An Idea to save eBay...

[mintacular]

Can you image if eBay allowed customers to "checkmark" items of interest and submit a "bulk" offer? For example, Joes Vintage Sports Cards has let's say 100 Gd T's for sale at $30/ea. You could "check" 10 of them and submit offer of $250...

This could spark some excitement back into eBay which is now a dumping ground for overpriced BINs.

It's a win/win, buyers get possible discount on bulk purchases/sellers can move inventory more quickly on their terms + combine shipping. Your thoughts?

[scmavl]

That's not a bad idea, Pat. It would make it feel more like a real marketplace, haggling and all.

[familytoad]

To me your idea isnt bad, but its just a navigational feature enhancement...its far from "saving eBay".
You can contact any seller and try to make an offer, you'd just be clicking your email app or the embedded " contact seller" button.

You want to save eBay? You got a lot more variables than that...especially when considering that every change/adjustment/increase they have made in the last few years have been perceived (rightfully so imho) to be totally self-serving and not customer-friendly. Once a business has lost the ability to understand that they cannot exist without customers the demise is eminent.
The customer experience portion of business cannot be understated, nor by these buffoons...understood.

[almostdone]

Overall I think its a good idea though not to sugest it will save ebay. A few times I have had to go to different auctions and make offers on numerous cards from one buyer at once. It is time consuming to get a response back and once I didn't get the main card desired but rather only the little "throw in ones"
Drew

[HRBAKER]

Is ebay going somewhere?

[mcadams]

This topic has been discussed in detail over at psacard lately. I, and others, put forth the argument that listing cards at ridiculous BIN prices is not only annoying to buyers, but economically nonsensical for sellers, due to the cost of carrying inventory for so long. Based on the responses that sellers provided, I get the idea that most sellers:

1) Refuse to sell a card for less than they paid for it
2) Think that the price they paid has something to do with the card's current value
3) Would rather burn the card than sell it for less than they paid
4) Don't understand the real cost of carrying inventory for long periods.

I firmly believe that the problem with Ebay (especially with collectibles) is the lack of business acumen of many sellers.

[mintacular]

With all due respect, the intention of my thread was not discuss the numerous other issues with eBay, seller's with overpriced BINs, etc. but more so a new way of shopping that would allow the buyer to easily access and make bulk offers on items/inventory...The current format provides a "wall" between seller/buyer whereby you have to run in circles to contact seller.

Currently, it is logistically much more difficult to write "Joes" and say "Hey I'll take your '73 EX Ryan, these 5 T06s, oh and this '87 Fleer Bonds for $100..." than the idea I proposed whereby you would simply "check" items of interest and then hit a "Submit offer" button with your desired $...

The excitement of eBay was the perceived "deal/bargain" and "rush" one got from the auctions, and a simple format change would allow folks more flexibility to negotiate/buy in bulk from sellers. That said, collectibles in cards on ebay are probably .01% of total sales so maybe my idea would work for a site that was devoted to just collectibles.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by mintacular

That said, collectibles in cards on ebay are probably .01% of total sales so maybe my idea would work for a site that was devoted to just collectibles.

I believe this would work well with other items, not just collectibles. Many times someone may be interested in multiple items a seller has.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

Is ebay going somewhere?

As we all know, eBay has been deteriorating lately. There are many "alternative eBays" out there. Sometime in the future it is very likely eBay is squashed by one of these websites.

[mcadams]

The title of your thread was "An Idea to Save Ebay"... I find your suggestion to be creative and potentially useful, however your suggestion isn't addressing the root problem. Buyers don't want BINS or BINS with best offer. Your suggestion of the checklist is attempting to make that sales format better. The sales format that buyers want is the original auction format. Otherwise, Ebay is just an online card shop priced via Beckett Monthly. The BIN format is the problem, not the ease at which buyers and sellers communicate on Ebay. Just my 2 cents. Edited for sp.

[mintacular]

I agree, the title is bad. I do think the psychological "rush" of winning an auction could also be satisfied w "winning" a negotiation via a bulk listing "best offer" option. Okay, now I'm going to contradict myself and say that also the appeal of eBay is the perception of getting things below market $ and my idea provides a gateway "get a good deal". Isn't that why people go to flea markets? Isn't that what made eBay the original "online flea market" a success--i.e. not just the rush of the auction but getting a deal?

[mcadams]

I completely agree with last post. If the checklist brought back the idea that deals were possible, that would be a positive for buyers. But it would only really be a positive if sellers were receptive and transaction volume increased. I am suggesting that buyers are not part of the current problem (at all).

I'm not sure sellers would care about receiving discount offers on bulk lots. I feel like the bulk discount that used to be the norm has faded away at least somewhat. Sellers on Ebay would seemingly prefer to wait on the dumb money to come hit all their bins individually, rather than give you a discount on a large lot. Ebay sellers believe that there is 1 guy out there who will always pay them 20% above market, and they are willing to wait an eternity for that 1 guy to find thier BIN.

[thadd]

Minty, I've wished for a long time that eBay had a way to bid on the same sellers items at once instead of having to bid individually every time. I never gave the offer idea any thought, but that would be even better. I like to buy multiple items from the same seller just to combine the shipping and save that way, so your idea would make that much easier, the offer part would be really cool too at least for BIN auctions with the Make Offer option.

I wish they would come up with something, although I'd probably regret it later on after spending twice as much as I already do if it was easier to buy that way.

[dabigyankeeman]

Minty, i think thats a great idea, something very usefull, and something i might like to use myself.

[CowboysGuide]

I've both been the 'offerer' and 'seller to receive offers' on a few occasions. I'm strictly talking about mulitple listed items here. I've been successful working it out both ways with a single email. It all depends on the seller, and if he/she feels like taking the time to work with the customer.