Very Important Suggestions Please Read

[Brunwulf]

Well i might not post much anymore but i do pop in now and again, Its good to see more and more great suggestions from users of the site.

So here is my contribution .

1. The FVF Cap
   About 5 years ago i posted about adding a tier system to cap the max final value fee charged on expensive items or auction items that make a lot of money, as it worked out a lot cheaper to sell such items on eBay even with the listing fee as they have a maximum cap and was worried it could put people off selling here.
   
   It was regarded back then as a good idea by forum members and by ebid themselves they just needed time to work out the logic and program it into the site. Just wondering has this been implemented on ebid yet ?
   
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2. eBid Merchandise
   Its been mentioned before by myself and a lot of members but we really need to get this changed, White t-shirts, caps, bags, are not popular, as a graphic designer lets get some stuff that more people will actually wear to promote the site.
   
   Lets get a range of dark color t shirts, hats, etc , with a small white logo like
   “The North Face” clothing has, Please no large logos that cover the whole shirt.
   
   The aim here is to get people to actually use or wear the ebid merchandise to get the most benefit out of the money it costs to produce, For example i have some white ebid shirts and caps but i never wear them so they are just wasted, ( i was even considering dyeing them black so i can use them), now if it was black, navy blue or something with a small white logo i would wear it to work, supermarket, up the street most days.
   
   Packing tape ( This is currently the best money well spent merchandise item you have )
   Mugs ( You need to bring these back they were fantastic but i understand high postage costs and breakages were probably a factor )
   Nice Pens ( You need to bring some sort of nice pen back, make it posh looking not like the last ones lol )
   
   Other possibilities are
   A4 invoice/ packing sheets with integrated shipping labels
   Rubber Stamp
   Fridge Magnets
   Note Pads
   There should also be some official downloadable posters, leaflets, cards, label templates etc that you can print out.
   
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3. Listings With Bids
   Time and time again i see “I can’t see bids” But what a lot of users don’t know is eBid has something much more powerful it’s just not many know about it and it needs to be more prominent on the site.
   
   The “Popular Listings” is basically a items with bids search, it actually just shows items with bids, you can't search by keywords but you can search by category and sub categories and it displays the items with the most bids first.
   
   With most of the sub categories only having about 1 to 20 items with bids its fun and easy easy to check each day or week by bookmarking the link or setting up a feed.
   
   So can i suggest when browsing categories and subcategories (it will not work with search) can we have a show popular items in this category link to enable us to see the items with bids,
   
   It a nice way to check for bargains and what's selling so lets not hide it please.
   
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4. Please Don't Punish The Buyers
   We need to make this site more buyer friendly so I would like to suggest Seller accounts need to change slightly, The restrictions on Seller accounts are in my eyes restrictions for the buyers not the sellers, and are harming the site.
   
   I call the following list “Buyer Features” as they improve the buying experience for buyers and give the site a better impression, so when you stupidly allow sellers to list items with no Integrated checkout system, no videos, no Invoicing System, no Grouping, no buynow, no Auto Extend, no Thumbnail, no Private Auctions, no Discounts, no Make an Offer, no Google Shopping, etc all these features in my eyes don't affect the seller as much as they affect the bad impression the site gives to new buyers.
   
   Some may argue that it’s the sellers fault for not upgrading or listing a “Platinum” auction to include these buyer features, and that is true, However forget the seller for a moment and look at it from the eyes of a first time buyer here, the buyer probably will not know anything about ebid expecting it to operate like the other places and will just see ebid as a nightmare place to buy on and never return. affecting the ebid site as a whole ( we should not be punishing buyers ebid ? )
   
   It just common sense really, we need to make this a place that buyers like to come to , I personally hate buying here. I won a cheap phone tripod here and the Seller did not list a platinum auction , had no clue about how to use paypal without a Integrated checkout or how to manually send a invoice etc as this is usually all done for them free, as a buyer i ended up canceling the sale, i can't be the only one and i am always worried about buying from a basic seller accounts here.
   
   So here is what i strongly suggest.. Platinum auctions should be removed and Seller accounts should have all the features that Platinum auctions give as default but with one significant change, Seller accounts can only list 20 items max including multiple auctions or buy nows. unless they upgrade to Seller Plus+.
   
   In my opinion It would tempt sellers to upgrade to Seller Plus+ lifetime accounts with the discount , lower 2% FVF , unlimited listings etc. It would also seriously reduce the complexity of the whole system , no more platinum mess, reduced emails to support and help keep happy buyers coming back to the site.
   
   After all Seller accounts are really only for low item sellers or people testing out the site so lets make it a good experience for them new sellers and especially new buyers.
   
   So to recap the changes i suggest would be::
   
   Buyer Account
   No Changes
   
   Seller Account
   20 Items Max, including multiple auctions or buynow’s.
   3% FVF (might even be good time to make it 3.5%)
   All the features from Platinum auctions default and do away with Platinum auctions.
   
   Seller+ Account
   No Changes
   
   
   Pros
   Reduced complexity for new users.
   Less emails to support.
   More happy buyers that are coming back to the site.
   More chance of paid seller+ lifetime upgrades to fund , help support and grow the site.
   Let us know if you can think of any more..
   
   Cons
   Let us know if you can think of any..

Sorry for posting all the suggestions in one thread but i had to get some stuff off my chest that has been bothering me for years here, hopefully ebid admins will take a note of what's posted here and see something they think they could implement.

It would be nice to hear what other members think on these suggestions, i have thought a lot about them, so it would be great to get more feedback.

[astral276]

With regards item 1: Listing as Featured means a maximum total fee of 1.00 GBP whatever the end price might be.

[Brunwulf]

With regards item 1: Listing as Featured means a maximum total fee of 1.00 GBP whatever the end price might be.

Very true , So i take it thats a no and FVF have still not been capt for normal auctions ?

Now when the featured listing time runs out and it auto changes to a gallery listing (i think it was) does the zero fvf still stand ?

[sherlock07]

Well thought out and very good ideas,

[astral276]

Very true , So i take it thats a no and FVF have still not been capt for normal auctions ?

I was merely pointing out that the seller currently has the ability to cap their own fees if they know/expect the value of the item to be high (unexpected bidding wars ramping up the value not being a real issue here). I wasn't commenting either way on the actual suggestion.

Now when the featured listing time runs out and it auto changes to a gallery listing (i think it was) does the zero fvf still stand ?

AFAIAA, the listing changes to the Standard/Free listing type after 60 days - so the FVF is still zero if it sells after that.

[JDStamps]

I agree with most of the suggestions, certainly about the merchandise, which I find less than attractive- perhaps we have a Graphic Designer in our midst who could help out?
I like the seller account idea, good way to test the water for new sellers, and iron out any problems before being let loose as Seller+.
I do feel the buyers account needs a bit of tweeking though, to encourage buyers not only to purchase in the first place but also to return for more; I get a lot of one off sales that do not develop into regular customers (thankfully I do get lots of regulars too!), its not just about attracting new custom but customer retention too.

All the best

[cornishmaid1961]

The most sensible ideas I have heard on the forums for a long time. I love idea number 4 in particular, it would make buying here so much easier. I also have to admit that I have not worn my white T-shirt whereas I used to wear the old grey one !

[astral276]

I also have to admit that I have not worn my white T-shirt whereas I used to wear the old grey one !

Have worn my white one with the small blue logo; never wore the grey one with the large red logo - always felt too much of a target for any sniper.

[NuttyKrafts]

The most sensible ideas I have heard on the forums for a long time. I love idea number 4 in particular, it would make buying here so much easier!

I agree, with a couple of extra ideas for number 2 - self adhesive labels with the ebid logo for reusing envelopes, and it would be nice to have these useful items like packging tape available to buy instead of having to wait 30 days for a buddy point auction.

And I've said it before, and will probably get shouted down again, but I would really find the ability to search with P&P cheapest first extremely useful - I will happily pay a fair price for an item, but hate being ripped off on postage. I sell stuff, I KNOW it doesn't cost £3 to post a promo DVD! Another example - last year I wanted a small piece of fabric for a project, selected price cheapest first and after wading through 3 pages of items from overseas with high postage, gave up and went elsewhere. Yes, I know I could have done an advanced search and selected distance nearest but I couldn't be bothered and I suspect I'm not the only one. And this has happened on other items I wanted too.

[FirstGreenIsGold]

Excellent suggestions!

On the merchandise issue ... I never requested the T-shirt, as I knew I wouldn't wear a white T-shirt. I wouldn't wear a white cap either.

But I do wear caps and T-shirts very often, but I wear black or navy. Something that doesn't get yellowed around the collar from my sunscreen / face cream.

If eBid had good quality caps and tees in black or navy, I would gladly wear them on my walks outside and at the local fitness centre, where I spend time on the bike, the weights, and the track.

I wouldn't even mind a small purple eBid logo. Small, mind you, not the bulls-eye effect.