| When it comes to third-party tools, there's a lot to choose from. And, while it might be tempting to mix and match different tools from different providers (use this site's lister and that site's checkout), the better bet is to settle on a single service for all your auction needs. While it's not impossible to mix tools and providers, at best it's awkward and at worst it's extremely impractical . For example, while you could use ndale Lister to create your listings and Vendio Sales Manager for your post-auction management, these tools don't work well together. A much tighter integration is possible when you use tools from the same service ”using both ndale Lister and ndale Checkout, for example, or employing Vendio Sales for the entire process. Comparing these different services is a little like comparing apples and jelly beans. That's because some services offer their tools in a single package at a single price, while others offer a menu of different choices, with a la carte pricing. In addition, some services offer a flat monthly price, while others offer different tiers of pricing ”and still others offer variable rate pricing based on the number of transactions you make or the final selling price. "Mike Sez"  | My recommendation is to identify a single auction management service and use it for all your auction needs, from creating listings to posting feedback. Don't mix and match; find a single service and commit to it. |
That said, let's give this comparison thing a crack. Table 20.1 lists the different tools offered by some of the major auction services, and offers a glance at representative fees. Table 20.1. Major Auction Management Services | Service | Inventory Management | Image Hosting | Gallery | Bulk Listing Creation | End-of-Auction Email | Checkout | Bulk Feedback Posting | Storefront | Pricing | | ndale | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | "Quick Packs" from $10.95/month (40 listings); individual services priced separately | | Auction Hawk | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | | From $12.99/month | | AuctionHelper | X | X | | X | X | X | X | | 1.95% of sales (min. $0.15, max. $1.25), plus $0.02 per transaction; $10 min. monthly fee | | Auctionworks | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 2% of sales (min $0.10 max. $3.00); $14.95 min. monthly fee | | Auctiva | | X | X | X | X | | X | | From $9.95/month | | ChannelAdvisor | X | X | | X | X | X | X | X | From $29.95/month | | HammerTap | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | | A la carte pricing for individual tools | | SpareDollar | X | X | X | X | X | | X | | $4.95/month | | Vendio | X | X | | X | X | X | X | X | Various plans from $12.95/month plus combination of listing and final value fees | | Zoovy | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | Various plans from $25 per month plus per-transaction fees | Let's try a head-to-head pricing comparison. Table 20.2 compares plans from each service for sellers doing 50, 100, and 250 transactions per month. For purposes of this comparison, we'll say that each transaction averages $10, and we want a package that includes image hosting, listing creation, checkout, end-of-auction emails, and automatic feedback posting. Note that I've tried to manually piece together the best possible deal at each site, which sometimes means choosing a combination of different services and other times means going with a prepared package. Your mileage may vary. Table 20.2. Auction Service Pricing Comparison | Service | 50 Auctions/Month | 100 Auctions/Month | 250 Auctions/Month | | ndale | $38.95 | $41.85 | $80.95 | | Auction Hawk | $12.95 | $21.99 | $29.99 | | AuctionHelper | $15.70 | $25.45 | $68.70 | | Auctionworks | $14.95 | $20.00 | $50.00 | | Auctiva | $9.95 | $25.95 | $42.95 | | ChannelAdvisor | $29.95 | $29.95 | $29.95 | | HammerTap | $29.95 | $29.95 | $29.95 | | SpareDollar | $4.95 | $4.95 | $4.95 (might not be appropriate for this volume) | | Vendio | $22.95 | $32.95 | $62.95 | | Zoovy | $37.50 | $60.00 | $75.00 | As you can see, the price you pay varies wildly from one site to another. In general, a flat-fee site such as ChannelAdvisor or HammerTap is best if you have a high volume of sales, while a variable-rate site like AuctionHelper or Vendio is best if you have a lower sales volume or if your sales tend to vary from month to month. Watch out for those sites, such as ndale, that price each of their tools separately; a few dollars here and a few dollars there add up fast. Of course, you don't necessarily get the same level of service at each site, even if pricing is similar. Some sites are simply better than others, especially when it comes to handling large volumes of transactions. For example, while SpareDollar is attractively priced (a flat $4.95 per month), its level of service is somewhat Spartan when compared to a ChannelAdvisor or Vendio; it may not be up for the task if you pump through a lot of transactions. For that reason alone, it pays to look at each service in depth ”and to use any free trial provided to get a feel for how each site works. I'll do my bit by detailing 10 of the top auction service sites separately, in the following sections. ndale ndale (www. andale .com) probably offers the most variety when it comes to auction- related services. As you can see in Figure 20.1, it's the only site that offers the full range of tools from pre-auction research to post-auction management. Figure 20.1. ndale offers the broadest range of auction tools.  "Mike Sez" | | You should definitely compare these third-party services to those offered by eBay. The closest thing eBay has to this type of full-service auction management is eBay Selling Manager Pro, which we discussed in Chapter 12, "Managing Your Auctions." While Selling Manager Pro does offer some degree of post-auction management, automated email communication, and bulk feedback listing, it isn't near as fully featured as most of these third-party tools. (For example, Selling Manager Pro doesn't include image hosting ”beyond the one photo per listing eBay gives you for free.) So you'd have to tack on the appropriate fees for that. eBay charges a flat $15.99 per month for Selling Manager Pro, which makes it more affordable than some of these services. However, if you have a really heavy auction volume, you may find that SMP doesn't automate enough of the process for you. |
ndale's auction tools are first-rate, and they're extremely easy to use. Here's a short list of what's available: -
ndale Checkout ” Provides one-stop customer checkout, as well as automatic end-of-auction emails -
ndale Compete ” Detailed analysis of your auction transactions -
ndale Counters ” Free traffic counters for your item listings -
ndale Email Manager ” Enables you to mine your customer list for additional sales -
ndale Feedback ” Post automated bulk feedback -
ndale Gallery ” Displays other items you have for sale -
ndale Images ” Image hosting -
ndale Lister ” Bulk listing creation with predesigned templates -
ndale Refunds ” Automates filing for non-paying bidder refunds -
ndale Research ” Detailed auction analysis -
ndale Search ” Smart search for eBay buyers -
ndale Sourcing ” Identify and contact suppliers for specified types of merchandise -
ndale Store ” Your own branded fixed-price online storefront You have the option of using ”and paying for ”each of these tools separately; you're not locked into the complete toolkit, unless that's what you want. While some of these tools can be used free of charge, most carry either a per-month or a per-transaction charge. While the individual fees might seem reasonable, they can add up very quickly. In fact, the thing I like least about ndale is the cost; depending on which services you subscribe to, you could end up spending more money here than at any other site. As far as pricing plans go, ndale bundles several of its services into what it calls "Quick Packs." For example, the 40 Listings Quick Pack includes ndale Research, 3MB of ndale Images, 40 listings with ndale Lister, and ndale Counters, for $10.95. Other Quick Packs offer more services and more listings, up to the $229.95/month 1,110 Listing Quick Pack. And, of course, you can pick and choose ndale's individual services on an a la carte basis.  | In case you're wondering, ndale is pronounced on-de-lay , not an-dale . |
Auction Hawk Auction Hawk (www.auctionhawk.com) is an up-and-coming auction management service with affordable pricing. As shown in Figure 20.2, Auction Hawk offers a variety of tools in its main service, including image hosting, bulk listing creation, end-of-auction checkout with automated winning bidder email, bulk feedback posting, and profit-and-loss reporting. Figure 20.2. Auction Hawk ”auction tools at an affordable flat monthly price.  One nice aspect of Auction Hawk's services is that it doesn't charge any per-transaction or final value fees. In addition, all their services are included in a single price, so you're not nickel-and-dimed to death with a la carte pricing. Itsfull-service monthly plans range in price from $12.99 (for 50 listings) to $44.99 (unlimited listings). At these prices, it's worth checking out. AuctionHelper AuctionHelper (www.auctionhelper.com) offers a variety of auction management tools, including image hosting, customer tracking and invoicing , and inventory management. The site, shown in Figure 20.3, also offers a number of auction reporting tools. Figure 20.3. AuctionHelper charges no monthly fees ”pay only for those auctions you run in a given month.  AuctionHelper charges no monthly fees. (Although it does have a $10 monthly minimum, which you'll need to plan for.) Instead, the site charges 1.95% of gross merchandise sales, with a minimum $0.15 and a maximum $1.25 charge per auction. It also adds a flat $0.02 fee to each transaction. In addition, you'll pay for image hosting above and beyond your first nine items; the charge for up to 200 items is $4.95 per month. A little complex, but ultimately not a bad deal, especially if you're not sure what your sales volume will be. You pay for those services used, so if you have a low-volume month, you're not socked with a set fee. Auctionworks Auctionworks (www.auctionworks.com) is one of the oldest and most established third-party auction management services. The Auctionworks site, shown in Figure 20.4, offers a variety of professional auction tools, including inventory management, the ClickLaunch Quick Lister bulk listing creator, traffic counters, image hosting, automatic end-of-auction emails, the proprietary Clickout checkout system, reciprocal feedback posting, Web-based storefronts, and customizable reports . Figure 20.4. Auctionworks claims to power more than two million eBay auctions every month.  Auctionworks charges no monthly fees for its service, instead opting for a 2% fee on each successful transaction, with a $0.10 minimum and $3.00 maximum fee per transaction. Image hosting, however, does come with a monthly fee, as low as $14.95 for 100MB of hosting space. Auctiva Auctiva (www.auctiva.com), shown in Figure 20.5, offers two different services ”Auctiva Basic and Auctiva Pro. Auctiva Basic includes Listing Tracker counters and the Mr. Poster bulk lister; these services are free. Auctiva Pro adds the following features: -
Auctiva FastPix and Auctiva Pictures ” Image-hosting services -
Auctiva Manager (eBud) ” Tracks and manages all your auction listings, and handles post-auction management and email -
Auctiva Poster ” Listing creation with predesigned templates -
Auctiva Showcase Pro ” A photo gallery of all your auction listings Figure 20.5. Auctiva offers a variety of auction management tools.  Auctiva Pro is available in several different pricing plans. The Starter Seller Plan gives you 50 listings for $9.95 per month; the most expensive plan, the Power Seller Plan, offers unlimited listings for $179.95 per month. ChannelAdvisor ChannelAdvisor (www.channeladvisor.com) is the latest incarnation of GoTo.com and Auction Rover, two third-party sites from the early days of the online auction business. Today, ChannelAdvisor positions itself as the service for "industry leading companies" who want to "use online marketplaces to acquire customers and maximize inventory yield." Yikes! However, if you can get past all that professional positioning, the ChannelAdvisor site (shown in Figure 20.6) offers a fairly affordable suite of auction management tools ”as well as services for bigger online merchants . Here are the "solutions" that ChannelAdvisor offers: -
ChannelAdvisor Pro ” Auction management tools for high-volume eBay sellers, including template-based listing creation, image hosting, post-auction management, and fixed-price storefront -
ChannelAdvisor Merchant ” Enterprise-level auction management, for mid- sized businesses and "super powersellers" -
ChannelAdvisor Enterprise ” Outsourced auction management for Fortune 1000 businesses Figure 20.6. Dig through the slick positioning to find an affordable set of auction management tools from ChannelAdvisor.  | | HammerTap Manager is the exact same service as ChannelAdvisor Pro, just under a different name . |
The service you want to look at is ChannelAdvisor Pro. Not only is ChannelAdvisor Pro a surprisingly easy-to-use collection of auction management tools, it's also quite reasonably priced, at a flat fee of just $29.95 per month. If you're doing more than 50 auctions a month, it's definitely worth considering ”even more so if you're a heavier lister. HammerTap As shown in Figure 20.7, HammerTap (www.hammertap.com) offers a variety of auction management software and services, all priced separately. These tools include -
HammerTap Manager ” Web-based auction posting and management -
Auction Informant ” Software that sends you email alerts when your items receive bids -
BayCheck and BayCheck Pro ” Software eBay user background checks -
BayMail and BayMail Pro ” Software for sending emails to eBay users -
BidderBlock ” Software for managing blocked bidder lists -
DeepAnalysis ” Auction research tool -
FeeFinder ” Software for calculating eBay, PayPal, and shipping fees Figure 20.7. HammerTap offers both software and services.  SpareDollar SpareDollar (www.sparedollar.com) is kind of a bargain- basement auction service. As shown in Figure 20.8, all of its services are available for a flat $4.95 per month. Figure 20.8. SpareDollar ”auction tools at a bargain price.  SpareDollar's auction tools include -
sdCounter ” Traffic counters for your item listings -
sdGallery ” Photo gallery of all your auction items -
sdImage ” 50MB of image hosting -
sdLister ” Bulk listing creation with predesigned templates -
sdTracker ” Post-auction tracking and emails Note, however, that while SpareDollar is attractively priced, its services might prove too limited for really high-volume sellers. Give it a try to see if it fits your particular eBay business. Vendio Vendio (www.vendio.com), formerly known as Auctionwatch, is number-two to ndale among auction management services. As you can see in Figure 20.9, Vendio claims 100,000 sellers use their services, which makes them a very popular site. Figure 20.9. Vendio claims 100,000 users.  The site offers five vastly different services for auction sellers. These include -
Vendio Sales Manager ” A complete package of auction management tools, including bulk listing creation, end-of-auction management and notification, and bulk feedback posting -
Vendio Image Hosting ” Image hosting -
Vendio Store Manager ” Your own branded fixed-price storefront -
Vendio Customer Manager ” Enables you to mine your customer list for additional sales -
Vendio Asset Remarketing ” Targeted at businesses wishing to unload assets in bulk Of these services, Vendio Sales Manager is obviously the most targeted and the most popular among eBay sellers. Vendio tries to appeal to different types of sellers by offering a mix of fixed and variable priced monthly subscriptions. For example, the Sales Manager Standard Plan carries no fixed fee, although you'll pay $0.10 per transaction and a 1% final value fee. On the other hand, the Sales Manager Variable Power Plan costs $29.95 a month, but with no listing fee and a 1.25% final value fee ”and the Flat Rate Power Plan costs $39.95 a month, with a $0.10 per-transaction charge but no final value fee. Confusing? You bet ”but it does let you choose the type of payment (flat versus variable versus. per-transaction) that best suits your particular business. I like Vendio's tools almost as much as ndale's ”although the range of tools isn't quite as wide. (No research, for example.) The variable-rate pricing is actually a little more attractive to me, especially since my sales volume varies from month-to-month. And I like the fact that Vendio doesn't nickel-and-dime me to death. All in all, a service definitely worth your consideration. Zoovy Zoovy (www.zoovy.com) is a high-end auction management service that integrates your eBay auctions with a Web-based storefront. As you can see in Figure 20.10, Zoovy is targeted toward high-end sellers and retailers, with four different levels of service: -
Zoovy Merchant ” Online auction management and basic Web storefronts -
Zoovy Hybrid ” Storefronts for small online merchants -
Zoovy Developer ” Storefronts and services for medium-sized online merchants -
Zoovy Enterprise ” For extremely high-volume sellers and large online merchants Figure 20.10. Zoovy offers both auction management and store-building tools.  Zoovy Merchant is the plan for most eBay sellers, and is available with three different pricing plans. The Bronze plan costs $25 per month, plus $0.25 per transaction. The Silver plan costs $50 per month, plus $0.10 per transaction. The Gold plan costs $100 per month, plus $0.05 per transaction. Other Web-Based Services The nine services just listed are the most popular of the third-party Web-based auction services. But they're not the only services; there's a lot of competition for your auction dollars. In the spirit of competition, then, I'll list a few more auction management sites that you can check out on your own time: -
Auction-X (www.auction-x.com) -
inkFrog (www. inkfrog .com) -
ManageAuctions (www.manageauctions.com) -
Trak Auctions (www.trakauction.com) |
