Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
10:33:55am
This is a good idea, but the roadblock is that potential sellers who are sitting on the sidelines with stamps are getting no information on what actually sells. Most listings are "Buy it now", and therefore disappear as soon as purchased. And there is no facility to check "Sold items" (a la ebay) to give sellers market information. (And no, I am not suggesting that Tim add to his already full plate to add such a feature). I am just pointing out that there is no market information for sellers available in the auction. If one punches up "closing in 24 hours", it looks likes nothing sells, because that's everything that is left over.
Speaking for myself, I have masses of good stamps available for sale that I have not had time to get listed anywhere. However, because sales on Stamporama are so thin and typically, of low value, I cannot spare the time to list 100 items and sell only 20% of them, because that is 4 times the work per dollar of sales versus my weekly ebay auctions of covers where I sell 80% of each week's listings in that week, at an average of 200%+ of my starting prices. And that 4x number assumes that the stamps I would be selling are the same dollar value average as my ebay auctions (with an average realization of $10-12 per lot - but that is made up of values from $4 to $hundreds). If the stamps needed to be less than $1 and only 20% sold, that's only $20 in sales -- the equivalent of 2 lots of my covers, for 100 listings!
So that's why you haven't seen any listings from me, even though I have many worthwhile collections of many countries on the shelf. Bottom line is, I can't afford the time to "throw a bunch of spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks" because, at the moment, Stamporama is a very thin market. And I assume I am not alone.
However, there is a solution that might bring some listings out of me.
If buyers would use the "Stamps I Want to Buy" topic, I would love to scroll through every morning to see what is wanted and would increase my odds of selling. I'm not talking about want lists. If you are down to the last half dozen hard to find items in your collecting area, it's not likely that they will be in a collection I recently bought. I'm talking about "wants" like "looking for nice clean US commems used from 1893 to 1920", or "used Portuguese Colonies", or "Mint French Africa prior to Independence". Again, I assume I am not alone.
There is a challenge though. There seems to be two parts to Stamporama. Those interested in the Auctions/Approvals as either buyer or seller, and those interested in using the Discussion Board. My unscientific observation is that the intersection of those two groups (members participating in both) is on the order of 10-20%. In other words, the majority of currently active buyers are not even going to read this post. (We just had one of our most active sellers indicate that he only checks the DB every quarter!). I will leave that for others to think about ways of bridging that gap.
So if you are interested in buying stamps with a value of more than a few dollars, (or lots made up of several lower value items), please post in "Stamps I want to buy". I promise I will read them (and so will others).
Thanks for getting this far in a long post.
Roy
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Well said Roy- and on the "solutions" end the suggestion 'If buyers would use the "Stamps I Want to Buy" topic sounds promising.
From my perspective, if members would list want lists as well it could increase inter-member traffic and foster friendships along the way.
Both approaches could use some hyping on the DB.
Dan C.
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Thankyou Roy for posting this info...I had forgotten this was an option
Cheryl
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Good thoughts Roy.
Lacking Auction information for me as a new seller here is data on "number of views", like one has in Approvals. But it may not work since one can peruse listings without leaving a trail.
If there was "number of views" data I assume it may help gage the interest out there for the items. Bids of course are the perfect measure, but not in SOR Auctions since multiple bids are so rare.
Will it provide more information on categories of interests? It may, but you do have a point that since most sales are "buy it now", there is little guidance to others to what the interests of buyers may be.
A match between interest arena and what lots to put up for sales is harder to assess when the buyer's population is small.
In common areas, there is too much competition, and in niche areas, it may be like talking to the walls.
I just posted a number of items, many less common items, and by design higher valued, and also have put a (larger than typical) gap between low beginning bid price, and reasonable in line with expectations buy it now price. Many members have said that most Auction sales are just one bid sales, or buy it now sales, so I hope to learn something by doing so. Since most of my starting prices are as low as one may find in any commercial site, I am assuming that it is demand for the item rather than price that determines the interest. But timing is also everything, so re-listing unsold items may also provide some knowledge.
As an active collector, I know that I may skip an item today and yet a week from now start looking for the same item everywhere. It is a function of what I work on at this specific time! Keeping Auctions alive for some longer time may be a key requirement, for the higher valued stamps.
I am testing also the waters here for some areas that are not widely collected. Don't know if the small number of buyer eyes makes it a waste of time, or an opportunity. Let us see. Some of these items rarely post even on major commercial sites, and certainly at much higher prices.
Above all, I am trying to determine if Auctions will work for me, given that, so far, they take much longer to activate as compared to Approvals, and some of my specialty areas are not widely collected
Want lists are in theory helpful, but are an extra layer of data to keep in mind. For most amateur sellers it is more complications.
I have enough difficulty keeping track of my own want list, let alone the want list of countless others. I wonder how many sellers will take the time to match want lists to what they list for sales. Or make private offers in respond to them.
We are a Club, and many of us deal directly with a few members who share common interests. This is where want lists work for me. Privately.
Again, thanks for your thoughts, Roy.
rrr...
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thanks Roy; agreed, more information is always a benefit; the fact that it is housed for a period here makes it a short-term reference
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I agree Roy. I have asked the same "what are you looking for?" question in open forums and whenever I get a new buyer. I need this to help me focus my attention on which pile o'stamps to attack, but very seldom do I get an answer. (That being said, I do have a handful of members that I set aside all of their interests for a low fixed price, or a first-dibs opportunity before listing generally).
Anything that could help sellers provide what folks are actually looking for would be great all-around.
A much better idea than trying to reinvent the Auction/Approvals process.
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I said earlier:
"Lacking Auction information for me as a new seller here is data on "number of views""
I am in error. This information is available and shows up on the seller's list of actions. (I found it under Edit/View lots.
Very helpful! Tells me a lot about possible areas of interest.
Thanks Tim I guess I am climbing the learning curve.
Rrrr
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12:36:38pm
"This information is available and shows up on the seller's list of actions. (I found it under Edit/View lots."
In fact, "Views" shows up in any page of auction listings.
The slightly confusing part may be the absence of "Views" if there haven't been any, rather than "Views: 0" (sometimes an entire page of listings will show no views).
Roy
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08:16:19am
Well, it works. First transaction in response to "Stamps I want to buy" post resulted in the sale of 12 of 15 items listed within 24 hours.
I have been away from listing on Stamporama auction for many years now (got tired of "throwing spaghetti"). I'll be back now, but only in response to direct messages, or posting in "Stamps I want to buy" category.
For context, please read the first post in this thread.
Please keep discussion in this thread, as the "Stamps I want to Buy" category is cleaned out after a few weeks.
Please post your wants in "Stamps I want to buy" category.
Roy
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
02 Sep 2023
10:33:55am
Recent discussion of the auction (in multiple threads) suggested that more members should list a few items to increase the diversity of offers in order to increase the appeal and traffic in the auction.
This is a good idea, but the roadblock is that potential sellers who are sitting on the sidelines with stamps are getting no information on what actually sells. Most listings are "Buy it now", and therefore disappear as soon as purchased. And there is no facility to check "Sold items" (a la ebay) to give sellers market information. (And no, I am not suggesting that Tim add to his already full plate to add such a feature). I am just pointing out that there is no market information for sellers available in the auction. If one punches up "closing in 24 hours", it looks likes nothing sells, because that's everything that is left over.
Speaking for myself, I have masses of good stamps available for sale that I have not had time to get listed anywhere. However, because sales on Stamporama are so thin and typically, of low value, I cannot spare the time to list 100 items and sell only 20% of them, because that is 4 times the work per dollar of sales versus my weekly ebay auctions of covers where I sell 80% of each week's listings in that week, at an average of 200%+ of my starting prices. And that 4x number assumes that the stamps I would be selling are the same dollar value average as my ebay auctions (with an average realization of $10-12 per lot - but that is made up of values from $4 to $hundreds). If the stamps needed to be less than $1 and only 20% sold, that's only $20 in sales -- the equivalent of 2 lots of my covers, for 100 listings!
So that's why you haven't seen any listings from me, even though I have many worthwhile collections of many countries on the shelf. Bottom line is, I can't afford the time to "throw a bunch of spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks" because, at the moment, Stamporama is a very thin market. And I assume I am not alone.
However, there is a solution that might bring some listings out of me.
If buyers would use the "Stamps I Want to Buy" topic, I would love to scroll through every morning to see what is wanted and would increase my odds of selling. I'm not talking about want lists. If you are down to the last half dozen hard to find items in your collecting area, it's not likely that they will be in a collection I recently bought. I'm talking about "wants" like "looking for nice clean US commems used from 1893 to 1920", or "used Portuguese Colonies", or "Mint French Africa prior to Independence". Again, I assume I am not alone.
There is a challenge though. There seems to be two parts to Stamporama. Those interested in the Auctions/Approvals as either buyer or seller, and those interested in using the Discussion Board. My unscientific observation is that the intersection of those two groups (members participating in both) is on the order of 10-20%. In other words, the majority of currently active buyers are not even going to read this post. (We just had one of our most active sellers indicate that he only checks the DB every quarter!). I will leave that for others to think about ways of bridging that gap.
So if you are interested in buying stamps with a value of more than a few dollars, (or lots made up of several lower value items), please post in "Stamps I want to buy". I promise I will read them (and so will others).
Thanks for getting this far in a long post.
Roy
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re: Improve the Auction by using the Stamps I Want to Buy Topic
Well said Roy- and on the "solutions" end the suggestion 'If buyers would use the "Stamps I Want to Buy" topic sounds promising.
From my perspective, if members would list want lists as well it could increase inter-member traffic and foster friendships along the way.
Both approaches could use some hyping on the DB.
Dan C.
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11:02:29am
re: Improve the Auction by using the Stamps I Want to Buy Topic
Thankyou Roy for posting this info...I had forgotten this was an option
Cheryl
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Approvals
re: Improve the Auction by using the Stamps I Want to Buy Topic
Good thoughts Roy.
Lacking Auction information for me as a new seller here is data on "number of views", like one has in Approvals. But it may not work since one can peruse listings without leaving a trail.
If there was "number of views" data I assume it may help gage the interest out there for the items. Bids of course are the perfect measure, but not in SOR Auctions since multiple bids are so rare.
Will it provide more information on categories of interests? It may, but you do have a point that since most sales are "buy it now", there is little guidance to others to what the interests of buyers may be.
A match between interest arena and what lots to put up for sales is harder to assess when the buyer's population is small.
In common areas, there is too much competition, and in niche areas, it may be like talking to the walls.
I just posted a number of items, many less common items, and by design higher valued, and also have put a (larger than typical) gap between low beginning bid price, and reasonable in line with expectations buy it now price. Many members have said that most Auction sales are just one bid sales, or buy it now sales, so I hope to learn something by doing so. Since most of my starting prices are as low as one may find in any commercial site, I am assuming that it is demand for the item rather than price that determines the interest. But timing is also everything, so re-listing unsold items may also provide some knowledge.
As an active collector, I know that I may skip an item today and yet a week from now start looking for the same item everywhere. It is a function of what I work on at this specific time! Keeping Auctions alive for some longer time may be a key requirement, for the higher valued stamps.
I am testing also the waters here for some areas that are not widely collected. Don't know if the small number of buyer eyes makes it a waste of time, or an opportunity. Let us see. Some of these items rarely post even on major commercial sites, and certainly at much higher prices.
Above all, I am trying to determine if Auctions will work for me, given that, so far, they take much longer to activate as compared to Approvals, and some of my specialty areas are not widely collected
Want lists are in theory helpful, but are an extra layer of data to keep in mind. For most amateur sellers it is more complications.
I have enough difficulty keeping track of my own want list, let alone the want list of countless others. I wonder how many sellers will take the time to match want lists to what they list for sales. Or make private offers in respond to them.
We are a Club, and many of us deal directly with a few members who share common interests. This is where want lists work for me. Privately.
Again, thanks for your thoughts, Roy.
rrr...
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re: Improve the Auction by using the Stamps I Want to Buy Topic
thanks Roy; agreed, more information is always a benefit; the fact that it is housed for a period here makes it a short-term reference
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11:42:15pm
re: Improve the Auction by using the Stamps I Want to Buy Topic
I agree Roy. I have asked the same "what are you looking for?" question in open forums and whenever I get a new buyer. I need this to help me focus my attention on which pile o'stamps to attack, but very seldom do I get an answer. (That being said, I do have a handful of members that I set aside all of their interests for a low fixed price, or a first-dibs opportunity before listing generally).
Anything that could help sellers provide what folks are actually looking for would be great all-around.
A much better idea than trying to reinvent the Auction/Approvals process.
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Approvals
re: Improve the Auction by using the Stamps I Want to Buy Topic
I said earlier:
"Lacking Auction information for me as a new seller here is data on "number of views""
I am in error. This information is available and shows up on the seller's list of actions. (I found it under Edit/View lots.
Very helpful! Tells me a lot about possible areas of interest.
Thanks Tim I guess I am climbing the learning curve.
Rrrr
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
03 Sep 2023
12:36:38pm
re: Improve the Auction by using the Stamps I Want to Buy Topic
"This information is available and shows up on the seller's list of actions. (I found it under Edit/View lots."
In fact, "Views" shows up in any page of auction listings.
The slightly confusing part may be the absence of "Views" if there haven't been any, rather than "Views: 0" (sometimes an entire page of listings will show no views).
Roy
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
04 Sep 2023
08:16:19am
re: Improve the Auction by using the Stamps I Want to Buy Topic
Well, it works. First transaction in response to "Stamps I want to buy" post resulted in the sale of 12 of 15 items listed within 24 hours.
I have been away from listing on Stamporama auction for many years now (got tired of "throwing spaghetti"). I'll be back now, but only in response to direct messages, or posting in "Stamps I want to buy" category.
For context, please read the first post in this thread.
Please keep discussion in this thread, as the "Stamps I want to Buy" category is cleaned out after a few weeks.
Please post your wants in "Stamps I want to buy" category.
Roy
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