Alternative format for online auctions...any thoughts?

[brianp-beme]

Just throwing out an idea...wouldn't it be much better, less annoying, less time consuming, and I imagine more satisfying for both dealer and collector if ebay were to maintain certain periods of time (say, for example, Sunday evenings between 5 and 10 pm) for the ending of auctions, and auctions alone? Thus, no countless BIN's to sift through and glaze your eyes over? And these auctions would all have $9.99 (or perhaps a couple different reasonable levels of) opening bids with no reserves, so that all the dealers with inflated prices on their inventory would be reluctant to post 'auctions' during this time frame?

I don't see ebay implementing anything like this, but I could see a place like Grand Slam Bids doing so...thus dealers and collectors could both focus their energies once a week on one particular (or two if it were to prove successful) night, creating a focused marketplace for both parties.

Just a thought...I am very tired of how ebay has devolved, and I get exhausted searching for my precious cardboard nuggets. Any thoughts or alternatives to this idea?

Brian

[zljones]

I for one am with you there, I am especially tired of the overinflated BINs to sift through. I think those listings should only get three months max to be listed. I am also so tired of those reprints! For example: not too ago I was on the hunt for a 1966 Bobby Orr Rookie card. Everyday there were about 60 listings, which does not seem like alot but the vast majority of the listings were for these stupid refidgerator magnets, and the seller flooded the search results. They were auctions so I couldn't filter to eliminate BIN, plus I don't shut out BINs ever, I have had some great finds for BINs. Anyway these magnets looked like the real thing and I would be very upset to read the description as a magnet after giving me a moment of hope. I also used the email notification feature that ebay offers for any new listings. I used to get emails daily because these stupid magnets kept getting listed and relisted over and over.
Finally after searching for two months, I finally got the card, but had to go through reprint sifting hell to get it.

[Leon]

The problem is advertising and traffic. Ebay is sort of like Wal-Mart. Try opening a small retail shop of any type next to one and see what happens. The momentum ebay has is not able to be overcome without a huge budget, imo. There are quite a few ebay alternatives, besides Grand Slam Bids, and as far as I know none of them have gotten much traction. Personally, I don't look at other ones.

[steve B]

You can always just click on the "auctions only " tab at the top of the page.

Steve B