Our eBay store
My seller's profile at eBay (with all customer feedback)
Transcript of the live chat session that took place Thursday, April 8, 1999. These sessions are normally scheduled for 12 noon-1 PM Eastern Time every Thursday. Please note that the US is now on Daylight Savings Time. So in international terms, we are on at GMT -4.
For Guide to eBay for sellers: practical advice from one seller to another, see www.samizdat.com/ebay.html
Since the chat itself happens at a rapid pace, it's often difficult to note interesting facts in particular URLs as they appear on-line. Here's a place to take a more leisurely look. I've rearranged some of the pieces to try to capture the various threads of discussion (which sometimes get lost in the rush of live chat).
Please send email with your follow-on questions and comments, and suggestions for topics we should focus on in future sessions. So long as the volume of email responses is manageable, I'll post the most pertinent ones here for all to see.
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For an article on how to make "business chat" work (based on this experience), www.samizdat.com/events.html.
For articles about online auctions, see www.samizdat.com/chat.html
Our online store at Yahoo
Our eBay
store
My seller's
profile at eBay (with all customer feedback)
SonPoptart -- My question is, Should I bother with a web page for a small day care business?
Richard Seltzer -- Welcome, SonPoptart -- Interesting question. Please stay tuned. We'll be starting in about 5 minutes.
Tracy5 -- Greetings, Richard. I only have 20-25 minutes today, but it's nice to be back here!
Richard Seltzer -- Welcome, Tracy. Good to "see" you. I understand that you have been active at Ebay. What have you been doing there? And what lessons have you gleaned from the experience?
Richard Seltzer -- All, as you connect, please introduce yourselves and let us know your interests.
Armin -- Hello, my name is Armin Zundel from Proxy Solutions. I'm just hear to learn.
Bob Zwick -- SonPoptart - interesting nickname - If you want a web page becuse it's the thing to do or it neat, do waste your time and $$ If you want to keep up with or jump ahead of the competition and use it to generate new business then look into it seriously.
Richard Seltzer -- SonPoptart -- quick thoughts: check my article www.samizdat.com/lowtech.html on how to create Web pages fast, without technical knowledge. Consider posting artwork and thoughts from the kids in your daycare program (ages?) The extended families of the kids would love that. You could do that kind of thing inside the 11 Mbytes of free space you can sign up for at Xoom. If you want to get fancy, you might want to add a Webcam service so parents can see their kids from work during the day (I've heard some daycares are doing that). But simplest and fastest is posting the kids' creative work.
Tracy5 -- SonPoptart and those looking for simple web page creation resources...you can check out the links to web page templates etc. on my web page design for k-12 Internet resource page www.webwinds.com/k12/wdesign.htm off my k12 Internet training resource site at www.webwinds.com/k12/links.htm
Richard Seltzer -- Welcome, Armin and Bob. I'm delighted to see a good turn out at start up. Bob -- by the way, I need to "talk" with you off-line about distance ed. I'm doing consulting work for Modular (Ken Olsen's new company) and they have a video server which they are targeting for the distance ed market. Also, when you get a chance, please check the new PBS education site www.pbstbc.com -- uses Real Video (but courses are very high priced -- $2000 for six weeks).
Richard Seltzer -- Armin -- You too would be very interested, I believe in what PBS is doing. The Modular video server would let you do the same kind of thing (with Real Video) but at low cost.
Armin -- Richard -- Thanks for the information
Wayne -- Hi: my name is Wayne Thorn from TCM Internet Services
Richard Seltzer -- Welcome, Wayne Thorn, what kinds of services does TCM provide? What's your main area of interest?
Wayne -- Our main focus is a job center that is focused on the HR field. However we do sell books and a Y2K kit on our site.
Richard Seltzer -- Welcome Bob Fleischer and James Keller, have you used Ebay or do you know of other Web sites that are good for getting you involved in activities that help you better understand the business dynamics of the Internet?
Ron Rothenberg -- barbara, taking a few minutes to learn the search methods helps a lot.
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- yes, Ebay's search capability is very good and is essential. I almost never browse through their categories (that can be overwhelming), rather I search for exactly what I want.
Tracy5 -- Barbara, Ebay has a My Ebay page that puts just about everything you need on all sales and transactions in one place. Very effective organizational system....(though I wish there was a way to delete transactions there are completed in every way or keep track of each stage of each transaction from your my ebay page).
Ron Rothenberg -- ebay may be the first real "place" on the internet - in that it is a bazaaar, not just a web-site.
Richard Seltzer -- Barb -- the simplest things to sell at Ebay are items that will fit in a priority mail envelope. But you can set up your offer in a variety of ways -- with the buyer paying the shipping that becomes a non-issue (so long as you know to begin with the cost, so you can alert the potential customers.) And if you have such a gorilla, I strongly advise that you sell it :-)
Tracy5 -- I've only been at Ebay for three weeks, but I've sold over 40 items and bought at least ten, and find the way that place works fascinating. What most interests me is the self-policing system they have with users rating each other, which keeps most people prompt, considerate and reliable....Also how they set up the place so that the sellers and buyers do all the work themselves....
Richard Seltzer -- Tracy -- I've been using Ebay for close to three months now. I'm totally immersed at this point, selling an average of $50-$100 per day worth of old comic books and bottle caps. Yes BOTTLE CAPS bring anywhere from $1 to $4 each. More important, I've been learning some very valuable lessons.
Richard Seltzer -- Re: Ebay -- the lessons relate both in how to set up a Web-based business and also the importance of interacting with customers. I'm a firm believer that unless you are selling new branded commodity goods, automated transactions throw away your biggest and best opportunity for growing your business. You want to interact with customers. The more the merrier.
Tracy5 -- Say more about the lessons you're learning Richard....Ebay has a great model for business community.....
Tracy5 -- In regard to Ebay, I suspect the secret is finding a way to both automatize AND personalize your communication though. I'm now getting an auction database program because all the email communications and recordkeeping gets overwhelming.... but its only by personalizing the messages that you make a potential friend/future buyer out of the other buyer/seller. Most now who buy from me ask me about other items I have and some sales then move out of the ebay system.
Richard Seltzer -- Re Ebay: For example, at Ebay they have an interesting feedback system. When you buy or sell something, the person you are dealing with can leave feedback about your -- positive or negative and related comments. When you first sign up, your name has a "sunglasses" icon next to it, meaning that you are an unknown entity. After a month the shades go away. Then as you build feedback, you build credibility. That feedback can be an enormous asset for the seller (and it's also an enormous asset for Ebay -- sellers stay put to cash in on the reputation they've built there.) The same kinds of comics that I was getting $3 to $4 for a couple months ago, and which often no one bid on, now get me $15-$30, just because people know they can trust my descriptions and that I deliver lightning fast.
Tracy5 -- I agree Richard that the feedback system at Ebay is really wonderful in regard to building a reliable reputation. It also encourages everyone to be totally honest...out of fear of getting a negative rating. Anyone else used ebay who has any comments in regard to what you've learned from their setup?
Ron Rothenberg -- tracy - i have an autoanswerer that answers ebay confirmation notices - and sounds very personal. it inserts the name, amt, name of item, and a warm valediction in each email.
Tracy5 -- Ron, would you mind sharing what kind of software/ autoanswerer you use and where you got it....If you don't mind, could you email me some info about it if it's not relevant enough to go into here....tracy@marks.net (thanks!)
Ron Rothenberg -- i wrote it myself using quickeys. I'd be happy to send you a copy of the email it produces.
Tracy5 -- ( Ron, thanks! On second thought, use tmar@tiac.net . The other email address doesn't accept attachments. (-:
Ron Rothenberg -- you could do it using eudora templates, too. Not too hard. I can answer a day's worth (30-40) auction confirmations in about 8 minutes. It requires some personal intervention.
Ron Rothenberg -- what is really lacking is a really good automated way to LIST items. Their Mister Lister product is from hunger.
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- Yes, listing can be time-consuming if each of your items is totally unique. When there's commonality, I go to my description of an auction of mine that has ended and click to relist it -- then edited the content (the old description serves as my template). Doing it that way, I can add 20+ comics per hour.
Ron Rothenberg -- ebay claims to help sellers with their power lister program, but they really don't. I am meeting with Amazon.com today, to see how their seller support is.
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- I, too, would be very interested in how to do that automated mail. That would help in making the first contact. What I do now is -- 1) print out the page with info about an auction that just ended (I then use that sheet to record any and all info regarding that sale -- such as the shipping address and payment) 2) I have a few standard messages as word files that I cut and paste into an email to the buyer, along with specifics about the sale (shipping cost, etc.)
Ron Rothenberg -- Easier way is to reply to the confirmation msg -- it will go to ebay too, but who cares --
(personal) Dear XXXXXXX
(automated) Congratulations.
Pls send a personal check or money order for $XX.XX to:
Ron Rothenberg
blah blah blah.
Pls also email me your shipping address, and I'll have a Tracy5 -- I have been using my
own template which begins: Hello! You were the highest bidder for an item
I am selling at ebay titled XXX, Item XXX, cost XXX, shipping XXX, total
due XXX.
Ron Rothenberg -- yes, i
produce a template and just relist it. The problem is that all my auctions
end in the evenings (that's the time they get the best prices -- digital
cameras) and I don't want to work every evening. Plus, am selling 20-30
items at $2000-$3000/day - that's a lot of work, just clicking to relist
items. There needs to be a better way. Mister Lister isn't it.
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- that's interesting that you get best
prices when your auctions end in the evening. I've also seen best prices
for auctions that end on weekends -- but, of course, you can set the end
date (and can't set the end hour).
Tracy5 -- Let's hear more lessons
from using ebay! This is great! (too bad I have to leave in 2-3 minutes,
but I'll read the transcript and send more comments later)
Ron Rothenberg -- I find
UPS Online Office software invaluable for shipping. Enter the address,
item, etc., UPS label and postage prints out on your laser printer. Tape
it to the box, wait for UPS to pick up.
Ron Rothenberg -- Tracy,
don't forget to congratulate the winner. That's very important to the feeling
of satisfaction.
Richard Seltzer -- Tracy -- I've posted some of my Ebay learnings
in my newsletter at www.samizdat.com/news28.html
and will be posting more in the next issue soon /news29.html
Tracy5 -- Anyone use the Auction
Secretary? I just purchased it but haven't seen it yet. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=84311186
Richard Seltzer -- Tracy -- I hadn't heard of Auction Secretary.
What does it do?
Richard Seltzer -- For book publishing, I consider Ebay very
cheap advertising. I post each week several books of mine, at a low but
profitable price, with links to details at my Web site. The Lizard of Oz
does particularly well that way, with each purchaser typically buying more
copies as gifts or buying other books of mine. It's well worth the 25 cents
to list (and 5% of the sale). I do far better selling my books through
Ebay than I do through the bookstore part of Amazon.
Richard Seltzer -- re: Ebay
-- on the one hand I've learned how important it is to set up repeatable
procedures and to sell a number of items in the same category. Ebay is
made up of numerous sub-communities -- the collectors of particular kinds
of things (and they have over 1.8 million "things" for sale right now).
Along with the feedback, you are building direct relationships with individuals,
who buy one thing from you and come back to bid on your other stuff. Including
friendly questions and comments in your correspondence helps uncover what
else they are looking for and why they collect what they collect. I've
done many deals off line with these ebay customers, based on their interests.
Reducing steps and being organized about how you deal with contacts and
orders is very important too -- you need to do all this (with the personal
contact) in as little time as possible. It's interesting to push the limits
and see if you can actually handle low price sales profitably. What's your
personal lower limit? $5, $3, even $1? It all depends on how quickly and
efficiently you can handle all the steps from posting the item (complete
with picture) to shipping it and even depositing the tiny check in your
bank account. Good basic business lessons.
Barbara -- Rich, I like
your idea of ebay teaching you how to run a business.
Ron Rothenberg -- always
$.99 . sell items that people want. They'll do the rest. stay away from
reserves - they kill auctions.
Richard Seltzer -- Bob -- For most of my items, I put the start
as low as I can -- just a little more than break-even given all the labor
involved in posting and fullfillment. A low start attracts a first bidder
and activity breeds more activity. E.g., a comic I sold yesterday for $34.00+
was posted with a starting bid of $2. Other similar comics that I've posted
with a start of $10 or even $6 got no bids at all.
Ron Rothenberg -- I get
highest prices and most bids because of $.99 initial bid, reputation, no
reserve, credit cards, in that order.
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- sounds like our experience is similar
though the things we are selling are very different. The low initial bid
really helps. As for credit card payment, I offer that too, but only 5%
of the folks I deal with take advantage of that.
Bob Fleischer -- Richard,
Ebay sounds a lot like an e-version of the paper "WantADvertiser" publication
(through which I used to buy and sell a lot).
Richard Seltzer -- Bob -- Yes, like the WantAdvertiser. But here
Ebay automatically collects its 25 cents and its % of the sale (aggregating
the charges over a month and then debiting them on your credit card). That's
a lot faster and surer than voluntary payments like the WantAdvertiser.
Ron Rothenberg -- bob, i
don't know why, but it's not at all like the wantadvertiser -- the auction
component and the immediacy changes the character from classified ads to
. . .
Ron Rothenberg -- yes, i
notice the price of items has risen as my ebay rating (currently 460+ rising
at 7-10/day) rises. Unfortunately, feedback about your rapidity is a two-edged
sword. I start to get email about whether something has been shipped 48
hours after they send check. it is a good reputation, but has its problem.
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- what's the price range of the things
that you sell? I suspect that they are much higher than my comics and bottle
caps. Does behavior change at higher altitudes? And what kinds of merchandise
are you selling? Sounds like you are doing great.
Ron Rothenberg -- computer
software -- $5-$100 - hardware - $10-$200, but mostly digital cameras -
$100-$600
Richard Seltzer -- More Ebay
wisdom -- I find that for low-cost items (under $20), people at Ebay tend
to be very trustworthy. My policy, (which is counter to what nearly everyone
else there seems to do) is to ship the merchandise immediately upon receipt
of the buyer's address. I don't wait for payment. The payment often arrives
after they have received the goods. But that practice 1) gets me lots of
superlative feedback fast, which raises the bids on everything I post 2)
makes the whole selling cycle move much faster 3) gets me lots of repeat
sales (both at Ebay and by followup email). There's no quicker way to build
someone's trust than to trust them -- immediately, with no strings attached.
Ron Rothenberg -- Richard,
I have found almost everyone to be trustworthy -- 3000 personal checks,
and only 2 bad ones. I ship the same day I receive check by priority mail
or UPS and get the same "rapid" feedback.
Richard Seltzer -- Ron --
3000 checks? How long have you been doing this now? Sounds like it has
become a full-time job (and a very lucrative one).
Ron Rothenberg -- Since
end of December-- yes, it has become a full-time plus job. I am trying
to trim back to 20 auctions or so / day, maybe less. getting rid of the
less profitable products.
Richard Seltzer -- All -- FYI -- Ron's comment about digital
cameras is right on target. Items for which you post a picture do far better
than ones just described in text. I use a little Web cam which provides
okay but not great results. Also, I post all my ebay-related pictures at
free Web space at Xoom, rather than consume Web space at my primary site.
Works fine.
Ron Rothenberg -- over 1/2
my customers are ebay merchants.
Barbara -- Ron, are your
digital cameras new or used?
Ron Rothenberg -- barbara,
all are new, refurbished or superstore returns.
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- I could use a digital camera. I'll
have to check your auctions. What's you handle? (Mine is richardseltzer).
Ron Rothenberg -- ronrsr
is my handle.
Richard Seltzer -- Bob -- At OnSale, I believe, you are buying
new equipment. I think it's a way for manufacturers to sell overstock quickly.
I also believe that those kinds of auction sites depend on secure online
transactions. You probably pay for the goods by credit card before they
are shipped. Ebay is quite different from that. There is no transaction
software. It's very much like people selling things to one another through
Digital's VAXnotes. Ebay's "auction" establishes a connection between a
buyer and a seller and establishes the price. The buyer and seller then
get together by email to work out the details, and payment typically happens
by check or money order. Ebay picks up 25 cents for each listing and 5%
of each sale (a smaller percentage on higher priced items). With 1.8 million
items for sale at any give time (growing about 100,000 a month), that's
a pretty good revenue stream, all based on the beautiful "bazaar-style"
space they have created.
Ron Rothenberg -- i have
had mixed experiences with amazon auctions this week. Not totally good
nor bad, but the first true competitor to ebay that I've seen.
Ron Rothenberg -- unfortunately,
except for the cross-selling, amazon is almost a duplicate of ebay - they
took both the good and the bad --
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- I'll have to take a look at auctions
at Amazon. I'm a loyal Amazon book customer, also an associate and an advantage
partner (with my books and books on diskette on consignment with them for
sale). But I really love Ebay and the feedback system means I have a lot
of vested value there. It would take something very major to induce me
to switch auction sites.
Ron Rothenberg -- amazon
has a feedback system, too - you can even rate a trader - 1-5 stars.
Richard Seltzer -- FYI -- the value of the reputation/feedback
is so great -- in getting me much higher prices for the same merchandise
-- that a site that was technically the same as ebay and even one that
had the same enormous number of buyers would not tempt me -- even if the
new site were free and even if Ebay increased its fees a bit.
Ron Rothenberg -- Richard,
I always include a link to my ebay rating in amazon auctions -- it works.
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- that's an excellent idea linking to
the ebay rating. Thanks.
Richard Seltzer -- All -- this has been fun. I'm strongly tempted
to continue this kind of discussion next week. Please let me know how you
feel about that and send me your suggestions for future topics. seltzer@samizdat.com
Richard Seltzer -- All-- as usual, I'll post an edited transcript
of today's chat in a few days -- check www.samizdat.com/#chatBefore
you sign off, please post here your email and URL addresses (don't presume
that the software will capture that). Thanks very much for joining in today,
and please return next week and spread the word.
Barbara -- This has been
a very interesting chat. I have to go now. Thanks. See you next time.
Richard Seltzer -- Thanks again to all. Yes, let's continue this
Thursday, May 6.
Other auction articles by
Richard Seltzer
Previous transcripts and schedule of upcoming chats -- www.samizdat.com/chat.html
To connect to the chat room, go to www.samizdat.com/chat-intro.html
This site is Published by B&R Samizdat Express, 33 Gould St., West Roxbury, MA 02132. (617) 469-2269. seltzer@samizdat.com
Return to B&R Samizdat Express
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Setting the starting bid price
Bob Zwick -- One quick
question - how do you pick your starting bid price ?
The value of trust and feedback
Richard Seltzer -- Ron -- Yes, my take is that the value of trusting
(speeding everything up and building relationships) is far greater than
what you are likely to lose from the rare person who will try to cheat
you (especially given the feedback system). If I can raise the average
final bid for one of my items from $4 to $16 through trust, then if I lost
a few payments the benefit would be well worth it. (And after several hundred
sales, everyone so far has been good about paying).
Selling digital cameras over Ebay
Ron Rothenberg -- i have met
hundreds of ebay merchants -- they all need digital cameras sooner or later!
Onsale auctions
Bob Fleischer -- I've
never used Ebay (I'm almost apologetic about that!). I have bought computer
equipment via Onsale auctions -- my experience has been good.
Auctions at Amazon.com
Ron Rothenberg -- has anyone
tried BIDNOW or AMAZON or any of the brand new Ebay wannabes?
It says: bid with confidence! ebay name: ronrsr ebay rating: 460+ no
negative feedback ever!
Wrapup
Tracy5 -- New client just arrived,
got to go. Incredible business you're doing Ron. Richard, check out the
page on Auction Secretary. Or do a search at ebay for auction software
and you'll see several different kinds being auctioned, of course! (Bye
all....thanks!)
The full text of Richard Seltzer's books The Social Web,
Take
Charge of Your Web Site, Shop Online the Lazy Way, and
The
Way of the Web, plus more than a hundred related articles are available
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Internet: a Personal View of Internet Business Opportunities.
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Business Boot Camp: Hands-on Internet lessons for manager, entrepreneurs,
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