Would like all "real world" opinions on online checkout systems.

soolin

social_entrepreneur wrote: »

Hi Soolin, my reply was to ArmitageShanks, he's going for the newbie wind-up. Anyway let me know what all your thoughts are on the various payment gateways, you included shanksy.
Night all.

Many of us on here have a lot of experience on ebay and like Armitage suggests in a lyrical way has seem hundreds of small auctions crash and burn. Your product to you is unique but to us it is the same as every other one we have ever seen launched.

What we are still trying to get at is why is yours different, if you can show it has a unique point to it, something that makes it stand out from all the other wannabes then it is sometimes easier to start making constructive comments.

I also don't understand what shanksy means, please treat me as a slightly eccentric aunt, or a school teacher when explaining things, I don't do modern slang I'm afraid.

Right back to payments, dave Brooker said why not let your sellers choose their own payment methods? That isn't a bad idea, some people don't like paypal so let them opt out (it will probably kill their sales but let them make that decision themselves), let them take bank transfers, cheques or whatever, if they have a merchant account then that should be Ok for cards as well.

The problem of course comes when you get a scam seller and people lose their money and buyers consider you responsible as owner of the site. legally, have you protected yourself fully against claims against you, what have your lawyers suggested is the extent of your liability have they checked your small print? You can say you are not responsible as much as you like but people will try and harrass you if they lose money on a deal, people even try and take on ebay for the same reason but they have tens of billions of pounds behind them to keep themselves aloof, you do not. Legally your contact details should be there on the site somewhere and you need full telephone contacts details somewhere , are you prepared for those angry calls?

Also, and I realise I am at an advantage here as I can see your auction but others here can't, you are dearer than say ebid, so why do you think you can suceed over a site with that many years of experience? have you checked out ebid , used it as a buyer and seller to get a feel for it? If not I would suggest you do so as that is your competition and you need to see how that works so you can adjust your model accordingly to improve the experience.

However my main question is still why is your site different or better than the others? Answer that and you get the basis of an advert.

social_entrepreneur

Just looked at ebid.ebid charge their customers for image uploads see here:http://uk.ebid.net/help_money.php
We do not.In answer to Dave Brookers question, sellers can choose their own payment methods.Sellers preferred payment methods, wasn't the original question put to the forum.We offer sellers value for money,there are no other fees for the store owner, only the £20 per month store fee, therefore, if you're listing and selling on a regular basis, and taking advantage of our free image uploads which showcase your items to their full, and using the free gallery and feature store that comes with the store option...it's a no brainer.

I too have lots of experience on ebay, been selling on there for years, and still have 100% feedback.
I also have 3 other websites which are page 1 Google websites.
The disclaimer and contact details will all go on the site, as explained in my P.M.
Our site offers brilliant ease of use, for seller and buyer alike, a simple click down system takes you to the item in the size you're looking for without having to check other pop-up boxes to arrive at your intended destination. Soolin, give the category section a try:Look for a shoe style in your size.Look for, let's say, a bra in your wife or partners size.The aforementioned is reciprocal, it's just as easy for the seller to list in the exact category, and size they wish to. Seller can also list in most categories, using the "choice of many sizes", we allow all store owners to link back to their own website, if they have one, on each and ever item listed.We believe this symbiotic relationship is necessary, as it promotes buyer and seller confidence, and confidence is us.
If you list an item for a, let's say, 14 day listing duration, the actual listing duration countdown does not start until a first bid is placed upon that item.Therefore, if you list an item at auction today, and a bid isn't placed on that item for a month, then your 14 day countdown would start in a months time when the first bid is placed.
Sellers can place their head on their pillow at night without worrying about large monthly fees.They know it cost them a fiver a week,(£20) every 30 days.In these difficult times, we give anyone with a good business idea, who has the commitment, to showcase there products and business, with link backs. We offer piece of mind and stability.

Brooker_Dave

social_entrepreneur wrote: »

Just looked at ebid.ebid charge their customers for image uploads see here:http://uk.ebid.net/help_money.php
We do not.In answer to Dave Brookers question, sellers can choose their own payment methods.Sellers preferred payment methods, wasn't the original question put to the forum.We offer sellers value for money,there are no other fees for the store owner, only the £20 per month store fee, therefore, if you're listing and selling on a regular basis, and taking advantage of our free image uploads which showcase your items to their full, and using the free gallery and feature store that comes with the store option...it's a no brainer.

The problems you will have are:

1 driving traffic to your website without massive advertising.

2 getting people to risk £20 a month on an site with few users and no track record.

3 getting people to part with £20 per month when for £10 per month toy can have your own web shop (http://www.uk2.net/ecommerce/) where you have total control.

Not trying to diss you, but I fear you'll have problems getting this off the ground.

soolin

I think you've read the Ebid site wrong, for a £49.99 one off life time fee you can upload photos for free have no reserve, no listing and no final value fee.

Even a free auction for a basic user can have a photo on the selling page for free. I also dislike the 'start at first bid' option, if I list on a Sunday noght at 8pm it is because I know it will finish at 9pm the following Sunday. The start at first bid is an ebid option that is necessary only because they have few sales.

Another point concerns search. If I am looking for a pair of ladies shoes in a size 6 then on ebay or ebid I can search 'all' size 5 ladies shoes I'm not sure how your search will differ.

I think you have more of an issue with ebid as a competitor that you realise. This, incidentally is where all the ebid users fall down in a dead faint as I am usually considered 'anti ebid'.

val4xx

I'm an ebid user and found this thread from a link on the ebid thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=483786.

There are dozens of alternative sites to ebay already, some more worthy than others. most are little more than pipe dreams. The only one having any real growth in the UK and abroad is ebid.net. I'm not usually on the same side of the fence as Soolin but on this occasion I am.
Social entrepreneur you say your charging your sellers a fiver a week? why would sellers pay you £5.00 a week when they can have lifetime membership of ebid for £49? . I notice you've incorrectly thought ebid charge users to upload photos? ( they don't) if you have been preparing your site for 18 months, shouldn't you have researched your biggest competitors more thoroughly by now?
I really don't see what 'social service' you will be providing as we already have alternatives to ebay and alternative payment options available to us. What's different about yours?

social_entrepreneur

Taken from ebids on site fees:
When listing auctions Seller and Seller+ account type holders can also add some extras to their auctions for a few pennies. Bold, Highlight, Extra Photos and Extra Category.

Stand by everything I've said in my last post.We offer better value.
I have done my homework, and have ignored ebid, just go to their site now and search for "cars for sale" now look at the number they have for sale.Like I've said, I ignore them.
Yes, Soolin is correct, the problem new auction sites have is "getting noticed", we've had over 250,000 site visits in 8 weeks to a site which is only online for testing.
The other problem I've noticed is, when entering a forum and chatting about an eBay alternative, one gets the feel that the forums have been compromised, very anti anything other than eBay. This site is called Money Saving Expert, and if that's the case surely all auction websites should be given equal rights,just look at the forum header to this section, rather than suffer the total posting negativity of ArmitageShanks, as I have.
By the way ArmitageShanks, For see, should be written Foresee, you know as in Foreskin. Looks like you're the one who need a few sixth form remedial lessons.
So why don't you all put my site up for review and let the forum members be the judge, after all it's about informing forum member what deals may be available, or is it, keep them all down, long live eBay.
Perhaps a bit too close to the bone for some, but it has to be said.A forum section for auctions sites should have a level playing field for all to be heard.

Frugaldom

As a casual observer and member of several auction / sales / exchange / giveaway sites besides eBay and eBid, I have to wonder at anyone trying to start an online auction site this late in the game and that person not know the pricing structures of their closest competition. Am I missing something here? People love freebies (like the free listing option and free T shirt when you buy a lifetime seller+ membership) and that's what makes eBid stand out from the rest. People love the opportunity of presenting their items to a massive customer base, that's what costs so much and what makes eBay as popular. Regardless of payment options and buyer protection, what is going to make your auction site tempting to visit and easily remembered? (I accept payments in whatever form they come, even if it's in alternative currency through a LETScheme )

PS: Good luck with your enterprise, I DID visit the site but it doesn't appear to be live yet and didn't have a category specific to what I wanted to search. Neither does eBid, for that matter :rolleyes: I obviously have strange hobbies.

soolin

One other public question (and you do have another pm) where are you planning to advertise and do you have an advertising budget?

Ideally you want buyers to be attracted not sellers, so set your adverts to target buyers only..once you have them I can promise you we sellers will follow. However at the moment you don't have anything that can't be got from another auction site and cheaper.

val4xx

social_entrepreneur wrote: »

Taken from ebids on site fees:
When listing auctions Seller and Seller+ account type holders can also add some extras to their auctions for a few pennies. Bold, Highlight, Extra Photos and Extra Category.

Stand by everything I've said in my last post.We offer better value.
I have done my homework, and have ignored ebid, just go to their site now and search for "cars for sale" now look at the number they have for sale.Like I've said, I ignore them.
Yes, Soolin is correct, the problem new auction sites have is "getting noticed", we've had over 250,000 site visits in 8 weeks to a site which is only online for testing.
The other problem I've noticed is, when entering a forum and chatting about an eBay alternative, one gets the feel that the forums have been compromised, very anti anything other than eBay. This site is called Money Saving Expert, and if that's the case surely all auction websites should be given equal rights,just look at the forum header to this section, rather than suffer the total posting negativity of ArmitageShanks, as I have.
By the way ArmitageShanks, For see, should be written Foresee, you know as in Foreskin. Looks like you're the one who need a few sixth form remedial lessons.
So why don't you all put my site up for review and let the forum members be the judge, after all it's about informing forum member what deals may be available, or is it, keep them all down, long live eBay.
Perhaps a bit too close to the bone for some, but it has to be said.A forum section for auctions sites should have a level playing field for all to be heard.

Read it again.. it's EXTRA photos, not photos: rolleyes: . plus users can add extra photos within the html of their listings for free anyway.

MSE is a consumer 'money saving' site, not a review site or a "promote your shop/auctions/whatever" site. If you're wanting reviews try somewhere like kelkoo. Once your site is up and running, maybe some users might post information about how they save money or find bargains using your site (or they may post the opposite) but at the moment it's not really relevant to MSE
With regard to the 'level playing field' issue. Although ebay dominate the topics here, there is discussion about other venues and there are many different views and experiences posted. I personally rarely use ebay, i do well on ebid and ok on amazon and stick with them.

social_entrepreneur

I stand by what I've said in my posts, its pretty obvious to me and anyone with an ounce of common sense that this section of the forum has been compromised by those who wish to keep certain better know auction sites to the fore, and very sadly others who offer far better value for money than: ebid, ebay or tazbar, out of the public view.
Money Saving Expert.I think not. Martin has taken his eye of the ball on this section, and should look more closely at how it's moderated and run.
There isn't a level playing field at all, just look at one of the posts made, has it happens, today "ebay free images" funny how that one got posted after I mentioned my site.
So sadly this is my last post on the forum.As I've said too many have too strong an interest in the well being other sites for my taste, and just too much eBay spin.
Proved my point when my challenge put to this forum, wasn't taken up. I rest my case.
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