Read the comments on my last post to see where this posts germination began...
Auction vs Fixed Price - Flawed.... Hmmmmmm
- eBay - Claims and is touted as the traffic "firehose" of eCommerce.
- eBay - to get traffic, one must list auctions - Just ask eBay about that.
- eBay - fixed price listings get traffic but from where? Inside of eBay or from outside. (more on this difference later)
- eBay - fixed price 30 day - still not as effective as a fixed price (till it sells) listings found elsewhere for outside search indexing.
- Bonanzle - received more hits on a specific fixed price listing within the same time period as compared to a nearly identical eBay auction listing.
Consider this... the last small point is a real quandary for some, why?
Because the time period was less than a normal eBay 5 day auction. Sure, auctions are not normally indexed in that short of a time frame, but people still use them. 5 Day and 7 Day auctions do get traffic, they just get it from inside eBay and eBay charges a great deal for access to that traffic.
It was a Traffic test, not an external traffic test. Any traffic that is interested in my listings no matter where they are listed, is good traffic. So to point out Auction vs Fixed price as being unfair to eBay is like saying setting up a blanket in a flea market on a Saturday afternoon vs selling in a downtown mall, is unfair to the mall.
If I had listed the tickets on eBay as a fixed price 30 day listing vs the Bonanzle fixed price listing I could have guaranteed Bonanzle a win based on my eBay fixed price 30day traffic track record on other items. The only real measure in this short of a time period was to use an eBay auction. Bonanzle does not offer auction listings.
The last traffic test we did on the TAJ was between two auction venues - eBay vs OLA and eBay won that one hands down.
While most eBay auctions are not indexed by Google, they do get hits from within eBay. In fact, most eBay fans agree with eBays claims that within eBay, a "firehose of traffic" is sent to its internal listings (i.e. Auctions). So why the gripe? eBay produces traffic all on its own and it seems they have no real use for, nor do they seem to particularly care if they receive any search engine derived traffic.
eBay wants everyone to use the eBay search box, not the Google search box.
"Everybody" has not exactly listened to eBay on this directive.
Regarding Auction vs Fixed Price - Most websites are not fully indexed within 5 days, not even a small eCommerce website. So, how did the fixed price listing outperform the auction listing on a site that has a "firehose of traffic".
This "firehose" is why everyone says eBay is the best place to sell and why eBay can charge so much in fees. Yet, a fixed price listing on a little site like Bonanzle, listed for the same (actually 4 days) received twice as many visitors as the eBay Auction listing.
Most people wanting to sell a similar SuperBowl Ticket package, in a speedy way would first think of eBay. My client first thought of eBay, I first thought of eBay and then of course - we listed the package on eBay. I did not expect to see more hits on the Bonanzle listing. I do not think eBay and Bonanzle compete neck and neck on any playing field, not monetarily and not for traffic.
The test was a sort of a lark, an attention getter, an idea to see what would happen. I never expected the "test" to be a United Laboratories experiment with blind control groups and extensive data analysis - who do you people think I am - AuctionBytes?
What I was hoping to point out, more than anything else, is that eBay is not the only place to find traffic.
Google is a pretty darn good traffic generator... with the right keyword selection, and with the right search optimization.
eBay is not optimized for Google search, neither auctions, fixed price, or stores listings. Maybe at one time, but in my experience no longer.
eBay depends upon, promotes, and lives on the laurels of the history of people going directly to eBay to search for products. I believe the number of those people is declining. The preponderance of traffic graphs, earnings reports, and seller anecdotes seems to agree with my assumptions.
Bonanzle just happens to be a site that is optimized to take advantage of Google search algorithms, it is clean and fast and quick to index.
Sellers on Bonanzle can conceivably build a business online that can rival any eBay based concern.
Remember here - I said "conceivably" and by that I mean that a lot "right" has to happen, but it can happen. For my money, Bonanzle or your own search optimized and advertised website are the safest bets outside of eBay for quality traffic generation.
Do your own tests, blind or open, with the listings set up with proper keyword optimization. If Bonanzle shows you additional traffic over time, that traffic can only build because the listings are on the site until sold, the Google Base works, the site is indexed quickly and often and it is just darn simple to move inventory over to Bonanzle to see how it works for your products.
- If it does not work for you, the test costs you nothing.
- If it works a little, then you are a little better off.
- If the site, that has grown faster than any other in eCommerce venue in history, continues on this path...
One Million Listings in 4 Months!
...then, will you will kick yourself for not having tried it sooner?
