We need a eBid TV Advert

[stitchysyl]

I want to put my twopenneths worth in...and just an observation, not a critisism.

The ads I have seen on the internet for eBid have been mainly targetted at sellers...with 'no fees' etc. A buyer isn't attracted by the no fees as they don't have any anyway...

So alongside what I see as 'seller targetted ads' it would be nice to see some ads that plug the fact that bargains are to be found by buyers, such as ' bag a bargain on ebid' etc.

We are always saying we want more buyers, so we need to target them.

Just a thought.

[GilfidianRudge]

Hi ya. I agree that open debate is healthy but in the paragraph above I suspect that you have encapsulated a large part of the problem that new users are finding - and i am referring specifly to new buyers here.

This site takes a lot of getting used to and to the average Joe coming here from the other side who is looking to pick up a few things on the cheap, maybe some baby clothes or the odd CD - at first glance it is not as easy to use as the other side.

Now the younger end of todays users (and by this I mean the under 25s) have a very short attention span and if they cant get what they want quickly then they loose interest. Yes if they stayed and read the forums and gave the site a good try they would find its better than over there but I suspect they dont give it a try - I admit that I am generalising here but you get the gist of what I mean.

Some sellers may say well why do we want that age group on here and I can understand that especially if you are selling craft items and collectables and so on but that age group has a heck of a lot of disposable income and they are not shy in spending it. Those of sellers who sell items aimed at that age range, fashion items, fashion clothes, DVD's, Music and so on do need them.

Now as I have said, This was not my thread and I have never asked for TV advertising from eBed so I have not changed my views. TV advertising does work but it depeneds on the product or brand being advertised and how much dosh you throw at the campaign.

I agree totally that eBids banner campaign and the word of mouth work being done by the sellers is fantastic but I would like to site on the fence and pose a question.

Is it attracting the right kind of buyers for ALL?

Maybe I can explaine this better - Say if someone here is a big seller of beads or other craft related items. I suspect that they would be members of forums and blogs that like minded people belong to and therefore the people that any banners attract would be interested in auctions that sell Beads. That is fantastic for anyone who sells these kind of items and long may it be so.

But what about those who sell baby clothes? Is there a forum that they cant plug themselves in?

Or someone selling end of line ladies fasion hoody tops?
There is no way the avarage 18 - 25 year old girl is going to be hunting through online forums looking for a seller - its too much like hard work for them.

Same goes for the avarage 18 - 25 year old lad who want bit of a bargin on the CD from his latest fave goth metal band - if such forums exsisted.

My point is that in my humble opinion, there is only so many people that a forum based and banner type campagn can reach and also the demigraphic cross section of the type of buyers is limited.

So I agree with the original premise of the OP of this thread that eBid needs to reach a wider section of potential buyers although I disagree that TV advertising is the way to do it.

Agree with a good many of your points above Kenny - my mistake previously I obviously wrongly assumed you were mad4musicguy under another name!

As for expanding the site's advertising campaign I'm probably quoting this all wrong but the phrase 'slowly slowly catch e monkey' springs to mind. Only G&M know how much is in that little tin box marked advertising budget - good luck to the lads in how they choose to use it!



To stitchysyl - I think that's a very good point to make.

[Armstrongs]

I want to put my twopenneths worth in...and just an observation, not a critisism.

The ads I have seen on the internet for eBid have been mainly targetted at sellers...with 'no fees' etc. A buyer isn't attracted by the no fees as they don't have any anyway...

So alongside what I see as 'seller targetted ads' it would be nice to see some ads that plug the fact that bargains are to be found by buyers, such as ' bag a bargain on ebid' etc.

We are always saying we want more buyers, so we need to target them.

Just a thought.

That's a very astute & valuable comment Sitchysyl

Hope it provokes another line of thought for da boyz to ponder

Yv x

[madelaine]

I take the point about it being preferable for ebid management to answer email queries rather than post on the boards, but they do seem to treat us like mushrooms at times and I've reached the end of my goodwill for posting about ebid policy on here. This doesn't include helping people round the site, but endlessly telling the world that ebid aren't going to do TV ads is a thing of the past for me.

HannaHolly, your stats graphs don't cover the period when Tazbar had the TV ads -they cover the period when the money men forced some really, really bad decisions and now the place is all over bar the shouting imho.

I back up Stitchsyl's remarks about recruiting buyers - I posted about this a while ago suggesting that ebid needs a new slogan and there were a ton of suggestions. Now that was a thread that management might have posted on, do you think? I've been using stickers which say "eBid - online auctions where everyone wins" for a while.

[kennynotts]

I want to put my twopenneths worth in...and just an observation, not a critisism.

The ads I have seen on the internet for eBid have been mainly targetted at sellers...with 'no fees' etc. A buyer isn't attracted by the no fees as they don't have any anyway...

So alongside what I see as 'seller targetted ads' it would be nice to see some ads that plug the fact that bargains are to be found by buyers, such as ' bag a bargain on ebid' etc.

We are always saying we want more buyers, so we need to target them.

Just a thought.

Sitchysyl,

If these are the kind of thoughts you have - long may you continue to have them. This is excellent reply that neatly sums everything up in a nut shell

[BAGHAG999]

I agree we need the buyers over here but ive found that the majority of sellers are also buyers and some buy more than they sell.
The way i see it the more sellers the more competive the prices are.
But because ive been here longer than some it doesant mean im right and imput from new members is always welcome in my book.

[kennynotts]

I also can see and take onboard everyones comments about growing slowly and laying the foundations slowly so that they are strong

But sitting on the fence.....

There is also the saying "missed the boat"

People are leaving fleabay **now** and they are not going to hang about while any site (and I dont just mean eBid) builds itself up - they will try a site and if they dont get what they want there and then they will move on fast.

My point being, with respect to everyone here - past, present and future, there is an extremely shiney 24 carot golden opportunity happening right now and it seems daft not to try and make the best of it while its there.

Once the people leaving Fleabay have found where ever they end up going it will be too late - I can see no reason why eBid should not be the place they end up going. They just need to be told that eBid is here

[stitchysyl]

That's a very astute & valuable comment Sitchysyl

Hope it provokes another line of thought for da boyz to ponder

Yv x

I do occasionally have lucid moments....

[weedgiewean]

I would be happy to pay a small sum of money to ebid - say around £20 -not a lot as an individual - but - could be a lot if all selling members contributed -if ebid let the buyers know it exists. Either through TV or newspaper promotion.

[Gothicina]

I suggest that those who request TV adverts read Gazza's post on the subject to help understand a bit more about the site.
http://helpdesk.ebid.net/showpost.php?p=561457&postcount=75

I agree, with stitchysyl that now the number & range of goods on eBid has increased, the advertising should be aimed at both buyers & sellers.

At the moment, I'd rather the guys invested in more servers, to help combat the slowdown ect caused by the rapid growth of the site, than throw money at tv adverts.

Those who request TV adverts where? The UK? The USA? Canada?
Everybody would say their own home country, if the cost in the UK are high, think how much higher they would be in the USA? Whichever country the guys chose, the other countries would complain.

At least internet banners can be used more fairly.