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thats no my point though because copies are never as good as the real thing,heinz makes the best and orginal tomato sauce but tesco homebrand tomato sauce is half the price or less and its in the exact same shape bottle,heinz is still doing well,apple made the ipad now they are loads of copies of it by samsung,blackberry,etc but apple still makes the most money. my point being what ever is invented there will be copies some people carnt afford to pay for orginals ,so they buy copies but the company that made the orginal will always make the most money.What you are saying is different because if your widget was already for sale to the public people would yours was the orginal and better than a copy of it and buy that if they had the money to do so,so you wouldnt be losing all your money ,you would still be doing well,you can buy a real ps3 control for around £35 or a copy for £5 if you had the money to spend you would be the real one instead even though its £30 dearer because its better than the copy,the copy for £5 will loose sony sales but nothing that would matter to them.

Well, it doesn't make much sense in going for private sales, at least for founding members, since we're not going to charge any fees for them - ever. So there's no benefit like on eBay. People would however still find ways around that, by typing the email address like "johnsmith at hotmail dot com" or something like that. But then, they could do that through private messages as well.

imjustme

Have you looked at the sites that have failed and did the research as to what they did wrong that made them fail?

Repeating the same mistakes would be devastating.

Thinking that you probably already done this but just wanted to add my .02.

Thats a great point
no matter how many new ideas you get... but you do the same exact thing as other sites.. bam.. bye bye goes Beta Ebay...
Samething as linking an old suspended address to a stealth ebay account.. its goin to go down no matter how many different types of items you try to put up (IDEAS)... your old suspended address is going to bring you down down down

so there are no fees?ioffer as found a way to ban you even putting hotmail,yahoo,gmail etc thats only on messages that are public and private though.when will your site be live do you think?

Yes, we're definitely doing research on that. I think the majority of places that fail are not because they don't have a good idea, but because they promote it either the wrong way, or they don't promote it at all. I've seen places with potential that are literally just "sitting there" hoping to be found. That's not going to happen.

I can't give you an exact date on when it will be live, because we don't want to rush towards a deadline just to avoid missing it. Instead, we want to get everything right before launching it. It's probably safe to say in the next few months, though.

And yes, there will be no fees for founding members - ever. We will eventually have to introduce a fee for items sold, though it will be lower than eBay's, but founding members will always enjoy no fees ever.

ok mate sounds good and wish you all the best with it

Thumbs up
 

I'll run a classified ad on ebay encouraging sellers to check us out. I'm already marked.

So I've been following this thread since it started, I'm excited for what you are doing and praying it goes BIG!! I'm anxiously awaiting details and updates on your new site. I know you are not here to advertise, but when you are ready to go live..... PLEASE let me know :) I'm ready when you are, and will gladly post banners on all of my websites and blogs as well as definitely to set up shop on the new site :) Good Luck!!

I really hope this plan is put into action... I will be the first to ditch ebay and sell there.

:)

It's still moving forward every day, don't worry. It's actually the reason why I've been so quiet, I'm working on it at least 14-16 hours every day. It should be ready to launch by year's end, but we'll probably put it off until early January so that it doesn't coincide with the Christmas season.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a wet dishrag....but seriously....do you all really think that he's going to pull off the eBay killer, that Microsoft, Google, and many others can't figure out how to do? Seriously....

I'd love to see it, just like the rest of the world. If there's one thing eBay needs, it's competition....but come on folks...really?

I hope you make me eat my hat, imjustme, and you're too far into it to stop now, but the rest of you have me very curious. What are you thinking, that you really believe this could happen, when none of the big boys have pulled it off?

As I mentioned before, my goal is not to beat eBay but to create an alternative for sellers. I'm not looking to copy the eBay concept, but to create a better selling platform, improve where eBay lacks and even add a few things that will make it unique in it's own way.

Beating eBay, for at least the next few years, is impossible for anyone. Even for Microsoft or Google. They have too much of an advantage and head start.

Now, remember MySpace back when it was the largest social network? In the end, it wasn't Microsoft or Google that came up with the alternative, but a guy called Mark Zuckerberg. It's now Google trying to beat Mark Zuckerberg with Google+. He had a concept, which wasn't even anything new, but made it unique in it's own way, was able to build a strong community of users and got the right investors at the right time. Together with the mistakes that MySpace made, it led to their downfall and Facebook's rise.

Now again, my goal is not to beat eBay, but to create an alternative for sellers, something new and better. If people are fed up with the old, they're usually looking for a change. That's just how life works.

Hey buddy, I think you mean Chris DeWolfe (current pres) and Tom Anderson = founded MySpace. Zuckerberg is the Facebook dude :)

I have read just about all of your posts here and really really like your concepts/approach for a new site. If you can strike that delicate balance between happy buyers and happy sellers I think you'll be good to go for the long haul! I especially like your belief in the small-time (or "mom and pop") seller and getting back to the basics that eBay abandoned long ago. Most businesses seem to forget that employees are often customers as well, so your thoughts on sellers also being buyers is refreshing and all too true. I hope you never lose that perspective.

You can't stop the counterfeits, I agree ... as long as you're not CONSCIOUSLY allowing them to be listed, I think you'll be fine.

Time ending soonest = best option, as opposed to "best match" (yes, we all hate that one)

IF you plan to hold a sellers money for some substantial length of time or do things that boggle the mind of an average seller (i.e. anything that resembles the games eBay plays) please do be available and ready to explain things when a seller contacts you about it. For example, right now, eBay is having Paypal hold payments until 3 days AFTER delivery confirmation ... why? And no one can explain that. There are many examples from the past that mimic this brand of business "sense."

But I do think you are on to something promising - and your leadership sounds excellent. My last comment would be if you could find a way to not turn it into another online dollar store with substandard products, it would be a wonderful site to be involved with :)

Best of luck! Please let us know - someway, somehow - when it is up and running!

Turtle Cove..... SO WHAT if he don't take ebay down? Of course that isn't going to happen (right away) but this is something we have ALL been waiting for for a very long time! He will have tons of support, and even all the people who "love" ebay, are sick of ebay, it's been on a downward spiral for quite some time. Obviously, the buyers are going to go where the sellers are, and there are TONS of sellers out there READY and WILLING to leave ebay in order to start making decent money again and be treated with respect and value. With proper advertising, platform, and customer service, this plan will blossom and flourish. If ANYONE knows what they are doing with this.... imjustme is the guy. When you've been around the block with ebay a few several hundred times..... you know what to do to get it right! Don't let people with lesser ambition and vision deter you, every BIG started somewhere, and the industry NEEDS this!
One thing I was thinking imjustme, is what if you offer some type of incentive for your sellers every time they make a purchase on the site? Like a break in a fee or some kind of extra? I don't know, but something to get the ball rolling..... just a thought!

You would need to be quite exceptional, to come up with ideas that nobody else has tried....

I disagree. Remember Visicalc? How about Lotus 1-2-3? Look at the head start they had. But, it didn't stop Microsoft from getting in the game, and kicking butt with Excel. Now they own that market. So, it's not about having a head start.

But, there's already all sorts of alternatives out there.....tons of 'em.

Huh? Take a step back. We all like the eBay concept. That's why we fight so hard to stay with it. It's just that we don't like some of their rules, and the fact that they don't coddle us sellers. So, how do we get eBay to change? How do we get eBay to treat us sellers with more respect? We DO need another site that stands the chance of taking them down. We DO need another site that'll put a dent in their bottom line. Just another venue to sell at, is a dime a dozen, on the web. I'mjustme is saying himself that he's not targeting eBay.... therefore...I'm not too interested.

If you look elsewhere in the world, what do people do when they are treated poorly, or don't like the rules? They form a union. To me, that makes the most sense. I mean, if there was an eBay sellers union, I'd join in a heartbeat. And, with enough members, a sellers union could really get ebay to wake up. But, just another venue for selling? Yawn.

I will say, tho, that I do like your idea of offering incentives.....

It's not about beating eBay, it's about creating a better place than eBay. The reason why all these marketplaces which pop up are failing is because they're trying to copy eBay. Nobody will succeed while trying to copy something, because the original will always have a head start.

If I told you what some of the new features will be, which make it a better place than eBay, you would say "wow, why didn't anyone think of that before", but I'm not going to post them here for obvious reasons.

Nobody will succeed with the concept of "we're taking down eBay - join us!".

I'm not going to focus on taking eBay down, I'm focusing on creating something better. If people like it, they will come.

Count me in Imjustme - I love the way you think:clap:

Well, I guess the way I would look at this is ... there are times when I want to go to a local hardware store (would like to talk to someone who KNOWS what they're talking about); then there's times when a big box store will do (don't care about quality, want _____ item cheap). I say let eBay be the big box and imjustme's idea can be like the local hardware store. Does one have to be better than the other? NO. It's comparing apples to oranges.

If sellers at store X carry certain items and sellers at store Y carry others - both can exist, and there will be corresponding "X buyers" and "Y buyers"

A union, while worthwhile to consider, is in the end a not-so-great idea because none of the "corporate" type sellers would invest in that idea. Plenty of sellers have never had a negative eBay experience -- enough to keep eBay from sitting at any negotiation table, irrespective of who is there seller-wise. The best thing I can do is take my selling business elsewhere ... and if someone like imjustme and his investors offer an alternative that proves to have a ready-to-buy audience, I'll go. And IF enough sellers like me go, that's all the union-like activity needed. eBay is beyond the point where the changes needed (to strike a balance between buyer & sellers) are even within the realm of possibility. And that's not what this (new idea) is about anyway ...

I think that this view, could be the crux of your failure.
Again, Excel wasn't the first spreadsheet?
Netscape sure had a head start over the rest of the browsers, and when was the last time you saw it?
Remember dBase, and dBase II ? Where are they now, with their head start?
How about Wordstar ?

Having a head start, means nothing.

However, I do agree that you don't need to focus on taking down eBay.
If you really do have a unique enough concept...yes, folks will flood to you, and eBay may fall naturally, just like Wordstar, VisiCalc, and Netscape.

Well, I understand where you're coming from...but I'll bet most of us like 80% of what eBay does for us. There's just some real sticking points, that are thorns in our sides. And, even tho us sellers keep eBay afloat, they won't negotiate with us. Seems like the perfect situation for a union.

Your statement that "...plenty of sellers have never had a negative eBay experience..." If you really believe that percentage is significant, then imjustme isn't going to get those sellers, either, and thus he's dead even before he starts.

We will one day be a household name.
 

Today I woke up and didn't rush to check my paypal balance the way I usually would. Like many other ebay sellers, I had gotten notice that an item sold. However, I have recently been classified by ebay as part of the riffraff that has to wait arbitrary amounts of time for paypal to release my funds.

Herein lies the problem:

1. The ONLY thing that ebay "gives" sellers is traffic which we pay for with high fees. Yes Amazon's fees are higher; but believe me when I say we would get even more traffic listing at Amazon. Instead of a union, all sellers could agree to boycott ebay for a week - ROFL. Well!!!

2. ebay handles VERO claims as if it were a 4 year old being told something by a parent - someone claims VERO violation, ebay slaps or suspends the seller - no investigation. It seems computerized until you call ebay and speak to a rep. Then you realize that most of the reps are morons without a brain or token people who follow the written policy that sellers are always wrong.

3. ebay was super for me when I could list a drop ship item, sell it, pay for it and keep 2 steps ahead of my bills - in other words ebay is a quick cash source and a haven for people starting with a shoestring - entrepreneurs.

4. ebay's feedback system helps a buyer to decide if to trust a seller. However the current system does not protect sellers from ignorant, irate, lying buyers. Every buyer deserves value for money. However that does not give them the right to lie and give unwarranted negative feedback. It blows my mind that with free shipping a delivery that is 1 day late equals negative feedback. In fact the new ebay "tell the buyer when to expect the package" is absolutely bone brained - imagine UPS ground in 1 day - go look at the choices ebay gives. Up until a few days ago, almost all shipping choices started with 1 day delivery.
Anyways the guy at the post office made me pay for the shipping although I told him it was free. :D

What does all this have to do with this thread? The above 4 items are important for both buyers and sellers. Therefore a new site needs to address the following issues:

1. Traffic
2. VERO/legal
3. Entrepreneurship
4. Feedback/buyer-seller expectations
(feedback chipped in stone encourages lies & both buyers and sellers must be allowed to give both positive and negative feedback - forgive me but feedback replies/followup do not count towards your feedback score)

Of course this list is not all inclusive. We must start with humans (brain attached to heart), an excellent auction site script, an attorney(sad to say), facebook linking (traffic & basic security!), good financial backing and top notch cost analysis.

I have a strong belief in the persons supporting this idea of a new seller site. I feel it in my bones that we will one day be a household name.
:rant: :amen:

That's not my statement, but another forum member's.

But I'm not looking to "get sellers" away from eBay. People can and will sell on multiple marketplaces at the same time. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. You can sell on eBay, Etsy, Ecrater & iOffer at the same time. Nobody is forcing anyone to leave eBay and go elsewhere.

It's not either eBay or elsewhere. It's eBay and elsewhere. If eBay treats you good, you can sell on both. If eBay treats you bad, you still have elsewhere to go.

I'm confused.
Isn't that called a union?

Behave yourself

If you organised a boycot half the so called guests on this forum would list double to make a quick buck

Get with the programme

You have touched on several good points. We must start off with a written set of rules & procedures which will evolve with time. The caution is keeping the human aspect.

DSR's may be a bit more objective than feedback. Buyers can still leave arbitrary negative feedback. A seller who uses ebay to support his/her family does not need to walk on eggshells daily because a shipment was inadvertently lost. Major corporations mess up on shipments then make up for it making the customer happy once again. When negative feedback comes into question, it is important to follow the email communications. Did the seller perform good customer service? If so, negative feedback cannot be allowed.

Time is a factor. However in the information age with social media we do not need 15 years to establish ourselves. If our site is a fun place to sell and shop, people will come - buyers & sellers.=}

And ebay will give free listings that week and a new one "No seller fees for 30 days".

Actually I am done bashing ebay. I want to utilize my energy to help launch the auction sell/buy site of the century. imjustme and the rest of eBay Suspension & Paypal Limited Forums I am officially requesting that you assign me a project. :clap::hail:

That's true. Seller boycotts on eBay have never worked. For every seller that boycotted eBay, another seller listed 10x more items. If anything, it gave eBay a listing boost during that time.

The key to buyer/seller satisfaction is to keep as much as possible "human-operated" and the least possible automated, even though it means more work and less revenue for the marketplace. With eBay, most of it is automated, and many sellers feel like they're talking to a wall or have nobody to reach when there's a problem.

That's not the way an eBay union would work.
When farmers join a union, to get a better price for their milk, it didn't matter what "perks" the dairy offered them, or non union members....they simply kept dumping their milk down the drain until they got their demands met.

If only 20 or 30 percent of eBay sellers joined a union, they could break eBay's back. When the union members band together, to boycott eBay until demands are met, it doesn't matter what kind of perks eBay offered....the decrease from that 30% would be devistating for eBay. I sell all the items I have on eBay. When they offer fee listing days, or decreased rates, it's not as though I go find additional items to list.

"For every seller that boycotted eBay, another seller listed 10x more items." ... That simply isn't true.

Monopoly's like eBay, are best kept in check with competition. But, when competition doesn't work (as we've seen from the scores that have tried against eBay), a union is the way to go.

Imagine if 30% of eBay's sellers joined a union, and each of them paid dues of $25 a year. Do you realize the amount of bad press the union could threaten to buy with that kind of money, if their demands didn't get met? In addition to the lost revenue from auction witholding.

LOL - superb - OK you lot, send me your details and your $25 - I've just voted myself treasurer of the Ebay Sellers Union:amen:

Very interesting topic here.

All I want to say it, GOOD LUCK!

About 6 years ago, I had the same idea of creating an eBay alternative, and trust me I did not estimate the amount work that making a website from scratch would cost me in terms of money and time. So I suggest anyone who wants to start an alternative to double think it before spending ridiculous money and amount of time.

I believe I am one of the lucky few who kept to it, had a steady job to fund my alternative marketplace project and now I have a team of 5 people working with me.

Once you overcome the challenge of building the website, which is actually a challenge which will never end as ecommerce evolves, your biggest challenge after development is TRAFFIC.

With people who are SEO experts working for us, this still remains something that even we struggle with today after 1 year of launch.

Again, best of luck.

I am in and this looks like a great thing happening. This biggest hurtle is believing that it can be done and ignoring those that seem to think the mighty ebay will never shrink. It has and will continue. We, people strive for something better all the time. It takes just one good idea to snowball into something fantastic!

Don't forget to create your own luck!

Just in case you guys have been wondering, the development is still coming along nicely. Working on it day and night :)

:clap::clap::clap: I'm IN=}



using the variation listing..

i ask in another thread about how we are forced to use the weight of the heaviest item as the default weight for all items in a listing.
It's costing us international sales even though we include a message in our listings advising international buyers to email us for a quote instead of using the shipping calculator.

It would be nice to be able to add the shipping cost to individual items in one variation listing.

example: one listing with multiple variations

small..8 oz....$3.40 shipping
medium..24 oz....$6.40 shipping
large...3 lb.......$8.62 shipping
jumbo....7 lb....$11.00 shipping
ect..ect...ect...

But as of right now E bay makes you choose the highest shipping because you only have one choice for that entire listing with variations.

When someone purchases the smallest item and the shipping should be $3.40.

You are forced to set all the shipping at $11.00 becuse of obvious resons.

that in itself scares customers away.


Good luck

Been reading this topic for almost an hour now. So many great ideas. I have some stuff I'd like to see. If you have ever bought on webstore you would have noticed that large categories get broken down into different types in that category. My favorite being the video game category. If I search under video games it will give me a selection of what game system I want to look through.

Hope you integrate that. Also I'd like to know as soon as the site becomes available. I'll sign up first thing when it does.

Search function like ebay is good. Not like ioffer.

This post was stupid i learnt my lesson

The one thing I would recommend is mandatory tutorial upon opening an acct. Some sites make you take the tutorial after you have made the mistakes. I found that I assumed often and that i did not have enough information before I became a seller. Most of my mistakes were truly because I was uninformed. Live and learn right? Also 1 last note. I personally do not think account should be banned forever. I truly think 6 months to a year will really teach people a lesson. As we all know EBay was a large income source for all of us! I'm a single mom with 2 jobs and Ebay really helped me pay my bills. Thanks for listening!!!

Just to let you guys know, we've implemented many of the suggested points. It's still in development but it's looking better every day. The item variation and combined shipping fees is a tough one, as not every seller will specify the weight of the item, and some people will obviously charge more for shipping than others. Also, the official weight rates of the different post offices may not be available to be calculated correctly, especially for sellers outside the United States. So we're still looking into ways to solve that the best possible way.

One of the points we will focus the most is the communication between the marketplace and the sellers/buyers. One of the weakest points of eBay is communication. When you send a question or have a problem, you're most likely to get a canned answer that doesn't really fix the problem, but simply buys eBay more time and drags out the issue.

Another thing we'll look at is seller verification, in another way than simply using credit cards to verify the identity, or sending in documents. Since credit cards don't mean anything other than the card number exists, and documents can easily be forged. If you have any thoughts on this, I'd welcome them :)