Hi,
I recently opened an Ebid store (
http://uk.ebid.net/stores/Turbocharg...on-Compressors) having been very impressed with the low fees option for lifetime members.
I sell car parts, more specifically new genuine Turbochargers and Air Con Compresors.
I have listed around 400 items with another 2000 to go.
Average transcation price is around £650.00 inc vat.
I was incredibly impressed by the speed of the indexing on Google, one listing was listed and found at #1 position on Google in 28 mins!
Search term: 'Mondeo Actuators' result #1 in search rankings (3 below the usual sponsored listings).
Now, I have taken the time to very carefully embed my listings with all the neccessary part numbers for these parts safe in the knowledge that Google will pick them up. In the week that they were listed they clocked up an average of around 6 viewings each - around 3,600 in total ish.
How many enquiries through the Q&A do you think I would normally get in ratio to these viewings?
Well I can tell you that when we were selling on Ebay the enquiries were around 1/200 viewings.
ON EBID WE HAVE HAD ZERO.
The problem? You need to be a member of Ebid to ask a question.
I realise that Ebid want to avoid transcations taking place outside of Ebid but I can't see us making any sales unless the customers have asked there usual questions about delivery/suitability etc.
No one here is trying to drive people away from Ebid - far from it, we all need the feedback and the sales have to be processed somewhere!
Conversely, Ebay has millions upon millions of signed up members who will usuall browse for whatthey want having signed in. Joe public is more likely to find us through a Google search on Ebid and is more likely to not have an account.
I know through market research and personal preferences that asking someone to sign up in order to ask a quick question is a sure way to send them elsewhere.
Solution perhaps?: Let them ask the question as an unsigned up member, obviously having to leave an email address for a reply - post the message to the seller - then ask them if they want to create a password to become a member!
Maybe I'm looking at this through selfish eyes I don't know, all I do know is that the online car parts market on here could give feeBay a good run for it's money.
Jay.