anyone tried ebid?

savingscruncher

terra_ferma wrote: »

I'm glad to see a sensible discussion (instead of the attacks getting more and more personal in some cases)

I agree with what you say about the risks involved with having ebay as your only platform, which is the position I'm in at the moment, but only temporarely.
Until not very long ago I would have agreed with people who like CQ believe that if you follow the rules you will stay out of trouble, I applied that to the letter, ticked all the boxes and gone the extra mile, but I recently found myself in hot waters. You can never feel safe on ebay.

I would be the first to jump on any opportunity that met my business needs, my main commodity is time, as a sole trader how I prioritise my time makes the difference between making a profit or not, and sometimes time is a priority over money, including fees paid in order to sell my items.
Right now the time spent on selling on ebid would not give me the return I need, and I believe that when the time comes that they attract more buyers they'll probably have to put up fees as well.
But even just peace of mind would be worth paying for, as ebay is so unpredictable, changes happen very quickly, and retrospectively (like recently introducing global DSR), so really you can never be safe on ebay..
There are a couple of changes that could happen very quickly and kill my business.
So I'll keep an eye on ebid and if things change I may join the many people posting here.

Agree with many of your comments on the state of eBay, and that is why diversification is so important. Am also pleased that after such a heated "debate" that you still seem open to the possibility of exploring eBid as an option. From my personal experiences on eBid I have found it's users friendly, helpful, and supportive. Clearing the air via debate is not always a bad thing.

savingscruncher

stanleymog wrote: »

One thing I have noticed about a good majority of sellers who sell on eBay and eBid, they list the item on eBid for a higher price than they do on eBay!

Please can someone explain the logic as costs are lower on eBid?

Then the same sellers moan they are getting no sales on eBid!

ebid and eBay are totally different venues requiring different strategies to sell best.

On eBid there is not as much traffic, so if a seller list with a low starting bid, there is a great chance that they will receive only 1 bid. Therefore, in order to protect their profit margin, they should start the bid at a level they would feel comfortable accepting if they only received 1 bid; or sell via BIN.

On eBay there is high traffic and more buyers, thus one can list at a low starting bid, and reasonably expect multiple bids. This of course is not guaranteed, depends on demand for what is being sold.

Crowqueen

savingscruncher wrote: »

Agree with many of your comments on the state of eBay, and that is why diversification is so important. Am also pleased that after such a heated "debate" that you still seem open to the possibility of exploring eBid as an option. From my personal experiences on eBid I have found it's users friendly, helpful, and supportive. Clearing the air via debate is not always a bad thing.

As long as you don't break any rules, the eBay forums are just as helpful.

savingscruncher

Crowqueen wrote: »

As long as you don't break any rules, the eBay forums are just as helpful.

A rather radical concept for me. Have never visited their forums. No explanation available.

savingscruncher

littleme1969 wrote: »

I totally agree, it baffles me why they would do this. The reason for my success there is I passed all my listings savings onto customers and also offered them loyalty incentives off either free postage or a free set of moulds for every 3 sets purchased etc. I moved my business over slowly sending flyers with all offers for Ebid with every Feepay sale. Buyers are not stupid, for the sake of 5 mins and opening a new account they where more than happy to follow me and save in the process. You have to work at it to get the customers to follow you, yes its hard work to start off with but you wind in the end with only 2% FVF I cant begin to tell you how much I have saved in 5 years on Ebid in FVF. I could now as the shop is successful swap my listings so I dont pay any fees as all my photos are in my HTML, but I wont do that as I am great full for Ebid and am more than happy to continue paying my fees as an investment for the future.
As said above Ebid is not Feepay and when joining you have to keep that in mind and alter your strategy if you want to succeed.

I can also see your model as a viable strategy to sell on eBid! It is working for you so it is viable. I have heard other sellers on eBid who have other selling models that are successful. Just makes sense to determine a strategy that works and that matches the individual seller's goals. I'm in the process of shaping my own strategies. Close observation of other sellers and also buyers in terms of what works or doesn't is part of that process. Thank you for sharing. I think all would be interested in finding ways to increase their sales and reduce their cost. :T

martinsgiftstogo

mrsk wrote: »

I do not believe that eBay got that way by being the best but by being the first.

Coca Cola was made in 1886 and Pepsi 1903, So Coca Cola was made 17 years earlier.

I don't think Pepsi does too badly as a 'second in' business.

Probably a poor analogy...but the first example I thought of without any chocolate to hand to wake me up:rotfl: