Call For Feedback: CPAPAuction.com Improvement Suggestions

[quote="johnnygoodman"]Howdy CPAPtalkers,

I'm pleased to report that CPAPAuction.com has caught traction and is off to a great start. Until October 1st, it costs $1 to register, listing is free and buying is always free.

None the less, before launch I expected many CPAPtalkers to take advantage of the free listings to clean out their mask drawer or pick up needed items at very reasonable prices. From my analysis, the majority of people participating on CPAPAuction.com are non-CPAPtalker CPAP.com customers. This confuses me because I consider CPAPtalkers to be cutting edge and very interested in new tools and developments in the CPAP world and I consider CPAPAuction.com to be pretty cutting edge.

I want to be very sure that CPAPAuction is a tool that CPAP users love. If its not yet that tool, I would love to hear what everyone thinks about it and where it could be made better. I'd appreciate your two cents in free form or using the following questions as a guideline.

1. I don't use CPAPAuction now because...

2. I'm waiting to use CPAPAuction until...

3. I tried to use CPAPAuction but I couldn't or didn't want to anymore because...

I will read all feedback and will reply to as much as I can.

Thank you as always for your support and involvement in the community.

Johnny

johnnygoodman,

Might I also recommend in the persons profile they can select the number of items to be displayed per page ---- beats doing five items at a time ( might be faster for slower connectors -- I has one of the dialup )
Now with a faster hookup why not use it!!!

Bert

My concern is the obvious. Scam artists that somehow get approved to list items and then they hook someone. I may or may not be in the middle of a scam as we speak. Auction no: 401. I bought a new Quattro mask. Seller has no feedback. I emailed and asked for the address to send the check. I get an odd, foreign speaking email back, telling me to send the check to a different person than is listed as the seller. So, I ask them to take a digital pic of the mask and send it to me, not just the ole cut & paste job. I asked for some assurance that they were in fact legit, and guess what, no response. I have forwarded my concern about that seller to you Johnny. I haven't heard back. Once a seller and buyer establish credible feedback, then it will be a safer way to do business.

I went to the ask seller a question link and asked a question. So far no answer and that was yesterday.

Greetings,

Thank you all for your time and feedback.

I'm very proud of CPAPAuction and excited at what it can become with your help and participation. I was looking at it through rose colored glasses because of the ideals it represents. However, I wasn't really focused on how it looks through the eyes of a bidder who wants to try a new mask with minimal hassle and risk. Based on your feedback and a few evenings of roller blading around my house thinking about it, here are what I believe are the short comings of CPAPAuction as it is today and what we are doing about them:

#1 Trusted Sellers Are Critical and Feedback Determines Who Is Trusted.

CPAPAuction.com will live or die by the sustained number of buyers we can attract. Many have expressed interest in CPAPAuction but are unwilling to join in until they can deal with sellers who have an established reputation for shipping the items as described promptly.

We are starting up and are just now getting our first round of feedback posted. I'm pleased to report it is overwhelmingly positive. CPAPAuction needs to make it easy for potential bidders to view this feedback during their browsing/shopping process.

What We Are Doing: We are pushing feedback ratings into the browse pages and are currently discussing posting a Feedback Leader Board so you can quickly determine what reputable sellers are offering at any given time.


#2 If It Is A Pain To Browse Products, I Will Stop Doing It.

The browse section is based on AJAX which is a fancy new way for users to browse through content without perpetual page loads. The down side is that clicking back or forward resets where you left off in the browse and you start at square one. A few times of having to dig back into CPAP Masks -> Nasal and shoppers give up.

What We Are Doing: We are adding "memory" to the browse so that when you click into product pages and click back, you will see the browse page with all the options you selected. This will make browsing much easier to do.

We are also going to be allowing users to show X items per page. We will be playing around with thumbnail size, some have suggested it is a little too big and I tend to agree.

#3 I Do Not Know How Active CPAPAuction Is, So I Won't Risk Bidding.

CPAPAuction is very active but that isn't always evident until you click into the browse from the main page. We are going to be publishing a running count of key website statistics on the main page of CPAPAuction just as we do on CPAPtalk. This will let new visitors to the site see that CPAPAuction is "for real".


Here are responses to specific feedback I received:

1. Number of Hours On Used Machines. Great idea! This is on the list.

2. Combining Items. This is a seller by seller choice. Our auctions will support this in the future, but right now it does not make it to the top of the priority list. Perhaps a "Will Combine? Yes/No" question on the new item for sale page would work best?

3. "Home Made" Pictures On Used Items. This problem will be addressed in the future. I would point out that sellers have the option of using stock pics, pics from other websites, pics they take and upload themselves or a combination of any of these options.

4. Login or Registration Issues. We have redesigned the registration process and feel it is very strong. If you are having issues, please email cpap@cpapauction.com and we'll help you.

5. Seller Notes After A Bid Is Placed. This will be a difficult situation. If you are reading a listing and bid on it, you've entered into a contract with the seller on the terms they wrote. I do not want to give either party wiggle room after this contract has been established. Adding a notes feature gives the seller a way to materially change the nature of the offering after bids have been placed. In your case, you want to tell bidders that the mask includes the headgear, its BETTER than the listing implies. However, it can also be used to say "oh hey, by the way, this doesn't include the headgear...or the cushion...thanks for the bids". I have to prevent that. How can I if after the fact comments are allowed?

Johnny

I'd like to see a "Buy Now" option added.

I agree with RestedGal . I would also like to see a buy it now option.

I won a bid on item 416 and I have not heard from the seller even though I have emailed them 2 times. If they do not want to sell why list the item? Are they thinking we dumb users will pay them twice the reg price for this item? Sellers name was sample44black That should tell us something that he does not want to be identified. Buyers beware. jim

I got an indication of winning item 562 and EMAILS were to follow. I got no EMAIL and nothing has happened since. If I go to my "Account" under cpapauction it says I lost. BUT! If I click on the lost item it brings up the same web page I got indicating I had won. Very confusing. I am currently the high bidder on an expensive item and hope someone more adventuresome than me will outbid me. I am starting to feel uncomfortable and will wait until the auction has matured before bidding again.

I am waiting for a response to my inquiry from the seller and cpap@cpapauction.com

" 1) i don't use cpapauction.com because..."

...i can't get a copy of my rx from either my sleep doc or my dme

...apparently it's only open to u.s. customers

would love to get my hands on one of those machines, though!

This might be overkill BUT bcc all emails to sellers with cpap@cpapauction.com
Johnny might think its a good idea but it will confirm your dealings?

Bert

Just another thought what if cpcp.com excepted the credit cards for the "sellers" as a credit for future item they want from cpap.com??

I'm sure there are draw backs but I can think of any right off?
anybody else have a thought.... all the seller would be out is the shipping but that cost gets added toward his/her credit........
Bert

Greetings,

The improvements to CPAPAuction keep coming. Here are some of the things we've done based on feedback received from CPAPtalkers.

#1. Done

What We Are Doing: We are pushing feedback ratings into the browse pages and are currently discussing posting a Feedback Leader Board so you can quickly determine what reputable sellers are offering at any given time.

#2. Done, except reduced thumbnail size which should be in place shortly

What We Are Doing: We are adding "memory" to the browse so that when you click into product pages and click back, you will see the browse page with all the options you selected. This will make browsing much easier to do.

We are also going to be allowing users to show X items per page. We will be playing around with thumbnail size, some have suggested it is a little too big and I tend to agree.

#3. Kinda, Sorta Done. We've pushed the box to the top, but we'll soon be displaying more robust real time metrics.

What We Are Doing: We are adding "memory" to the browse so that when you click into product pages and click back, you will see the browse page with all the options you selected. This will make browsing much easier to do.

We are also going to be allowing users to show X items per page. We will be playing around with thumbnail size, some have suggested it is a little too big and I tend to agree.

Thank you all for your support and feedback. Please keep it coming!

Johnny

Johnny, there was an item I was interested in but had one question I needed answered before placing a bid. Unfortunately, it was a Seller w/no feedback yet and an expensive used item. The problem was this Seller has earthlink for an ISP and insists on using their STUPID spam filter wherein the person trying to contact them receives an e-mail that they must then return or go to a link before the Seller will open it.

I quit earthlink as an ISP, this stupid spam filter type thing being one of the reasons.

My reasoning is, either the Seller wants my business or he doesn't. I have no intention of playing games by going to the link so he can decide whether he even wants to read my e-mail or not.

You might mention this to new Sellers.

I'll stick to eBay---thanks.