep.
Far bigger than the WagglePop thing. All three of them.

I remember participating in the checkout rollout "boycott" and the million auction march.

The WagglePop thing was not Ray. The stir, energy, and promotion came from THE PEOPLE; the mini "exodus", and their reaction to EBAY. The fee raise triggered it. The people who were finally looking elsewhere are the ones who started the avalanche. It may as well have been Granny with Granny's Auction Site standing in the path of the avalanche, as it came rolling down with lots of bandwagons attached. It would have had the same affect. Whomever was standing there, almost ready (but new), got nailed. Rather like a rebound relationship after the breakup; especially since many of the posters were emotional in such a way that they seemed like jilted lovers, or recent divorcees.

I'm sure a ton of the other little auction sites wish they had been the new guy with the bus when everyone needed a ride--but it was important that the site was new, untried, and essentially a greener-pasture-promised-land-neighbor's-yard. The older sites meant nothing, because they had not already performed in a magical way to the avalanche.

The whole thing was a microcosm of human interaction, based on a handful of message boards. It was fascinating from a psychological perspective, but no different from any bandwagon, in any type of industry or social situation.

To those watching it unfold, it seemed like it was rocking the world. All bandwagons seem that way, anyway, from the inside.

I say "microcosm" because a "macro" would have actually affected everyone. I'd say a good portion of people have never heard of WP; especially the many sellers who don't even use message boards. I'm even seeing the "what the heck was wagglepop?" here from a newer seller. No surprise to me.

Gegy did the same thing, but many sellers had never even heard of them--and at the time, Gegy and Gold Auctions seemed like they were rocking the world. It's a cycle that repeats itslef; whether it's about government, religion, business, or politics--or whether it happens in the ranks of Wal-mart employees, on school boards, or at the bus stop.
[/quote]

[vitalfinds]

I agree with the above, but a bandwagon of people going somewhere other than ebay is a good thing, right?  Maybe they shouldn't be heading toward wp, but sooner or later, hopefully they'll be a few sites (whoever they are) that will begin to take ebay down a notch or two, and that will only be a result of a bandwagon going somewhere.

[Anita]

I wish Amazon would do SOMETHING to let people know auctions exist. 
Marketplace is great... but auctions are invisible.