| Author | Content |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
 March 12, 2008
10:29 AM Post #4654217
| There's a lot of details that I need to get nailed down as I start working on the buyers' side, and I have many many questions for the sellers. What I'd like to do is host a conference call and have the sellers here call in and participate in the call with me. It'll be an open discussion about the auction feature and should hopefully get me the information I need much quicker than using the forums.
If you're willing to be available at a certain time (today or tomorrow) then please post your willingness to this thread, and I'll dmail you the schedule and phone number (it'll be toll free) when I have it.
I anticipate the phone call will last from 30 to 60 minutes long.
Dave |
summerkid
Rose Lodge, OR
(Zone 8b)
March 12, 2008
11:47 AM Post #4654497
| I could be available for awhile tomorrow but not for the entire time. Quite happy to participate as much as possible, though, so dial me in. |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 12, 2008
11:48 AM Post #4654498
| I'm tentatively looking at tomorrow at around 2pm Eastern time (11am Pacific).
If a different time works better for ya'll, please post a preferred time and we'll pick the one that works best. Evenings are fine with me if it's what ya'll prefer. |
summerkid
Rose Lodge, OR
(Zone 8b)
March 12, 2008
11:50 AM Post #4654508
| Yes, evening would be better because then I wouldn't be trying to avoid my boss' attention. So I could participate for the duration. |
gordo
Gulfport, FL
(Zone 9b)
March 12, 2008
12:09 PM Post #4654583
| I'm available most of the day, but would prefer any time from 7:00 p.m. on. This should give everyone an opportunity to finish out their day, have supper and rest up a bit.
Thank you for the invitation. |
Marylyn_TX
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
March 12, 2008
12:10 PM Post #4654587
| Anytime tomorrow is fine with me. If it's in the evening my husband can distract the bunnies, but the afternoon is fine, too. :-) |
glendalekid
Tuscaloosa, AL
(Zone 7b)
March 12, 2008
12:13 PM Post #4654597
| Just got back from my 3 times a week run into town to the PO. I'm free any time now until Friday morning. Just let me know when. I'm happy to participate.
Karen
|
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
March 12, 2008
12:19 PM Post #4654610
| I work days so evenings would be best. |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 12, 2008
12:27 PM Post #4654641
| Okay, definitely evenings.
How does tomorrow at 8pm Eastern / 5pm Pacific work?
dave |
Marylyn_TX
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
March 12, 2008
12:28 PM Post #4654647
| Fine with me. |
summerkid
Rose Lodge, OR
(Zone 8b)
March 12, 2008
12:32 PM Post #4654658
| got it. |
glendalekid
Tuscaloosa, AL
(Zone 7b)
March 12, 2008
12:43 PM Post #4654698
| That would be 7 PM my time -- fine for me.
Karen
|
HaroldS
Glendale, AZ
March 12, 2008
01:08 PM Post #4654758
| Thanks Dave. I desperately want this auction to work.
I don't hear well on the phone, but would give it a try. The time is fine with me (5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time) ( Arizona does not "do" Daylight Saving Time.)
Harold |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 12, 2008
01:14 PM Post #4654770
| Harold,
Thanks! I will be taking notes during the call and will publish them in this forum, so if you miss anything or can't hear, you'll at least be able to catch up reading the notes later. Hopefully you'll be able to hear, though.
Dave |
BuriedTreasures
Valrico, FL
(Zone 9a)
March 12, 2008
01:16 PM Post #4654779
| Count me in for tomorrow evening if you'd like me to participate. You can email me at chris@buried-treasure.net with the info.
Busy season has thankfully started, so I can't get to the forums as often to check.
Chris |
gone2seed
Milton, FL
(Zone 8a)
March 12, 2008
01:20 PM Post #4654793
| Count me in. |
gordo
Gulfport, FL
(Zone 9b)
March 12, 2008
01:27 PM Post #4654818
| OK, I'm in. |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 12, 2008
01:35 PM Post #4654838
| Great group! I'll be posting the details to this thread so make sure the thread is on your watchlist. |
Seed_Sprout
Fountain, FL
March 12, 2008
03:49 PM Post #4655283
| If you need another, I should be available tomorrow evening.
|
starlight1153
Seale, AL
(Zone 8b)
March 12, 2008
03:52 PM Post #4655299
| With the storms last week, lightening struck my place and blew up computer and just gettign back on line. Sorry I missed this but woudl liek to know results if you publish them. |
ottoson
Riley, KS
(Zone 5b)
March 12, 2008
04:35 PM Post #4655453
| If you still need people I should also be available...just holler! |
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
March 12, 2008
05:30 PM Post #4655616
| Good for me |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 13, 2008
09:35 AM Post #4658061
| Great, it looks like we have a real good group here for the call.
dave
|
acornsprings
Kilgore, TX
March 13, 2008
01:20 PM Post #4658967
| Sounds great. can't wait.
ty |
tigerlily123
Raleigh, NC
(Zone 7b)
March 13, 2008
02:41 PM Post #4659216
| Dave, I am a wholesale grower right now that is thinking seriously about selling online. Right now I sell locally, and have never sold on ebay etc, so I don't have any experience with dealing with auctions etc. Are you looking for sellers that have experience selling online for tonights conference call to pick their brain, or any serious seller?
Also, my son, who writes code, is asking if its possible to provide a API?
edited to say that my son said that it would be cool to use the API to hook it up to a MySQL inventory database + frontend (that he was going to write for me anyway) and that he would make it available to the DG community and provide you with the source code.
This message was edited Mar 13, 2008 2:45 PM |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 13, 2008
02:52 PM Post #4659253
| tigerlily123, at this point I'm looking to hear from people who are experienced with selling online, especially in auction environments. They will give me feedback and answer my questions about how this will function.
Regarding the API: That's a good possibility but not right away. |
Syrumani
San Antonio, TX
(Zone 8b)
March 13, 2008
04:13 PM Post #4659497
| I'd love to be there Dave, but the time will be iffy for me. I've got to get the kids to bed as early as I can (my DD is having her ear tubes replaced in the morning), and bedtime is 7:00pmCST. But . . . IF the kids cooperate, I will be there! |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 13, 2008
04:21 PM Post #4659532
| You can also feel free to phone in late if you have to. Better late than never. :) |
acornsprings
Kilgore, TX
March 13, 2008
04:31 PM Post #4659571
| I will try to be there.. I have been active on e-bay for nearly 10 yrs. Selling everything from stun guns to lemon trees.. what questions are you posing to the group? i built an auction and most everything worked. i did notice when using the html option it would not display the images i had inbeded in the code that were hosted on my server. I am excited to have an auction venue as i have swore off e-bay because of price and the new feedback policy the new "CEO" put in place. I also believe daves garden will bring us sellers a better quality of traffic. Lets go..
ty |
GreenThumbsTN
Chattanooga, TN
(Zone 7b)
March 13, 2008
06:53 PM Post #4660023
| i will read and catch up later. 8pm eastern does not work for me tonight.
|
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 13, 2008
09:25 PM Post #4660617
| Thank you all - great meeting. Here are my notes (they may be a little scrambled as I haven't cleaned them up):
Break it out into three sections:
- Listing feature
o Create your auction
o Choose when you want it to become active. "List immediately" or list at "Date and time".
o Duration: Start date/time and End date/time - finely grained.
- Management features while it's active
o Option to "Sell similar". It reloads the auction as is, then he edits it.
o Revisability. Launch, realized a mistake, then edit. This is only
possible until you get a bid. After you get a bid, you can add a description.
o Ability to end the item early.
a. Sell to highest bidder.
b. End it and it's done.
- Followup afterwards
o Buyer selects shipping option (if available)
o Invoice the buyer
o When they get the invoice, the buyer selects to pay immediately by paypal or pay by money order.
o PayPal: Instant Payment Notification
o Money order: seller marks as paid.
o Mark it as payment received
o Mark as shipped
o Ability to contact buyer if needed
o Re-list as is.
o From previous actions, check all and click re-list.
o Ability to mark an auction as "unpaid".
Block bidder list. Individuals, private list.
o "This seller has blocked you from bidding on their items. Please contact them directly to work through any misunderstanding."
My eBay feature.
If you're a seller, all your auctions show up.
As a buyer, shows items you're bidding on, auctions you're watching. Shows items you purchased, what you paid for, etc.
Ability to put a (private) notes of some kind. The notes would be attached to
the auction.
"Ask the Seller" a question.
Option to make the question and answer viewable via the auction.
Buy it now feature.
Add to Favorite Sellers. Group of sellers who handle a lot of merchandise,
buyer can put them all in one listing.
o Can view who has marked you as a favorite seller.
a. ability to send dmail blast to the people who have you as a favorite seller.
View seller's other item auctions.
Preferences:
- Prevent people with X number of negative feedbacks during the past X weeks from bidding.
- Where am I willing to ship?
- Where is this stuff being shipped from?
- Sales tax state-by-state (percentage for each state)
- Return policy
- What kind of shipping we're going to do, and what's our zip code.
a. Priority, Express, Media Mail, UPS, First class, FedEx, flat rate (specify dollar amount) etc.
o Seller specifies the weight of the shipment. (up to 1 pound, 1-2 pounds, 2-3 pounds, 3-4 pounds, etc)
OR
o Give a fixed rate.
o Seller chooses all the methods they are willing to ship.
o Buyer then selects from the list you made.
o Handling charge to cover some of the cost.
Shipping is $6.50 for first 5 bulbs, then .50 for every 5 bulbs after that.
- Overall preference: Manually invoice.
- When we go to list, on the listing page, all the shipping, all preferences are on "Description" page.
Have the option of combining wins from the same buyer and shipping at a discount.
When generating the invoice, you can select multiple wins to the same invoice. Then you specify the fixed shipping cost.
Dutch Auctions:
- Put up 10 items.
- Item is going to sell to lowest winning bid and everyone higher.
- 5 quantity.
3 at $5 (wins all)
2 at $4 (wins 1)
1 at $5.50 (wins)
If Quantity is > 1, you choose whether you want to do a Buy it Now or a Dutch Auction.
Buyers: As you are bidding, the increments are based on a percentage of cost.
|
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
March 13, 2008
09:33 PM Post #4660642
| Wow that was fast. I listened in but you had lots of great input. If you haven't seen it yet, here is a link to Ebay buy/sell tutorials that may give you more insight.
http://pages.ebay.com/education/index.html
Jan |
A_ZTrees
Morrison, TN
March 13, 2008
09:33 PM Post #4660649
| I missed the call. Darn. The notes were most helpful though. I cant wait til we are ready to role. I didnt find this forum til this a.m. and I was busy all day in the 70 degree weather in the field planting. let us know when we can get started. I really wish I could have attended. |
gordo
Gulfport, FL
(Zone 9b)
March 13, 2008
09:39 PM Post #4660679
| Great Dave. Enjoy the weather this weekend. Take your time. No stress. I'm in no hurry and I'm sure everyone understands this is a serious undertaking time wise for you. Have peace, and thank you very much. |
Marylyn_TX
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
March 13, 2008
09:49 PM Post #4660731
| Thanks, Dave. That was fun. :-) |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 13, 2008
09:50 PM Post #4660734
| Indeed :) |
Terry
Murfreesboro, TN
(Zone 7a)
March 13, 2008
10:13 PM Post #4660867
| Dave that looks like you captured everything I had in my notes - good job keeping us moving ahead and thanks to everyone for participating! |
glendalekid
Tuscaloosa, AL
(Zone 7b)
March 13, 2008
10:30 PM Post #4661029
| Thanks, Dave. This is a huge, complicated undertaking. You're doing a great job getting a handle on it.
Karen
|
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 13, 2008
10:33 PM Post #4661058
| Thanks :) |
GreenThumbsTN
Chattanooga, TN
(Zone 7b)
March 13, 2008
10:59 PM Post #4661192
| thanks dave. just got caught up. seems like you will be very busy. how's the fence coming along?
only thing i can think of to add concerns the sales tax. in some locations, only the item is taxed, in others (like ours) we have to collect tax on the item and the S&H.
we might need a check box or something to indicate what is taxable for instate sales. |
gone2seed
Milton, FL
(Zone 8a)
March 14, 2008
10:21 AM Post #4662564
| Thanks Dave.That was a very interesting conference call.I glad I didn't miss it. |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 14, 2008
12:24 PM Post #4663083
| The fence is "basically" done. :) |
gordo
Gulfport, FL
(Zone 9b)
March 14, 2008
02:36 PM Post #4663635
| Just ran over and fooled around on the form a bit...Beautiful!
Really coming along nicely.
Getting excited here...
Great work, Dave!
Thanks. |
maggidew
(Maggi) Big Sandy, TX
(Zone 8a)
March 16, 2008
09:14 PM Post #4672532
| Sorry I missed it, serious 'life' going on here. Spring has sprung and there's work to be done. |
Tree_Climber
Brown City, MI
(Zone 5a)
March 17, 2008
02:46 PM Post #4675160
| Just found this thread ...
Not sure I understood how you were handling Sales Tax ...
As far as Sales Tax, at least in Michigan ... If you are selling to someone outside your state, you don't charge sales tax unless you have a store in their state. Buyers are suppose to pay the sales tax to their own state when they do their taxes.
When I sell on the Lily Auction, I do not charge sales tax at all. If it's a Michigan customer, I cover the sales tax myself, but I've seen others add this to their description. "Michigan" residents add 6% sales tax to total.
I don't think DG should get envolved in the Sales Tax end of transactions. Seller's and buyers need to take that responsability. Maybe you could just make note of that in an informational posting that New Sellers and New Buyers have to read.
|
HaroldS
Glendale, AZ
March 17, 2008
07:47 PM Post #4676180
| Absolutely Tree Climber! Even eBay hasn't gotten involved with state sales tax (not yet!) Why would anyone want to open that can of worms? Who would monitor it? Who would enforce it? And what about city sales taxes? Glory Be. It is the responsibility of the seller to report in state sales. |
Melissa_Ohio
Southwestern, OH
(Zone 6b)
March 18, 2008
04:50 PM Post #4679528
| Couple of questions as a buyer, who may sell in the future-- this has been discussed in other threads, but, there never has been any type of answer given.
| Quoted: |
Preferences:
- Prevent people with X number of negative feedbacks during the past X weeks from bidding.
|
The sellers will be able to block buyers who have negative feedback. What kind of protection will be available for the buyers? Will it be exactly like Ebay, where as soon as you receive your item, I'll leave your feedback, so feedback will NEVER be accurate because buyers will not leave negative feedback for sellers for fear of retaliation?
I keep reading over and over again how upstanding everyone is in their selling ethics, I don't disagree with that, everyone who is currently a member here and participating in the discussions most likely are. BUT, it's not going to take very long for "non DGers" to come in and start selling. THAT is who I want protection from, THAT is who I want not to be able to hold feedback over my head, THAT is who I want not to be able to profit from questionable business/auction practices.
I realize that eventually bad sellers will be weeded out, but, at what expense to how many members/buyers?
| Quoted: |
o Handling charge to cover some of the cost. |
The times that I have sold on Ebay, I factor in how much it's going to cost me to package, print, invoice, listing fees final value fees, etc. and I include it when I determine my listing price. Why overcharge on shipping to recoup your cost of doing business?
Dave wants to prohibit shipping gouging, but if a buyer reports a gouge on shipping, and the seller "inflates" their packaging costs when they answer the charge, it's going to come down to who does Dave believe, and I don't think he'd want to put himself in that position.
I really like Amazon's selling platform, they set the shipping costs, the seller can't set it. I've sold a lot of textbooks on Amazon, and I've never lost money on shipping charges.
re sales tax I'm inclined to agree that you'd be best served by leaving that out of the equation. A seller can state on their auction that they will charge sales tax to instate buyers.
|
Terry
Murfreesboro, TN
(Zone 7a)
March 18, 2008
05:04 PM Post #4679571
| Melissa, I think the plan is that both buyer and seller can - and should - leave feedback promptly. Neither can read what the other has written until they've submitted their own feedback. In the event that one party doesn't leave feedback within the specified time, then the other party's feedback will be displayed, and the party that didn't submit feedback won't be able to submit any retaliatory feedback - they will permanently forgo their opportunity to rate the transaction.
That *should* prevent the flagrant feedback blackmail that goes on at eBay, with sellers openly stating that they will leave positive feedback only if they receive positive feedback first. |
2pugdogs
(Linda) Winfield, KS
(Zone 6a)
 March 18, 2008
05:15 PM Post #4679603
| I can remember when I would buy something on ebay the seller would immediately leave a feedback for the buyer after the item was shipped. Then the buyer would leave a feedback as soon as they received it. I now know that a seller will not leave a feedback until the buyer has left one. So I think the way Dave is sitting this up is going to be great. By not letting the buyer see what the seller has said until they have left a feedback. and visa versa. If there is a problem on the buyers end by not receiving the item they will need to get in touch with the seller and get it worked out. |
HaroldS
Glendale, AZ
March 18, 2008
05:46 PM Post #4679744
| "Why overcharge on shipping to recoup your cost of doing business?" Because shipping cost is not included in the calculation of the final value fee. Therefore you have a seller listing a widget for .01 with a shipping cost of $19.99. Even if it sells for .99, he owes eBay the final value fee on .99 (plus gets away with a very minimal listing fee.) The overage from the shipping charge is gravy. Most buyers know this and calculate the worth, to them, and their bid for the item based on both the listed fee and the shipping cost.
I know Dave is going to address this whole shipping thing, and not allow outrageous shipping and handling fees. After all it would affect his profits too. |
starlight1153
Seale, AL
(Zone 8b)
March 18, 2008
05:55 PM Post #4679779
| Thanks for posting that bit of information Harold. When I woudl see those outrageous shipping, I knew they was trying to entice people and padding shipping, but I didn't realize how much they were cheating the auction site of its profits. |
Melissa_Ohio
Southwestern, OH
(Zone 6b)
March 18, 2008
06:22 PM Post #4679870
| Thanks for the clarification Terry, that should work.
If you don't build it into the cost of the item, then I'd rather see a handling fee, I think that would be easier to monitor, and weed out anyone who is trying to gouge.
**Clarification--I'd rather the shipping fee and the handling fee be separate and visible to everyone, not just a flat "shipping and Handling" is $XX
If you're going to charge 3.00 for handling, then I want to see that when I'm looking at the auction, so I have have the choice not to buy if I think handling charges are too high. Same token, as a seller, I want to have similar or lower handling charges as someone else who is selling the same thing I am.
This message was edited Mar 18, 2008 6:25 PM |
summerkid
Rose Lodge, OR
(Zone 8b)
March 18, 2008
06:52 PM Post #4679967
| You know, as good a programmer as dave is, he's never going to be a substitute for buyers simply looking closely at each listing & determining whether the final cost, however it adds up, is a good value to them. |
Azalea
Jonesboro, GA
(Zone 7b)
March 18, 2008
10:37 PM Post #4680886
| How can Dave or anyone else set the S/H charges? I never know just what the actual charges will be til I wrap the item, weigh it and determine the size of the box and zip code - they are all different unless they are a pound or less, then just the Priority cost is a minimum of $4.60.
Most things that I know will be less than a pound, I charge a flat $5.00 fee, this helps cover my time unpotting the plant, packing it and the trip to the PO. Then I charge $2.00 s/h for each additional plant if it is paid for on a combined invoice, usually this is enough. If they order say 6 plants, I charge $5.00 for the first one and add $10. for the additional ones. Sometimes this is more than needed, sometimes not, but it takes a lot more time to pack several things, label them and get just the right sized boxes. If I need more than one box for that order, I may or may not make a couple of extra $$. I don't feel this is gouging. |
