posted on December 26, 2008 05:45:00 PM new
This is not a post in relation to the latest pricing announcement in specific, but in general to the economics of what I get from Vendio, and what I can get elsewhere for much less. Currently I don't have a Store, and I use the new Fixed Price option only on occasion, so many of the points concerning this topic don't apply to me..however...
I have been using Vendio (Auctionwatch) since at least 1999, when it was still a FREE service. The fact that they needed to make money and started charging fees later, was OK with me, as I don't think Ebay even had a auction scheduler at that time, and the picture hosting quality at Vendio has always been better.
But times change. I am not going the throw Vendio under the bus, by naming my new hosting site and scheduler, but what I am getting from them is about 4x the image hosting space, and a savings of which will be over 50 dollars a month, and a MUCH lower monthly sub. A flat rate cost of less than 6 dollars a month, 200 mb of image hosting space, with NO fvfs or listing fees.
The hardest thing has been taking the few hours to learn something new,and making the emotional decision to move from this system here at Vendio to which I have grown accustom over the many years. But,it will be a minimum of a 500 dollar a year savings, and more likely closer to 6-7 hundred dollars. In today's economy.... for me...that makes a difference !
I can't attest to all the bells and whistles, services, and stuff others may use here at Vendio, but for my needs all I need is image hosting and scheduling, and some decent templates. The rest is fluff and unused. I cannot speak to the reliability of where I am going,the service, and all the rest of it, but at the price I can suffer a little inconvience seeing as the interface to create and list auctions is at least as easy, and by my timed practice just as fast. It's not a fly by night site and is completely legit, and been around for awhile.
Tough times make for tough decisions. Vendio should remember, Ebay is where the sales are made, and what they do has and can emulated by others for much less. After this post I am cutting my ties to Vendio, and open a new chapter elsewhere where the bottom line is friendlier. Happy trails to those who stay here and to Vendio, which has always been top notch.
posted on December 26, 2008 06:55:34 PM new
atticques00....I too, have been with Vendio since 1999 & only use them for images & scheduling.... I don't need/use all the bells & whistles, and I am NOT paying Vendio a 300% increase. Could you email me via Ebay & let me know who your new host is? Thank you
posted on January 4, 2009 11:05:36 AM new
When are you planning to start charging us 3x for the same listing? According to your announcement it will start in January but AFTER you implement all customer requests.
"begin enforcing this new Policy in January after the holidays and after we finish other higher priorities and customer requests"
Are you really going to implement our requests first? If so, we shouldn't worry about the price hike for a long time.
posted on January 10, 2009 03:33:32 PM new
I'm considering moving away from Vendio. No chance to pay fees for each 30 days on ebay stores.
The Vendio fees will be higher than ebay !!
posted on January 13, 2009 05:00:56 PM new
Nice CUSTOMER Service, Vendio. You don't even send an email out letting your CUSTOMERS know. This is a substantial increase that will have great impact on your CUSTOMERS, and most don't even know of this change.
I for one, have gone to greener pastures. Greener as in more $$$$ in my pockets. I started moving 1/4th of my auctions & pics as the auctions closed within the last couple of weeks. I spent an afternoon learning a new service that I am VERY happy with.
When I got my Dec Vendio bill yesterday it was already half of what I usually pay and now with your TRIPLE increase, I will save over $2700 a year by leaving Vendio. And, I'm not even a big seller.
In retrospect, you did me a big FAVOR! I've been with you since 1999 (when you were FREE) and I've recommended lots of sellers to you. I probably never would have moved.
But now... I'm off to move the rest of my auctions so I'm off your "service" as of Jan 19th.
posted on January 13, 2009 06:18:56 PM new
rpm757, you are NOT correct. This new updated version for the price increase notice states that they have STARTED enforcing it on December 18th.
They will enforce all auctions starting 01/19 but they have included all auctions in progress. All auctions have 30-day duration so if you stared on December 18th, you will be retroactively billed three times.
"This new system will affect newly launched items as well as items launched prior to our enforcement of this long-standing element of our fees policy."
If you have "good till canceled" auctions, you will be billed FROM THE DAY YOU STARTED IT, 2-3 moths ago.
posted on January 13, 2009 08:09:05 PM new
Even Vendio is not that cavalier.
To do that they would cause their clients to just quit.
I do not use the GTC but if they would retro me on this I would quit using them immediately.
With the condition of Vendio right now, I am surprised they have the nerve to ask for an increase.
I have been splitting my listing to another listing company and they seem to work just fine an for a lot less!!!
posted on January 14, 2009 08:45:55 AM new
Wow, cannot believe that Vendio is actually going to go through with this insane increase. After all the complaints that have been voiced here. Just wait until customers start seeing their bills increase substantially, and will not have a clue why they did. Most customers don't read these forums, so they will be shocked when they get their invoices.
Thanks Vendio for doing this to your customers. Real smart marketing move.
[ edited by margar on Jan 14, 2009 08:51 AM ]
[ edited by margar on Jan 14, 2009 11:57 AM ]
posted on January 14, 2009 10:15:33 AM new
Hmmmm...There was a post on 12/26 that said, "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,
I just wanted to add a quick note that we are reviewing your posts, and will be replying to them once the appropriate people return to the office.
Regards,
Nathan"
So I am wondering, when do the "appropriate" people return to the office?!?
posted on January 14, 2009 11:00:04 AM new
Hello everyone,
Thank you for your candid feedback. Since each seller is unique, we’ll be contacting you individually offline to discuss use of the 30 day FP format as well as your pricing concerns. In the meantime, we would like to reiterate a couple of points:
1. Vendio listing fee based plans were formulated based upon the most typically used 7 day duration listings, and were created to meet the needs of sellers of higher priced merchandise less suitable to final value fee based plans (or those for whom FVFs are not desirable.) <b>We have not changed the fees for sellers using these traditional formats in any way.</b>
2. Recently, eBay introduced a new format which allows sellers to list multiple items for a longer duration than was previously possible, and this upset the balance of our pricing. We have no choice other than to adjust to eBay’s changes. We are not attempting to gouge or raise fees. Even with this adjustment, a seller who wants equivalent search exposure for their fixed price items and shifts entirely to 30 day FP would still save 25% of their Vendio listings fees:
a. Old way: Launch item for 7 days, relist, relist, relist (4 listings=28 days), at 12 cents/listing=$0.48
b. New way: Launch item for 30 days, no relist needed (1 listing=30 days), at 12 cents/listing=$0.36
c. Note that these amounts can be reduced if an item sells out early and no more inventory is available.
3. Please note also that the 30 day FP format isn’t necessarily your best listing option. As noted earlier, we can discuss more about the pros and cons individually with you.
We have no desire to increase fees generally, but we are in a position where we have no choice but to react to eBay’s changes. Due to the resulting seller behavior changes, our historical pricing model was upset. If you are a heavy user of 30 day FP who has enjoyed a substantially reduced Vendio fee structure during this transition period, you can imagine the impact these reductions have on Vendio when scaled up to thousands of sellers.
We hope this clarifies our position.
We also want to point out that the pricing is not retroactive - the new pricing goes into effect on January 19 and will be applied on a go-forward basis.
posted on January 14, 2009 11:12:05 AM new
Just another quick note - although we understand some of you may be upset by the change to our fee structure, it is against our terms to promote competing services in our forums. Any posts referring to competing services will be removed.
posted on January 14, 2009 11:26:03 AM new
I think Vendio still is not getting the point of our anger and our willingness to leave Vendio after years of sticking with your less than perfect system.
One think is the price increase in such a economic situation but MOSTLY we are angry for the ridiculous reason of the price increase.
Is should be none your business what format eBay is promoting at the moment. These are regular 30-day listings (as eBay Store auction) but with better exposure. You did not create better exposure and you should not be paid for it.
Also, the idea for me to track each auction to see if it ended sooner than supposed to to claim $0.12 is just ridiculous. At least come up with totally automated refund system.
eBay created new format to promote sale. Your fees are killing it.
I have FOUR Vendio accounts and I'm slowly moving to new venue. With my sale structure and thousands of new items I will not pay extra several hundreds of dollars per month for nothing.
Vendio, finally you have motivated me to move away.
posted on January 14, 2009 12:04:39 PM new
Hello Vendio,
Since you are planning to go with the price increase are you every going to update anything to make it worth staying here?
You have come out with teasers about new services and updated programs but when and were are they. give us a reason to stay. If we just want second rate service we can get that directly from ebay, why should we pay extra for it here. please lets us know when?
jackmikol - I think you can see the reasons why the 30 day pricing change is necessary for us from a business standpoint. We've covered our reasons in enough detail, but we'll contact you offline shortly to review your payment plans. We're also looking for a simpler way to handle refunds on items that sell early.
shopfromyourseat - we lose money on every 30 day listing that would have been listed as a 7 day in the past. We are not changing the listing fee for eBay Store items, so if you don't want to pay the extra amount for the 30 day FP format and increased exposure for that format, you could continue to relist items that don't sell into your eBay Store.
rpm757 - we are working on a major overhaul of our system which will incorporate many highly requested features and support for alternative marketplaces. Please stay tuned, I don't have an ETA yet, and it is a significant project.
posted on January 14, 2009 02:17:03 PM new
I have always listed the same as shopfromyourseat does.
I list items in auction from 4-8 times, and if they did not sell, I stuck them in 30 GTC store.
Now I am putting those exact same items in 30 day GTC FP.
There is absolutely no difference, and no extra work for Vendio. I will NOT pay 3x as much to Vendio for the exact same service. I am not doing anything different and Vendio is not adding any extra value, or anything different.
You claim your users have left auctions and moved to FP. I have not changed one thing I have been doing for the last 6 years! In fact I have always increased the amount of auctions every single year!
I list approx 800 auctions a month and 1,900 store / now FP items.
I will not sit by and watch my fees on 1,900 items go up 3X and my total fees go up from 2x - 2.5x!
You keep saying this is not a price increase. That is a price increase to me!
posted on January 14, 2009 02:18:02 PM new
In case you would like to know why I have severely cut back on using your service, it is primarily because you failed to keep up with changes on listing form. Huge delays on the Handling Time for instance. With the extra time I was spending to add it in via Ebay bulk edit services, I could no longer justify the cost by saying I was saving time.
Felt I was paying a premium price for a service that is less than that. This was before your latest price increase.
posted on January 14, 2009 02:37:55 PM new
Diana,
You call it "major overhaul of the system", we call it price increase and empty promises. Your "major overhaul" is the stuff eBay and other auction management companies incorporated several months ago. We still lack several basic eBay features.
You know exactly how many people will be affected and how many people use 7-day auctions. You know exactly well that people like me simply cannot stay with Vendio. My plan to list 1,000 additional items will increase my Vendio fees by $360/month.
Also, since eBay will be phasing out Vendio Checkout, I'm sure you will be lowering your service prices. Less work for you, lower fees? Right?
posted on January 14, 2009 02:49:07 PM new
I am confused (easily done). How will the new fee structure affect me? I am currently using the "Variable Power" Plan.
posted on January 14, 2009 02:57:02 PM new
Hello Bill
Since you do not pay any listing fees, your bill will remain unchanged.
This will only change for users paying a listing fee *and* who switched to doing 30 day FP listings instead of the classic 3/7/10 day listings. (and then only where it should even out to be what they were paying for the tools and services prior to 30 day FP listings, assuming no change in volumes which would obviously change with plans where you pay listing fees Vs Final Value Fees)
posted on January 14, 2009 04:19:00 PM new
STAY TUNED FOR THE BIG CHANGES.
I have been staying tuned for the big changes for nearly two yrs now. Each time there is a big announcement of things to come and then they don't happen.
Listing to e-bay using the current system is a chore for those of us that have a lot to list.
The speed is low, the amount of things that need to be changed manually either here or at e-bay, the same templates for yrs, begging to have the e-bay updates put in place. The listing tool are for listing on e-bay yet the updates are allways late then they are a small clip on here or there.
I can go on but it seems to fall on deaf ears.
We have been promised a new store front to compete with e-bays changes yet it is in the works for months now.
Frankly and I mean no malicious towards Vendio, but Your track record speaks for itself.
Maybe this pricing issue is a veiled attempt to shrink your customer base to a volume you can handle rather than trying to increase its productivity to bring in revenue.
If thats it a lot will leave because we just can not afford more fees for non productive services. The well is dry in e-bay land!
posted on January 15, 2009 08:59:00 AM new
OK I am still confused. If I list an auction the first time, it is .12. If I relist it again it is .12. If it dosn't sell I stick it into my ebay store (another .12 ?) where I leave it till it sells, which could take a year. Do I pay another .12 each month now?? I don't use ebays fixed price gtc promo. Or will the change not affect me?????
posted on January 15, 2009 03:06:54 PM new
Hi susanc,
eBay Store listing fees didn't change, but each 30 days when the listing renews it will incur a listing fee. So if you list an item in your eBay Store and it doesn't sell for a year, and your listing fees are $0.12 per listing under your plan, that item would cost a total of $1.44 for the year of exposure.
If you list a very high volume of eBay Store items, please contact customer service using the Help link at the top of the page so we can do a plan review.
posted on January 15, 2009 08:55:32 PM new
So vendio would cost me $375/ yr right now with 260 store items. Thanks for making me take a look at the expenses of using this service!!
posted on January 16, 2009 08:13:39 PM new
Aaron, I'm on the variable power plan with Vendio- no listing fees, otherwise, I would be up in arms. I don't know why Vendio is charging double Ebay's listing fees. Why not send all your listings to your store via eBay's Sales Manager instead of Vendio and avoid all Vendio store's listing fees. Vendio: please note that eBay charges 3 cents per month for store listings. They have limited visibility, virtually nil unless the seller drives traffic to their store with links in their core listings. The stores are for parking slow-moving merchandise. Monthly recurring charges quickly wipe out the profit and the viability of having a store at all. Edited to add, oops! I missed that they are now FP instead of store, Still, Check into Vendio's power plans with no listing fees - I think you are already paying more for Vendio, before the changes, than you would under a power plan.
[ edited by pixiamom on Jan 16, 2009 08:33 PM ]
