Gift Depot wrote (View Post): ›
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purple_reading_giraffe wrote (View Post): › I second both sides of this argument. OLA has a long history of promising improvements that do not materialize in the time frame given. My solution to that is to suggest that people choose or do not choose to use OLA based on its current features, not any anticipated ones.

While it is true that paying up-front a year's fee to obtain a store and a bulklister seems unreasonably greedy to me, and that I think the verified buyer program also feels unnecessarily grasping, there are those who may prefer a one time payment with unlimited listing capabilities. This format also frees OLA from wanting to worry about how final sales are made because they already have their money, so sellers and buyers are free to make whatever arrangements they wish and sellers are free to use the site to link to items or stores that are hosted on other sites, a rarity in the alternatives who mostly have adopted ebay's restrictive TOS in this area.

OLA also has a google page rank of 5 which is better than many other alternative sites (mostly smaller ones) listed at auctionnews.org's sitewatch.

My main problem is the way in which discussions of OLA seem to degenerate so quickly at PSU. I don't feel that to call those people who have a positive experience to share at any particular venue fools, and kool-aid drinkers, and cheerleaders is productive at all. I also don't think that to imply that those who are dissatisfied with their experience using any particular venue are in some way incompetent or lazy is productive either. I am more impressed by those that discuss the issues, their opinions and impressions, and forgo the drama. There are a few who like OLA and spring to its defense, as there are a few who appear so unhappy with their experience that they can let no positive comment go unanswered.

I am aware that there is a long history for OLA and a LOT of information available here and elsewhere for folks to research before trying the site. However, due to the nature of forums and the internet, fresh information is more readily heeded. So both sides need to feel free to have their say without the argument becoming personal almost every single time. And to my observation, it is almost always the people who feel that OLA is NOT a good choice that are the first ones to call names and impugn the character and motives of those who report that they are pleased with OLA. This is not to say that I think those with negatives to share should not state those negative points, but I would hope they would strive to do so without inflaming the discussion with personal attacks.

I see both positives and negatives with OLA as an alternative venue. I see that some seem to do well there and are happy to have found the place. I see that the site itself is not able to provide exceptional or even very good exposure of its sellers' items.

I see that a Google Base Feed was promised and has apparently been made available for sellers to use themselves, though I am only barely informed on this subject at this time. However, I believe that individual submission by stores to googlebase may be how ebay does it (or maybe it's an option), and seems to give a small preference in Google Product Search returns over site-wide submissions, and is how BISI does it. However, I don't think that providing a CSV is going to meet the needs of a lot of sellers, though there are some OLA sellers who are listed in Google Products right now, so seem to be using this tool.

I have heard that the bulklister is difficult to use and many sellers end up doing cut-and-paste of listings to move them, even those with long experience at OLA. I have also seen some say they like listing at OLA, though I have also seen much higher praise for the formats of some other sites.

I have nothing to report on the current condition of search or shopping on the site as I have been generally inactive in all the alt stuff since June. However, I have observed that OLA seems to be showing up better in Google web search than was the case earlier this year, and I did observe changes occurring to how Google perceived page titles and such in May or June, so I can confirm that work of some sort has been done in Google search visibility.

My personal impression of OLA is that promises should be taken with a grain of salt and not be figured in to anyone's business plan. The fact that the verified buyer program has not been changed one iota despite numerous well-reasoned protests gives me the strong impression that a source of income is more important than the users' experiences. I cannot tell why some do well and some do so very badly, but almost any alt will draw little to no buyer traffic on its own, most seems to come from buyers finding an item they are looking for with some other means of searching, be that search engines, shopping sites, or social bookmarking, so OLA is not alone in requiring self-promotion. I also get the impression that OLA tends to consistently "miss the boat" for whatever reason.

I am aware that OLA talks on the front page about the total number of items available. While most out-of-the-box sites only mention listings, there are several "independent" sites that I have come across (SportLots.com and AtomicAvenue.com to mention a couple I visited just yesterday) talk about total items. I also will note, yet again for those new to this furor, that anytime one browses a category or puts in a search at OLA, the number of LISTINGS is prominently displayed at the top of that page. As far as I've seen, the number of items only appears on the home page and is, IMO, a fair marketing tactic. And I note that this is one of the most common complaints about OLA seen on these boards, many times explained and answered.

My bottom-line advice to any seller considering which alts to try is that if you decide to try OLA you do so at $8 a month to find out how the back-end works for you, and you consider if the items you sell, or related ones, seem to do well there and if there is room for your items in that market. Do not expect that OLA, just because it is larger in terms of listings, will automatically attract buyers en-masse and be another eBay. It won't. But then again, neither will iOffer or Craigslist or eCrater.

P.S. I am personally glad that MetzyMom has found some success with her excellent soaps at OLA. With such a good product, though, I suspect she could find success in many venues. I am personally sorry that others of the Feb and May ebay exoduses did not find that OLA meets their needs, and that they felt they relied on promised improvements that failed to materialize in the ways and timeframe that they expected. And I suggest to you folks that Bonanzle and AtomicMall, fledgling sites though they are, may be well worth looking at to expand your online presence.

METZYMOM wrote (View Post): › Mike, what I was referring to was that there are rules of conduct at AM too, whereas OLA gets slammed for theirs. Every site has ROC. I used you as an example, that's all.

Quote: › Ban Ethanol, Please use 100% REAL GAS

METZYMOM wrote (View Post): › I was just so sure I read your Chat TOS (posted on April 9th) correctly and that it did say that "Any post may be deleted, modified or moved at any time for any reason, as deemed appropriate by the board moderator(s)."

Quote: › you cautioning your users that you wanted things to be kept "upbeat and forward-looking" and to let "bygones be bygones".

Quote: › I won't mention your site again.

FashionHairShop wrote (View Post): › can anyone advise a good place to sell goods other then ebay