New videogame specific auction site

I've been creating this over the last few months and thought this might be of interest to many of you...

http://www.videogameauctions.com

Its a new videogames only auctionsite which has only been running for the last two weeks, Ran by gamers who know and understand the categories and items that will be listed there.

One of the sites main missions is to not allow the posting of spam and pirate game auctions. So no worries of reading through lists of items and seeing countless emu & rom cd's or pirate carts/cd and gba games or auctions for cheats or repair guides or other useless spam which is normally free with a 2 minute google search.

Currently all aspects of the site are free while its starting up (selling an item costs absolutely nothing) and when the fee's are introduced in a couple of month's time they will be less than half the cost of the major auction sites.

There aren't alot of items listed in USD but thats mainly because the site has only just been going and all of the major advertisements have been UK and Europe based so far.

I hope this proves a useful extra option for everyone to consider.

Cool idea, but your site looks like toothpaste.

I like it...

I just wish there were more US dollars auctions.

Pretty sweet idea.

Actually... not a bad idea. Cool.

I would say, though, that it would be nice if the people who are on there selling items before you start charging got a lower price for selling items, or some other perk, to thank them for helping to get the site going.

I hate to be a naysayer... but why would I go to a site that few people know about when I could go to ebay where a TON of people go on. Even Yahoo auctions would have more traffic, and they don't charge any fees. I think you have a great idea, but you have an uphill battle ahead of you. I wish you the best of luck, and I'm willing to hear what you have to say and I'll check it out.

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Originally Posted by TobalRox

I hate to be a naysayer... but why would I go to a site that few people know about when I could go to ebay where a TON of people go on. Even Yahoo auctions would have more traffic, and they don't charge any fees. I think you have a great idea, but you have an uphill battle ahead of you. I wish you the best of luck, and I'm willing to hear what you have to say and I'll check it out.

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Yeah, I'll still go to eBay, but the upside here is that if you do find what you're looking for here, since no one knows about it you can get it for cheaper. Good for buying, not so for selling.

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Originally Posted by Sqoon

Yeah, I'll still go to eBay, but the upside here is that if you do find what you're looking for here, since no one knows about it you can get it for cheaper. Good for buying, not so for selling.

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Therein lies the problem... I'm interested in selling, not buying.

What measures do you have in place to stop all the bootlegs of GBA games and shit that are on eBay? Stricter enforcement, or what?

Because if you can make the site clean, and keep boots off it, I can see it going places. Itd be an obvious service for buyers.

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Originally Posted by TobalRox

I hate to be a naysayer... but why would I go to a site that few people know about when I could go to ebay where a TON of people go on.

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I can completely understand this point of view as we've considered alot of feedback since conception of the site and can only ask people to remember that 7 years ago ebay were in completely the same situation and started from zero, As there was a need for the site so people took to it and embraced it.

7 years on and personally Im starting to see ALOT of problems for users that decide to use ebay as a service, The main problem seems to be that the customer service side can't cope with the volume of auctions that are listed on a daily basis and in all honesty look to be turning a blind eye to auctions that I and many others would consider spam and completely Unnesessary. You also have the issue that as they cater for so many categories of item they are unable to immediate recognise and problems with auctions when they arrise.

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Originally Posted by Sqoon

Good for buying, not so for selling.

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So far for highly desired items its not turning out that way, Because the site is specialised and dedicated to a single covered category the people who choose to register and use it will be interested and matched to a very high ratio of items that are listed, Obviously as the sites active userbase grows the options will get better and better so if there is anything I can do to encourage people to be pro-active and participate I'll try and offer it as it can only benefit everyone and give a different option.

Whats better for a seller?

- Showing your items to a group of members who are only interested in videogames and competing against a small amount of similar listed items or

-Showing your items to a group of people searching for a huge number of general categories and competing against a very high ratio of similar and the same item?

I think this is the beauty of a dedicated single aspect auctionsite, Have you ever been to a specialist auction in real life? Its an absolutely perfect choice for sellers as it groups similar like-minded people together competing in a single area for items that are 100% catered to them.

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Originally Posted by diffusionx

What measures do you have in place to stop all the bootlegs of GBA games and shit that are on eBay? Stricter enforcement, or what?

Because if you can make the site clean, and keep boots off it, I can see it going places. Itd be an obvious service for buyers.

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Customer service is our main priority and it always will be, We have a zero tolerance policy for items that are not physical, authentic or unliscensed. I'd rather people enjoyed the site and found it worthwhile than accept someones fee's (when introduced) and annoy the users with spam and worthless irritating auctions.

From what I've experienced from ebay over the last few years I now completely understand about the site representing buyers and sellers and I would like to give a new option where people don't have to read new listings of items and see something that is unsuitable and annoying mixed in with thier listings.

We've already had people trying to list the following items (2 fake HK GBA games, 1 auction for how to repair a playstation laser, 1 auction for a 400-1 arcade game box), All of those auctions were removed within 20 minutes of them being listed and live on the main page.

The site has gone through quite a few changes already as we've listend to feedback from the people that have gone out of their way to use it, The site will be constantly evolving trying to get right what ebay and others are currently getting wrong, If anyone has any recomendations or requests we'd love to hear them.

We are a very dedicated team behind this and if people give us a chance I promise the users will not be dissapointed.

Not a bad idea...and I would suggest adding a browsing by region function as well

Also another suggestion is when you click a Buy it now link, it takes you to the buy it now price and that's all. You leave out the product description created by the user, so you have to click on the actual bidding in order to determine what it actually is.

I actaully liked what I just skimmed through. I went ahead and registered, but I probably won't be doing too much buying until more US auctions show up.

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Originally Posted by kuro

I actaully liked what I just skimmed through. I went ahead and registered, but I probably won't be doing too much buying until more US auctions show up.

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Yeah, I checked it out... didn't register though because it's almost all UK stuff. I see potential.

It was mentioned that ebay has been having problems... I just had two auctions taken down because of "Brand name misuse." I put "the ring" in the title of an auction I had for Dark Water on DVD, and another for the manga of Dark Water. For those that don't know, the book is written by the same writer as The Ring (well, Ringu, technically), and the movie was written and directed by the same guy that wrote and directed Ringu. I do it all the time by putting Halo in a FPS auction, or Tekken in a 3D fighting game auction... so why this happens now is beyond me. Oh and I see it all the time in other auctions. Needless to say, I'm not happy with ebay right now :) But I sell a lot of DVDs, and video games are only a portion of my sales.

I liked this the first time around when it was called Bidiots.

It didn't take that site long to suffer the wrath of eBay either.

Sorry we have no link or history to that site K3V, And every site will suffer the wrath of ebay unless people make a conscious effort to support something else.

If people sit back waiting on others and don't be pro-active themselves then they will have no options and always be limited to whatever ebay want to charge them and what way they decide is right to advertise peoples items.

Thanks to everyone above who has taken the time to add comments and feedback, Its appreciated! The main problem with internet sites and auction sites in particular is getting them recognised (personally I had never heard of that bidiots site until K3V brought it up) so if people appreciate what we are trying to do at VGA please try and spread the word as diligently and respectfully as possible.

We have some US based advertising/press releases happening through http://www.next-gen.biz/ this month but if people can recommend or help with other US sites that may be interested please let me know.

Kron I posted a link in Suicide girls gamers group, that may bring some people I'm hoping. I like what you're doing, what language is it in?

i followed the link and it appears to be english. you should too.

Very clever, but I meant programming language.

Its entirely in php.

With a MySql Backened? I worry about your security.

Yeah, Don't worry about the security its something we've invested heavily in.

I'll definitely be checking it out when I get a credit card. Go PAL games!

Thats another benefit of the site over ebay, We don't ask for credit card details so anyone can get started.

Would you guys and gals mind doing me a favour and let me know currently what you dislike about ebay from an American perspective, I'd like to rectify any problems to make VGA as user friendly and inviting as possible.

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Originally Posted by Kron

Would you guys and gals mind doing me a favour and let me know currently what you dislike about ebay from an American perspective, I'd like to rectify any problems to make VGA as user friendly and inviting as possible.

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I don't like that they are constantly raising fees, esp. since they now own PayPal, which also charges a fee. I just had an auction for Dark Water shut down because I put "the ring" in the title description, saying I violated fair use of a trademarked name or something. This seems ridiculous to me, esp. since I see people do it all the time. Ebay is also really strict about imports it seems. I remember buying a bunch of imports off of ebay, but then when I went to turn around and sell them again, they banned my account. I also don't like the fact that people charge $8 for shipping and then ship media (Not common, but it happens).

Pleased to announce the site update is complete. We'll be working over the weekend to iron out any last minute issues but we're very pleased.
Feel free to check it out and dont hesitate to give any comments (good or bad).
Dual currency is still missing but is being worked on.

There will be a full list of enhancements posted on the VGA front page this weekend but a few new features include:-

Last Chance Offer (for items that didn't make reserve price)

Ask seller question (publicly) - seller specific as to whether public or not

Item Watching

Great new store features and control

Some viewing changes, like Recently Bid on now shows highest current bid

Members only announcement area

Voucher system

etc etc

Can I be bold and ask if any members here have been kind enough to try out the site yet?, The American/Canadian/South America count is currently just over 300 members for the site (I know its not ebay numbers but we've only been going for a month and they've had seven years head start ;) )

You won't loose anything by listing some items at prices you want for them or buy it now, And I'd really appreciate some feedback from you lot so I can make the experience and service better and more appealing for you.

If some more of you are prepared to give us a chance and help promote the site I promise it can be a viable option if people want it to be, Especially as we are prepared to offer much better dedicated service than what the other auction sites offer currently.

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Originally Posted by TobalRox

I don't like that they are constantly raising fees, esp. since they now own PayPal, which also charges a fee. I just had an auction for Dark Water shut down because I put "the ring" in the title description, saying I violated fair use of a trademarked name or something. This seems ridiculous to me, esp. since I see people do it all the time. Ebay is also really strict about imports it seems. I remember buying a bunch of imports off of ebay, but then when I went to turn around and sell them again, they banned my account. I also don't like the fact that people charge $8 for shipping and then ship media (Not common, but it happens).

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well said..
I've used ebay/paypal for years, but I'm starting to like them less and less.

eBay charges fees when you list an item, and they charge fees when the listing ends, and then they take a cut of your actual payment (through paypal).
They pretty much control the whole process and it's an ugly monopoly.

I think all you'd have to do is be unreasonably competitive ;) and people will eventually gravitate towards your site, either from advertising or word of mouth.

Just don't cave in at the first sign of trouble, and you could make it.

What we are planning to do is not have a listing fee at all (ebay charge 15p so I guess you guys are charged about 30c just to list something?) The only charges we would have are:

Extras:
Bold Items Fee
Highlight Items Fee
Category Featured Items Fee
Home Page Featured Items Fee
Reserve Price Fee
Buy It Now Fee
Swap Fee
Store Setup Fee
Wanted Ad Fee

Mandatory:
End of auction price % fee if item is sold

All of the above will be considerably cheaper than what ebay charge, And if you just list an item without the extras and it doesn't sell it won't cost you anything at all.

Any thoughts?

I'm going to be selling alot of shit in the next week--I'll list here before eBay.

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eBay charges fees when you list an item, and they charge fees when the listing ends, and then they take a cut of your actual payment (through paypal).

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Yea, I wonder if they're breaking any laws by doing this. I first signed up as a "Premium" Member of PayPal because someone wanted to pay me with a credit card, which is cool because I know a lot of people want to do that, but now they take a cut out of every transaction - and that cut is a LOT more than any credit card fees.

Honestly, its all very slimy, especially since doing business on eBay aint that great - Ive engaged in 12 transactions to date, I believe, and had 2 problems. A 16% problem rate is not acceptable.

For me, I hate being charged extra for doing a "Buy it Now" listing. It seems like too much and the whole idea works for everyone considering if someone wants something right away, and they like your price they can win it right away. The item sells faster, it's up less time, and the site already gets a cut of the final price anyway.

So I'm fine with a listing fee (you're right about US paying 30 cents, but it scales up depending on what the starting price is. I'm sure you know that though) and other fees for adding attention grabbing stuff (bold headlines and stuff). The Buy it now fee is the one that bugs me.

And that extra fee that you talk about Diff for accepting CC on paypal is why I won't sign up for the Premium. I sell shit that averages like 30 bucks so after all the fees ebay gets I'd be left with next to nothing paying Paypal too. And I put in caps that I don't accept CC orders through PP, but it's like no one fucking reads. I gotta send the payment back and copy and paste what I already wrote into the message.

I'm probably going to be seling my PS2 shit soon so I'll take a look at your service Kron, before eBay.

After alot of thought here are the final site fee's that will be introduced on the 14th of August...


Listing Fee: None
Reserve Price Fee: None
Buy it Now Fee: None

End of auction Fees:
£0.01 - £29.99 ($0.01 - 54.99) - 3.75%
£30.00 - £499.99 ($55 - $899.99) - 2.50%
£500 ($900)+ - £13.00 ($23)

Item Swap Fee - £1.00 ($1.75)
Highlight item Fee - £0.05 ($0.08)
Featured on Category - £0.05 ($0.08)
Featured on Home Page - £1.00 ($1.75)
Bold Fee - £0.05 ($0.08)
Additional pictures (1st picture free) - £0.05

Item not sold: No Fees at all
Scheduled Listing Fee: None


Each member will have a member credit amount of £8 ($15) and won't be expected to pay anything until that limit is reached.

Please feel free to do a comparison to understand just what we are offering...

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

Feedback and comments as usual are very welcome, This site is for everyone so if anyone has yet to sign up please take the very short amount of time to do so (you don't need a credit card to sign up) and try the site out at your leisure.

That site looks very promising. I'd certainly prefer buying there since eBay stole my $30 payment and never acknowledged its receipt.

Technical: I was browsing with an 800x600 resolution and the page was wider than my screen area, so there was a scrollbar at the bottom, which is usually not a good thing.

Also, I think it's unwise for sellers to set a low start and use a reserve when there aren't many buyers yet. If there's only one interested party, there's nobody else to bid against to take the price above the reserve. Better to just set a fair starting price with no reserve.

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Originally Posted by Mikey

That site looks very promising. I'd certainly prefer buying there since eBay stole my $30 payment and never acknowledged its receipt.

Technical: I was browsing with an 800x600 resolution and the page was wider than my screen area, so there was a scrollbar at the bottom, which is usually not a good thing.

Also, I think it's unwise for sellers to set a low start and use a reserve when there aren't many buyers yet. If there's only one interested party, there's nobody else to bid against to take the price above the reserve. Better to just set a fair starting price with no reserve.

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800x600? What's your monitor size? I personally haven't run that low of a resolution for the last 6-7 years on monitors between 17 and 19 inches. Now since you run it, maybe things are different, but when I made the switch, it was because most web sites looked odd to me, as they were all made for 1024x768 minimum. Not trying to be a jerk, just curious why you run so low. And if you think I'm a tech snob, far from it, I'm still running a 6 year old PC with minimal upgrades :)

Sorry about the display size of the site, Due to the nature of the auction layout and the length of text to display properly the site is really optimised for 1024 and above.

Anyway just a heads up to say the site fees have been introduced, If you log into your members area their is a comprehensive members announcement which explains everything.

We have set up the system so that if someone decides to list items without any of the extra features enabled (bold,highlight,homepage featured etc) it will be totally free apart from the end of auction fee (which is still less than what feebay charge anyway).

I hope alot of you will enjoy using the site in the future as we have some very big plans for it and appreciate your support!

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Originally Posted by TobalRox

800x600? What's your monitor size? I personally haven't run that low of a resolution for the last 6-7 years on monitors between 17 and 19 inches. Now since you run it, maybe things are different, but when I made the switch, it was because most web sites looked odd to me, as they were all made for 1024x768 minimum. Not trying to be a jerk, just curious why you run so low. And if you think I'm a tech snob, far from it, I'm still running a 6 year old PC with minimal upgrades :)

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My monitor is a 15" CRT. It's a Gateway 2000 CrystalScan 14. It would do a higher resolution but the refresh rate would drop to a blinding 60Hz. I'm waiting for the flat panels to drop to nothing before I get one.

And my PC is a 7-year-old Compaq with half of its components replaced because they broke, though the World's Noisiest Hard Drive (6GB) is still grinding away as good as new.

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(which is still less than what feebay charge anyway).

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lol feebay... I like it.

I plan to put Marvel vs. Capcom 2 up on this, but Im worried about getting too little cash.

Put it up at the price you'd like for it instead of a general auction if you'd prefer.

Obviously ebay is the first word everybody thinks when someone wants to buy and sell something online and thats what we are up against but even so we are getting daily registration numbers that are better than we could of expected at this early stage.

We can only ask that people help spread the word about the site and recommend it as an option and be as pro-active as possible with it.

There is quite alot of advertising planned over the next couple of months IGN (definate) and possibly Gamespot are going to run a feature on the site and we are very determined to make it a succesful marketplace for everyone who chooses to be a member of the site.

Its going to be a very friendly personable experience.

I'd imagine the site will really take off after your ads start.

Just registered. Best of luck!

How are you actually advertising for this?

It's a really good idea, I hope it all goes well for you.

In the last few weeks we've had news posts on www.next-gen.biz

Advertising through mail out flyers, A full page spread in the recent CGEUK event.

Advert in GamesTM magazine with a full feature following next week.

Around 10 or so news posts in industry papers and websites such as gamesindustry.biz

Alot of forum promotion and word of mouth.

We don't have a huge budget for marketing right now as alot of it has been spent on getting the site up and running to begin with, Any money we recieve will be spent straight out again paying for server fee's and upgrades and more advertising.

Thanks for the kind works so far everyone, It makes it all the more encouraging for us doing it!

Pleased to confirm we've launched our Bulk Lister app today for those that are used to Turbo Lister etc (CSV compatible)