posted on December 15, 2000 03:58:53 PM new
Hi. I'm doing some research for an upcoming AuctionWatch.com article. What I'm wondering about is whether folks think that there's a bias toward buyers. That is, as the large auction sites continue to increase in listings, do you think they're looking to please and appeal to buyers as opposed sellers? Or is there a balance between buyers and sellers? Any thoughts on this subject? Specific examples, like, say, the integration of Half.com search results at eBay, would be great. Thanks.
posted on December 15, 2000 08:35:29 PM new
Well you should realize a priori that sites value buyers more than sellers. The buyers represent the sites marketable asset. By and large a seller is a fungible asset, but a buyer can not be replaced, and a large number of buyers can be leveraged in any partnerships or advertising. However, determining which element [ buyers or sellers ] brings which to the venue is a chicken and egg argument, until we see that sites that began as portholes now have auction sites.
The regulations for selling on these venues is greater than the regulations to buy. Look at the hoops sellers have to jump through to get a fvf back compared to what a buyer needs to do to withdraw a bid. Listing fees are not refunded for a NPB.
The down time, waiting up to 3 hours for your listing to show up, but still paying for the complete listing time, sellers put up with all these things from the vendor due to one thing - there are buyers at the venue.
Amazon Auctions has the greatest motivation to harbor a bias towards buyers, because Amazon is a fellow vendor. Amazon has no benefit in alienating a buyer in a third party auction dispute.
As these venues attempt to bring in regular retailers to list at the site, the bargaining position is that of having a large number of available buyers, not sellers.
posted on December 16, 2000 07:45:57 AM new
I think it depends on the case. I sold a lot of videos on Amazon, Ebay, and Yahoo and have found that Ebay pushes most towards the buyer.
Amazon does too but it discrimanates better. Amazon, IMO wants to have products availabel to its customers that aren't available anywhere else and will work with a large seller that can offer this.
I think on the whole Amazon's the best place for the buyer due to its customer support as compared to any of the other big three.
