posted on June 13, 2001 05:53:10 AM new
why doesn't one of these new sites cobrand the site with say a large entity (AOL, Earthlink, Juno, Walmart, AT&T online, AltaVista, MP3, CDNOW and Egghead are some) that doesn't have a P2P auction presence or a weak one (Amazon, Microsoft, Lycos, and Disney are examples), but does have tens of millions of users? They could work out an agreement where they share in the generated revenues. Meanwhile the large entity promotes the auction site and drives huge amounts of traffic its way. These new auction sites have a limited lifespan unless they find a cost-effective way to promote and bring in the buying public. Some of these sites have done a great job on the site architecture and policies, now they just need help on marketing.
posted on June 13, 2001 06:03:20 AM new
I think that cobranding can be a very dangerous exercise for some of the larger and better known entities and therefore they tend to be very hesitant to get into the act.
Especially as some auction sites that were associated with powerful and profitable enterprises went under. AuctionUniverse for example.
Really big companies can be very hard to convince of the value of their investment when you are offering what is essentially a high risk endeavor. And they prefer to own these ventures lock stock and barrel so that if they do take off they needn't share the gravy with anyone. And so they can keep an eye on the money they ploughed into the venture.
posted on June 13, 2001 06:43:55 AM new
It's not a high risk endeavor to simply drive traffic to an auction site that you only have a success-based revenue sharing agreement with. You drive no traffic to the site and your users buy nothing from the site and you get zilch! Right now most of these free auction sites are getting zip in terms of revenues. If they start charging a nominal FVF and share the revenues generated by the users brought in by the entity, say 50-50, they're getting something whereas today they're getting nothing. Heck, they could cobrand and revenue share with multiple entities! You don't have to sign away your soul to add value to another entity who would or has failed trying the auction game in the past. If you do, that's where you get into trouble! The auction site can then reinvest the new revenue in advertising and growing the business. Preferably they remain private so they don't have to answer to shareholders and increase revenues at all costs continuously like eBay.
What are the expenses for say an MSN putting links in their emails or user areas (that's all FREE real estate to them!) pointing to the cobranded auction venue? MSN's auction venue is a failed effort. They need help!
PayPal is another cobranding option with millions of users.
MP3 needs revenues and may take a liking to monetizing its user base.
posted on June 13, 2001 06:57:36 AM new
If these new auction sites start generating excess revenue then they can use smart promotions like Half.com does where they send you an email offering $5 or $10 off your 1st purchase at the site. You can't do that unless you have a means of supporting that kind of rebate. Once you convince a buyer to try you out the 1st time, and then offer a compelling reason to return, you're better off than you were yesterday!
posted on June 13, 2001 07:09:33 AM new
Advertisers spend a lot of time and energy trying to find ways to get results without giving rebates or cutting fees.
That's the easy way to do things!
Value adding and other benefits are good too.
There are many many ways for sites to make themselves work.
With our group my background is Marketing and product developement. From what I've seen of a few of the other smaller sites they are being run by folks with a programming or more tech oriented background.
I'm sure when Pierre started Ebay he didn't have everybase covered but the fact is that if you don't get bidders to come to your door then the sellers will be left very unhappy!
posted on June 13, 2001 10:39:48 PM new
eSeller004- You are RIGHT about the need for advertising for a new site to make a real go of it. I believe buyers are the key to a site's success.
I am working on a niche site for Vintage, Antiques and Collectibles.
Have you any suggestions for placing our advertising dollar? We are more than willing to listen to any and all suggestions. Since our site will be a bit outside the usual auction we welcome thoughts outside of the standard
advertising "box". Some of our best site ideas are just that little bit different.
If anyone has any suggestions about how to reach buyers of antiques and collectibles, please post them!
Many Thanks!
Cathy Orosi
Vintage Marketplace Cooperative
http://pages.zdnet.com/juststuff/vintmarket/
