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New website, alternative to ebay...
 

I'm sick and tired of ebay - MP is the final straw.
They have dumped Paypal, I see an opportunity here. :)
I wanted to throw an idea at you guys and see what you thought.

I'm going to make a website - same as ebay.
EXACT same as ebay - but with Paypal as the payment processor.

First and foremost: this won't be a website that allows anything illegal - just wanted to make that clear. It will be just the same as ebay with a few differences.

- You can make listings on the website and use Paypal to receive money.
- You can use whatever details for your registration on the website - the illegal and bogus checking - well, I'm happy to let that be Paypal's headache (as was the case before with ebay).

- The new website will allow you to make listings AND publish and manage to other platforms (ebay, Amazon, Etsy, Shopify + own website), all with one click. Just trust me... there will be a wealth of tools (most already developed!). So, this will be an incentive for you to use the website.

- The customer is YOUR customer as well as the websites. You will get ALL details of the customer and not have this hidden from you like Amazon and now ebay.

- Feedbacks: both buyers and sellers can leave feedback. Buyers will no longer be able to hold sellers at ransom.
- Feedback appeals: these will be decided by jury. As a seller, you agree to be a juror. If a seller has done everything right - like offer a refund or replace item and has been polite and courteous in messages - then a buyer has no right to leave a negative feedback. A seller will pay $10 and ask for an appeal. 10 sellers (at random) will be sent the case details and ask to vote if we should have the feedback removed, in return for a payment of $1 for voting.
- Buyers will also be able to appeal negative feedback in a similar way - a seller is not allowed to leave a negative as a 'revenge' for no good reason.

There's actually a whole lot more to it than the above described. But I didn't want to make this a boring long post. :)

Surely this rocket science idea has been tried before?
+ I'm sure there are unthought of problems needing to be considered like cross border selling - but that can be figured out later.

Just wanted to hear what you guys thought?

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

Don't waste your time.

There are dozens of other wannabee ebay sites. None of them have any traffic so aren't worth bothering about.

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

What's your budget for driving traffic there?

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

You aren't the first here who's tried to do this. It takes millions of $'s to compete with the infrastructure eBay and Amazon already have in place. Etsy made it because they found a niche market and they had investment capital from the get go.

Good luck but I doubt you'll be able to attract any buyers. Buyers don't care about eBay's switch to MP so they have no reason to leave.

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

Nuff said. :d

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

You'd need millions of ££ and a decade to begin to see the rear side of eBay.
You'd need a boatload of money, influence, intricate tech and an army of professionals behind it. Compliance will present a multi-faceted array of problems if you wish to avail your website to an international audience.

The only thing you've got now is a good intention - no different from thousands of other folks before you.

If it were that simple, billionaires would be all over it.

If you aspire to break away, perhaps your energy is better suited to knocking up a WordPress website and flooding it with your own products - then get to work on SEO. There are plenty of payment processors that will take you on board, even if you have a poor credit rating/selling history with other processors.

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

Driving traffic isn't a problem, but building a brand and trust IS. And then comes the infrastructure, scammers, blah blah blah... don't bother.

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

ETsy starts out with a niche,-handcraft,handmade items and then branch out to antiques and vintage items.
It has some backing but not much,it also caught the attention of Google and received some technical support from them.
you have to find a niche ,and go from there.
There is a lady who makes children clothese using her own kids as models,she did very well on Etsy.

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

Lol is this guy for real …. Must be a noob

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

Good luck... youre going to need a whole lot of it...

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

If you have big dreams go for it.

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

Pierre starts out with his pc in his bedroom,so his girlfriend can trade PEZ dispensers with friends.
Jeff started out in his garage selling books.

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

Bu then there were Gold Auction,Bidville,Epier?

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

Don't care abou tthe naysayers ... If you're serious about it... then go do it.

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

I understand you frustration. I tried setting up a website like ebay 20 years ago and it never worked out. The website worked, but never got any traffic.

However, what do you need a marketplace for in the first place? To sell your goods, right?

Why not use your skills, money and energy to start an online shop to sell your goods? You can advertise in your niche, offer paypal as payment method and be independent from ebay, amazon and all these other villains. :ranger:

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

Facebook marketplace option?

Re: New website, alternative to ebay...
 

There are many sales venues.but most will charge a fee,some are free to list.
Ecrater does not charge a listing fee,ETSY is 20 cents for 3 months.
It really depends on what OP sells.