There is a thread over on MC.Net by a guy that is looking to do a version of Ebay motors and it sounds interesting. As described it would be for all vehicles from the 30’s through the 90’s. It got me thinking…
What if we had a Cougar only auction site here? There are lots of Ebay style software packages that are cheap enough to make it not prohibitive to do, if we don’t get too fancy, it looks like $3000 would cover it. So we would need to make a little money to cover the cost, but we could make it pretty cheap. Since this is basically a service to the Cougar Community it would only have to cover its administrative costs. Here is what I am thinking for a fee structure:
Every item sets up as an auction. Every item has a buy it now price and a reserve price.
Parts:
Any listing $0.50
Buy it now and up to 5 or six pictures are free.
Reserve is free.
Success fee (items sells) 1%
So a $100 item would cost $0.50 to list and $1 upon sale total $1.50
Cars:
Any listing $1 Renew up to three times for free if the car doesn’t sell.
Buy it now and up to 10 pictures are free.
Reserve is free.
Success fee (car sells) under $1000 = $5 between $1000 and $5000 = $10 Over $5000 = $15.
If you stop the auction before it ends (sell the item outside f the auction), you have to pay the success fee.
It sounds like a great idea, especially if we can get all the vendors to participate. Maybe they could get more favorable pricing (a flat monthly fee?) since they list a lot of items.
This would be much better than reading through classified posts and way better than sifting through the pseudo-cougar related “1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7 O-Ring Kits” that clog up ebay.
Had a date with a paint brush… We are looking at software to see what we can do to minimize cost. What do you guys think about the policy of charging for auctions ended early?
I understand the reasoning, I don’t know that it’s necessary. This is a pretty small community and if it was understood that it’s a service not a money making scheme you probably wouldn’t need to do it. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt until they show they don’t deserve it.
I like the idea. It could benifit the members. Would the sale items be open to outside bidders? If so will they be required to become a member of the CCC before they can bid?
Don’t forget about all of the “1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT-E” parts that clog up all of the eBay listings as well.
Steven
I say come up with a reasonable set of rules that site management can live with financially, and then see what happens. Tweak as needed.
I mean, it’s basically an e-swapmeet we’re talking about here. We have this same kind of thing at shows where enthusiast markets are targeted successfully all the time.
I have a ton of crap I don’t need but I don’t use eBay anymore.
Sounds great as I quit looking at ebay because I got tired of scrolling through the headlights and light bulbs and trinkets to hang on my rear view mirror. I also quit posting because of their high costs.
I’m in, I think it’s a great idea. This would be also something that ideally could be linked with local clubs web pages to give club members an easier way to buy and sell parts…
After review of the software, some of what I was proposing is not supported and the fees for some things will have to be a little bit higher. On the other hand, re-listing will be free, and there is no penalty for ending the auction early if you strike a deal outside of the auction.
Here is what it looks like now:
Cars or Parts:
Any listing under $500 is $1 Over $500 is $5
Buy it now is free.
Reserve is free.
Pictures are free.
Re-listing is free.
Success fee (typically a part, sells) under $500 is 2% So a $100 part would cost $1 to list and $2 upon sale total = $3
Success fee (typically a car, sells) between $500 and $1000 = $10, between $1000 and $5000 = $15, between $5000 and $10,000 = $20, over $10,000 is $25. So a car selling for $4000 would cost $5 to list and $15 upon sale total = $20
Your listing fee is too high. I would bet the vast majority of parts people will have to offer will fall into the <$50 range. You have to make it cheaper otherwise people won’t list anything.
