| Posted By: Enthusiast |
| The UK site of QXL is closing on the 30th May 2008. This has been announced on the site and in an email sent to members earlier this week. It doesn't give people much notice but really only a few diehards remain there plus the folk from China who sell their replica designer bags.
It doesn't really come as a surprise because the site has been going rapidly downhill in recent years with only about 5000 items listed. As the company who own QXL are in the process of being sold presumably the buyers decided it wasn't worth investing thousands of pounds into relaunching it when so much ground has been lost. There would be little goodwill left so that presumably is why the UK site hasn't apparently been offered for sale. |
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| Posted By: Steve - Admin |
| Hi Enthusiast,
Sorry for the lack of response - am currently moving and everything is pretty hectic at the moment :?
Guess you can say about QXL " I told you so.. " lol :lol: I did think they may try and revive it but looks like the patient was DOA. :)
Like you say in recent years it became a shdow of its former self - which is a pity really.
Cheers
Steve |
| Posted By: Enthusiast |
| Hi Steve
Yes I agree it's a pity it's closing after been going for so many years but the management obviously decided years ago that they weren't prepared to put the effort & money into progressing the site and presumably the potential new owners of Tradus (QXL) have no interest either. Yet it could have been different as sites like Tazbar and Specialist Auctions both of which are only 2 - 3 years old have sprinted way past QXL UK in terms of listings and sales.
I sympathise with your move. I did that last Autumn to a different part of the country and it was an absolute nightmare. I'm still surrounded by some of the boxes not yet unpacked. Occasionally an item sells that was listed somewhere months ago and then it's panic stations to remember which box it's in. No doubt I will get fully sorted at some point - friends tell me this can take 1 to 2 years (at least)! |
| Posted By: Baconsdozen |
| I wonder if with ebay now struggling QXL wish they'd kept going? |
| Posted By: Enthusiast |
- Baconsdozen wrote:
I wonder if with eBay now struggling QXL wish they'd kept going?
QXL were taken over by some South African group. The company's auction sites in other countries, particularly eastern europe, are doing quite well whereas the UK site had declined to such a low level of activity that it would have taken a lot of time, money & effort to re-energise it. And the competition from UK eBay, eBid, Tazbar & others would have made it very difficult. So if anything I guess QXL's new owners are even more glad they didn't attempt to keep the UK site going. I think you'll find that in the coming year it won't only be eBay who are having difficulties. I fully expect a number of sites to close, including most of the tiddlers being promoted on here. There are too many sites chasing too few sellers & even fewer buyers. With the UK now entering a recession there is less money to spend so a shake-out sadly is bound to happen and not only amongst online auction sites. |
| Posted By: Baconsdozen |
| I agree with what you say but logic says that with a recession auction sites should get busier as people try to save money.I think ebay have lost the plot and gone for the shopping mall approach long dominated by Amazon.I think all that will do is hasten the loss of buyers and sellers that is taking place already. |
| Posted By: Enthusiast |
- Baconsdozen wrote:
I agree with what you say but logic says that with a recession auction sites should get busier as people try to save money.I think eBay have lost the plot and gone for the shopping mall approach long dominated by Amazon.I think all that will do is hasten the loss of buyers and sellers that is taking place already.
I don't disagree with you regarding eBay. They have made a decision to go for the listings of over-stock, end of line stuff etc of very large companies. This makes them a bit more like Amazon but what they haven't got is Amazon's reputation for good customer service. When I want a book, a CD or a DVD my first point of call is Amazon itself and the Amazon marketplace. eBay is very much a third or fourth point of call. Anything I buy from Amazon's marketplace is 100% backed up by Amazon who also process the payment so I have every confidence that if the transaction goes wrong Amazon will put it right without hassle. With eBay it's much more of a gamble whether they will sort things out to the buyer's satisfaction if the transaction goes wrong.I'm not sure I share your conviction that a recession is good news for other auction sites. Problem one is that despite the good efforts of sites like Auction Lotwatch, 95% of the public, or maybe it's 99%, don't realise there are any alternatives to eBay. Trying to get buyers to go to other sites is very difficult and many (correction most) of these sites don't have a wide enough range of goods on offer to tempt most people. In my selling capacity I have noticed since about June that the number of sales I've had has almost dried up. OK I only sell off bits & pieces but every month I'd get a few sales but now it's down to a trickle. Judging by the groans in most auction site forums about lack of sales I'm not alone. Some people are still selling but it very much depends on what line they are in. As a buyer, apart from the things I've mentioned I get at Amazon, if I want to buy cheaply (and I do need to) then I hotfoot it to places like Poundland, Matalan and B & M Stores where I can get a wide range of items far cheaper than on any auction site (and many won't be found on non-ebay sites anyway). And not forgetting places like Lidl, Aldi & Netto who offer many non-food bargains each week. I think for people who have access to such shops that's where they are going. Much of the stuff you do find on the non-ebay auction sites is over-priced which is another fundamental reason why it doesn't sell. We are entering grim times and the casualties will include many auction sites, of that I have no doubt. |
| Posted By: Baconsdozen |
| I have to agree with your comment that most of the stuff on auction sites is overpriced and thats why it doesn't sell.Unfortunately sites like ebid with their list overpriced stuff for ever policy are the worst offenders,if they weren't then given that ebay seem determined to commit Hari Kiri,they wouldbe far busier than they are.
I think we'll see a lot of casualties. |