I agree with this article ...

[HannaHolly]

The article is one sellers opinion - nothing more. The seller in question very rarely uses ebid ( they have nothing listed at the moment and have a feedback rating of 4) and tends to favour other venues.

[leapingcat]

As the writer of the article that triggered off the Pheebay article and a Phhebay member, I think that I should come in with my 2p's worth . My main point was that Ebay is talked about in connection with internet auctions in perhaps the same way that Hoover is with vacuum cleaners and that is the biggest hurdle that Ebid has to overcome. I also believe that ecommerce is different from other markets and as such should be promoted in a particular way. I disagree with the comments about the Richard Branson figure, but on pheebay we can disagree but still respect each others' views.
I'm afraid that much of the promotion of Ebid that I see is unlikely to attract buyers. Merely calling Ebay by a variety of silly names and saying it's free to list here isn't going to have any effect at all. Everyone must unite behind one message and push it in forums, blogs, etc. This viral marketing can be more successful than paid advertising, in theory there are no financial or resource limitations.
I suggest that Ebid is promoted on the basis that it is now steadily becoming THE place to find the one-off items that used to be found on Ebay. You may not find it today, but come back next week and perhaps you will. Be realistic, it still has a long way to go, but the product is a key part of the marketing mix, and every individual thing that is listed helps to promote ebid and make it a venue that people will return to.

[bykimbo]

All good points, but I do have one small quibble... using silly names for feebay has *nothing* to do with promoting ebid and it's not intended to achieve anything positive, it's simply a means of stopping the use of the real name from bringing up more google ads, and increasing still further the "feeds to feebay" score that can affect a site's popularity and visibility still further. I think it make some people feel better too, and that's no bad thing.

I entirely agree that viral marketing is the way to go (well I would, I've been saying it since I arrived ), and that the "no fees" thing is all very well for attracting sellers, but it's of no interest to buyers. Some sort of "the site for collectors and bargain hunters" approach seems more likely to bring in the right crowd.

[baconsdozen]

It's true that ebay has become almost another name for internet auctions like Hoover for vacumns (although Dyson is another).The sad thing is it's also becoming a by word for lousy customer relations and cons.
None of this will help Ebid unless its name gets pushed forward more and sales start flowing.
As other posters have said mentioning the name at every opportunity is a good ploy and word of mouth works better in some ways than expensive advertising.Unfortunately people will put up with a lot of aggro before they say enoughs enough,it amazes me that ebay still doesn't seem to have reached its 'ratner' moment and its customers desert for good.

[madelaine]

I started a thread some time ago for suggested new tag lines for ebid because only sellers care about the fees, as Kimbo says.

T****r went from a strong pitch for loyalty to money-grubbing in one move - they not only introduced fees without returning the loyalty members had already shown but without proper notification. Their communication with members remains sporadic.

Ebid has always been better at communication (even at its worst) and has always acknowledged loyalty with discounts on upgrades.

Leapingcat (and any others) please take note of Kimbo's point about silly names for the other place - mentioning it by name has brought up a load of ways off here to other auction sites in the google ads box.

[0ctavias0fferings]

I don't spend a lot of time in these forums and this thread was only brought to my attention today.

I am making sales on eBid, slowly but steadily, and I'm about to split my auctions into yet another store and get them all tidied up . I need to also add keywords relevant to each of my card and print auctions - that will feed the Google bot etc. I'm also out there most of the time spreading my links around ... that also feeds the bots and spiders, and I'm increasing my links out on the web daily.

If everyone on this site did a tenth of what I do (and I know I'm not alone in my efforts) then the traffic to eBid would increase enormously.

Any traffic we individually bring here is a bonus for everyone on the site. Should it be up to Gazza and Mark to market the site to buyers? I guess they should step up and do some but really, I see it as being up to us as individuals to get the news out about our listings.

We are better off on eBid than we would be on our own individual sites as collectively there is much more to attract the bots, spiders etc and we can do plenty to help ourselves and each other.

I don't necessarily agree with everything in the article but at least it has sparked off a talking point and maybe some sellers will realise that, all things being equal, everything is what YOU make it.

[*artsbanquet*]

2 excellent points raised -
+ "only sellers care about the fees" - new tag lines are needed to attract buyers.
One objection I've had from sellers I've tried to convince joining eBid is that they prefer to set up their own website or promote their own website rather than migrate to another auction site like eBid - but like Octavia says - "We are better off on eBid than we would be on our own individual sites as collectively there is much more to attract the bots, spiders etc and we can do plenty to help ourselves and each other."

[moonwitch]

I have had my own on-line store but found running it very isolating, especially as I work from home because of a long term disability.

I come here to offer help when I can and to be a part of a friendly supportive community - something I lacked when trading on feebay and running my own store.

I'm really not bothered how people on other forums see what we are doing here - what impresses me about eBid is the level of business support from other members - and I have needed a whole bunch of that

[TexasAda]

2 excellent points raised -
+ "only sellers care about the fees"... "We are better off on eBid than we would be on our own individual sites as collectively there is much more to attract the bots, spiders etc and we can do plenty to help ourselves and each other."

EXACTLY. I have been handing out business cards with the eBid.net logo to all kinds of sellers. I went to a city-side indoor garage sale last weekend and 100% of the sellers to whom I gave cards (some asked for multiples) agreed eBoy is getting very obnoxious, and they all seemed genuinely interested in eBid.

Now I want to think about how to publicize eBid to buyers as well. I really think I should promote the Want Ads and that they're free and can run as long as a shopper wishes. Possibly it would be a good idea to feature a want ad on the front page as stores and listings are now featured.

[bykimbo]

Now I want to think about how to publicize eBid to buyers as well. I really think I should promote the Want Ads and that they're free

Are you sure about that? I'm sure I've seen a charge discussed.