Selling items locally - need help: how do I add value to compete?

[squeak]

So my fiance and I came up with the idea to create a site that people could sell their stuff locally on. They would have accounts and ratings, so it would be safer than Craigslist, and we would have a much higher quality page as well. We decided the best way to charge for it would be to charge a percent-based listing fee (something small like 1-3%). After you list your product, you can reduce your price and repost it as often as you wish, but you can't increase your price without making a new listing.

The only problem is, we're kind of competing with ebay classifieds here. And ebay classifieds is free. Yes, they don't have accounts with reviews like we want to have, but still, they're free (ad-supported). I'm not big on the idea of supporting ourselves with ads. I also know that right now not that many people know of and use ebay classifieds. So, we keep brainstorming on how we could add value to our service, but I thought you guys are a bunch of really smart entrepreneurs, and we're just starting out - so what ideas would you have for that?

 

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[squeak]

Ok, so I've thought about it some more, and realized that what will attract sellers to our website is a lot of buyers. So we probably won't charge anything to sell, we might have some premium features or a seller account though with added features. But getting lots of buyers means just having great marketing. I know MJ was saying that the most important thing is to get the buyers to do the marketing for you (in addition to your own creative marketing). I'm struggling to come up with a lot of ideas for that. Thinking about integrating it with social networking sites and also having a linked "site" on pinterest where each posting gets automatically posted in the right category (not sure if that's possible yet...). I keep coming back to the example posted earlier about getting internet through Google and how they maneuvered that so brilliantly... not sure if I could apply any of that learning experience to this?

 

[rocksolid]

You idea sounds a lot like Craig's list. Why would I use your site and not them?

 

[squeak]

You idea sounds a lot like Craig's list. Why would I use your site and not them?

Just a couple of benefits:

On Craigslist, you can only search within a city. With no way for buyers to search for a specific area or zip code, or even nationwide, they will need to wade through a lot of listings that are irrelevant. Your listing, without a prominent picture, can easily be lost in a sea of other postings, duplicates, and re-posts.

Craigslist is often deemed as unsafe. You never know who the buyer or seller is! On our website, sellers and buyers have to create accounts in order to post or contact or ask questions. After you sell an item or buy an item, you can get a review from the seller/buyer you have interacted with. This promotes security.

On Craigslist, you have to contact the seller when you have a question about their posting. On our website, we will have a Q&A section for each listing. If you have a question about the item, you post it as a question on the listing. They can answer, and you can decide whether or not to contact them about the listing later, after they've posted an item. This is an advantage to the buyer. The advantage to the seller is that they do not have to answer a million questions on their listing that come through email. They answer it once, and then it's visible to every other buyer that might be interested in their item.

In order to prevent your post from getting "buried" in Craigslist, you need to constantly re-post it. We save you the time to do that by keeping your posting visible all the time and using more search features that allow people to see the listings regardless of how old they are.

In order to share your posting on Craigslist, you have to copy and paste the link into whatever social network you're using. We give you that feature automatically. As a buyer, you can create lists of products you want on our website as well.

 

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[tua79610]

I've actually had sites, like the one you are creating, email me asking to also list my items on their site. However, this would probably be very time consuming, unless you created a program to do this for you.(Not sure if this is possible)

 

[The-J]

I wouldn't go for it if I were you.

Why? Your competition is huge and well-known. How is your brand going to stand out? Who is going to care about your site? Just cuz it's local? Craigslist is local, too.

What can you offer people who are looking to sell something? eBay offers that your item will be sold to the highest bidder. Craigslist offers that your item will be seen by people in your area. You could try combining the two but you'll end up competing directly with eBay, which is a brand that everyone knows.

If you did decide to go through with this, your only bet would be to become a SEO god and rank for the short tails OR to leverage an existing system in your local area.

Your idea is not offering value from the get-go. That's the problem.

 

[squeak]

Hrm, ok... I was thinking that I could offer value simply by building a better website than craigslist, eliminating the issues with craigslist, and adding more buyers than ebay classifieds, thus eliminating the issues with that website. I know how to do the first, but I'm not sure how to do the second.

Sigh, if I can't figure out the second I guess I'm back to the drawing board.

 

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[jilla82]

I think part of why people like CL is because the interface is so simple.
A lot of the folks on there are really what I would consider internet savvy.

Plus, like its already been stated, there is a ton of competition.
Most local listings are a free for all (you can buy anything from legos to people)...you would have to be ready for that...and the legal ramifications.

 

[dknise]

Ads have really made people want exclusively free content and services. You may also want to check out Facebook's marketplace for competition as well.

 

[RBefort]

I really do hate the amount of spammers on Craigslist. That is the most annoying thing. Just go look at the personal ads. It's either gay dudes posting out the wazoo to get laid (have nothing against gay people fwiw), or girls trying to spam you to go to the dating website. Also, allofcraigs.com can narrow listings down to a state or all over, instead of just a city. Don't know if you have seen that.

 

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[2KidsinUT]

I'm a big fan of localized classified websites. Where we live more people buy and sell on ksl.com than on Craigslist and ebay classifieds combined. Local classifieds can also penetrate their market more easily by putting themselves out as a local brand, which people tend to trust more. One way you could monetize your website is by charging a monthly subscription to businesses or heavy sellers, and limit how often non-subscribers can re-list their ads or list similar ads. Another way is micro payments, like 25-50 cents per listing for 10 or 20 days or something along those lines.