posted on November 27, 2000 05:27:02 PM
Just a quick question, I'd like to start my own online auction and give ebay, bidbay, and yahooa a run for their money.
Does anyone know a good Venture Capitalist, or who wants to join??
posted on November 27, 2000 11:42:25 PM
I don't think there are any VC's left who would touch c2c auctions with a 10-foot pole. eBay is the only one making any money. The others either have deep pockets, are one-man operations with near-zero overhead, or they eventually shutdown when they burn through all of their cash (e.g., auctions.com, boxlot, bidbay, etc).
It's sad to see these some of these sites burn through their cash as they attempt to go head-to-head with eBay. I'm not a huge fan of eBay, but what were the guys like boxlot thinking? I didn't see any attempt to differentiate themselves at all. At least FairMarket made a real attempt at differentiation, but it doesn't seem to have helped their bottom line or their market cap.
posted on December 13, 2000 07:08:00 AM
fullofknowledge1,
what happened with your loyalty to bidbay?
I think you could do like they did and smooze investors.
posted on December 15, 2000 03:32:37 AM
Hello fullofknowledge1
Forget it. The Internet graveyard is overflowing from the “We have everything” auction formats. EBay, Yahoo, MSN, and a few select others have dominated and control this market. You will not get any support from the eBay crowd that is for sure. They will not support other auction formats, however, they continue to complain about eBay. EBay has the hook firmly planted into their mouths and they are pulling hard. Therefore, as eBay continues to raise their fees, the eBay crowd will be there to support them.
Venture Capital? This is not the place to seek funds. Get your business plan on paper. Go to your local bank and get a loan. SBA is also an option. Stay away from the “We have everything” auction formats. Niche or Vertical Auction formats are the way to go if you want to survive in the online Auction world!
Go to Million Auction March and take a close look at the Niche Auction sites already in place. They may not have the millions of members that eBay has. However, they provide a safe haven for collectibles in varying markets. Time and time again I hear: "I am not going to spread the word about this Niche site as I do not want others to compete against me" and so forth.
posted on December 15, 2000 06:33:36 PM
Hello balmonte
"I have the site, just show me the money!"
Show you the money? Premature thoughts and statements on your part. With an attitude like that, I and others will be sure to steer clear of your site. We will be seeing your site in the vast Internet Graveyard soon with bold statements like that.
I was simply replying to the inital post by "fullofknowledge1". He stated that he would like to start his own auction site and would like to raise $5,000,000 VC for it. I'm simply stating that I've already built an auction site. So with the money he hoped to raise, we could work together. That's what I meant by show me the money.
Listen, it is free to use Snuze.com and once we begin charging, I think our users will be pleased with the fees we intend to charge. Snuze.com will be free until further notice and we are constantly bringing new features to the site.
Our latest edition is a bulklister which will be released sometime this week. If you care to give us a try, we think you won't be dissappointed. But don't trash it until you try it!
