January 03, 2005 12:33am
Niche Auction Site David vs Goliath
Source: 4bidn.com
by: David Landsman
Everybody wants to have what EBay has and many companies are trying to get noticed by specializing rather then trying to directly compete.
With more then 7 billion dollars being passed through EBay every quarter, its no wonder savvy web masters and entrepreneurs are trying to cash in on this amazing business.
Entrepreneurs like David Landsman, former niche business owner/Hot Sauce guru and many others feel that although its nearly impossible to directly compete with eBay, by specializing and giving customers a more intimate experience and lower fees they will some how grab a percentage of this phenomenal web business.
Unlike eBay's 5000 employees David can see his entire staff in the mirror each morning.
Auction sites like Mr. Landsman's Adult Products only site (4bidn.com) offer a unique alternative and one that eBay seems to be trying to phase out.
According to Autumn O'Bryan-Rourke eBay power seller since 1998, Autumn who sells strictly adult products and is executive director of Midnite Madness MidniteMadness.com and MidnightMadnessParties.com, Autumn says "I am anxious to find another outlet to sell as I am on a unwarranted 30 day suspension from eBay for selling prohibited adult products".
Apparently eBay and its recent acquisition Pay Pal are trying to make it harder and harder to buy and sell adult products by refusing to list such items and not allowing any adult transactions through Pay Pal.
Although David admits that his knowledge of adult services and products are limited, being a savvy marketer he hopes to align himself with industry veterans and use his guerrilla marketing skills to get the word out.
Barley out of the gate 4bidn.com is a clever play on words but now a days it takes more then just a good idea to make it on the web it takes traffic, good service and low prices.
To get the ball rolling and to attract the much needed adult products, David is offering sellers a $25.00 listing credit when they sign up. Simply log in, sign up and email support and they will directly put $25.00 right into your sellers account. Plus if you're a power seller like Autumn and will list 50 adult products at once, David will credit your account $50.00 email Admin@4bidn.com for more details.
Currently there are a half a dozen or so direct competitors in the adult auction business and a few have been established for a while and are doing quite well. David feels that his background in the hospitality business will give him a distinct advantage by offering his customers the kind of service and pampering only seen in some 5 star restaurants. Customer service will be the key to his success, that and lower selling fees, says David.
Although somewhat of a myth the founder of eBay Pierre Omidyar claims to have started eBay as way to sell his wife's Pez dispenser collection, true or not it shows that if you specialized, anything is possible and having a outlet for unique items can be quite profitable and many of these specialized auction sites hope to cash in on this unique idea.
For now, David says he will concentrate on marketing his adult auction but hopes to have two other specialized sites up in the next few months, one specializing in nothing but antiques and collectibles and one for just golf related products.
For more information or to invest in David and his ideas please email IdeaDealer@GMail.com
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