posted on February 11, 2003 07:24:37 AM new
I think if everyone who has an eBay Store requests support for them from AW, they might start to listen!
I, for one, am starting to look around for an auction manager which does support eBay Stores. How many people does AW have to lose, before they catch up with everyone else!
Kathy Kieff
Gifts-N-Crafts
http://www.gifts-n-crafts.net
posted on February 12, 2003 07:26:44 AM new
I'm bumping this up..I too would like to see AW support eBay stores - there's no way that AW stores will ever get the edge on eBay stores... so if the reason that AW isn't supporting is because it's competition..THATS SILLY!!!!
You have your niche AW ... please continue to offer the best auction sales manager available by supporting your members' needs!
posted on February 13, 2003 10:52:55 PM new
I do have to agree here with supporting eBay Stores. I like some of the functionality that AW stores offer, but the bad point is that you can't blatantly promote it right in your auction page. I feel that AW Gallery does not mean store to most people.
eBay stores on the other hand you can push right in your auction ad and have high visibility. I would really like to possibly utilize both store types for different means, but would like AW to integrate with ebay stores so I can possibly list items to them from AW.
posted on March 5, 2003 04:08:19 PM new
Hi,
I love AW! Because of their services and features I have improve my online selling immensely. However I am now at the point where I really want/need to open an Ebay Store. I have to go with an auction management service that supports this. So if there are any plans on the horizon(hopefully soon)to do this, please let us know. I don't want to leave.
Also, anyone willing to share how difficult/easy it is to manage an Ebay store when all your inventory is at AW. Thanks.
posted on March 6, 2003 03:40:06 PM new
For all of you people out there considering an ebay store. Let me tell you a story. We have a AW storefront and do quite well with our auctions on ebay. We decided to open an ebay store and the night I opened it we stopped getting bids, it was weird and almost immediate. Kept it open a week and sales were lousy almost zip. Closed the ebay store and almost immediately the bids and sales picked back up. Seems the ebay stores are not that good for business. I don't think AW should pay that much attention to ebay stores.
posted on March 8, 2003 06:29:08 AM new
I had both Ebay and AW. My Ebay store never made the money my AW store does. I have over 4000 unique items. Ebay is too expensive. AW has worked great for me. They can add the service for you guys but would like them to concentrate on improving existing services. IMHO
You said you've had better success with your AW store than eBay's. If so I'm just curious how you are getting visitors into your AW store? What methods are you using? If you are using your eBay auction ads to promote it are you getting your visitors from that? I'm just wondering how many people are actually clicking on the little banner button promoting an Auction Watch Gallery since that is all eBay will allow us to use.
I'm just trying to decide which way is better to go, AW or eBay store. I like AW stores better, but feel I'm limited on how much I can promote it through my ads on eBay. On the other hand, ebay lets you blatantly promote their stores right through their ads giving better exposure. But eBay stores are more expensive. So it makes it difficult to decide. Any insight from you or anyone else would be very helpful in my decision. Otherwise I will need to spend alot of time trying both out.
Thanks
[ edited by prosperlink on Mar 9, 2003 06:38 PM ]
posted on March 9, 2003 08:28:09 PM new
The hard truth is these stores are only "leeches" which means what ever you get comes from ebay. Whether it is an ebay store or an AW store their first impression of you is your auction on ebay, your customer service and feedback. You have to offer the right things that get the hits, and promote your other items on the auction. Do not expect to open a storefront and get immediate sales. It took 2 years of getting successful sales under my belt and a decent feedback number to begin getting sales from my store. In my opinion the AW store offers a more user friendly checkout and functionality (such as inventory) of the store than ebay.
posted on March 10, 2003 07:42:43 AM new
I do really close to the same volume on both stores, so it is a toss-up, if you only want one. I like to keep both, but if AW doesn't start supporting eBay stores soon, I may switch to another auction manager, which offers a storefront, and supports eBay stores. I have been with AW for a long time, and hate to change, but if necessary, I will be forced to make the change.
Kathy Kieff
Gifts-N-Crafts
http://www.gifts-n-crafts.net
posted on March 11, 2003 02:55:19 PM new
Sorry for the delay. How to get people into your AW store. First, all of my ebay auctions use the Storefront template. This way they can click on your logo to go to your store, click on the picture to go to your store or click on the gallery icon to go to your store. There is a link on my about me page. I mention in my auction ad that there are thousands of items in my gallery and where to click to get to it. Also, my WBN says to go visit to learn how to qualify for free shipping with link. Second, I use google ad words and have found that it pays for itself easily. Especially with corporate customers. Third, I let repeat buyers know (about every other month) that there are more items they would like in my store (and always provide a way for them to opt out of these emails). My traffic is about the same or better than my ebay store and the COST is much less. You can see what I am doing at www.vintageads4u.com (I bought the domain and have it pointed to my auctionwatch store). Good luck.
posted on March 11, 2003 03:26:36 PM new
Thanks for the info. Wow, I had no idea that you could use your store template for your auction listings. I don't understand why AW wouldn't promote that feature. Is it because eBay might have a promblem with it?
What if I were to state in my listings ...click on my Store Logo above to see more items I have for sale...I wonder if that would be okay. Does anybody know?
I know about the gallery icon, but that is so small and do buyers really associate that with an actual store? If I could get some traffic moving to my AW store, I probably wouldn't open the one at eBay.
posted on March 11, 2003 04:45:48 PM new
As far as I understand the ebay rules, we cannot have any link directly to our store or anything else non-ebay in our auction listings that is marked that way (including text mentioning your store without an actual link). The rules say you can only provide a link with the url of a gallery featuring only ebay listings. BUT, the rule does not say you can only use the AW gallery button (that is just what AW offers). Anything you can devise for your listing that doesn't imply or connect to outside-ebay sales and triggers the transit to your AW gallery with only ebay listings works (ask AW customer service for the link that goes with your particular gallery button, then you can attach it to anything you want to get them to the same page).
The ebay rules do allow a direct link to your store or any one offsite website from your About Me page, however. And you can make it as prominent as you like on that page.
I also use the AW store template, and have very prominent html text-links to my AW Gallery and About Me page. I also make it very clear on my About Me page that my store inventory is a commercial enterprise unrelated to Ebay and the merchandise there is not available for auction-- I specify that I have other merchandise I sell at auction, which is true. I don't cycle merchandise in and out of my store. I treat them as different venues and market different merchandise for each and in different ways.
People are even less likely to click the tiny "me" icon up by your ID than the AW gallery icon. Ebay has set it up so ebay store ads are plastered all over the listing, but non ebay stores only get a tiny "me" icon---and there is no way people unfamiliar with ebay and its rules would guess you even had a store or they could get to it if they click the little "Me".
When ebay tightened up the rules in the listings, however, they began allowing more in the About Me Page where you can be very blatent about your business and what you sell and carry.
AW stores now submit daily to Froogle, and if we will risk to part with some of our $$$ for Google ad words and some basic internet exposure, AW sites have the possibility of having alot of the features of an independent commercial site. Ebay "stores" on the other hand are just glorified collections of ebay listings --and their listings look like it, too! (Not to mention the extra 25 cents a shot to get a thumbnail with the listing).
If you don't want the $$$ or hassle of running an independent website, AW offers alot. No one comes to an ebay store who is not 'into' ebay, and ebay stores are not at all appealing to the general public surfing the net. (Would you really choose an ebay store over, say, Amazon.com or Williams Sonoma?) The name "AuctionWatch" carries some of the same stigma because of the reputation of ebay stores, but not as much because folks can get there and come and go and buy retail without having anything to do with ebay.
posted on March 11, 2003 06:59:59 PM new
Hi,
Thank you very much. I checked out your store and your About Me page. I am now inspired to try some of the same techniques. Great looking store and Me page you have.
