Hate Ebay? How you can help me.

Crowqueen

Google are always rumoured to be starting something, but they have stuck so far with their checkout system. I think that's wiser from their point of view.

Although eBay is going strong, I think the auction format has a lot of pitfalls that makes it unlikely that a site purely dedicated to auctions will be able to establish itself. I would think that the commodity/consumer durable market on eBay accounts for a large portion of sales and possibly subsidises the private seller auctions that still get listed. Bidding prevents the seller from setting up any form of automatic payment system, so NPBs will always be an occupational hazard which sellers have to account for. People starting sites now may want to try and avoid some of the flaws of the auction system and keep it fixed price only.

I guess an auction site for a specific type of niche product may *possibly* be an idea, but I still think ebay is going to be far and away the biggest auction site for some time to come.

That's the main growth area of the online marketplace trend. Sites like Folksy provide crafters with a place to sell handmade items and supplies, plus over the last few months I've seen sites dedicated to bee-keeping and equestrianism come up here in conversation. That's healthy for the markets concerned, plus I would imagine some of the hobbyist sites get buyers a bit more savvy than their general public equivalent, which means a healthier atmosphere on some of those sites towards buyers. Most places now understand a few things:

(a) ecommerce has become very well regulated over the last few years and no site can flourish in a market where buyers are so well-protected. US laws are fairly lax but EU laws are made of solid steel. Any site focussed on an EU market has to make protection rigid enough to withstand the SOGA, the DSRs, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Practices Act, and their European equivalents. New sites seem to take these as a given, which is a refreshing change.

(b) the failures in the marketplace have been to do with a lack of revenue. Charging sellers little or nothing to list is a foolish thing: either you will get a site clogged up with junk (my favourite auctions on eBid are worthless "LOOK USSR 1976 stamp USED" --- those are literally worth about ten a penny, if not less...), or you will not be able to maintain the site properly, including all the advertising of the site (viral/word of mouth/Facebook is enough for a geek site, but you need national exposure for a generalist site that you intend the public to use in any great numbers) and maintenance (which even eBay has issues with from time to time), not to mention legal compliance and advice which is a substantial part of any commercial endeavour - look at all the pressure that has been put on eBay from Trading Standards, HMRC and programmes like Watchdog.

redcard

laying4profit wrote: »

Thanks mate. Its ok i know there will be people take the micky, but i just let them have thier say.
I am not going to give up with it either, It might take a few years but who cares.
As long as i can offer a better place to sell items i am sure i will do ok.:T

What patents do you have, or do you need to license? How is your business protected?

There's 1000s of companies / individuals who could set up a similar site if they wanted, what makes you think yours is going to stand out?

Also, take this idea into Dragon's Den and none of them would give you any investment. If you and a couple of pals can do this, what's to stop me and my pals doing the same thing, but undercutting your fees by 1%?

laying4profit

redcard wrote: »

What patents do you have, or do you need to license? How is your business protected?

There's 1000s of companies / individuals who could set up a similar site if they wanted, what makes you think yours is going to stand out?

Also, take this idea into Dragon's Den and none of them would give you any investment. If you and a couple of pals can do this, what's to stop me and my pals doing the same thing, but undercutting your fees by 1%?

A patent is for a product mate NOT a website.i could get a copyright on the name of it if thats what you mean.
No you are right Dragons den would not take it on. And yes i know why. There are loads of action sites out there and many will and do fail.People start them and get bored and forget them.Or they cant generate the interest.It is VERY hard to get members on any type of website.

All it take is to find that key thing and BOOM you are laughing. Like facebook did. Im still toying with ideas as i said, because i want the site to be right from day 1.Im still doing research on here and other places to see what people want. i must say i am getting very mixed replies..
Some people say dont charge the seller and others say do charge them a certain fee.
Some say that No fees for the seller others say charge the seller a fee.
Then you have the problem of...If you charge the seller will they list on an empty site.. Or will the buyers look on an empty site.

As i say i still am getting feedback so wil keep taking the advice and sort something out which i think will work.

soapyjoe

:rotfl:Have been reading these threads after a busy day fulfilling ebay orders. Bit tired really.

Good luck!!!!! is all I can say to anyone who thinks they can fulfill all that ebay does, without the snags and pitfalls, and yes there are several, but it's quite a challenge and if you get there, then good on you !

I dont think you really know quite what you are taking on :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:are you maybe having a bit of a joke with us by posting this thread, at our expense ?

Crowqueen

The OP seems to be serious, I doubt a joke post would have got this far.

soapyjoe

Crowqueen wrote: »

The OP seems to be serious, I doubt a joke post would have got this far.

Didnt you see the post on the compers board last month, where the bloke had us all congratulating him and his girlfriend on their fantastic wins, it went on for ages and turned out to be a spoof!

Some people have nothing better to do and isnt our ebay thread is just asking for it?

Apologies if I'm mistaken.

laying4profit

soapyjoe wrote: »

Didnt you see the post on the compers board last month, where the bloke had us all congratulating him and his girlfriend on their fantastic wins, it went on for ages and turned out to be a spoof!

Some people have nothing better to do and isnt our ebay thread is just asking for it?

Apologies if I'm mistaken.

No, i am 100% serious. This is why i wanted feedback from various places.
I would rather take the time in asking for input than to just bash it together and wonder why its not working.
Given time and the right layout/look im sure it should do ok. but this is the hardest part lol

mobile48

laying4profit wrote: »

A patent is for a product mate NOT a website.i could get a copyright on the name of it if thats what you mean.=

You can and should get a patents on how a web site work - for example see the following case related to ebay use of patented technology:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay_Inc._v._MercExchange,_L.L.C.

The above case shows how important Buy-it-now is to ebay.

You cannot copyright a name. You may be able to trademark it.