[meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see

From: Meteorites USA <eric_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:21:25 -0700
Message-ID: <4BA139C5.9080600_at_meteoritesusa.com>

Hi Walter, List,

No matter how much time and effort you put into "building it", they will
NOT come to any site like they do to Ebay, unless...

Perhaps the best way is free, fast, secure, it has to have the base and
it needs to be easy. Ebay didn't just start from a website, there was
money behind it. The only way to make something happen without money is
to provide a motivation. I have created two websites one auction site
and one classifieds site. The auction site was not free, the classifieds
site was.

The classifieds site saw much more traffic and popularity, and there
were certain marketing and online advertising techniques I used to
promote the site that worked great and allowed it to be ranked in the
top 10 within a month or so. It grew VERY fast.

No offense, but the sites you mention are not new and there are tons of
free sites out there. People have been trying to compete with Ebay for a
long time. The only one who has had real success is Craigslist. They are
the single largest threat to Ebay's market share.

If you were to build a site that "they will come" to, then that site I
believe must be cheaper than Ebay, offer the same or comparable traffic
or in marketing terms "reach", as Ebay does, and at the same time make
it EASY for people to post their items for sale. There's one thing I
know that will accomplish ALL of that. That's a free classifieds site,
with certain categories that can be charged for just like the Craigslist
model.

Take it from me, it's not about building it. It's about offering
something of value. All the sites you mentioned have not come anywhere
close to the reach that Ebay gives, to do that you need free and easy
value. Most people will have no problems paying even a small fee, but
you must make it fair or people will not participate.

The issue is not really price or even benefits. It's about how EASY
something is to do. If any site could offer the same reach as Ebay but
cheaper, it will most likely be a success.

Regards,
Eric



On 3/17/2010 11:33 AM, Walter Branch wrote:
> Hi Mike,
>
> For years I was the only meteorite seller at Astro Auction Kim Poor
> (the site administrator) asked me to bring more meteorite business to
> the site. I can't tell you how much Canyon Diablo I sold there.
>
> I informed a few dealers Astro Auction a few years ago but they never
> took advantage of the site. No one listed anything.
>
> Ironically Kim and Novaspace Galleries (the brick and morter store
> behind Astro Auction) are located in of all places, Tucson.
>
> Not too long ago I mentioned Cloudynights.com as an alternative to
> ebay. Totally free of fees. The time it takes to list an item is 30
> seconds to one minute. How many new dealers started listing there?
> None.
>
>> I see is that you are going to miss a massive chunk of the >exposure
>> that eBay provides.
>
> Not really. List meteorites at both sites. They are not mutually
> exclusive.
>
> The impetus for using sites other than ebay has to come from dealers,
> not buyers.
>
> What did they say in the movie, "build it and they will come." Well,
> you won't be playing baseball in the middle of a cornfield. You gotta
> build the stadium first.
>
> -Walter
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Bandli" <fuzzfoot at comcast.net>
> To: "'Galactic Stone & Ironworks'" <meteoritemike at gmail.com>;
> <meteoriteman at comcast.net>
> Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 12:37 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see
>
>
>> This auction site already exists and has been around for a long time.
>> Best
>> of all, there are zero fees. There is also a section for meteorites:
>>
>> www.Astro-Auction.com
>>
>> Though used mostly for space memorabilia, I believe an effort to move
>> meteorite folks over there could be done. The only problem I see is
>> that you
>> are going to miss a massive chunk of the exposure that eBay provides.
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------
>> Mike Bandli
>> Historic Meteorites
>> www.HistoricMeteorites.com
>> IMCA #5765
>> -----------------------------------------------
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
>> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of
>> Galactic
>> Stone & Ironworks
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 9:26 AM
>> To: meteoriteman at comcast.net
>> Cc: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see
>>
>> Hi Jim,
>>
>> It's been tried before, most recently Eric W. tried it. (if memory
>> serves me correctly)
>>
>> The problem is, many meteorite dealers are very competitive with each
>> other, and I think if a dealer owns/runs the auction site, some other
>> dealers will avoid it - no matter who that dealer/owner is.
>>
>> But I agree that a meteorite auction site (with traffic) would be
>> great. :)
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> MikeG
>>
>>
>>
>> On 3/17/10, meteoriteman at comcast.net <meteoriteman at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> It seems that the solution to these high ebay fees is a no brainer.
>>> With
>> so
>>> many meteorite dealers on the met-list, all of you should get
>>> together and
>>> have your auctions on a new site. An existing site or create your own.
>>> Possibly create a "Meteorite Dealers Association" that runs it and
>>> keeps
>> it
>>> free of bogus sellers. I'm sure that a fee smaller than ebay's would
>>> pay
>> for
>>> the site's maintenance. The possibility's of such a site would be
>>> endless.
>>>
>>> Jim Konwerski
>>> Crete, IL
>>> USA
>>> ______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>> --
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
>> http://www.galactic-stone.com
>> http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
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Received on Wed 17 Mar 2010 04:21:25 PM PDT