lower volume sales here?Posted By Andy Sedlacek |
I've seen a few posts over time inquiring about "ads being slower". The causing factor of successful ad traffic speeds go WAY beyond the fees for using the site. And this doesn't exist solely on A-mart, but any site having fees...And then we could even include Craigslist, which is free. Some ads I've been watching there are now running in their 4th year!
Sometimes I sell an item here so fast there's no thunder to follow. Other times it moves so slowly that I decide those on this site that are actively watching the ads are in no need of the item I'm selling. So I delete that ad and go to another site with it. The success of your items selling fast here are as random as anywhere. Some factors you cannot control that will affect other A-marters spending habits:
Seasons = If it is snowy out, probably not a good time to sell that 400 pound reflector.
War-and-speculation = Fighting in country X increased the cost of milk and fuel. Maybe I won't buy that eyepiece now.
Downward economic movement = Stocks fall, price of necessities rises, jobs lacking. Wallets are now closed to anything related to leisurely things...such as telescopes.
Holidays = Everyone wants to buy before the big jolly man hits your local chimneys. Then it's "oh CRAP! I spent HOW MUCH on my Visa last month?!" Sorry, I'll have to pass on that binoviewer.
That time of the year = Kids need school supplies, daughter's first car, I promised we'd go RV-ing for the whole month, tax due date is a week away and I'm not ready, ect. No room for an A-mart sale in there.
Cosmic events = The Sun will explode tomorrow, don't miss it! Largest Comet Ever (LCE) will be here next month! All 25 planets will align and the further ones out will transit each other; how about that folks?! Buy, sell, buy. Nothing big going on? Ok. Why buy anything?
The Elections = I heard so and so is gonna REALLY raise taxes this year. You should keep your funds in cash and buy nothing unless you need it.
Tanking = I'm sorry, but I own 3 of them already. And don't try selling that to Gerald, or Mike, or Sarah down the road; they bought theirs last month. And didn't ya hear? The company came out with an even better model and is half the price what you paid for yours used!
And there is even more I could include here to show that Astromart's $15 fee is only a tiny fraction in the whole of controlling sales. Everything in this universe oscillates just like my electric fan. There are lulls and then swells. The key here is to be the one to predict them and then to keep that information to yourself; LOL!
On a final note. I've been an A-marter as long as it was on the internet. I remember when it first became available online. I was in 10th grade and using the school computer to access it. Couldn't even send or show photos, but it beat the beans outta using Starry Messenger!
When the Yorks took possession of A-mart, (Herb, you can correct me on this 'cause my memory is hitting faint spots) in 1999, it was in '99 or 2000 that a fees would be incorporated to using the site. One of the BIG things was the rating system that would be part of the deal, which at the time (I was 20) I thought was silly. But the fee kept the site clean, organized, and policed. And the ratings idea WORKS. I see a person with 300+ ratings in gold and I'll ship eyepiece to them before they pay. By that time, with a rating that high, their behavior and intents here are genuine.
I've been to other sites without fees, some about astronomy stuff, other's car stuff, and such...Those free sites can be real wild west where you are ALWAYS swimming at your own risk. $15 to me is a club sandwich at Sharis with a slice of pie. That will get me though HALF a day. $15 spent here gets me to a whole new dimension on knowledge, making friends, and seeing things through other people's perspectives; at least for me, money well spent.
Sometimes I sell an item here so fast there's no thunder to follow. Other times it moves so slowly that I decide those on this site that are actively watching the ads are in no need of the item I'm selling. So I delete that ad and go to another site with it. The success of your items selling fast here are as random as anywhere. Some factors you cannot control that will affect other A-marters spending habits:
Seasons = If it is snowy out, probably not a good time to sell that 400 pound reflector.
War-and-speculation = Fighting in country X increased the cost of milk and fuel. Maybe I won't buy that eyepiece now.
Downward economic movement = Stocks fall, price of necessities rises, jobs lacking. Wallets are now closed to anything related to leisurely things...such as telescopes.
Holidays = Everyone wants to buy before the big jolly man hits your local chimneys. Then it's "oh CRAP! I spent HOW MUCH on my Visa last month?!" Sorry, I'll have to pass on that binoviewer.
That time of the year = Kids need school supplies, daughter's first car, I promised we'd go RV-ing for the whole month, tax due date is a week away and I'm not ready, ect. No room for an A-mart sale in there.
Cosmic events = The Sun will explode tomorrow, don't miss it! Largest Comet Ever (LCE) will be here next month! All 25 planets will align and the further ones out will transit each other; how about that folks?! Buy, sell, buy. Nothing big going on? Ok. Why buy anything?
The Elections = I heard so and so is gonna REALLY raise taxes this year. You should keep your funds in cash and buy nothing unless you need it.
Tanking = I'm sorry, but I own 3 of them already. And don't try selling that to Gerald, or Mike, or Sarah down the road; they bought theirs last month. And didn't ya hear? The company came out with an even better model and is half the price what you paid for yours used!
And there is even more I could include here to show that Astromart's $15 fee is only a tiny fraction in the whole of controlling sales. Everything in this universe oscillates just like my electric fan. There are lulls and then swells. The key here is to be the one to predict them and then to keep that information to yourself; LOL!
On a final note. I've been an A-marter as long as it was on the internet. I remember when it first became available online. I was in 10th grade and using the school computer to access it. Couldn't even send or show photos, but it beat the beans outta using Starry Messenger!
When the Yorks took possession of A-mart, (Herb, you can correct me on this 'cause my memory is hitting faint spots) in 1999, it was in '99 or 2000 that a fees would be incorporated to using the site. One of the BIG things was the rating system that would be part of the deal, which at the time (I was 20) I thought was silly. But the fee kept the site clean, organized, and policed. And the ratings idea WORKS. I see a person with 300+ ratings in gold and I'll ship eyepiece to them before they pay. By that time, with a rating that high, their behavior and intents here are genuine.
I've been to other sites without fees, some about astronomy stuff, other's car stuff, and such...Those free sites can be real wild west where you are ALWAYS swimming at your own risk. $15 to me is a club sandwich at Sharis with a slice of pie. That will get me though HALF a day. $15 spent here gets me to a whole new dimension on knowledge, making friends, and seeing things through other people's perspectives; at least for me, money well spent.
