Where are the bids?

[Chipsquad]

I think the bids should be shown. By not showing them are we telling those looking at the site for the first time actually have no people bidding on stuff. If items do receive bids then they are also shown this also tells those looking in for the first time that this site has got buyers.

By going down the route of just showing BIN ( Buy It Now ) does that not make the site look more like a shopping mall rather than an auction site.?

Now I do not want anyone to take this the wrong way, I like to play devils advocate so here goes.

We keep reading that E-Bid is growing fast, sales are going up, if that really is the case then why remove the bidding coloum unless those statements are incorrect. If I was looking at the site for the first time and read everything that is being said then I would expect to see a bidding coloum wether there are bids in them or not. Almost every " Auction " site would have something along those lines.

To put it a better way would be to say " I have a pool full of fish so I keep telling people, I charge each person to fish in that pool for a period of time. At the end of the day no one catches anything are they right in assuming there really are no fish in there.

But let's say one person catches something at least this puts the minds of everyone else at ease, at least they now know there are fish in the pool.

I know it's a bad example but even so you should get my drift.

So show the bidding coloum, it is far better for those looking from the outside in and it's help them make up there mind.

This devil is going to stock up the fire.

Be lucky

[MagnetsAndHangers]

I think the bids should be shown. By not showing them are we telling those looking at the site for the first time actually have no people bidding on stuff. If items do receive bids then they are also shown this also tells those looking in for the first time that this site has got buyers.

IF items do receive bids - that is the question.

OK - lets say there are 1 million items on ebid in auction format.

500 have bids on them.

That leaves 999,500 items without bids - page after page after page of items with no bids.

That would do the site no good whatsoever.

Just because certain things work well on some sites, it doesnt mean the same thing will work on them all.

As far as I am concerned, the only good thing that could come from having a bid column, and IF it attracted more buyers/bidders, then it could just clear out a load of the dump and run sellers. Those that have had items listed in auction format for the past 12 months, and are no longer available.

[FBNeNotes]

the Name of this site is eBid.... not eStore(yet).

[Chipsquad]

IF items do receive bids - that is the question.

OK - lets say there are 1 million items on ebid in auction format.

500 have bids on them.

That leaves 999,500 items without bids - page after page after page of items with no bids.

That would do the site no good whatsoever.

Just because certain things work well on some sites, it doesnt mean the same thing will work on them all.

As far as I am concerned, the only good thing that could come from having a bid column, and IF it attracted more buyers/bidders, then it could just clear out a load of the dump and run sellers. Those that have had items listed in auction format for the past 12 months, and are no longer available.

On the other hand is not good to let people know there are no bids, this in itself could encourage a quick sale towards the end of the auction time.
I know if I see no bids on something I am looking for and it gets to the last few seconds I know I am going to get a bargain. I agree not everything works at one site as it does at another.

We know from experience the other side are looking to get rid of all private sellers and go to a market place with nothing but BIN ( buy It now ) on show, is this the way to go here.

I could really say a lot more on this subject but am bitting my tounge ..

[MagnetsAndHangers]

On the other hand is not good to let people know there are no bids, this in itself could encourage a quick sale towards the end of the auction time.
I know if I see no bids on something I am looking for and it gets to the last few seconds I know I am going to get a bargain. I agree not everything works at one site as it does at another.

We know from experience the other side are looking to get rid of all private sellers and go to a market place with nothing but BIN ( buy It now ) on show, is this the way to go here.

I could really say a lot more on this subject but am bitting my tounge ..

ONly ebid know the real reason they got rid of this when it was here.

Only ebid know if they may or may not be planning to re-introduce it in the future.

Until that date, we all have to make the most of the facilities that are here, or find suitable venues that have all the tools that one requires for their items.

If it re-appears, I will adapt to it.
However, I wont be holding my breath for it.

Increasing visitors to ebid is hopefully much higher on ebid supports agenda.

[Cancelcollector]

Bargain basement prices sound like a great idea in this economy on a site that has slow traffic, but I'm not so sure... REASONABLE & FAIR ASKING PRICES seem like a better idea to me... When you have Flea Market or Yard Sale Pricing you attract alot of Buyers with Wal-Mart MIndset... Asking prices across the board could come up a bit and still remain lower than the 'Bay or the River, and it would draw better Buyers...
We still respectfully disagree regarding the Bid Column and Make Offer though...

I do tend to agree with this assessment. I've run both brick-and-mortar as well as (later) internet stores for 25+ years... and frankly, the whole "look how LOW my prices are!" approach to selling is ultimately not sustainable... and it does invite a "WalMart Clientele." As a friend and fellow collectibles merchant once said "It takes no talent to GIVE AWAY good merchandise, it takes talent to SELL it at a fair price and make a profit."

I will be the first to admit that I came to eBid because it has low fees... and I also sell "low dollar" merchandise (stamps for collectors). But not because I am trying to dump my low end stuff, but because my bread and butter is sales of 20-odd items at $1.50 apiece, and that's no longer a viable business with GreedBay. I also sell specialized items with low demand (but they DO sell!) that often need to be listed for a couple of months-- maybe more-- before exactly the right buyer comes along. The eBid store format is perfect for this.

It seems the main challenge facing eBid is that the vast majority of people here are SELLERS, not buyers... which is a bit of a mystery to me, given that the site has been "up" for as long as it has. Maybe that's where we should be putting more of our energy... just saying. As for a "bids" column, that doesn't generate excitement unless you have items with 10+ bids... and the sad fact is that we simply don't have that, on eBid.

~Peter

[EndlessFinds]

Bump.....

[Mandart]

A lot of people simply don't know eBid exists - I've spoken to three people face to face this morning telling me about their latest eBay purchases and when I mentioned had they checked out eBid none of them admitted to even having heard of it...

[HellsGrandma]

I like to see the bids on items as its a sort of guide to what sells and what doesnt or rather what is popular at the moment...Over on the bay that is.

I know they keep saying how many listings ebid has BUT that must include many that are just stuck on as run until sold and there is no actual action or selling on those peoples listings.
I have a few times looked at items and swiftly moved on because it seems very plain that they have been abandoned so the million items listed is meaningless without any sales figures or to be able to see things in auction and any movement.

[johnwash1]

I'm surprised at the people remarking on low prices here. When I'm searching for something I want to buy, I used to come to eBid and invariably find prices are higher than on Am and feeBay. These days I rarely bother. The logic that it's a cheaper fee structure to sell here on eBid seems to escape a lot of sellers.

But as a seller I find little difference between here and the dark side. Both places I rarely get bids, even when I start at 99p. Of course, there's a simple explanation for this. As a good friend explained to me, "John, you sell what you have. A businessman sells what people think they want!".