Can anyone give advice on new bike auction site?

[HoWB Dave]

I have heard about a new bike auction site at http://goinggoingbike.com/ and I shall be using it to dispose of product from the local bike shop I run. I was wondering if anybody has experience with buying or selling here. Of particular interest to me is the ability to run my own customised store front. Although other websites offer this feature, in this case it would be viewed by a community specifically interested in trading bikes and could be an alternative to an individual web store.

There is of course the famous auction site which I will not promote here (it rhymes with "flea spray"). I feel that when it comes to bikes however that they have had their chance and they've blown it. They have not done a jot about stolen bikes and as a victim of theft I am rather unhappy about supporting a site that seems to be the main beneficiary of the black market in stolen goods. GoingGoingBike on the other hand claim to take the legitimacy of sellers and their listings much more seriously, however I would like to know if this proves to be the case in practice.

The selling fees are much more attractive than the alternative during the introductory period for the site - a flat rate of 5% sale value until the end of September. I would not mind knowing what it will be after that, however a new account is free so I guess there is not much risk getting stuck in and finding out.

So, anybody using the website, let us know your experiences and report any issues which us newbies should know about. For those who are not using it, please do so I can sell to a bigger market!

[robgul]

.... AFAIK this only got started in the last week or so - it's in beta test mode, thus no track record.

The obvious challenge is building critical mass quickly ... having looked at it (from a semi-professional point of view) I'm afraid it looks a bit half-baked as a business model. I hope I'm wrong in that presumption.

Rob

[HoWB Dave]

.... AFAIK this only got started in the last week or so - it's in beta test mode, thus no track record.

The obvious challenge is building critical mass quickly ... having looked at it (from a semi-professional point of view) I'm afraid it looks a bit half-baked as a business model. I hope I'm wrong in that presumption.

Rob

I am aware it has only just started - there is a news entry that the launch was on 20 July - but there appears to be product selling through it already so that seems a promising start.

You will have to be more specific as to what you feel is wrong with the business model.

One thing I forgot to ask on my original post - are there any other viable bike auction sites around? I seem to remember visiting one a few years ago and which seemed quite good, however I don't remember what it was called so cannot search for it by name.

[robgul]

.... AFAIK this only got started in the last week or so - it's in beta test mode, thus no track record.

The obvious challenge is building critical mass quickly ... having looked at it (from a semi-professional point of view) I'm afraid it looks a bit half-baked as a business model. I hope I'm wrong in that presumption.

Rob

You will have to be more specific as to what you feel is wrong with the business model.

.

The site appears to introduce buyers to each other ... and doesn't "control" the whole process in the way that ebay (like it or not) does ... that lack of control seems a weak link? It says they "send an invoice" when the transaction is complete ... I wonder how they guarantee the invoices will be paid? - again with ebay the fees are deducted at source.
[I'm a an ebay user with a 500+ score - but I do fear it's becoming worryingly all-powerful having pretty much killed the one or two competitors it did have - let's hope this new venture does work]

Rob

[HoWB Dave]

The site appears to introduce buyers to each other ... and doesn't "control" the whole process in the way that ebay (like it or not) does ... that lack of control seems a weak link?

Sounds good to me - as a bike shop I see potential to use this as something half way between one of the web auction sites and a proper online store. The absence of an enforced process by which I must conduct my business (and for which I would be charged, whether or not I wanted it) should enable me to develop a process which better serves my customers and the type of transactions I wish to promote.

The above might be slightly irrelevant for most people though.

[robgul]

The site appears to introduce buyers to each other ... and doesn't "control" the whole process in the way that ebay (like it or not) does ... that lack of control seems a weak link?

Sounds good to me - as a bike shop I see potential to use this as something half way between one of the web auction sites and a proper online store. The absence of an enforced process by which I must conduct my business (and for which I would be charged, whether or not I wanted it) should enable me to develop a process which better serves my customers and the type of transactions I wish to promote.

The above might be slightly irrelevant for most people though.

Yebbut, I was looking at it from the auction operator and his revenue stream/return on investment perspective. I would agree that the option of an alternative, for certain types of trader, to the "big brother" ebay system would be good.

Rob