Why It's Called "eBay Alternative"

[jules43035]

Many of the people I have made contact with in the antiques business are eBay "refugees." They've left eBay because of what most consider "anti-seller" changes and they are actively scouring the Web to find... an "eBay alternative." In fact, there are nearly 10,000 searches for that particular phrase (not including any of the variations) and if any of those searching are antiques sellers, then I want them to be able to find this ring.

If I've created a sour taste in your mouth, I apologize. The goal here is to take a comprehensive look at what online selling venue would provide the most value to antiques sellers and to do that we need to reach the group that's most interested.

[MaggieDressler]

I agree that many of us began our new ventures as eBay refugees, but we have become so much more than that. I look at us now as pioneers into a new frontier of selling. We've taken the best practices we've learned but we make our own rules. We do not want to become mini-eBay's, lest we take a chance of becoming what eBay is today. Instead we have learned our lesson and will take antique and collectible selling ultimately to a place where honesty and integrity will prevail.

What we need is to work with what we have right now, and contemplate what may come. First off, I think we need to regroup and come up with suggestions for Google to improve Base and Shopping so that our items can be found more easily. This would include, for instance, requests for attributes such as vintage, or antique in conditions (as opposed to just used, new or refurbished. Speaking of Google, we also need education for sellers who are not so computer literate - many do not even know how to create and submit a product listing.

Another thing we could use would be some sort of verification system for sellers - call it a stamp of approval, if you will - so that purchasers won't be so leary of buying from "new' store owners. While I allow linking to actions and other stores on my site, many sites do not. However, they may allow some sort of seal of approval from a non-competitive source.

Just a few thoughts to get the ball rolling - I have many more but I don't want to get too pushy.