posted 09-18-2009 12:32 PM               

Quietly, we have sold over 2 million dollars worth of goods, have unique items not found ANYWHERE else, and remain the best-kept secret and source of collectibles in the business.

No one has a vested interest: it is not (heavily) advertised, as there is no commission, and dealers and sellers would like to keep it a secret, for there is little competition (one can usually count on acquiring what they bid on) and it is a reliable and relatively inexpensive source of quality material.

There is no sniping, unquestioned authenticity, and negative feedback is investigated and punished.

posted 09-21-2009 03:29 PM               

Perhaps the best option to limit endless re-listing of items is instituting a system where a seller could re-list an item (for free) up to three times after the initial selling attempt. (After all, it sometimes takes a few rounds to attract the attention of the right bidder at the right time.) After four listing attempts (the initial paid listing and the three free re-listings), a seller has to do at least one of the following options in order to re-list the item another four times:

• lower the starting price by at least 10%
• lower the reserve price by at least 10%
• add an instant purchase option (or decrease an existing instant purchase price by at least 10%)
• pay another "new listing" fee

I don't know how hard it would be to implement this idea into the auction software, but I imagine it's possible if handed over to a skiller programmer (the cost of doing so eventually being reimbursed through seller fees).

posted 09-21-2009 04:13 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by mjanovec:
While I love the free aspects of Astro Auction, as an occasional seller, I would be happy to pay a nominal fee for each new item listing...

---

I agree. As a seller the site is great, however..the incessant relisting of non-selling items has turned me from being a regular checker of the site to an infrequent one. I'd propose a 3-counts-and-you're-out relist, then a "rest period" for six months before relisting. You'd have to open up the seller base to compensate for the reduction in volume but it might actually result in higher sales and more visits.

posted 09-21-2009 04:39 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by gliderpilotuk:
I'd propose a 3-counts-and-you're-out relist, then a "rest period" for six months before relisting.

---

posted 09-21-2009 04:42 PM               

On eBay even if I list on eBay.com, mark my items as deliverable worldwide and have postage fees that are often cheaper than US sellers charge my items still don't get seen by the vast majority of eBay users - because the default search settings on eBay.com are to show only items located in the US.

posted 09-21-2009 07:21 PM               

There IS an accounting module, but we've never used it.

posted 09-22-2009 03:43 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Wings4Flight:
I love that Astro-Auction is free but am disappointed that the number of sellers is limited.

---

Without a doubt, being a known Novaspace customer in good standing has a very positive influence on acceptance of your application. We have approved sellers with only a few items to sell. We usually request sample pictures of some of the items you wish to sell before approving a request.

If your not a known Novaspace customer, we sometimes require additional verification of the physical address and phone number of applicants.

We'll take a look at some of your re-listing suggestions. We frequently review whether to keep the site free for buyers and sellers.

Anywhere from 1000 to 3000 items close each month. I wouldn't be able to manually monitor the number of times items are relisted without significantly increasing the amount of time I spend with Astro-Auction -- I averaged less than 2 hours a week as Astro-Auction admin so far this year.

By the way, we do use the Accounting module. It's just that all fees are set to 0.

posted 09-22-2009 04:48 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by spaced out:
Any scheme specific to item relisting would be almost impossible to automate or enforce.

---

I would think the site could easily be programmed to automate a method that discourages constant re-listings. Perhaps my scheme proposed yesterday was a bit overly complicated. An easier variation would be:

Initial listing - pay fee
Two re-listings - free

After two re-listings, the re-listing button goes away. To relist beyond that, one must pay the listing fee again to start the cycle anew.

Fees could be assessed based on the value of the starting bid, the reserve, or the instant purchase price...whichever is highest. Sample fees could be something like this:

$0.01-$10.00 item: $0.10 listing fee
$10.01-$50.00 item: $0.25 listing fee
$50.01-$100.00 item: $0.50 listing fee
$100.01-$500.00 item: $1.00 listing fee
$500.01-$2000.00 item: $2.00 listing fee
$2000.01 and greater item: $4.00 listing fee

The fees set up the incentive for sellers to start items at lower prices, which generally encourages more bidding activity (and more site activity in general).

No enforcement of this proposed scheme would be necessary, since the fee would be automatic based on the seller's asking price...and there is no way around the re-listing rule (since all new listings result in a fee).

posted 09-23-2009 02:06 AM               

The relisting rules based on the existing relist function (where you can only change certain features like the price) could also work, although perhaps one free relist would be sufficient.

I would also suggest some influence from the duration of listings. Personally I like being able to select between 7 and 13 days. It allows me to list on any day of the week but still choose to have the auction end on a Saturday or Sunday so that the largest number of people can participate at the end.

posted 09-23-2009 12:47 PM               

I like Mark's idea, too, and Randy is doing some programming to make it work.

Chris, we try to avoid "rubbish!" and a little secret: Auction ending times don't need to be full days. The system will accept two decimal points in the field. If you can't list until later, no sweat.

posted 09-23-2009 01:51 PM               

Sometimes I wonder, I saw a coin for instance in a lucite which was bought on eBay just a few days ago which is now on Astro-Auction. I was interested in it but then realised I already had it.

On eBay it went for a tenth of the price it is on Astro-Auction now, so you would say you deserve some money for helping the seller make some money.

posted 09-23-2009 06:03 PM               

What about, at least in the autographs area of Astro Auction, breaking it up into three categories: M-G-A Astronauts, STS Astronauts, and Russian (Vostok/Voskhod/Soyuz).

At least that way, people looking for Gemini items wouldn't have to wade through a bunch of STS items, and vice-versa.

In the case of someone like John Young, who flew in Gemini, Apollo and STS, an item would go in the category the item depicts, i.e., if it's a WSS photo, it would go in the M-G-A section. If it's a blue spacesuit photo, it would go in the STS section.

posted 09-23-2009 07:15 PM               

We're splitting Astronaut Autographs into US, Russian and Other programs. And I'm splitting up the Covers and Stamps similarly, with sub categories specifically for signed covers.

We're looking at adding nominal fees for listing, with fee amounts differing by category. That's gonna take a little time to do.

Keep the great suggestions coming. We'll do what we can.

posted 09-24-2009 04:48 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by spaced out:
Any scheme specific to item relisting would be almost impossible to automate or enforce.

---