posted on June 30, 2001 04:22:02 AM
an article from Auctioneagle.com
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Auction Sites News: Community Buzz- Newcomer Gegy.com Aims High to Conquer eBay
Posted by AE-editor on Friday, June 29 @ 10:40:48 ADT
Do you ever wonder when an auction site is going to come along to give eBay a real run for its money, and vie for the #1 spot? If you’re a skeptic like me, the answer is most likely – never! It appears, as AuctionEagle.com discovered over the past few days, that there are 1000’s of ‘in-the-know’ auction sellers and buyers with a little secret; a secret that by all accounts, is going to become public knowledge very soon. Let me tell you what I know…
I came across a classified listing here at AE, looking for beta testers for a revolutionary new auction site. OK, it caught my attention. The auction site is called Gegy.com, and since the odd name also peaked my interest, I ventured further to check out their website, expecting to find yet another ‘knock-off’ start-up.
Instead, I found a site that offered many of the things that eBay sellers have been griping and complaining about for a very long time. Gegy.com offers a regular auction platform – yes. However, they also offer a live auction platform that can be used by all the little sellers too, instead of just the major auction houses that are packing clout.
Gegy.com is offering its community a built in payment system, that looks a lot like PayPal, although I wasn’t able to test it out so I cannot say for sure. They also have free member email and even a kid’s site – so your kids can be entertained while you are waiting for that big snipe!
After poking around through the various areas of Gegy.com and reading through the site information, I stumbled into the Gegy.com chat Forums. I almost didn’t bother. How can a site that hasn’t even launched yet have a community? Seemed like a logical assumption. What I found instead was a very busy forum with hundreds and hundreds of posts. It was instantly obvious to me that there are a large handful of auction people who are really excited about this new site, and that most of these people chatting had also signed up as beta testers.
From what I read in the various forums (and I found other forums talking about Gegy.com too – at Andale.com, AuctionWatch.com and auctionusers.org, via links and/or comments in the Gegy.com forums), Gegy.com is ready to take the auction bull by the horns and they seem to have their act together. Furthermore, they say they have the financial resources to pull it off.
They have been asking some very serious questions in the forums, and believe it or not, listening to what the forum users want in an auction site. According to posts on several of the forums, Gegy.com has already implemented many of their changes. Now that is different!
Here are some of the major points that I pulled from the forums that may be of interest:
-Gegy.com is charging no listing fees on any of its services. 3% commission (FVF) in their regular auction and 4% FVF in the live auctions.
-They are allowing unique feedback, so that sellers can gain a feedback point for every transaction, even if it is from a repeat buyer.
-They state in the forums that they have earmarked a seven-figure marketing budget for the first year of operations, and they are out to target buyers.
-A feature is available so that sellers can end their auction at whatever time they choose on the closing date of the auction.
-A feature is available that will automatically re-list your auction, if it doesn’t sell the first time around.
It appears that Gegy.com has done its homework, and has a good plan of action to go up against the auction mega site, eBay.com. Only time will tell for sure.
In the meantime, curiosity got the better of me and I signed up for their beta program. It starts on June 30th and I will keep you posted of any news or updates, once they let me get inside and really see what they have to offer. You can check out Gegy.com online at http://www.gegy.com
posted on June 30, 2001 04:40:26 AM
SECRET??? ROFLOL - this has been discussed on the OTWA and OAUA boards for a couple of weeks and was also reported on in TAGnotes over a week ago - Rosalinda
TAGnotes - daily email synopsis about the Online Auction Industry http://www.topica.com/lists/tagnotes
posted on June 30, 2001 04:56:02 AM
The thing is eBay is doing it to themselves. They're pricing people out of their venue. They could control thge auction marketplace for the next 100 years, but if they're going to price us out, then another with deep advertising pockets will come along and gladly take their marketshare. Part of the blame has to sit squarely on eBay's shoulders.
From Thursday's FLD, we can see if Gegy wants 2 million listings its 1st week, all it has to do is ask! Get those bulklisters revved up and ready!
posted on June 30, 2001 06:01:00 AM
Every 3 to 4 months there are these threads about a new auction service that will be giving eBay stiff competition. It's almost like a flavor of the month.
posted on June 30, 2001 06:04:59 AMuaru: I totally agree. I seriously doubt that this "advertising campaign targeted at non-eBay users" is really going to work. If someone hasn't heard of eBay, chances are they have no desire to get into online auctions anyway.
eBay is integrated into our culture. How many references have you heard in TV shows or in news articles about eBay?
How many references have you heard about their competition?
posted on June 30, 2001 07:26:34 AM
I don't know. I'm having a real tough time with the name and that green guy they use as their "mascot." I went to the site and clicked on ask a question - supposedly live, but received no answer to even a simple "anyone there?"
Judging from eseller's posts, he may work for them. He's been here a short time and has been roasting ebay since he joined. Gegy.com is the only site he actually promotes.
Is Gegy pronounced with hard g's or soft g's, like gigi? Oe a combination of both? If I can't pronounce a site, I stay away! LOL!
posted on June 30, 2001 08:17:52 AM
Instead, I found a site that offered many of the things that eBay sellers have been griping and complaining about for a very long time. Gegy.com >>
What these new sites don't get is they can do what ever the want for the sellers. Sellers aren't going to stay long if these new auction sites don't get a mass amount of buyers to leave ebay and go to their sites. Unless they have some real big bucks and offer something REAL big to the buyers it is just another site for stuff to sit. They are going to have to offer something like 25.00 Gift cards for first purchase to the buyers or something like that. then they are going to have to find a way to reinbuster sellers. Not all would want to use their payment system etc. .
I hope this is going to work out and give Ebay some competition but they aren't offering anything new. I don't have the time to waste on site after site when I NO I can sell on Ebay, Yahoo Half.com and a few other established places.
posted on June 30, 2001 09:17:21 AM
Hello mtnmama. I just wanted to clarify that Gegy.com isn't open to the public yet so that's probably why you didn't receive a reply. Many of the functions aren't currently working on their site. They are starting their beta testing today which I believe will last for two weeks and sometime during the latter part of July they plan on having their public launch.
I don't personally have an opinion of Gegy.com but I sure wish them well since eBay definitely needs some viable competition. The only way another site has a chance of succeeding is to spend lots of money on advertising. Time will tell.
Blanche
[ edited by bhearsch on Jun 30, 2001 09:18 AM ]
Well, now that I know how to pronounce Gegy, I don't think I like it anyway. Sounds too much like baby talk or someone gagging.
I can't even bring myself to say the name out loud. LOL!
Beta testing is fine. I wish them well, but there are just too many smaller sites trying to make a go of it. There are actually only two out there right now that have half a chance at success and that's SellYourItem and Bidville. I don't use either at the present, but from what I've seen, they're really the best. Not hard to pronounce and no ugly green men.
I agree with uaru. This is like flavor of the month at Baskin-Robbins. Choose the auction site of the month. Do you want contests? Do you want little green martians? Do you want sales? I want sales and so far the only place offering that is ebay. (Sorry to say.)
posted on June 30, 2001 11:41:41 AM
I will use any auction site that does a mass tv, newspaper, and radio advertising campaign like ebay did in the beginning. Will this site be doing that? Since ebay has a "bad flavor" with many, the timing is certianly right.
Advertising is ONE of only a few things that made ebay the success that it is in my opinion.
I am a full-time seller and have no intentions of ever quiting online auctions as long as I can make a living. I will move to any site that offers the publicity that draws bidders in volume. So far that's only Amazon and Ebay.
amazon=advertising
ebay=advertising
When I hear about it on my local tv, radio or read it in my statewide paper I will be FIRST in line.
posted on June 30, 2001 12:06:34 PM
eSeller004, I find your posts delightful and positive. Don't let the naysayers get you down. Someone has to be first.
posted on June 30, 2001 01:38:27 PM
Hmmmm well if eSeller004 is working for an auction site then I must be too since I received the same email this morning. And what is with all the downers about the new sites? Their owners had the guts to try so whats wrong with that?
posted on June 30, 2001 02:09:14 PM
Hey, Chum. I don't have anything against the owner of Gegy. It's these posters with their "this is the next big thing" mantra, always saying some new site will give eBay a run for the money. Yahoo had plenty to spend on advertising, and so did Microsoft/Fairmarket and many others. Advertising is important but advertising did NOT build eBay; smarts are a whole lot more important, then and now.
. Internet Pioneers
posted on June 30, 2001 02:14:56 PM
No one can match the traffic ebay generates, many try, many fail.. they dominate the marketplace, and do it well.. No matter the faults on ebay, they are still the biggest and the best.. end of subject.
posted on June 30, 2001 02:45:55 PM
[i]No one can match the traffic ebay generates, many try, many fail.. they dominate the marketplace, and do it well.. No matter the faults on ebay, they are still the biggest and the best.. end of subject.
[/i]
Of course no one can match the traffic at ebay. But I don't understand why anyone thinks that's a requirement. It's my understanding that ebay was a success -- financial and otherwise -- long before it had the "traffic" it has now. Further, in so many cases lately and moreso all the time, it has too MUCH traffic (too many sellers or listed items) so sell-thru continues to drop for some.
Still the biggest? Yes. The best? Mmmm, I suppose it depends on how you define best. They have gone out of their way to anger, annoy, peeve and brazenly thumb their noses at so MANY of us that the term "best" tends to apply by default only, NOT because they earn it or sellers and buyers feel GOOD about ebay.
Ebay is absolutely ripe for the picking! Will it happen overnight? No, of course not. But my bet is that it WILL happen. Gegy looks to me the likeliest candidate. I like that the CEO was/is (?) a PowerSeller. It's like a course in "how not to do it!"
posted on June 30, 2001 02:50:00 PM
What are you employed by gegy.com or what? You have to be sniffing glue to think gegy.com can even remotely compete with Ebay...
Have you actually taken a serious look at the gegy website.?
posted on June 30, 2001 05:15:40 PM
I wonder what happens if alot of sellers like myself who are sick of other E-Bay sellers breaking every rule in the book, stealing sales by whatever means it takes to get them,start posting on every auction site out there,and then starts doing real well on some of the same auction sites.And by chance some of these auction sites become alot bigger.I don't think this is going to be like it has been in the past.Those Newbees signing up on E-Bay everyday are going to get sick of all the same things driving the rest of us away from E-Bay.What do you think they are going to do?Support E-Bay forever?I don't think so.
Who cares?
