Overstock CEO says Auction sell-through rates have risen sharply

[mandy]

Folks,

As you know, historically our STR has been abysmally low. We charged so little for the auctions that we did not feel too badly about it. But we set about making some changes, and they seem to be working.

A few weeks ago we had our first day with sell-through-rates over 10.0%.

Then last week we had our first day with sell-through-rates over 20.0%.

Yesterday our sell-through-rate was 31.0%.

I believe (but want to be corrected if I am wrong) that this is now slighly above eBay's. That is, a third party reports eBay's closing rate as being about 40%, but their calculation seems to be more generous (in that a Buy-It-Now can get relisted up to three times, and the first two failures do not count against the STR score). Is this true? Does anyone have any knowledge you can share with me on this?

Now that we (collectively) have an auction site that is viable, and letting sellers get acceptable closing rates (at last), I hope you are spreading the word in the eBay buying community that there are good deals here, without the overwhelming competition (yet) from other bidders that eBay has. I think that is the right message to send the eBay buying community: when you bid on auctions at Overstock, all the best deals do not get bid away (or sniped) from you.

In any case, thank you for sticking with us until the fire began to burn.

Patrick

http://forums.auctions.overstock.com/vie...hp?t=16563

[amy]

A few weeks ago we had our first day with sell-through-rates over 10.0%.

Then last week we had our first day with sell-through-rates over 20.0%.

Yesterday our sell-through-rate was 31.0%.

How about producing a chart showing the weekly sell through rates over the past few months.

when you bid on auctions at Overstock, all the best deals do not get bid away (or sniped) from you.

He's definitely right about that one--only a handful of the 52,008 :blinkie: auctions we listed on Overstock received more than one bid.

[bargainbloodhound]

handful

handful = 3 or 4

52,008

Not a typo.

A few weeks ago we had our first day with sell-through-rates over 10.0%.

Which is why 95% of us left when you ended subscription plans.  The site's sell through rate over the past 2 years was only 2%-3% which isn't high enough to justify paying a high upfront listing fee.

[thentavius]

I hope you are spreading the word in the eBay buying community that there are good deals here

And he advocates spamming.

[mandy]

Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:02 pm    Post subject: Site Transformation 
Dear Sellers,

Over the past several weeks, I have read various message board postings regarding sales on Overstock.com Auctions since January, when many significant changes were implemented. I’m delighted to read that most of you who have stuck around are now reaping the benefits of these (once dreaded) changes.

The removal of O-Subscriptions has proven to be an effective solution to previous problems such as miniscule sell-through rates and artificially inflated starting prices. By eliminating the hundreds of thousands of unreasonably priced listings that only diluted the selection of quality items, Overstock.com Auctions has undergone a major transformation. We have been closely monitoring various performance metrics and are pleased to report that, for the past several weeks, our site-wide sell-through rate has consistently exceeded 25%. The site’s average sales price has increased approximately 20%, and the number of views per item has also jumped dramatically. We believe that these considerable improvements in sales, combined with the fact that our selling fees are 1/3 lower than our competitor’s, are quite attractive to the online auction community.

The site now offers a valuable platform for both your business and ours, while providing a high quality auction experience to bidders.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Cheers to all and have a wonderful weekend!
Meghan

thread on Overstock boards: http://forums.auctions.overstock.com/vie...hp?t=16754

[amy]

for the past several weeks, our site-wide sell-through rate has consistently exceeded 25%. The site’s average sales price has increased approximately 20%

That's a definite improvement.

[sneakymagenta]

As you know, historically our STR has been abysmally low.

No shit Sherlock. 

for the past several weeks, our site-wide sell-through rate has consistently exceeded 25%.

25% sell throughs are easy to achieve when there are only 100 listings