Power Sellers Unite

psunite · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 6206 Location: Columbus OH

NEW YORK - Imagine a stock market for all your stuff: a place for buying, selling and figuring the value of your car, cell phone, designer handbag or dusty bottle of wine.

Mix in an online community, product reviews and a whole lot of ambition and you get Wigix: the WantItGotIt Exchange, a Web marketplace that launched for public testing this week.

Oakland-based start-up Wigix has more than $5 million in venture capital funding and about 40 employees and contractors, many of them in China. Despite its size, Wigix has a bold and daunting goal: take on the world of online buying and selling ruled by Internet giants like eBay.

"The online auction industry is still firmly stuck in the 1990s," said Wigix CEO and co-founder James Chong, who was the architect of Charles Schwab's early Web trading platforms and sold a business software company to IBM in 2004.
more.. link to news article

terryp · Joined: 06 Sep 2006 Posts: 540

This make eBay look like a prehistoric hotch potch….quite possibly the way forward and very well thought out….only thing I don’t like is payment only by Paypal?

This is one to watch

diesel · Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 145

It is strange that they are projecting themselves to be an anti-Ebay competitor but they would promote Paypal?

Where is the logic in this?

knappschiles · Joined: 25 May 2005 Posts: 4027 Location: Wi

Hey guys there is an older thread on this same topic here http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=18587&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

Several posters have found that the site isn't all it could be, at least not yet.

Carol

patagoniamix · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 37

psunite wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")NEW YORK - Imagine a stock market for all your stuff: a place for buying, selling and figuring the value of your car, cell phone, designer handbag or dusty bottle of wine.

Mix in an online community, product reviews and a whole lot of ambition and you get Wigix: the WantItGotIt Exchange, a Web marketplace that launched for public testing this week.

Oakland-based start-up Wigix has more than $5 million in venture capital funding and about 40 employees and contractors, many of them in China. Despite its size, Wigix has a bold and daunting goal: take on the world of online buying and selling ruled by Internet giants like eBay.

"The online auction industry is still firmly stuck in the 1990s," said Wigix CEO and co-founder James Chong, who was the architect of Charles Schwab's early Web trading platforms and sold a business software company to IBM in 2004.
more.. link to news article

if anyone is familiar w/ level II stock trading..this sounds like a variation of level II platfrom..

purple_reading_giraffe · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 5485 Location: Indiana, USA

There are a couple sites I ran into that seem to be based on a similar idea, though not necessarily a similar structure. I posted links in the other thread Carol linked above. I thought they were interesting, especially the collectible card and toy trading site.

withavengeance · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 160

In our experience most customers want simplicity and to complete their purchases ASAP. We just don't see a bid/offer system being anymore viable alternative to ebay than any other alternative auction sites are.

WAV

knappschiles · Joined: 25 May 2005 Posts: 4027 Location: Wi

withavengeance wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")
In our experience most customers want simplicity and to complete their purchases ASAP. We just don't see a bid/offer system being anymore viable alternative to ebay than any other alternative auction sites are.

WAV

I think you are very correct in that.

Last your at iOffer, I had a customer make a combined offer on 4 of my items. Unfortunately they did that a couple of days before we got home from vacation. Then when I found the email with the "offer" I struggled for a couple of days to get into the iO site as that was during the early days of their changeover and things just weren't working right. Meanwhile the customer gave up thinking I was unresponsive. By the time I was able to make contact with him, he said "forget it".

KISS = Keep It Simple, Stupid

Carol

innerpuppie · Joined: 13 Feb 2008 Posts: 625

diesel said:Quote: › docWrite("quote")It is strange that they are projecting themselves to be an anti-Ebay competitor but they would promote Paypal?

Where is the logic in this? Not much if sense you make the eBay/PP connection; however, most buyers really like the PP convenience and the safety they receive when they give money to someone they don't know. I'm not fond of PP as a seller but when I make a purchase I always use it. It's a love-hate relationship and those are the worst kind :roll:

frontporchdreaming · Joined: 16 Sep 2006 Posts: 877 Location: s/e USA

I started a store at IOffer & so far must say they have me totally confused. I had an offer but never rec'd any email notification, nothing in my messages? I found it by accident when I noticed a link for "open negotiations". It was a fixed price item (not make an offer) so as I had no "make offer" listings, I never thought to look at "open negotiations"?

All I want is a simple link "sales", LOL Takes me awhile to figure it all out I gues? Also no main forum that I can find. I've joined several of their "clubs" as I guess that's the only way to ask anyone about anything?

Ain't easy teaching old dogs, new tricks, LOL

PatchDog · Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 3726

withavengeance wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")In our experience most customers want simplicity and to complete their purchases ASAP. We just don't see a bid/offer system being anymore viable alternative to ebay than any other alternative auction sites are.

WAV

A simple statement in itself but oh so correct. Buyers used to enjoy the concept of the "auctions" but that started to wear off in 2003-2004 when eBay introduced the "Watch" feature (A feature which in my humble opinion was the beginning of the end for eBay. I said it back then and nothing has happened since to change my mind).

Now buyers just want the quickest, least complicated way to buy something.

innerpuppie · Joined: 13 Feb 2008 Posts: 625

I have to agree with you about the watch system but I think it goes back earlier than that. I began buying in 2001 and think it was already there for the buyer to utilize. And, yes, I think the auction format may be on it's way out, too...everywhere, in a sense. I do see some items on eBay getting good bids but those are generally difficult to find pieces or listed by the artist. That darned "best match" isn't helping things, either, right along with the DSRs. Those things are killing some sellers :cry:

PatchDog · Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 3726

innerpuppie wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")I have to agree with you about the watch system but I think it goes back earlier than that. I began buying in 2001 and think it was already there for the buyer to utilize. And, yes, I think the auction format may be on it's way out, too...everywhere, in a sense. I do see some items on eBay getting good bids but those are generally difficult to find pieces or listed by the artist. That darned "best match" isn't helping things, either, right along with the DSRs. Those things are killing some sellers :cry:

Collectible Items still do very well in an auction format. Most other items are better served by using a fixed price format. I see people list a few items in auction but their main purpose is to attract buyers to their stores.

For instance, a seller might have new shoes at 9.99 in an auction format. He might have half a dozen shoes listed in auction but his main purpose to to attract buyers to his store where he has an inventory of 1000 pair of shoes listed at 30-40 dollars a pair. He is basically using the auction format for advertising because that is the best way to get exporsure for his store.

You might be right about 2001 but I thought it was later. Time flies when you're having fun.

Patty00 · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 1012

I already registered on this site. It has that certain something...that excitement that ebay lost so long ago. Its not a cut and dried online auction...its an online auction with a unique twist. They haven't opened their arts category yet - when I wrote and asked them when it would open they immediately wrote back asking for advice on how to index the arts. I LIKE that! We all banged our heads against a wall at Ebay just to get what we needed in order to sell...this is quite a change so I'm jumping in full bore!

diesel · Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Posts: 145

One thing is for sure, they answer emails within 24 hours. I asked them about the shipping options since I do not see any shipping options.

If this is going to be an international site, they cannot have standard rates since each country have different services, shipping fees and couriers.

Would eBay/Paypal retaliate if they found out powersellers are moving to WIGIX? Would they "hold" Paypal funds?