I occasionally spend some time on the eBay Stores Discussion Board and try an glean a sense of what the eBay Store seller is thinking. With Amazon announcing stellar earnings results and great 3P seller growth, eBay sellers have some thoughts.
One user that stand out for me is Gamerbiz - Here is an example of the wisdom in his posts. (even though it doesn't mention Amazon)
"Ebay is an auction site. I personally believe customers who come here like the thrill of trying to get a deal. [from previous post]
This is the key. Ebay is an AUCTION site. That is what separated them from everybody else on the internet.
Now, if you make your living as an ecommerce retailer, you should NOT have a store here. It is THE MOST EXPENSIVE retail operation on the internet. Ebay structured the fees for the store based on the auction format. A listing fee...for each item, in an ecommerce retail operation? That's NOT how internet ecommerce is structured.
THERE IS NO SEARCH. If you are smart, you would recognize this as pine 2x4 upside of your head. Search...is the most crucial element for ecommerce. No search = no sales. Hello, McFly?
Every week, there are posts by those who have no or low sales for your eBay stores, disbursed among the posts from those that have a TRUE ecommerce Elsewhere, and their sales are good, great or on fire. Week after week, "where are the sales in here" questions, followed up with reports that sales are fine outside of here. Do you need this painted on a roadside billboard?
If you are serious about having an ecommerce biz, an eBay store SHOULD NOT BE YOUR PRIMARY ecommerce site. It should be a small marketing gimmick. It should be part of your Squidoo, myspace, YouTube, Adwords marketing campaign. Now, if you are a small part time seller, than eBay is really your only choice. However, if you have any decent inventory and are trying to MAKE A LIVING, change your business model today. "
I agree completely with Gamerbiz on this point.
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