Starting An eBay Business :: AuctionYen Software Review

AuctionYen Software: A Review Of The Auction Software Named "AuctionYen"

There is new software in the auction arena and it's called AuctionYen (auctionyen.com). AuctionYen advertises itself as ''research software that quickly uncovers hidden niche and product ideas'' from eBay.

AuctionYen takes the data from eBay's Want It Now and makes it manageable. The Want It Now section of eBay allows buyers to post ads seeking items they wish to buy.

Buyers can list in a multitude of categories:

Antiques
Art
Baby
Books
Business & Industrial
Cameras & Photo
Cell Phones
Clothing, Shoes & Accessories
Coins
Collectibles
Computers & Networking
Consumer ElectronicsCrafts
Dolls & Bears
DVDs & Movies
Entertainment Memorabilia
Gift Certificates
Health & Beauty
Home & Garden
Jewelry & Watches
Music
Musical Instruments
Pottery & GlassReal Estate
Specialty Services
Sporting Goods
Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop
Stamps
Tickets
Toys & Hobbies
Travel
Video Games
Everything Else
eBay Motors

eBay's Want It Now section has received much excited speculation from eBay sellers but in truth it's cumbersome to use. For instance, the example above came from eBay's Home & Garden section and it shows 18853 items. At 50 items per page, that's 378 clicks to get through all the items - and that's only one category!

Secondly, what are the odds that I, Ms. eBay Seller, will have the exact item a seller is seeking.? And even if I do, that's only one sale.

No, clearly the only use of this section for serious sellers is to use the data to discover niches and interest. The problem is that the amount of data is overwhelming without some software help. So, enter AuctionYen.

What AuctionYen Does

First, the software ''... simply collects the Want It Now data from the desired eBay web site, then analyzes the posts finding how frequent certain word combinations occur. Additionally, the total number of responses corresponding to the word combinations are extracted."

Nest, it analyzes the data and assigns it a "yen" factor. Using a scale of 0-10, keywords are assigned numbers based on popularity (high demand is a 10). So far, so good, but the example used is very weak, IMHO.

He owner mentions that the keyword "yearbooks" is very popular on eBay and recommends:

1. Collect old yearbooks from garage sales and sell them on eBay.
2. Put an ad in your local newspaper explaining that you sell people's yearbooks on eBay and split the profits.
3. Start an online membership site where the members can upload yearbook images to share with other members from their school...www.yearbookpix.com

Finding Yearbooks At Garage Sales

If you want an eBay business, rather than an eBay hobby, spending your Saturday's at garage sales, looking for yearbooks for sale, isn't extremely inefficient. You may find a few - then again, you might find zilch.

You will not have a highly lucrative eBay business if you spend all your time hustling product!

You must, must, must have a reliable source so that you can spend your time building income stream after income stream, not running frantically to garage sales.

Will this work: Maybe. But it won't bring you a steady income.

Putting An Ad In The Paper

Running ad ad in most newspapers isn't cheap. And it is uncertain how much response you will get. There are other variables, such as:

* What kind of sale percentage will a yearbook owner demand?
* Who will pay the eBay fees in the event it doesn't sell?
* How can you be sure that a particular yearbook is in demand on eBay?

Will this work: It might possibly bring in some money, but it won't be either steady or large. It is hit and miss, at best.

Building A Yearbook Site

It isn't clear to me exactly what the AuctionYen owner has in mind with this idea? Perhaps he thinks that picture posters will want to sell their yearbooks to him? It seems likely that if they're interested enough in their yearbooks to post pictures, they most likely don't want to sell them. Most people only unload products they don't care about.

AuctionYen Conclusions

I haven't used the software, but it's most likely good at organizing Want It Now data. After all, this is a simple database function and not that hard to create. For any seller interested in Want It Now, it's a good tool if it works as promised.

For sellers with an eBay hobby who merely want to make a few hundred a month to make a car payment or do something special for their kids, it's worthwhile.

For sellers who want to earn a living - a very good living - on eBay, it's not so helpful. The data might be useful but the product supply is uncertain. Maximum money requires maximum efficiency and garage sales et al aren't the way. Knowing that a product is "hot" doesn't mean that you know where to get it!

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