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No, the Configurator is not an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. It's Infopia's new tool that allows sellers to offer customizable offerings on eBay.
eBay's policy has long been, one product, one listing. It bans what it calls Choice Listings, which allow buyers to choose from a selection of items, because "of the potential for fee circumvention, transactions outside of eBay and other issues."
But eBay is currently running a Pilot program through September where certain sellers can offer items like computers using Infopia's Configurator tool. There's a price for auctions on steroids, however: the Configurator is geared to larger merchants and not the occasional seller.
You can see an example of a listing using Infopia's Configurator in Item number 3827116685 (http://digbig.com/4bkhp): "2.4 Tower PC Computer/Computers+Monitor+CDRW/DVD+WRNTY - CONFIGURABLE EBAY LISTING, BRAND NEW WARRANTY." It has a base price of $390.74. Scroll down and you'll see the Configurator table, where there are 18 fields containing pull-down menus, allowing you to specify which components you'd like with your computer. As soon as you make a change, the price changes, reflecting the new components you've selected.
Once you've created your desired configuration, you can click "Build My Computer" to have an eBay listing created with your specifications.
I added a 19" LCD flat panel monitor to the computer, and the price went to $980.73. I then clicked Build My Computer. After about 15 seconds, it took me to listing # 5109902231, where I could click "Buy It Now" to purchase (http://digbig.com/4bkhs).
Computers are not the only type of item that can be customized. Fanzz-com uses Infopia Configurator to sell customizable Major League Baseball jerseys (http://digbig.com/4bkht).
Pricing for the pilot starts at $1,000 setup plus $99/month, plus a commission of 1-2% of sales (based on the category). Sellers need to list items containing a Configurator through Infopia's Marketplace Manager system, but it can be used in conjunction with other software listing tools. Upgrading to Marketplace Manager enterprise with its core functionality costs an additional $1,500-$2,500 plus $299 - $499 month.
Infopia is looking for additional candidates for the Pilot program in the following categories:
Computer Memory
Paintball
Computers
Sports Packages
Servers
Networking
Photo Packages
Automotive Accessories
"Over the past 4 months, we have listed over 4,000 auctions containing a configurator," said Jalali Hartman, EVP Product Development of Infopia. "Of those, over 12,000 new, personalized eBay Store listings have been generated by the end consumer. Best of all the overall increase in conversion rate (number of sales per auction) has increased 87% and average sale size has increased 65%."
For more information on the Configurator, visit http://www.infopia.com/configurator.
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