Why Ebay?

[oleanhosting]

I have thought about this for awhile now and I have decided to maybe go ahead with my project but I would like to know if there is interest and if people here would use it. I am looking at starting a video game auction site, like ebay

I have already bought a great domain name and have the software in place. All that is left for me do is is buy the SSL Cert, configure the software and have a template developed.

The unique situation for me is that my monthly costs to run the site would be nothing as I already own a few dedicated cpanel servers (I run a webhosting company). I have plenty of diskspace and bandwidth to support the site.

Please reply if there is interest in this kind of site. I am sick of the ebay fees and am trying to come up with ideas on how to keep this site almost free.

[Damaramu]

I think you'll have a bit of competition, though not necessarily a bad thing:

GameGavel.com (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112239)

[oleanhosting]

I remember reading that post. Will see how it goes I guess

[oleanhosting]

lol...He is also using the same software I have choose phpprobid. He seems further along than I am at the project.

I had a good domain to: retrogameauctions.com

Ah.well..

[Damaramu]

Well, don't let that stop you. After all, you know what they say about competition.... ;)

[udisi]

Competition while in most cases is good, I don't see it that way here. Ebay is gonna still be the juggernaut for a while, even without competition it's going to be a up hill battle for game gavel. If you wanna do something, maybe ask DWJ is you can help him or go in that together. First line of business is to get a site that compete with ebay before deciding if said new site is doing it right or should be competed with.

[Simon_Belmont]

yes there was also videogameauctions.co.uk some time ago trying to compete with Ebay.
Imo their BIG mistake was to still ask for fee's!
Make it free and people will jump on it I am sure, I will also use it! Make money on advertising (google etc)
Many companies that had great ideas and had succes on the internet made their service free and this way they got a very fast start (like youtube, freewebs etc)

[oleanhosting]

Well that was my idea to keep it free, but then if you do that you got everybody putting thier auction as Featured, so if I do go through with this I think the only fees I would charge would be for the auction extras, I would not charge a fee to post your stuff. Does that sound fair?

[Simon_Belmont]

Well that was my idea to keep it free, but then if you do that you got everybody putting thier auction as Featured, so if I do go through with this I think the only fees I would charge would be for the auction extras, I would not charge a fee to post your stuff. Does that sound fair?

Yeah no starting fees and no final value fees only for featured and other extra's
I would list there for sure!!
You can make good money if the site gets traffic by using google advertising and banners.

[oleanhosting]

Oh..I could get traffic to it, that is part of what I do on the side. Google has been very good to me lately. I average around $1200 a month from google :) .

I could get the basics up very quickly, but it would just be one of the built in themes till I get a custom on built.

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

Wow, cool thread. Just make sure you understand all the requirements to be safe and legitimate with the site. I have the great fortune of being a programmer as well as comfortable building sites, so that has helped me cut costs. Out of the box, phpprobid is only moderately good. Expect to spend about the same as purchase costs in addon modifications to get it to where you want it; not including a custom template.

I'm disappointed that so soon after I am getting GameGavel.com up that someone is quick to ride the wave, but comeptition is competition. Let it be...

Oh, to be honest, a truly professional inviting site, shouldn't use ads... in my experience, more people are willing to PAY to use a site so they don't HAVE to see an Ad. I think more people than not feel this way... just a thought.

[oleanhosting]

I dont expect this to be any kind of competition. I am sure there is enough sellers out there for 2 more auction sites. I actually had this going years ago, in fact my Atariage user name is atariauctions. If you scan the posts over there I actually had atariauctions.com running (btw the name is available). The only thing I dont have going for me is programming and the custom template. But I wont have any monthly costs to meet because I own 4 dedicated cpanel servers to run this on. Good Luck and maybe we can work together on this or other projects.

[oleanhosting]

Dragon Warrior: I gave GameGavel.com a quick plug over at Atariage :) .

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

Cool! I appreciate it. I have an account there, but i dont want my first post to be an ad... we all hate those guys! Can you post a link?

I dont want to discourage you from starting your site, please dont let me scare you off. I just want to ensure that you know that you have a considerable amount of work to do it, and costs. I did a lot of research, which was very surprising to me the amount of work/cost involved in running the site. In the end, the server cost is relatevely small as compared to everything else. I anticipate paying a lawyer ~$300 just to help me with my TOS! Then add to it the extra stuff like SSL (required for personal info), programming costs if you cant do it yourself, mods to the software, time editing files, etc. Fortunately for me, I have a lot of disposable income which doesnt affect my personal life if I use it to start the buisness.

[Kitsune Sniper]

oleanhosting... you and Jasen should really team up on this. You've got some good domain names.

And about ads - it would be good if the ads were, well, for important auctions or something. Kinda like the featured thing on eBay, but without the suck. ;)

[oleanhosting]

Link already has been posted :)

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

I meant the link to the thread at AA :)

I did find it, thanks for the words.

[oleanhosting]

Your welcome..

I just bought and have installed my SSL Cert. You will have the option if you want to browse the whole site using SSL encryption.

[Trebuken]

Wow, cool thread. Just make sure you understand all the requirements to be safe and legitimate with the site. I have the great fortune of being a programmer as well as comfortable building sites, so that has helped me cut costs. Out of the box, phpprobid is only moderately good. Expect to spend about the same as purchase costs in addon modifications to get it to where you want it; not including a custom template.

I'm disappointed that so soon after I am getting GameGavel.com up that someone is quick to ride the wave, but comeptition is competition. Let it be...

Oh, to be honest, a truly professional inviting site, shouldn't use ads... in my experience, more people are willing to PAY to use a site so they don't HAVE to see an Ad. I think more people than not feel this way... just a thought.

I'd rather have-ads. Especially if they are pop-ups that by blocker will block...

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

I dont think pop up blockers work against AdSense...

Bowing out now.

[Simon_Belmont]

even ebay has adsense, I see no problem there

[Kitsune Sniper]

I dont think pop up blockers work against AdSense...

Bowing out now.

I block a ton of ad services, EXCEPT Google Ads. They're text! It's not like they're loading stupid shock the monkey flash crap. They don't bug me. :)

[Bojay1997]

I hate to say it, but as a sometimes Ebay seller of video games, I would not use an alternative site. I disagree with the new fee structure, but the reality is that Ebay is where the buyers are and will continue to be unless and until someone comes up with a much slicker technology or an entirely new way of doing on-line auctions. I often list items on this site and others for sale at fixed prices, but I really don't see why an entirely new site is needed just for video game auctions. The beauty of Ebay is that everyone uses it and often you get people bidding more than an item might otherwise be worth simply because they don't know any better or because they get overcome by competitive urges. You're not going to see that phenomenon in a niche site with members who are largely experienced collectors.

[oleanhosting]

I have decided not to go with the idea of an auction since gamegavel.com is almost ready to launch and has a good investment into that project. I wish DragonWarrior (Jasen) all the luck and hope it becomes a success, which will benefit all of us as it is another place to sell and buy our addiction (Video Games)

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

Olean,

Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate the thought process and your decision. Good luck on your future endevours, thanks for the plug at AtariAge, and I look forward to seeing some of your auctions pop up at GameGavel.com!

Jasen

[Dark_Sol]

I also wanted to start my own videogame auction site for my country (we have plenty of vg nerds here). And also used phpprobid btw. It is a good engine, although there are some weak points. For example "ask seller a question"...
Also auction needs a very fast dedicated server(or several ones). Not a virtiual hosting.