Wagglepop 2: Deja Vu as Auction Site That Left Sellers Stranded Reopens

[BellisimaJ.]

[quote author=stardust link=topic=3775.msg23207#msg23207 date=1158255171]
No, Belle, you missed Vital's point.  During the WP-1 days, there were tons of 'bad press', and ridicule, and just plain discussion on various forums -- OTHER than obvious spamming/promotion by wp-1 poopers on the ebay stores board. The presence of all those links back to wp, constantly being viewed, made the forum became a hugely hot spot in the eyes of search engines.  No spamming involved here, just hot discussion resulting in numerous backlinking and page views, which is a big SEO positive.
[/quote]

Hmmm....thanks for your take on it Stardust, and I feel sure that Vital will go along with you  on that. However I really don't think I missed the point.

Code:

Wagglepop has some sort of intrigue factor - both good and bad, [b]but "press is press."[/b]

Bolding is mine. That remark is stating that whether it's viral mktg or traditional mktg/press, they both accomplish the purpose of creating a buzz.

Edited to add:

From what I can tell, the ad campaign is ON and is taking this form: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing Some people may not like it, but it's what was used before, and it worked.

If it worked so well, why  did he close it down and why is he so unsucessful now?

Btw, bad press is NOT the same as good press. It generally will have the opposite effect.

[cranky_hippie]

[quote author=thentavius link=topic=3775.msg23212#msg23212 date=1158255754]
Quote from the banned poppers eBay thread:

ny.girl:

I have no idea who Ray Romeo is.....but, I have been buying alot on WP to resell on ebay, because the prices are so cheap

[/quote]

She is full of it. I've found exactly the opposite to be true. Prices are quite high, in many cases, probably because the poppers know their visibilty is almost nil. And little-to-no sales means that you had better price high hoping to get back some of your expenses on one item because it may be the only one that you sell.

[stardust]

I also found that statement to be very revealing.  Sad.

[vitalfinds]

...

[cranky_hippie]

Ray also has a "Pied Piper" personality, so him being out there in any capacity is going to probably be good for wp.

Maybe this time around he is playing the "mysterious genius."  If so, it is working with the cheerleaders but it won't help with the rest of the world...most especially, the buying public.

[regic]

"Karen" has now come along and claimed that "they" don't post or even read other forums.  I can possibly believe that, but people have been implying that Ray & company (if there is one) has been out there on the boards and I saw no reason to argue with that assumption.

And you believed that wombat poo poo?

Her exact quote was they don't post on "independent" community forums which leaves open the question of whether Wagglepop's 14 eBay IDs and 92 total IDs on competitors' sites have posted on other venues' forums to either promote WP or bash the competition.  TT, OTWA, and TRS qualify as "independent"  but the eBay boards do not.

It is highly unlikely that WP would register 92 IDs in order to research other venues and yet ignore user sentiment on eBay and other venues.  It would be very bad business not to read the boards and track sentiment.

Karen's quote

As a matter of internal policy, not only do we not post on any independent community forums, but we do not even read them.

Ray Romeo is a proven liar who told many lies on the boards in 2005.  Anything Ray says is suspect because he is a liar.

"The site software, data, and information have been wiped clean from the servers"..."destroying any and all personal data."

Fact: his statement was a lie.  He saved the users' email addresses and emailed the former members in May 2006 .  A clear violation of privacy and trust .

[stardust]

He is not trustworthy -- like a few other people I have come to know. 

A person who publicly or privately says one thing, making or indicating an agreement in order to instill trust and understanding, and then goes behind your back and does another thing entirely --  without any explanation or announcement -- is just scum in my book. 

He is an opportunist AND, as Regic says, a liar -- to further his own agenda at the expense of others.

[mandy]

It is highly unlikely that WP would register 92 IDs in order to research other venues and yet ignore user sentiment on eBay and other venues.  It would be very bad business not to read the boards and track sentiment.

Perhaps they really are morons and never thought to check user sentiment. 

[vitalfinds]

...

[cranky_hippie]

Now back to the issue of forum posting ... if he's not doing it, then I don't know what the "innovative marketing ideas" would be.

The answer is simple. He HAS no ideas, innovative or otherwise.