AUDIOGON's new format - Page 4

Yeah...no one has been a bigger critic, if not publicly then at least in my own mind; but I agree we probably need to make the best of it and be patient...if for no other reason, than because there really is no alternative.

Videogon? Yes, it looks the same...and is free; but until it has the same kind of traffic, I wouldn't put it on par with AG. And (fleec)eBay? Puh-lese; you think AGs 2% is prohibitive! They have such complicated listing schemes, that sometimes...between them and PP...I swear I think you're paying close to 10%; they just hope you're not taking the time to do the math.

Now...I do hope that part of AGs new scheme, is to better monitor and crack-down on the recent, rampant fakes, thieves, and con-artists listing there. Brand new, $70k monoblocks; $20k...zero-feedback, MO only please...lol. Just make a quick email, and boot their a** off of there.

CD

I have been on Agon for a long time now and can not find (1) nice thing to say about it: Super slow, search functions suck, did I already say slow?

Dumb A@#'s - Way to screw up a good thing!

I made a full price offer of $450 on an amp earlier today - what a fluster cluck! My offer was contingent on using my FedEx account for shipping since that is cheaper for me. Almost immediately the ad was pulled and a message that it was 'sold' for $427 was displayed. I went to MYPAGE to see what was up. Under 'Bought' it lists the amp I wanted - with a total due of $927! I get no email notifying me of a purchase - and it seems emails to the idiots that are running the assylum are either very busy or on vacation.

I think I'll start shopping ebay for a while. At least there is knowledge of whether one wins an auction or a best offer was accepted.

I just contact the seller directly, discuss the details and pay him/her directly. Right now especially, that seems to be the prudent way to buy.

See, to me...that's the biggest crime of all; I can't imagine anyone willing to conduct business in the current state the site's in! Like I said earlier...my ads only have a "buy it now" option, even though I listed for OBO.

Also...it doesn't appear to me that you can check someone's feedback anymore (was that already mentioned?). That's huge...especially with all the scams out there. Plus...they changed the rating system; why...to be more like eBay? Is that what they are shooting for?

Know your audience!

CD

You can check feedback. Not as easily as you used to do but feedback is still available. From the front page go to member lookup on the R/H side - enter the member name on the next page and you'll see the feedback.

I can't imagine why the seller of that amp would sell for $23 less than my offer unless he thinks he can make that and more up with shipping fees. He does have 100% feedback and no shipping issues.

In the same place you check a member's feedback, you can send him an email. Contact the seller directly. He may be confused as you are. I usually make email contact then talk on the phone.

I've done that too. Since the website is for all practical purposes non-functional I'm not confident that my email went through. I did get the copy that was sent to me.

And understanding that you can do it that way...checking feedback and such; why should you have to do a member lookup. How hard is it to have it on a hyperlink like before?

That's the whole point; some of the things they lost...there just doesn't seem to be any reason to have.

CD

My listings are screwed up and I had 3 deals going on during their switch, which are all in the wrong status. I sure hope nothing goes wrong because the records of who did what and when are messed. Also one of my listings from Sept. is now listed as sold Jan. 6 and awaiting shipping......

I had one listing where it was sold long ago and yesterday got an inquiry. lol. I'm glad nobody did a buynow on it, that would have been awkward.

Then for Audiogon, as a remedy, give only 2 days of extra listing seems petty and arrogant. How about maybe a free listing credited to account? Or an extra 30 days?

Audiogon is a valuable service. However, I can't see how Audiogon owners deserve it, and will be keeping an eye out for alternatives.

They are also moderating their blog comments. My negative but thoughtful comment was removed.

Have you contacted the other party? They are probably in the same situation that you are in.

Thanks, this worked for me too! I've been trying to get help for over 4 days but not a single response from support. Oddly, if I log in through the discussion forums or other section of the site that hasn't been "upgraded" then I still have to use the caps in my password.

The site is very screwy now. 2 items I sold were unsold post-update, and one was bought again, also billing me again for closing fees! I didn't even receive an email about the transaction that occurred post-update (it has been 2 days). Several ads in my sales history that were sold say they were not sold. My favorite quirk is that I have 2 items that say they were sold in the future, 1/19 and 1/21/2012!

I think one of the biggest reasons they revamped is that, like eBay, all communication now goes through the site and all messages are logged. You don't get the other person's email address so you can't close the deal offline to avoid fees.

Yeah...I just got an email from someone interested in one of my items. They wanted to know if I was open to an offer, and as I've posted previously...my items were supposed to be OBO all along...and were before "the switch"...but are not listed that way now. I mentioned it to AG, and they said they would pass it along to their "programmers". Programmers? Don't they have a bug-list 2 miles long already? I can't change my own ad anymore? FWIW...I tried logging-in and making the ad OBO, and saw no way to do it.

I also noticed that this email was as if through a "service"; rather than being from the member, or even from the member through AG...as in the past...it's like through an AG email "switchboard"; such and such has sent you a message...the message is...

I think you're on the money, so to speak Kimchee; this has ALL been about locking the service down, so that AG can get paid. The format likely has to do with making more advertising space, or creating a format more what advertisers are used to...for increased revenue, etc. Someone in the biz told me he thought the site did look outdated, but my point is it's a niche site anyway; how "slick" does it need to be?

He agreed...and sited Craigslist as an example, that is ugly and simple...but what users are used to, and gets on just fine. I think AG is barely usable right now. If there were really any competition out there, I would have thought they did them a big favor...as I'd be defecting; but I don't really see an alternative.

CD

Nothing new here - Just my 2 cents to add my angst over the new site. Bottom line - I dont trust it and thus far they really blew it. I can only hope they understand that. Their few comments seem like they dont. I've been buying and selling there since 2003 but I wont be doing anything untill they regain my confidence. Seems that they've forgotten who the customer is.

You're right about them wanting to police any lost fees from a final sale. Let's see...........they charge $4 per listing and pick up advertising revenue and more often than not DO get their final %. I would suggest putting your phone number and/or an extra contact "email" in your listing or in correspondence with the buyer.

My two cents - I don't use Audiogon that often but the new site is very slow, not user friendly and it baffles me why they would implement a new design as rotten as this one. It is worse than when Coke changed their formula several years back.

^^
couldn't agree with you more

I have bought gear 1 time off Audiogon, but I check it weekly for deals & wish list items. From the perspective of the sellers, I can understand why they hate it, especially if they are losing sales now.

From a buyer's viewpoint as well, the new site is a 100% cluster-f*ck. Can't say it any plainer than that.

Trying to use it just plain sucks.

Search engine is a joke, returning a lot of extraneous junk having nothing to do with the text entered. I've even tried putting "" around the name & still see vastly more garbage entries than legit ones.

It's much harder to navigate, much slower, photos are small even zoomed. And the text is really hard to read.

Audiogon's owners should listen to the universal condemnation of the site and return to the original one until it's redesigned to restore lost functionality & ease of use, ASAP. Because no one seems to like what they did, not sellers, not buyers.

The old web pages may not have been slick but they worked reliably, were fast & the whole site was easy to use.

It was probably designed based on the advice of consultants, haha..

I'd have to agree with you. I certainly would be reluctant to commit to a buy the way it is now. They've made the seller's username hard to see at a glance, since they stuck it in a corner and I didn't even bother trying to see any feedback. You're right, if a buyer can't see feedback, he'd be foolish to buy a hi-ticket item blind. Too many scams out there.

It's a shame these guys took something that worked & screwed it up. I've been looking at the site for the last week and it doesn't look like they've fixed any of the usability issues.

Small progress - search no longer includes the item description, just the main item name. And, you can now click on the user name to get to the old feedback screen.

I'm a long-time Audiogon seller/buyer and I don't like their new site. It is not user-friendly and it is way too slow. I truly don't understand why it needed to be changed or updated. Sigh!

I hope it can be made better...

Mike

Hey, you're right...but also a small step back IMO. The feedback score is no longer there; just the percentage. You then have to drill-down to get the details.

I'm not trying to nit-pick...and maybe this is an indication that they're chopping wood, and not to take it as a "finished" product just yet. OTOH...all I'm asking for...seeing the feeback score, the percentage, and then the ability to drill-down and examine it further if you want...is not the moon; after all...it's the way it used to be...lol.

I guess all we can hope, is that it's definitely one step back...to eventually take two steps forward; but even then...I think it's two steps forward for them, not for us.

CD

One click on the sellers name / feedback % brings all the details. Isn't this the same as before?

Not exactly. Before, it would say CDLehner 129 (100%)...and then you could click-down for the indivdual feedback comments. Now...at least for now...it just says CDLehner (100%)...and you have to click-down to see if that's 100% for 1 transaction or 1,000.

CD

Not to pile on...because we all know it's a mess right now, and well documented...but there is an item I've been looking for to come up for a while now, and it just turned up at the new AG.

But the seller has a zero feedback rating, which is always a red-flag to me...for obvious reasons. In some cases...including this one...I'd email and try to feel the seller out; see if he was legit, and just new...or a seeming scam-artist.

So...in this instance...when I drill down on this seller, it says "no feedback on file"...but of course, there's no way to email from that screen; you have to do a member lookup, and try to email from there. Now...when I do that...I get something I've NEVER seen in my many years on AG; it says "no longer a registered user...account either canceled by the owner, or suspended by AG".

Now...is this more cross-over BS, or a legitimate issue with the user; in which case, why does he still have 2 ads listed, if the account has been canceled or revoked?

My point...it's nearly impossible to really conduct business right now. Sure...I know doing business with anyone zero-feedback is a risky proposition in the first place (and I usually don't...although I've careful walked a few newbies through their first successful transactions). But right now, I don't think you can trust anything coming...or not coming (emails to AG, emails to potential buyers, etc)...from the "new" AG.

CD

0 feedback is always a concern. Are you still able to email the seller and either provide your phone number or ask for the seller's?

I have 43 transactions through AG and probably another 20 "off AG". Over half of these involved personal phone conversations.

Did you try the private dsicussion option? Ask him for his phone number so you can discuss. He must know that the website is screwed up.

BTW...haven't done this in some time; but desperate times call for desperate measures. I did a search for this item at (fleec)eBay, and see the same seller over there; 19 transactions, perfect feedback.

I'm just saying...doesn't appear that you can trust AG right now. I guess they're just "deleting" zero-feedback accounts?

CD

The site is still disfunctional. From the outside looking in they're not backing down. Its a shame but thats life - nothing stays the same. Another site will pick up the slack. I currently don't trust Audiogon and it woulld seem that they dont know their a$$ from their elbow.