Subject:
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Re: CFD: e-bay (aka ranting and raving)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 11 Feb 1999 07:11:08 GMT
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Reply-To:
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CJC@NEWSGUYantispam.COM
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Viewed:
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678 times
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James Brown <galliard@shades-of-night.com> wrote:
> Adam Yulish writes:
> > I understand (and thank you! :) but if using an external auction
> > service is detrimental to the lego community, and I am using an external
> > auction service, then that implies that I am detrimental to the lego
> > community. This is an important implication. I'm not taking that
> > personally; just defining what this idea leads to.
>
> Hmm, Good point. I would be inclined to argue that the good you bring into the
> community more than outweighs the (contestable) detriment of using an outside
> auction service. Actually, it would be more than an inclination - I am arguing
> it. :)
I'm snipping everything else because for this post at least I want to
focus on this thought that using an outside service is even possibly
detrimental to the community.
Sorry to be blunt, but do you know what the hell you're talking about
when it comes to running a sale or auction? I'll take my lashes if
you've run a dozen or so multi-set auctions or a few 10,000 piece
parts auctions, but I don't remember you doing it.
That having been said, what am I and others supposed to do when we
have something to sell and we don't want to devote hours every day to
updating web pages, sending out e-mail, yada, yada, yada?
I've done the manual thing. Still do it with some of my straight
sales. IT SUCKS. And there is NO internal alternative. I've had
discussions with Chris Busse about his engine but I'm finding myself
strapped for time so I don't know when I'll be able to generate the
spreadsheets to convert to databases to send to him if we decided to
do business together.
Lugnet auctions aren't a reality yet, and as cool as I'm sure they
will be when Todd finds the time to accomplish the million other
things he has to do to get them off the ground, they aren't helping me
right now.
So someone wants to run an auction. 10 sets maybe, maybe more. Maybe
a thousand parts broken up into 100 lots.
What is that person to do if he isn't a whiz-bang programmer and
doesn't have hours to spend every day doing the work manually? And it
takes hours - I know.
That person uses an external auction service. Why? Lots of reasons,
I'm sure. Convenience and time sound like good ones, even if you
threw the larger payoffs out the window.
Honestly don't mean to sound mean here, but I'm so sick of people who
haven't spent days and weeks sorting out all this stuff by hand
badmouthing a way that lets other people spend 10 minutes on the front
end setting it up, then 2 minutes at the end sending an e-mail
message.
I tell you what, and this is a blanket offer to ANYONE. You come up
with an internal way for me to run my parts auctions that have these
features:
(setup)
I tell the system I have 10 copies of set XXXX
It presents me with an inventory of those 10 sets.
I check off the parts I want to keep (exclude from auction)
It offers suggestions for lot sizes (nothing fancy, just something
like 2,4,6,8,10,etc would be fine)
It asks me what I want to ask as the starting bid for each piece, then
applies that to all the multiples in the different lots.
(execution)
Web-based bidding/viewing of lots. Pics are nice.
Web interface for buyers that lets them see their total and track
pieces they want to track.
Web interface for me that lets me get reports on various aspects of
the auction - number of bidders, total bid amount, totals for each
bidder, you name it.
(wrapup)
When the auction ends it e-mails each bidder a total including
shipping.
Then it generates packing lists for each bidder for me.
You, or anyone else do that or something close, with the setup section
being probably a little more important than some of the rest, and I'll
give you a reasonable percentage of the total. Screw 2%, 5% would be
easy, maybe more.
Till something like that surfaces, though, for some auctions, eBay and
Yahoo! and other external options will be best for me and others.
--
Unofficial listing of weekly US Lego Shop at Home phone specials
http://www.lugnet.com/lsahs/
800-835-4386 (S@H USA) / 800-267-5346 (S@H Canada)
www.lugnet.com/news/ - Meet more LEGO fans in your area through LUGNET
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: CFD: e-bay (aka ranting and raving)
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| (...) You're right, I haven't. To-date, I've done nothing more complicated than a straight sale. I am gearing up for a small set auction, and am considering if the amount of work that would go into a parts auction is worth it to me. I am aware that (...) (26 years ago, 11-Feb-99, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: CFD: e-bay (aka ranting and raving)
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| (...) Hmm, Good point. I would be inclined to argue that the good you bring into the community more than outweighs the (contestable) detriment of using an outside auction service. Actually, it would be more than an inclination - I am arguing it. :) (...) (26 years ago, 11-Feb-99, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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