HiBidder Database Implodes, 95% of Listings Lost

[amy]

A good percentage are high-end Italian, French and American designer items. Almost everything is totally unique and I have tons - probably about 40,000 items, as it came from a variety of retail outlets throughout the southeast. I'm not trying to promote my store here, just get some opinions as to where such an inventory might fit.

With your merchandise you could try putting some of your items on Overstock but look over their apparel categories first.  You have new and designer which are 2 of the things that sell on O. You'd definitely do better than at WP. 

Their subscription plans range from $6.95-$79.95 monthly +5% FVF.  We're on the $39.95 plan which is 3,000 concurrent listings (which equals 30,000 monthly listings if you run 3-day auctions).

One warning about O.  Most of the sellers are eBay refugees but very few of the buyers are eBay buyers.  Many of them are 1st time online auction buyers and many are clueless about PayPal.  Sellers who don't have a merchant account and only offer PayPal tend to have a higher NPB rate.

I get the feeling that Overstock would work best if someone had 10 or 20 pairs of identical jeans in different sizes.

Auctions work with one of a kind.

Set up a website and use it as your core. Let all of the auction or mall sites serve as satellites that attract new customers to the core.

The best advice.

[bargainbloodhound]

I believe this is the appropriate place for this welcome for one of the HiBidder moderators :

  angelsolutions.

I know we met on OTWA last year when you were defending the rights of spammers to relentlessly spam boards.  As I recall you sent a couple of your PSU spammer buddies from an auction site called "theclub" to OTWA and then you went into a rant against OTWA members and OTWA's owner ("Ignoring my PM Jim?")  because the spammers had been called spammers by OTWA members.

Welcome, 

[cranky_hippie]

As I recall you sent a couple of your PSU spammer buddies from an auction site called "theclub" to OTWA and then you went into a rant against OTWA members and OTWA's owner ("Ignoring my PM Jim?")  because the spammers had been called spammers by OTWA members.

  angelsolutions.

You'll find that quite a few of us also belong to OTWA and, yes, we tend to have the same attitude here toward spammers.  :

[thentavius]

As I recall you sent a couple of your PSU spammer buddies from an auction site called "theclub" to OTWA and then you went into a rant against OTWA members and OTWA's owner ("Ignoring my PM Jim?")  because the spammers had been called spammers by OTWA members.

Holy cow crap. I remember that. LMAO. That was too funny!

Is theclub still around, even?

[bargainbloodhound]

[quote author=thentavius link=topic=5129.msg28575#msg28575 date=1161491709]

As I recall you sent a couple of your PSU spammer buddies from an auction site called "theclub" to OTWA and then you went into a rant against OTWA members and OTWA's owner ("Ignoring my PM Jim?")  because the spammers had been called spammers by OTWA members.

Holy cow crap. I remember that. LMAO. That was too funny!

Is theclub still around, even?
[/quote]

The phone call that TR received from the strip mall lawyer's office was amusing. 

I think theclub shut down earlier this year.

[thentavius]

The phone call that TR received from the strip mall lawyer's office was amusing

;D ;D ;D

OMG! I had forgotten about that. That was CLASSIC.

[BellisimaJ.]

[xppman]

Had to be there Bell.
A lot of us had done all our rounds at the forums while you were still in diapers.

BTW need that thing changed? :blinkie: 

[Jen]

Oh yes, didn't she first say slander, then liable (should have been "libel").  I remember the whole situation bringing me some laughs at the time.  People take themselves way too seriously sometimes.

[xppman]

My two cents.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can say this.
Many of us had a high degree of passion as we saw the
OAI fragment at the hands of eBay
and have witnessed first hand how it has negatively
impacted thousands upon thousands of sellers over the last few years.

As many of us know this fragmenting opened up the flood gates
for many to start smaller auction type sites and specialty malls,
using off the shelve software and on the fly programming,
in a rush to try and do "something" about this.

During this period there were MANY who were in transition and many had
heated words back and forth over what direction to take
that may be regrettable words today. 
God knows I'm no stranger to being right in the mix over the years.  8)

IMO some did and or are trying to take advantage of the effected sellers
to turn a buck and some did and or are doing it because
they too have or had a genuine deep
passion for the industry and wanted to offer an alternative
for the negatively impacted sellers.

I'm not sure what category any of those who did or are doing this falls into,
other than the obvious one's like the waggleflop dude for just one example.

I do believe this:

The only TRUE way for anyone to be a truly independent online seller is to have
a STAND ALONE WEBSITE, but I also see advantages
to listing on smaller sites as long as those sites do NOT
have tyrannical anti competitive policies
(like feebay) and are actually running feeds to the major search engines.

The SEO from that alone can make listing on alternative sites advantageous to many.

With that said:

I see no reason to burn anyone and everyone at the stake
who try to offer an alternative online auction or mini mall type format.

I say good luck to anyone trying to re-invigorate a dying industry
that was a FAD to begin with, IMO...
Because they are going to need it.