How to create an auction site that will really be able to take on Trade Me!

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BDFL - Memuneh
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Reply # 755883 5-Feb-2013 08:19

This must be the tenth topic on "creating an auction website to take on Trade Me" since the Wheedle debacle.

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freitasm

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Reply # 755890 5-Feb-2013 08:21

roarpower: ... a way better auction platform than TM's stagnant website.

Trade Me's platform is not stagnant. They are constantly changing things, creating new features, tweaking design, performance, enhancing API, creating mobile- and tablet-friendly sites, etc.

You need a huge team to get something even close to what they do today. A one man company (or a ten people company) wouldn't do the job.

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Dairyxox

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Reply # 755914 5-Feb-2013 09:31

Underpants Gnome Business Plan.

1. Hire Web Developer
2. Lock them in a closet & pay them peanuts
3. ????
4. Profit!!

freitasm

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Reply # 755919 5-Feb-2013 09:36

This is one step too many. It will erode your profits. Here's a revised business plan for the obligatory three steps:

1. Lock web developers in a closet and pay them peanuts
2. ????
3. Profit!

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Hammerer

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Reply # 755926 5-Feb-2013 09:50

I am astounded that so many people think it is a relatively trivial task to upset Trade Me in the online auction space. Is it too hard to come up with a good idea?

Seven years ago a cash-rich relative asked me what he needed to do to compete with Trade Me. I explained why that was not a good idea so he saved his money.

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surfisup1000

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Reply # 755967 5-Feb-2013 10:52

roarpower: I would love to start up an auction website, I think it would be great giving Trademe a real competitor, plus I have some ideas that I think would make a way better auction platform than TM's stagnant website. Unfortunately the chances of failing are too high. I have just started a small online business which has made me realise what a massive job it would be to compete with TM. If you could get together the perfect team, someone with money, someone with PR pull and some super geeks then maybe it could work.

Not even this.

I believe the current Trademe business model is unassailable.

Firstly, NZ is too small to support niche products that can stay solvent while achieving organic growth. You will go bankrupt before your product becomes profitable.

The best quality TM traders have built up to 12 years or so of trading history. Trading history is gold.

Applying the 80/20 rule I'd think the top 20% of traders do 80% of the business on trademe. Those 20% are not going to move and lose their trading history and systems.

I wonder if a new site could agree to transfer trading histories then that might help? Open to fraud of course.

The only thing that will break trademe is if the auction business model is disrupted by a new technology and trademe fails to adapt.

BlueShift

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Reply # 755970 5-Feb-2013 10:56

Based on comments further up this thread, there's probably space for a Craigslist type of thing that allows a broader range of classified ads than a pure auction site does - all the "Wanted", and "missing cat" and "looking for D&D players in my area to form a party to take on the dungeons of Dimangia"
Monetising it is a different story, one that Craigslist did struggle with IIRC.

Kingy

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Reply # 755984 5-Feb-2013 11:29

BlueShift: Based on comments further up this thread, there's probably space for a Craigslist type of thing that allows a broader range of classified ads than a pure auction site does - all the "Wanted", and "missing cat" and "looking for D&D players in my area to form a party to take on the dungeons of Dimangia"
Monetising it is a different story, one that Craigslist did struggle with IIRC.

This +1. You won't compete with Trademe as direct competition for the reasons mentioned above. Time/Money/History are all factors that come into play (it would be good for NZ if it did have a serious competitor though).

However making something similar to Craigslist could become a decent player in the market. This is the one area that TM hasn't really pushed.

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freitasm

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Reply # 759872 12-Feb-2013 08:06

This is not how to do it.

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Reply # 768965 25-Feb-2013 15:28

jmumby:
mattwnz:
jmumby: Why doesn't some start a wanted site? I mean, everyone is trying to start a second shop here. Surely there is a market for people who want something?

That is exactly what someone I was talking to recently wondered, why there isn't such a website.

I know right? Could be for anything, rare spare parts, rentals, cars anything. I guess how you would make any money would be the problem.

I'm the lead dev for pricemaker.co.nz – a site that does reverse auctions. We've got 3 major appliance retailers on board (Magness Benrow, 100% and Farmers), and so we've got TVs, and kitchen / laundry appliance categories so far.

We're working on getting more categories, retailers and locations (we only service Auckland & Wellington right now) as we speak, but dealing with these big businesses can be a bit slow :)

GDM

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Reply # 771046 27-Feb-2013 13:00

There are already classified pages in NZ.

I think the best way is to have a Facebook of classifieds... make it open source so that other vendors can use feeds from it.

Eg. you have your classified profile and you post your classifieds to your OWN profile. Others can see your posts based on the search criteria they enter themselves (either in an app or through the "classifieds' website search agent).
Allow users to import their Trade me histories. Allow them to customise their page as a shopfront or friend wanted, or flat for rent or whatever.
Provide the ability to track and manage stock on a given item - so that it can become a shop front for small businesses with stock tracking, billing etc.
So non-personal users get a way to create classifieds instantly - business users get features and benefits they can't get elsewhere.
Maybe xero or MYOB would love to help develop the shop front and integrate it with their accounting systems....

Monetising is a separate issue - first compete!

ajobbins

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Reply # 771076 27-Feb-2013 14:01

freitasm:Trade Me's platform is not stagnant. They are constantly changing things, creating new features, tweaking design, performance, enhancing API, creating mobile- and tablet-friendly sites, etc.

You need a huge team to get something even close to what they do today. A one man company (or a ten people company) wouldn't do the job.

This.

I don't know how many Dev's TM has these days, but I am guessing maybe 20 or more full time. And that's maintaining and building new stuff. For someone trying to play catch up as well.....good luck!

You can't just pay 5 developers in Chennai $20k to build something that loosely resembles TM and expect to take them on. Trade Me spends millions of dollars each year building and improving on what they have.

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BlueShift

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Reply # 771090 27-Feb-2013 14:53

If you want to make a small fortune, take a large fortune, and build a TradeMe competitor.

Similar to the way the Government creates new small businesses - first it takes a large business...

Macros

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Reply # 771131 27-Feb-2013 16:13

ajobbins:
freitasm:Trade Me's platform is not stagnant. They are constantly changing things, creating new features, tweaking design, performance, enhancing API, creating mobile- and tablet-friendly sites, etc.

You need a huge team to get something even close to what they do today. A one man company (or a ten people company) wouldn't do the job.

This.

I don't know how many Dev's TM has these days, but I am guessing maybe 20 or more full time. And that's maintaining and building new stuff. For someone trying to play catch up as well.....good luck!

You can't just pay 5 developers in Chennai $20k to build something that loosely resembles TM and expect to take them on. Trade Me spends millions of dollars each year building and improving on what they have.

Try more like double that number of devs. Sella has 3 devs (peak was about 8).

And as I said in the sella thread, the main way to build an auction site is to bring the buyers, sellers will follow. Buyers won't follow sellers unless there's a reason - saving money, or maybe some absolutely amazing mind-blowing super easy way to buy items.

jpoc

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Reply # 771149 27-Feb-2013 16:59

freitasm: This must be the tenth topic on "creating an auction website to take on Trade Me" since the Wheedle debacle.

Actually, it wasn't. It was meant as an ironic comment about the way that Dotcom's Mega venture gained such a huge volume of traffic just because it was him doing it.

I guess that Kiwi humour doesn't get irony.

Sorry, my bad.

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