Auctiva going to start charging in July!!

[Schatzy]

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y09/m05/i28/s01

 

People are VERY unhappy with the new pricing scheme and are apparently leaving Auctiva in droves.

 

Ebay Forum http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Seller-Central/Auctiva-To-Start/520124554

 

Auctiva Forum http://community.auctiva.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/196105921/m/676108921

 

In a nutshell: eBay cut Auctiva out of their affiliate program so Auctiva is no longer getting their income through eBay commissions so they are replacing that lost income by charging their customers an arm and a leg.

 

This is their new fee schedule, which is a whole lot more complicated than it initially appears because of the fact you have to add final value fees and image hosting fees to whatever plan you choose. http://www.auctiva.com/about/pricing.aspx Yes you read that correctly: a listing service wants to charge sellers and additional final value fee on top of the one eBay takes. Many sellers are finding that their costs with Auctiva would run upwards of $100 per month (fees are capped at $250/month).

[Schatzy]

According to auctiva and my normal usage I will have to pay an average of $43.56 a month!! I will not be using them anymore.

 

[EZ_E]

Well, that really sucks! Just started using them, too. I certainly won't be using them if I must pay a fee!

 

Thanks for the heads up.

[gmarguli]

I use them for the auto-feedback. Only been doing it for the past month or so. Neat feature, but won't pay for it.

 

No way in hell do I pay them a FVF on top of being raped by eBay & PayPal.

[EZ_E]

It is a rape! Like 10% isn't enough, they want a gonad thrown in as well!

[prudden]

It's already too expensive for small time sellers/collectors to sell on Ebay. This is not the time for raising prices. Why did Ebay cut Auctiva out anyway? The first person who comes up with a viable alternative to Ebay could make a fortune.Many have tried and many have died.

[James_OldeTowne]

Sorry if I am dense, but what is "auctiva"?

[EZ_E]

It is a listing aid for ebay. It hosts and supersizes pics, provides templates and scroll bars.

 

Here's an example from a current listing of mine: hosted by auctiva

[ant]

thanks for posting this topic Schatzy. pm sent.

 

im trying to add this type of feature to site which will be for free, and the pics show big already so im well on way. just dont know how it works fully.

 

big pics

templates

 

seems to be the thing used the most, am i correct? so if i make these features standard i could get rid of them also?

[123cents]

I had a account that I had not used in about 10 months. With all these nutty fees I just closed it.

[James_OldeTowne]

I am incredibly delighted nearly a year later to remain completely free from eBay.

[ant]

I am incredibly delighted nearly a year later to remain completely free from eBay.

 

a 1 yr chip! awsome. i fell of the wagon after 5 months.

[EZ_E]

Jaime, just to be clear, I can continue using Auctiva until July 1st? What if I list an item before then but the auction carries over past 7/1? Will I still incrue fees? Thanks.

 

Vic

[Schatzy]

Jaime, just to be clear, I can continue using Auctiva until July 1st? What if I list an item before then but the auction carries over past 7/1? Will I still incrue fees? Thanks.

 

Vic

 

From what I understand the fees will start July 1st and anything you list after that will be charged. I am going to close my account on July 1st just to make sure.

 

 

[BillJones]

Perhaps eBay and its friends are looking to go into bankruptcy so that they can get a government bail-out. Many other companies are doing it, so why not eBay and friends?

 

The critical question is, are eBay and Co. “too big to fail?”

 

[Mark T]

I use Photobucket . There are so many free photo sharing sites available.

[gmarguli]

Why did Ebay cut Auctiva out anyway?

 

Because Auctiva offered many services for free that eBay charged for. You could do scheduled listings for free vs eBay charging. Templates for free vs eBay charging. Multiple pictures for free vs eBay charging. The list goes on.

 

eBay was basically paying Auctiva to help people pay lower eBay fees.

[pendragon1998]

I just use my webspace from my webpage. Works like a charm.

[EZ_E]

I use Photobucket . There are so many free photo sharing sites available.

 

How do you use HTML to post a photobucket URL on ebay? How could I create my own template? Any suggestions?

 

Much thanks for any help.

 

Vic

[Schatzy]

I use Photobucket . There are so many free photo sharing sites available.

 

How do you use HTML to post a photobucket URL on ebay? How could I create my own template? Any suggestions?

 

Much thanks for any help.

 

Vic

 

When you are using eBay you just switch to the HTML tab when you are working on the description and simply past the link into the description and then switch back to Standard and you can center the photo. The template are also pretty easy just go to google and search and you should be able to find tons of free ones. Vic if you need any help just let me know.

[EZ_E]

Thanks, J.

 

So, using HTML, must I follow this format: [image}http://....[/image}?

 

And how do the templates work? Do I have to photoedit them to write on or do they somehow work like ebay's or auctiva's? Sorry, I'm a little dense at some of this but not totally ignorant.

[Schatzy]

Thanks, J.

 

So, using HTML, must I follow this format: [image}http://....[/image}?

 

And how do the templates work? Do I have to photoedit them to write on or do they somehow work like ebay's or auctiva's? Sorry, I'm a little dense at some of this but not totally ignorant.

 

When you are doing eBay, just switch to the HTML tad and then in photobucket copy and paste the HTML code. You don't have to use the [image} tags.

[pendragon1998]

The HTML code to include an image in your listing is as follows...

 

...where URL is the web address of the image you want to include.  
Quotation marks are optional, but I usually use them.

e.g., 



To center it:

 

There's nothing very complicated with basic HTML. It's really not much harder to learn than the UBBCode that everybody here uses to include images and links.

[EZ_E]

Looks like Auctiva realized that they'd be bankrupted in a couple of months so they've changed their tune.

 

 

SUBJECT: Message from the CEO

Date: June 9, 2009

 

Dear ---------:

 

First of all, I would like to start out by saying that as Auctiva's founder and CEO, I am very sorry and humbly apologize for any frustration and anxiety we caused you to experience about the future of your business over the past week and a half. I know that these recent events have greatly upset our community and I take full responsibility for that. I am asking you to give me a chance to make it right.

Flat Rate Pricing

 

Auctiva is officially moving to flat monthly pricing: $9.95/mo. everything included

 

* 1GB Image Hosting

* A Faster, Easier-To-Use One-page Lister

* Bigger Supersized Images

* Better-looking Templates

* eBay's Most Popular Scrolling Gallery

* Free Scheduling

* 24/7 Customer Support

* plus all of our other time and money saving tools

 

In addition to our Standard flat rate plan, we have a special Starter flat rate plan for ultra-casual sellers: $2.95/mo., up to 15 listings, 500MB image hosting.

Click Here to get Free Image Hosting

Why Change Now?

 

Since we first announced our new pricing structure, I’ve been listening to the community's concerns. Considering the frank feedback you’ve provided, through email, surveys, customer support cases, our community messages boards and other forums, a few facts are abundantly clear:

 

* You’d prefer a simple, no-surprises flat-rate pricing structure.

* You don’t want to pay any additional FVFs.

* You want image hosting included.

* Your margins are tight.

 

If you are asking yourself, “Why didn’t they just use this pricing in the beginning?” the answer is that I thought our customers would like to have the choice of picking a tailored plan based on usage. Clearly, I was wrong.

 

All too often, large companies fail to listen to their customers. Auctiva’s brightest future includes the users who brought us this far. I am making this change now so you can get back to doing business. I sincerely hope that this pricing change allows you continue using the tools you have come to depend on.

 

If you have already chosen a plan and want to switch to one of the new flat rate plans, just go back and choose a new one. If you like the plan you already picked and want to stay on it, we will support that too. If you still only want to use our free marketing tools, that is still available as well. If you would like one-on-one help for any reason, contact our Customer Support team.

 

Thank you for your business, loyalty and understanding.

 

To your continued success,

 

Jeff Schlicht,

CEO, Auctiva Corp.

[Schatzy]

I am still not going to pay $9.95 a month. I still think a lot of people will leave auctiva!!

I will just start using eBay Turbolister again. There is so many free image hosting services out there, I don't need to pay for it!!

[RareSov]

This is true.. I don't think I'd pay it either

 

Currently have not sold anything on eBay for a few months, before that it was not much at a time.. and a few months very quiet before that too. They take too much, I will only list sparingly when I must.. and on quite profitable items

[EZ_E]

I'm using them a lot this month but that will be it. After July, I'll use the template that Jaime sent to me. Still curious to play with it a little. Thanks again, Jaime. (thumbs u

[gmarguli]

I am still not going to pay $9.95 a month. I still think a lot of people will leave auctiva!!

I will just start using eBay Turbolister again. There is so many free image hosting services out there, I don't need to pay for it!!

 

If you use the scheduled start feature of TurboLister (10c per auction) and run 100 auctions a month, it'll be cheaper to use Auctiva.