OK folks, lets start a genuine general discussion on the ins and outs of running a auction and or e commerce site. I have put in this part of the forum as it is directly related to alternative sites.

Notice the intro, as i am splitting the two here for reasons i hope will become clear as this post goes along.

Every week now we see new posts from people launching a new site, and in every instance we see the usual critiques and negative replies. I keep asking myself WHY!!! And I have come up with two answers. A.. Because the responder is a site owner themselves and or heavily involved in a site. B.. because the new site is being promoted as what it is not.

A speaks for itself, but B is the real point here. Most new launches are not auction sites. They are mostly e commerce sites that offer stores features with the alternative choice of Auctions. Unless the primary function of any site is auctions, with the option to run a store for retail purposes, most of these new sites should be promoted as e commerce.

Currently i am running THREE sites. One i class as e commerce with stores being the primary function, one as a predominantly Auction site with stores as an option and one, my new one, that is a 50/50 split, a kind of all in site. In each case i do not class my sites as EBay alternatives. They are there to gain their own identity and market. This is a very important point and one which i think new site launches must consider and which sellers should seriously consider.

However, when a new site is introduced, theirs no mention of what it is and why. Theirs simply no classification of intended market.

What is the cost of running a site and what fees should be implemented to cover those costs and allow for a profit. Firstly lets all agree that most sites that claim to be free are hobbyist sites and never will be serious contenders. There are two sites however that are free and are serious contenders. They have income from outside sources. (No i am not referring to my sites)

So whats the cost of running a serious site.
Script setup and customization. $1000 absolute minimum
Hosting if used, $10/15 a month or for the serious business a server at $200 plus a month.
Advertising and promotion, depending on how big the site intends to grow, not less than $500 a month.
Net profits after tax and etc and depending on site size, 20%, assuming a turnover (Gross income) of $1000 a month. Of course this can be offset by selling advertising space as i do.
Without advertising, fees have to be set at a rate that can cover those costs and generate profits.
These figures are merely a guide only and probably, for most sites, don’t portray the actual cost and required income.

Now fees required to run a site.
As i said unless there is an outside income source fees have to be proportionate for the level of running costs and profit margin. I am not going to suggest any fees as each site has different markets and outgoings, but any fees have to be in line with costs.
The above are only intended as a guideline and must not be read as actual costs.

Now we come to sellers.

There is the ever increasing number of sellers who openly state they require a sites services for FREE. Could i ask are these sellers a serious business or, as i have stated for site owners, merely hobbyists trying to gain additional income or extra pocket money.
Its reasonably clear many sellers are not a serious business, but just hobbyists or casual sellers.
Should sites be responsible for all the advertising??? In my opinion, no they should not. The site is responsible for bringing in the general public, visitors, to the site. The seller is and must be responsible for promoting and selling their own products. In almost all cases, neither site owners or sellers DO THIS. And certainly in many if not most cases, there is no working relationship between sites and sellers.

Why aren’t there joint promotions, yes there a very small few, but overall they are non- existent. And those that do happen are mostly listing orientated, and not aimed at attracting buyers to visit and buy.

This post is only a generalisation on my part. Mainly because i feel, in the single minded aim to lessen the power of ebay, just about everyone is turning our industry into a level of pure amateurism that can only have adverse effects on the whole.

It would be fantastic if all sides here could enter into a general discussion to help improve our industry and to bring it to a level of high expectancy instead of slowly eroding it to the level of Sunday market or car boot sales.
Everyone wants to succeed, and we all want to learn. Only by discussion, not bickering or play acting, can we do this, so please lets make this a well supported thread that we can all input too and LEARN from