A person that has the intent of being malicious will not give their real name and address much less pay to have that information verified. This along decreases the risk of a transaction going bad due to malicious intent.

Those that think OnlineAuction.com should verify buyer without a fee to the buyer do not understand that there is a cost involved for the verification. This cost has to come out of someone’s pocket and that should be the buyers pocket. The buyer wants a safe place to shop and the seller wants a safe place to sell. Both the buyer and seller has to pay their share of the cost of making OnlineAuction.com a safe place to shop.

The most sellers simply want a safe and permanent place to call home where there are no policy changes all the time.

We have learnt our lesson as a Community and now we are offering that chance at http://www.auctions8.com

It is also the reason I do not list items for sale there, and that is a pity because for the most part you could not meet a nicer bunch of people than the average OLA seller.

I have to take issue with the theory of a Costco card costing more on an annual basis and the perception of value attached to Costco membership.

Your basic Costco membership is $40 a year plus tax. Online or in person wholesale shopping (drag that cart) in 8 countries with hundreds of warehouses, is not the only benefit to membership. Access to discounted tire shops, optical, pharmacy, gas, travel, auto purchase, merchant CC processing, medical and dental plans, real estate, insurance, payroll and financial services are included. If you opt for the Executive membership at $100 a year it gives 2% cash back on annual spending. In my case it more than pays for my membership.

All this for 20% less per year than the opportunity to spend my money at one small online sales venue, period.

In today’s economy anything which adds an extra step to gratification of the purchase impulse is likely to result in no sale.

If mixed with the right incentives, per se certain rebates on various items, after let’s say to be eligible for after a 3 month membership, etc. could well gain interest among buyers.

Offer something basic like a gasoline card tombola for which qualifying members are automatically enrolled in, or $100.00 – $200.00 towards someone’s monthly electricity bill. These events could happen maybe 2 – 4 times a year, who know’s – maybe even monthly. All depending upon how many new paying customers it attracts.

Robert

Dave – Right on!

Cheers,
Linda Miller
Consignment Pal Business Directory

Currently buyers can register on the OLA site at no charge. These buyers are limited to bidding on items less than $1000, and there is a limit of $1000 in bids per day placed on them.

Buyers may choose to register for a verified membership which costs $4.00 per month. This monthly fee first of all verifies the buyers information reducing deadbeat buyers. It also removes any restrictions of bidding on items over $1000 as well as removes the limit on the amount of bids a buyer can place. As a seller this verification places me more at ease when verified buyers place bids on my items.

When Chris discussed the future, and charging a monthly membership type fee for both buyers and sellers, much like Costco or Sam’s Club the idea intrigued me. If you attend a live auction today, most buyers are charged a “buyers premium” of generally 10-15%

Remember forward thinking visionaries are what is needed in ecommerce today and even though it may seem like a foreign concept today, membership type venues actually are in place today. The buyers just don’t realize they are paying for use of these sites by paying higher prices to cover the sellers outrageously high selling fees.

Listen to Chris Fain’s comments by going to http://www.ola-radio.com

And if something doesn’t sell: No fees to relist, you can set your auctions up to relist automatically. Saves time, saves money.

Plus I feel like I’m part of a real community. OLA listens when I ask questions or have suggestions.