[meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see

From: Meteorites USA <eric_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:00 -0700
Message-ID: <4BA15EF0.4060509_at_meteoritesusa.com>

Hi Walter,

Understood, but I was simply being more general on purpose. Where do you
advertise. Not all meteorite people will flock to one particular site.
With the myriad of other sites out there, to get the reach that ebay
provides you'd have to list your items for sale on ALL of the remaining
top 10 auction sites to get the reach ebay would give you. Your sales
would suffer, and it would be a nightmare to keep organized.

My point is not that I'm saying build another ebay, I'm saying build
something better. That would be a phenomenal achievement, but it would
be worth the money to do in my opinion. Ebay is ripe for an
"international" competitor. I'm saying that because Craigslist, though
it is international, you're only allowed to advertise your items for
sale locally. Imagine if there were a site where local listings were
free, but only charged a small fee for regional, national, and
international advertising. I guess that skirts the philosophy of a
"free" site somewhat though, but not everyone needs to advertise
worldwide. You also have to deal with abusers who post "illegal &
offensive" ads too. How do you manage that?

I know what you're saying, you want to use what's already there, but I
believe if what is there now could work then it would have worked
already. ;)

You asked me "...At a free site, could you lose money? ..."

I don't think so, I have a model and have run the numbers and it should
work well, and it will even turn a respectable profit while still
offering FREE advertising to sellers. A win/win in my opinion.

Look, I'm not saying not to use what's there now, ebid.com and many
other auction sites are out there. I've never used Astro-Auctions but
they look cool for a specialized site. There's really a whole lot of
competition out there in the auction website market. Everyone wanted to
be the next Ebay until they actually started an auction site and saw how
much a of pain in the rear it is to run one. When you realize that, you
specialize or make it free. You would actually be able to run a
successful site AND keep it free by offering free LOCAL listings,
supplemented by advertising revenue i.e. small fees on certain
categories and regional, national, and international listings.

This is why Craigslist works so well. It's simple and free. KISS! This
is what makes Ebay scared!

My site www.spacifieds.com was a test that worked fairly well. It was a
trial run of sorts and garnered a lot of interest in a short time. It
became a top 10 website in it's category in less than 2 months, but even
at that people didn't use it much because the "reach" was nothing
comparable to ebay. Even ALL the top 10 auction websites combined don't
equal to the traffic ebay gets.

In my opinion this is a perfect time for there to be a competitor arrive
for ebay... Craigslist probably won't do it because of their philosophy.
But there is room for another big site, one that combines the best of
both worlds.

Regards,
Eric


On 3/17/2010 2:38 PM, Walter Branch wrote:
> 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
>>>>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
>>>>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>>>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> 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 07:00:00 PM PDT