[meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see

From: Walter Branch <waltbranch_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:38:32 -0400
Message-ID: <B742B4748BDA485B9C640A7A1F9F5196_at_acer330bb84976>

Eric

I think you missed my point.

I am not advocating building a new website to compete with ebay. I am
talking about using resources that are already in place.

I don't want to create a new ebay or an ebay competitor.

But answer this question, if you would please. What would it hurt if a few
dealers listed a few auctions, buy-it-nows, fixed price sales, etc. at these
alternative sites then let met list members and IMCA members know about
their auctions.

Does everyone who buys meteorites use belong to this list or the IMCA? No,
of course not. But I would be willing to wager a significant number do.

I stated earlier that I sold kg upon kg of meteorites at astro auction. If
I could do it, surely a real meteorite dealer could do it.

I don't advocate building another ebay. I don't care about lamp shades,
pokemon cards, flatware or women's make-up. Just put up some meteorites.
See what happens.

At a free site, could you lose money?

-Walter
----- Original Message -----
From: "Meteorites USA" <eric at meteoritesusa.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 4:21 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see


> 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
>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>> Visit the Archives at
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
>>> http://www.galactic-stone.com
>>> http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ______________________________________________
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>>
>> ______________________________________________
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>>
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Received on Wed 17 Mar 2010 05:38:32 PM PDT