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netsmithUK

A great new way to buy and sell - ebay beware!

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OK this is it, I've had an idea knocking about in the big open space between my ears for a while now and the time in now virtually upon us.

I'll start by saying its not going to be perfect but then again its not going to cost anyone any money either if it all goes wrong and there will be no more risks involved then any normal trade through the club. On the upside it might be a great idea and a bit of fun, that gets sellers good prices, reduced the 'make me an offer' type posts and makes it easier for buyers to get what they want, possibly at bargain prices and sniping is just a distant memory.

I'm going to run a pilot this week with a few of my bits and bobs and depending on how it goes (I mean the system not the prices the items get) will open it up as a new trade option to everyone shortly afterwards)

OK these are the rules to the new Countdown Salesid="red"> (ok I need to work on the title)

- the seller will list an item and give a maximum price he wants for that item (usually a little more than he expects to get)

- the seller lists the reserved minimum price he would take (this is never shown on the site)

- the seller then elect an amount to be automatically deducted from his maximum price automatically every set amount of time (eg every minute, hour or day)

- the item then appears in a special section of the site showing the price at that given time, with a 'Buy Now' button.

- if a buyer clicks on the 'Buy Now' the get the item, assuming they pay.

- Simple as that. If you want it and the price is what you are prepared to pay you can have it.

eg. Someone lists a set of NIP Gold Fox wheels and sets the max price at £20.00 and a reduction rate of 1p a minute. If a buyer checks the site at the very beginning they have the option of buying at £20.00, if they check 1 minute later the price will be £19.99, a minute after that £19.98 etc at any time they can choose to buy if the button is available. On the face of it this might just look like they will wait several hours and then buy them for £5.00, but what you have to remember is that lots of other people are looking to and they may be prepared to pay more... so its a question of how much you are prepared to pay and how much nerve you have interms of how long you are prepared to wait[}:)] When you know the reduction rate and the current price you can work out exactly when it will be the price you want to pay and come and check it then and of course run the risk it may have gone.

Bigger items you might decide to reduce by £1.00 an hour or £10.00 a day depending on what they are and how long you want the item to run for.

If the price falls below the seller reserved min price, the item will be removed from the auction. For the test only subscribed users will see this new section, based largely on the fact these people are a bit 'know' rather than casual visitors.

All being well the first items will be up one night over the next three days depending on how the final coding goes...

If it doesn't work then no probs, I might just use it to clear my stuff from time to time in a fun way rather than the conventional methods[;)]

I realise if you are just into trading to get the absolute top dollar then this isn't going to fetch the highest prices - ebay will do that. But if you are unsure of an items value or just fancy a bit of fun then it might be an option. As I said at the beginning there will be no extra charges or commission on these type of sales apart from your initial subscription fee. Even if you do get someone winning you item but the deal falls through you will have lost nothing but a bit of time.

I realise there are pitfalls a plenty in this idea, as I am sure you will all now point out [;)]

So what do you think.

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That does sound like a lot of fun. I have a few thing to sell if you need to test the system

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I just read this post and really like the idea.

The only thing thats I can think of is that an item based in europe will be more appealing to european buyers so if you look at the item during the european night time then less people will be looking so you could wait longer and get it cheaper.

Anyway just thinking aloud, it's a good idea non-the-less.

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I not a bad programmer but I think I'd struggle controlling world timezones [;)] When it gets released proper, it will be up to users to decide when to post thier item, ideally you want it to have arrived at the price you guess it will go for when most people are looking. I'll post some stats later as to when this is.

Keep watching we are still on for tonight!

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AUCTION THINGIES/ countdown sales - call them what you like are now open. The prices are already falling...

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/countdowns.asp

Sorry subscribers only.

Check the reduction rate work out when it will be the price you want and come back then - of course it may be gone by then, but thats the game.

Apologies if the first bunch of stuff is not overly exciting, its just what I had to hand. Next lot of stuff promises to be NIB complete models!

Please bear in mind this first run is just a beta test, so is still abit rough around the edges.

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Without clicking it to find out - does the BIN button have a confirmation screen?

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After my stuff has gone we have a NIB Clodbuster and NIB Hummer up for grabs - Just how low will the prices go?

Keep you eye on this thread for more details - probably tomorrow?

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Just bought me a Porsche!

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/countdown_item.asp?cid=3

Hasn't arrived yet though[;)]

Dead easy to buy, click Buy It Now, and you get an email congratulating you for being great;

Congratulations, TWINSET and netsmithUK

You have successfully entered into a deal for this item.

Final price:***** (UK pounds)

Buyer email: *************.co.uk

Seller email: **************.co.uk

Regards Tamiyaclub.com

Piece of cake!

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This is a great system, got myself a cheap set of Fox wheels, can't wait for more items to be added.

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Is there any reason to remove the item for sale once the reserve is hit? Would there be any harm in leaving it sit at the reserve for some period of time?

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To be honest I hadn't really thought about it. I might change it inline with what you say.

The only reason for removing it from sale is that the reserved price is the absolute rock bottom minimum for that night. It might be as a seller it was just a slow night visitor wise so I'd be better off re entering it another night. (which is what I'm going to do with all the items that didn't sell)

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I feel bad about breaking my own rules and double posting here and in the for sale forum so I'm going to stop.

Just to make it clear this thread is now about the Countdown sales as a Tamiyaclub feature in general and ways to improve it.

The thread in the forsale forum is about the next items that will be for sale and when. (like tonight [;)])

When the system gets publically released I probably start a new forum all together called 'Countdown Promotions' so people can build up the anticipation for thier sales and get the most people looking as possible. As a guide the items I put up last night got over 300 views each and I think it was a quite night!

Another thought occured to me, again around how to maximize the number of viewers to these sales and that is. We'll probably only have a sale like this once a week. That way everyone will know when to stay in and come and check the sale out ;)

Any thoughts/comments

Chris

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quote:Originally posted by netsmithUK

Another thought occured to me, again around how to maximize the number of viewers to these sales and that is. We'll probably only have a sale like this once a week. That way everyone will know when to stay in and come and check the sale out ;)

Any thoughts/comments

Chris


id="quote">id="quote">

A few points/questions:

The 'once a week' idea is cool, but we need to be careful with timing so that we don't 'disenfranchise' anyone because of their timezone. There are quite a number of members in either the U.S. or Far East/Aus who would want to play a full part in 'Countdown Auctions' I'm sure.

Could we make the option to leave the item at it's reserve point a user-settable parameter? The the seller could choose whether it goes immediately or sits for a predetermined period. Not sure how easy this things are to code in your ASP/SQLServer world [;)]

Is there any way you can put some status info on the the auctions front page? Time elapsed/current price/number of views/sold etc.?

Will there be an 'are you sure' behind the B.I.N. button at some point?

Great feature - hope it runs and runs [:D]

HTH. David

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Along the same lines of holding an item at the reserve price for a period of time. How about listing new items for say 24 hours as a promotional period. Then start the count down. Everyone would have the opportunity to know what and when a new items will become available for sale. Giving people the opportunity to ask questions and resource what a good price would be. Just a thought.

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Hey Chris,

It might be an idea to allow us 'non-subscribed browsing guests' to have a nose at the 'view before start' window to see what we're missing.

You never know, it might get a few more paying signees! <is that a word!

Steve

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Right, for those who've not tried it yet, here's how it works;

1; Log into chat room

2; Open new window for countdowns

C; Spend most of the evening rambling on (Beer really helps here)

IV; As soon as everyone gets 'interested' buy something for bragging rights.

Tonite (Thursday) you guys missed;

A NIB Hummer for £88

A NIB Toyota MRS for £93

A NIB Clod for £141.10

A NIB Bullhead for £137.87 ([:D])

And a **** good laugh, especially the sales pitches.

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quote:Originally posted by TWINSET

And a **** good laugh, especially the sales pitches.


id="quote">id="quote">

I've never done the 'chat room' thing before - always considered it a bit sad. But Twinset is right - it was a great laugh last night (red wine assisted in my case). Just a pity that we weren't all sat around in a pub somewhere. Just hope FusionHobbies didn't get too depressed about the prices [;)]

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Did all the others sell then after I bought the Clod...? God only knows why I bought it, I really can't afford it...! Looks like my CTR will have slicks on fgor a few more months...! [xx(]

Roop

quote:Originally posted by TWINSET

Right, for those who've not tried it yet, here's how it works;

1; Log into chat room

2; Open new window for countdowns

C; Spend most of the evening rambling on (Beer really helps here)

IV; As soon as everyone gets 'interested' buy something for bragging rights.

Tonite (Thursday) you guys missed;

A NIB Hummer for £88

A NIB Toyota MRS for £93

A NIB Clod for £141.10

A NIB Bullhead for £137.87 ([:D])

And a **** good laugh, especially the sales pitches.


id="quote">id="quote">

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