Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Overstock Auctions Help center NO HELP at all

Overstock has launched it's new "improved customer care system" on the site that Meghan Tuohig spoke about last week.

While the graphics are attractive, the improved "Help System" actually offers no more help than the old FAQ section of the site. Users now have the ability to sort FAQ's by topic, or search the FAQ's, however there is very little difference than the old system.

One such example is a search by topic of customer service: Two results are displayed "Contacting Customer Care" and "Overstock Auctions Live Chat". Once "Overstock Auctions Live Chat" link is clicked the user is taken to a page stating that "Live Chat is not currently available"

Since Overstock Auctions live chat was removed from the site months ago there is no reason for it to be included in the new Overstock.com Auctions Help Center.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Overstock Auctions to improve Customer Care

Meghan Tuohig has announced that Overstock Auctions will be implementing an "internal Application that will greatly improve customer care systems, providing an even better auction user experience" early next week.

Within the same post Meghan states that several other site enhancements are still on schedule for release near the end of the 1st quarter of 2007 including the previously promissed classified ads, 1-day auctions, and the ability to cancel bids.

1-Day auctions and Customer Service Live Chat were site features that Overstock removed in 2006.

During the prime Holiday shopping season Overstock Auctions cancelled subscription pricing plans and implemented a mandatory 1.5x Make It Mine policy which severely impacted site users. Since those changes site listings have plummeted and Overstock Auctions has dropped to the number 17 spot on Auction count charts.

Is it too late for Overstock or will they be able to pull the failing auction site back into the spotlight?

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Overstock's CEO Patrick Byrne Polls Site Users

Patrick Byrne has once again taken to the site message boards looking for a vote of confidence.

Patrick's opening sentence captures the essence of his crusade against the negative aspects of Wall Street, however Patrick himself has forgotten a segment of the "American workers, retirees, and savers" that he is fighting for.

Overstock Auctions is the home of many "American workers, retirees, and savers" who have attempted to supplement their incomes and grow small home based businesses since the site launched in 2004.

Recent changes to the site have increased costs for the majority of smaller site users while decreasing GMV. Unlike Corporations and larger volume merchants, small Internet business owners do not have the working capital or staff to handle unplanned changes and cost increases.

How many more "American workers, retirees, and savers" will be overlooked and forgotten by the companies who's pockets bulge at the expense of small sellers?

Just as Judd Bagley discusses in his article on PR 2.0 , Earned Media can have both Positive and negative effects on a business. While the "Crusade" may have positive effects among investors, the actions of Overstock causes a Negative effect among the site users.

The poll question "Did I handle this appropriately?"

A Simple answer "NO"

A more complete answer can be found in the "Message Board Rules of Conduct".

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Driving Repeat Sales through Google, Paypal, and Overstock

2007 is set to be an interesting year for online sellers, with unknown challenges lurking at every turn. Small business owners should be prepared to market their wares, and increase sales without the direct help of venues.

While establishing a functional web store, with shopping cart and payment integration, is essential to the success of all online Merchants it is only a portion of the business equation.

Repeat sales and Customer acquisition are also necessary for a successful business.

Customers can often be compelled to increase purchases through the use of rebates and coupons such as those offered by Google checkout and Paypal.

Google Checkout offers new customers the chance to get $10 off a purchase of $10 or more by registering before February 15, 2007.

Paypal is offering a $15 rebate on purchases of $30 or more between February 8 and March 31.

Both of these offers provide the small seller a unique opportunity to market to existing customers, and increase purchases from new customers who participate.

Overstock O-Muse also provides small sellers with an excellent FREE marketing opportunity.

Simply sign up, write an article relevant to your niche or product lines and link away. Simple, highly search able, and an excellent source of relevant linkage to your web site.

Monday, February 5, 2007

Overstock's Results are In

Well folks it is official, Overstock.com ended the Fourth Quarter of 2006 at a significant loss according to today's financial reports.

Among today's flurry of activity are a few interesting figures for you auction sellers.

GMV was down by over 2 Million from the Fourth quarter of 2005. This drop in GMV is undoubtedly the result of the many changes swiftly implemented to the site during the shopping season.

Customer Acquisition costs for auctions was down from $6.73 per registrant in 2005 to only $0.59 per registrant in 2006. Such a significant drop in user acquisition costs probably explains the lack of traffic generated to the auction site.

According to recent message board posts on Overstock many site users have noticed the dramatic shift in bidder activity on the site. Many of the larger volume sellers have reduced listings counts or removed them entirely, while smaller volume merchants appear to be testing the waters.

If the Q4 results of 2006 are an indication of things to come for Overstock Auction sellers, then many will need to rethink their strategies on Overstock. For the savvy seller Overstock Auctions might be a goldmine, for others a minefield.