I have tried selling on about 10 different alternative sites. I was really discouraged until I decided to take a chance on a new start up, Atomic Mall (www.atomicmall.com). I had heard many times that the only way to get sales was to promote the daylights out of your store. I had begun to accept this for fact and it was no wonder I was stunned when I started making sales at Atomic Mall with no promotion at all. I discovered that the combination of my reasonably priced, unique items and Atomic Mall's high expsoure in Google and other search engines were making me sales. I have come to the conclusion that, pound for pound, Atomic Mall is the best alternative site out there.
Did you read that first paragraph? Understand what I said? Good. Now don't believe it. Did I lie about anything? Nope. But it is hype and you should take it at face value. You do not know whether I am lying or not. This is a site that I support and sell at. You should not trust what I am saying and I don't want you to. I want you to try the site on a test basis and draw your own conclusions.
The truth is, I do like Atomic Mall but it has a way to go. I don't like the category selection. I dont like the colors on the homepage. Someone once said something along the lines of "The Atomic Mall homepage looks like the neon lights for a guady, cut rate discount store" and I tend to agree. I may like Atomic Mall but when I see something I think can be improved I will be vocal about it. If I see something that isn't right. I will speak up. I will not stop selling there because of the things I do not like because so far, the good has outweighed the bad. Fortunately, the owner has been listening to the less than positive feedback on Atomic Mall and he has started working on Atomic Mall 2.0 to address those concerns. Or maybe he hasn't. Do not believe anything I say.
I want everyone to do their own research and evaluate alternative sites on their own. I want people to come to their own conclusions based on what thier needs are.
The person to person ecommerce world is ruthless. There are many alternative sites out there and not enough sellers to go around. Sometimes the alternative sites and the Stepford Sellers at these sites will do and say anything to make themselves look like the "next" eBay. They will not hear a word of dissention about "their" site" no matter how overwhelming the evidence. Not all sellers are like this. In fact, the number is probably less than one tenth of one percent of the site membership, but those few people will make themselves sound like an army of 10,000 strong on the march. They will prowl the internet in packs like rabid dogs, posting anywhere and everywhere about how great their site is, shouting their battle cry at the top of their lungs to make up in decibels what they lack in numbers and like dogs, they will lift their legs and leave their mark wherever they go.
One of the biggest misconceptions about alternative sites is that most of them are free so you have nothing to lose. No, they are not free. Not if you consider the time you take to build up a store on a site worthless. Is your time worthless? If so, my hat's off to you. I am retired and still there aren't enough hours in a day or days in a week to do everything I want to do. Now that Barrack Obama been elected President on his platform of "Change" maybe he will change the hours in the day to 26 and the days in a week to 9. But until then, I need to manage my time more carefully.
For most of us, an alternative site is an investment in time. Most of us don't want to waste our time. Look before you leap when choosing an alternative site. Do some tests on your own. Come to your own conclusions. And most of all. DO NOT believe a word I just said.
Here is part 2 of the article
http://www.examiner.com/x-2685-Philadelphia-eCommerce-Examiner~y2009m1d30-Part-Two-eBay-Alternatives-Dont-believe-the-hype
Comments
You're so right about time being a cost involved in listing on so-called free eBay-alternatives. And the other thing to remember about free-to-list sites is that there is no disincentive to list things that won't sell. On eBay, you have to pay to list, so better make sure your fees are doing their work and there's a reasonable chance of your item selling. If there's no fee, that element never comes into play, so people list lots and lots of merchandise "on the off-chance" it will sell: prices don't have to be so competitive, and merchandise doesn't have to be so desirable. As a buyer, the site becomes much less desirable.
Nice post, Ken: looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Bravo. Excellent article.
Far too many people are running around exclaiming that the king's clothes are the most beautiful they have ever seen.
It is only if we are willing to be brutally honest about the alternatives to eBay and constructive in our criticism will we be able to go forward with some hope of success.
For a lot of us the time to put multiple items on Ebay and have a good sell thru rate are over. I'm a small seller - and, up until last year I was able to put 50 to 60 of my handmade items up on Ebay and sell almost all of them every month. That time (at least for sellers like myself) has passed. I have only 8 items up now and collectively they get a couple of views per day on Ebay and I pay to list there. That's a sad fact for the majority of small sellers. On the other hand, I make a few sales on Etsy (20 cents an item for 4 months) and a few sales on Bonanzle (free until they sell) and quite a few sales on my own website. So, there is another side to your story and it is that small sellers must diversify due to the fact that Ebay has buried them in favor of larger sellers. We have no choice but to build other sites. I feel that during this year we may see a turnaround of sorts as Ebay declines even further and gets more desperate...at least I hope so. I may never reach those 50 to 60 item sales a month again...but listing exclusively on Ebay won't do it either.
For a lot of us the time to put multiple items on Ebay and have a good sell thru rate are over. I'm a small seller - and, up until last year I was able to put 50 to 60 of my handmade items up on Ebay and sell almost all of them every month. That time (at least for sellers like myself) has passed. I have only 8 items up now and collectively they get a couple of views per day on Ebay and I pay to list there. That's a sad fact for the majority of small sellers. On the other hand, I make a few sales on Etsy (20 cents an item for 4 months) and a few sales on Bonanzle (free until they sell) and quite a few sales on my own website. So, there is another side to your story and it is that small sellers must diversify due to the fact that Ebay has buried them in favor of larger sellers. We have no choice but to build other sites. I feel that during this year we may see a turnaround of sorts as Ebay declines even further and gets more desperate...at least I hope so. I may never reach those 50 to 60 item sales a month again...but listing exclusively on Ebay won't do it either.
Is it OK to believe an overwhelming majority of users that voted Bonanzle as the "runaway Best eBay Alternative of 2008"?
Or were the voters misled and/or uninformed?
www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/11520_3798906_4
Bill Harding
Completely Unbiased Founder
Bonanzle
As I warn readers, believe nothing you see here. Bill is a perfect example of hype.
While the "contest" he mentioned was real and Bonanzle was the "runaway" winner according to SBC it should be examined a little bit closer.
A little background on this "contest" for the "Best of" since the information provided by this "unbiased" site owner (if there is anyone who beleives that a site can be unbiased, I have a friend with a beachfront summerhouse in Arizona that he is looking to unload cheap) was a bit sparse.
There were all of 4 candidates for this "contest". Etsy (a niche site which I have covered). Wigix which noone uses and noone knows why was included in the first place. eCrater which has a very large but extemely professional that feels (for good reason I might add) it is the best site out there and doesn't care what anyone thinks and then Bonanzle. With dozens of other candidates other there is seems that this "contest" could have fielded stronger and better candidates. Should Bonanzle have been included? Most definately. I think that it is an innovative concept. But the end result was a given as soon as this "contest" was announced.
Even the most mundane welterweight will destroy the best flyweight in a ring.
Next question. Bonanzle did win out of the sites which were represented, but how many people actually voted or even knew about this? Based on traffic stats in Alexa and Quantcast the site ranks around 71,000 in the USA with less than 15,000 unique visitors a month. It's probably a very safe bet to say that less than 200 people actually voted in that poll and if I am not mistaken there was a thread on BZ encouraging people to vote while the other sites probably had no idea it was going on.
By comparision, the Examiner is ranked number 378 in Quantcast (up from 415 when I started writing for them 9 days ago) with 4.1 million unique visitors every month.
Now, if Bonanzle were to be included in a similar contest on the Examiner as was suggested by my higher up in Denver and IF they should win, now THAT would be impressive.
But what if I decided to do that contest and Bonanzle doesn't make the cut because it didn't meet the pre-determined criteria to be included in the contest? Like maybe all sites in the contest are required to be Quantified and have their stats directly measured?
As the article says. Look closely at what you read. Look closely at Bonanzle Bill's comments. Look closely at my comments. Do your research. Question EVERYTHING. Come to your own comclusions. And don't believe the hype. Especially from an "unbiased" site owner who is, in his own words, "open to funding".
"Bill: Is it OK to believe an overwhelming majority of users that voted Bonanzle as the "runaway Best eBay Alternative of 2008"?"
I agree with Patrica013, eBay is no longer a site for the small seller, so branching out is a necessity. I list on one site that is rebuilding and have just opened a store on one of the larger alternatives but I refuse to be a lemming and follow the crowd that believes the latest hype of the next greatest site. Everyone has to find what works for them. If you want to list on a smaller site then you have to promote yourself without spamming and cheerleading, you would have to do that if you opened you own website. Every time a new site opens you here they are the self described latest and greatest but then the next hour another latest and greatest comes along. Since I don't have to make my living selling on line, I am going to take my time and work with a few sites and not jump ship every time another "great new alternative" to eBay comes along.
"As I warn readers, believe nothing you see here. Bill is a perfect example of hype." LMFAO, Boy are you such the visionary. You really know how to pick them! Ha Ha! Lets hope that the wife does not have you in charge of the finances, you will surely sink the ship! Oh my, it is so good that the internet lives on forever because I will bookmark this thread and come back and relive what an a$$hole you are!
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