TulipTools Internet Business Owners and Online Sellers Community

Hi everyone,

I run an auction site and I'm interested to hear your views on some changes I'm planning to make.

Currently anyone can sign up to buy and sell and the only thing that is verified is the email address. This has been working ok so far as I have been manually checking the sign ups and posted auctions.

Now that the traffic to the site is starting to increase this manual process isn't really feasible anymore as I can't monitor the site 24/7.

A few things you should be know about the site - It's run as a hobby, I'm not planning to rule the world with it, the site itself is not for profit (income comes from selling my own items on the site) and it uses the PPB script. The site has been online for 1 year now. I do not charge any fees at all on the site.

So this is what I'm planning:

Buyers can sign up with only email verification. The process is completly automated and a buyer can sign up and bid
within minutes.

Sellers though will need to do the following:

1 - Send an email with details of what they plan to sell so I can check they are suitable (i.e no adult items, mp3s, knives etc)

2 - make a donation via paypal (the smallest amount you send via paypal - can you send 1p?) as verification.

3 - If the seller does not use paypal then I will send via the post (UK only) a confirmation code to verify their address. If outside of the UK then I may try to find another way of verifying identitity.

4 - The verification will done manually and will be slow. If this prevents sellers from using the site then it's done it's job as I'm after the sellers who are committed and prepared to put the effort in.


The way I want the site to work is that it is a store where I sell my own items and I invite trusted sellers to sell their items from my store as well.

Feel free to pick holes in my plan!

A few holes that I see (without actually seeing your site):

1) PayPal sucks.
2) The auction format as a whole is trending downward.
3) Seems like a lot of work if your main objective is simply to sell your own things.
4) You're in the UK which will limit US participation.
5) As hobbies go, seems like you're opening yourself up to more liabilities than say, stamp collecting.

Anyway, those are my immediate hole-picking observations. But I wish you the best of luck with your venture. On a small scale it may work out okay for you.

Welcome to the boards! 

Edited to add: Re-reading my post, I see it as more negative than I feel comfortable with. It's obvious that my personal aversion to online auctions is influencing my response to your personal endeavor. If you're having fun with it and you're able to make a profit, then by all means go for it. And you already have a year under your belt so you probably have a good feel for what you're doing.

Thanks for the reply, I don't think it's overly negative. I'm not looking for a pat on the back or encouragement, I'm looking for the holes in my plan. You've done exactly that, thanks!

1) yes, paypal sucks but everyone uses it.
2) I'm not too concerned about any downtrends in the auction format
3) That's why I'm happy for the site to remain small and restrict the number of sellers
4) You can list items in USD if you wish, we already have some US members
5) The liabilities issue is exactly why I want to change the way the site works. Because I run the site as a hobby I need to restrict it and keep it small so I can manage it effectively without it taking over my life.

I suppose what I am trying to do is limit the sellers on the site to those who are the same as me - small time sellers who do it more as a hobby rather than a big bucks venture. I accept that unless you have a multi-million dollar budget and some serious backing you are never going to have a 'big' auction site. In the last year I have seen many sites come and go.....

Any more feedback and ideas will be much appreciated!

1) yes, paypal sucks but everyone uses it.

Sorry that is NOT true... out of 100 million PP accounts only 28.9 million are active and that "inactive" figure is predicted to increase as
more savvy buyers and sellers sees PP for what it really is.

A criminal organization IMO.

Your figures that you quote do not support your arguement. I agree that the PP fees are high but then everyone has a choice, you dont have to use it.

So there are still 28.9 million active users of PP, could you let me know which payment method has more users?

Feel free to be constructive and suggest an alternative method of verification.

Please don't turn this into a paypal bashing thread.....

Sorry I'm not making and "arguement".
Do some reasearh and good luck on your auction site.  ;D

no problem - thanks for the input 

If you and most of your users are comfortable with PayPal, then I would definitely keep it. However, there are many VISA/MasterCard users who will not use PayPal. That's why I would include a system that allows for that large segment of the population.

Edited for grammar, spelling and punctuation. How many errors can I make in one small paragraph? I really need to get more sleep.

A vast majority of buyers do not use PayPal. An even vaster majority do not even know what PayPal is.
Offer an alternate method for buying via a merchant account, or you will be locking out a huge number of your potential customers.

Btw, you asked for opinions. This is my opinion. My intent is not to bash PayPal, but to offer another opinion.

Morning, Xp

Quote:1) yes, paypal sucks but everyone uses it.

Everyone doesn't use it.  PayPal use off eBay is very low. 86% of online payments are paid by credit card. 51% of online merchants offer alternative payment methods to credit cards but few shoppers use an alternative methods even when offered.  Only 14% of online payments are made by alternative payment methods such as PayPal, NoChex, Moneybookers, echecks, deferred billing, etc.

one of the sources for the payment data.
http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=16563
there are several other studies with similar findings on online payments.