Appreciation Of The Forum

[Kman]

I've got something listed on Ebay atm, barely ever sold anything on there, doing the maths they take around 13/14% of the sales fees if you include paypal (below £1000 anyway)

 

I was thinking it would be great if someone could start an auction platform for people to buy and sell their precious metals at perhaps a 5% fee, I thought I should do it myself but then thinking about all the problems and issues it would have even getting it going, forget it lol.

 

But it did make me realise and appreciate how great this forum is where we can buy and sell to each other without any fees

 

Typically the seller makes more than they would selling to a dealer or on Ebay and the buyer also pays less

 

Hopefully this forum continues to grow so we can have an even bigger community to trade with and miss out the expensive middle men. 

[HighlandTiger]

 

IHopefully this forum continues to grow so we can have an even bigger community to trade with and miss out the expensive middle men. 

 

 

Hear Hear......Totally agree..

[daz]

Spot on , haven't sold anything on here but purchased some cracking bargains and they normally turn up quicker than ebay purchases as well

[Paul]

The more people use the forum to sell and buy the more feedback improves, the more the marketplace gets established, the more trust gets built, the more networks get formed, the more there is less need to line FleaBay and ShadyPals pockets.  Although as whole we are mostly buyers as opposed to sellers

 

Remember we are still less than a year young a mere infant learning to crawl.  Forward the clock a year or two i think there will be an exceptional platform here in the silver forum to both buy and sell 

[ChrisSilver]

I have already looked into an auction platform being built into the forum. It's very possible to do. But I thought it was easier for members to just use the forum topics for selling their items.

 

In theory I could set up an auction embedded within the forum. Charge 1 or 2% final sale fee, and reinvest all of the turnover into online advertising of the auction part / the silver forum in general. This would allow the forum to grow quicker and hopefully bring more interesting items to the sales section.

What does everyone think of this? Just putting the idea out there. I like the idea that it is currently free to sell on the forum, and would only charge a small percentage of final sale if the members actually gained more value.

[Danny-boy]

I love the idea Chris, didn't realise it was that simple!!!

I'm not sure we have the userbase for it yet, but it's an awesome idea.

[DrDime]

I think its a fantastic idea. I would definitely use it to sell and I'm sure Arshi will get more than 2% more than his current asking prices

[ChrisSilver]

I think its a fantastic idea. I would definitely use it to sell and I'm sure Arshi will get more than 2% more than his current asking prices

Thanks for your comment

Official sponsors would have free auction listings. But only a very small hand selected group of dealers will be able to be official sponsors.

Interesting to here some more members opinions about this potential auction part of the site....

[barney]

I, for one, like the idea, but I wouldn't like the site to get too big as it could lose its 'friendly group' feel.

The auction idea is good for sellers but I'm not so sure for buyers, wouldn't it be like selling a bottle of whiskey at a 'millionaires alcoholics' meeting.....everything would sell too high or about the same as the dealers

[Stu]

I think a small fee on an auction type set up would be fine for sales.

I was just having a conversation with my better half when the conversation turned a bit gloomy the other day. She made a good point that if I were to pop my clogs before her she would have no idea where and when to sell the PM's I have or if she was getting a fair price for them. It got me to thinking that in these circumstances, if they could be sold via the forum I am sure everyone would get a fair deal, better than getting ripped off by a dealer or ebay.

I don't have a fantastic collection, mainly bullion, but I do have a few proofs, semi numis etc and like everyone, would'nt want spot only for them. Even if it was the case that items for sale could be listed by family members on an open auction without commission, I am sure most folks would be fair with offers and anyone seen to be trying to take advantage would be highlighted by more conscientious members. Just a thought.

[Kman]

I'm not so sure for buyers, wouldn't it be like selling a bottle of whiskey at a 'millionaires alcoholics' meeting.....everything would sell too high or about the same as the dealers

 

I was thinking the opposite when it comes to numismatic items, they might not get anywhere near what they do on Ebay if theres only one person interested in collecting it

 

Would have to know the audience on here 

[garthy]

I was thinking the opposite when it comes to numismatic items, they might not get anywhere near what they do on Ebay if theres only one person interested in collecting it

 

Would have to know the audience on here 

 

I agree kman, but maybe there could be a reserve price option just so no one gets sold short? I'm not sure if that'd be possible to do.

 

I was just thinking the other day 'it's a shame there's not a auction on here'  when I missed the 2007 Britannia set from Arshi, I personally think it's a great idea.  

[watchesandwhisky]

Im not Sure..Everyone is extreamly savvy here when it comes to price..Good deals sell instantly and overpriced items dont sell.

Im guessing most people sell here because of the no fees and reliable buyers, start chucking in fees (even small ones) and the worldwide audience ebay can give is unbeatable. With ebay you have the chance of them item selling for a very high price due to uninformed buyers, not here.

Both sites have merit, id imagine only proofs and the like would be worth trying to auction here.

[ArthGoch]

One USP for any potential 'Auction' site is that it is what it says on the tin .....an Auction!

 

When Ebay started, the majority of listings were Auction as opposed to BIN. Just checked all the Coin listings under ebay.co.uk and there are 299,217 coins listed, of which 241,351 are BIN ( 80%).

 

I believe that there is room for sellers stores etc, but similarly believe that there is room for a purely Auction site which was 'cost competitive'

 

It is accepted that economies of scale would be needed to get the balance between buyer and seller right, but may be taking a format of a traditional auction house with Auctions on given days, specific lots advertised and marketed correctly, safe guards in the form of reserves, and driven by( software permitting) live bidding, this would create something unique and which has not really been done well;( and/or at a realistic price,) by any of the coin focused bricks and mortar auction houses.

[coppernut]

Well said Kman for the original post..

Yeah bring on the auction platform please

[HighlandTiger]

I have to agree with mad hatter here. Whilst I'm principle an auction platform would be a great addition. It all boils down to the fees. With silver a few percent isn't an issue. But for gold charging a fee may make in uneconomical for buyers. Currently it is possible for gold sellers to sell just above spot and buyers can buy at below HGM prices. Fees may make the current situation impossible.

[DrDime]

That's a good point HT - I was thinking more about the silver. The gold bullion coins have a pretty established price though and could be offered at a price just as they are now. Also - am I right in assuming the fee is for the seller, not the buyer?

[ChrisSilver]

I have looked into this and tested a new classifieds system. However, I don't believe it adds any advantages over the current system. It would also have to be modified by a programmer in order to add features such as, multiple currencies, auction features etc which will be very expensive.

Also doesn't make any sense to charge 1% as this would get gobbled up by PayPals minimum transaction fee of £0.20 or whatever it is. So no money would be left to invest into marketing, so it wouldn't be worth charging anything.

I like the way the trade section topics are working at the moment. It's very easy for members to list items and multiple items in the same topic, and members can easily edit to update prices etc. Also it doesn't cost anything for members to list.

I may develop this classifieds system into an auction style system in the future. But for now, I think using the trade section to list an auction style topic is far better.

[daz]

Tbh as I'm pretty much exclusively a buyer, i m not keen on the idea of auctions on the site , mainly because I've had some cracking deals and think this might raise the prices I'm paying.

However I would not be against making the trade section a paid section, you could keep that section locked to non subscribers , say ten quid a year or something.

Surely this would be much easier to implement as well .

as you usually can save at least ten quid against ebay prices on one deal on here your still getting good value.

I think you could also keep the competition section locked to subscribers only also

[motorbikez]

Tbh as I'm pretty much exclusively a buyer, i m not keen on the idea of auctions on the site , mainly because I've had some cracking deals and think this might raise the prices I'm paying.

However I would not be against making the trade section a paid section, you could keep that section locked to non subscribers , say ten quid a year or something.

Surely this would be much easier to implement as well .

as you usually can save at least ten quid against ebay prices on one deal on here your still getting good value.

I think you could also keep the competition section locked to subscribers only also

 

I don't think an auction would raise prices daz,but I like your idea of a paid for trade section. £10 a year is hardly going to break anyone & it helps support the site.

[Kman]

I like your idea of a paid for trade section. £10 a year is hardly going to break anyone & it helps support the site+1

 

+1

[Cornishfarmer]

And me great idea, £12/year. Members get to see offers 24 hours before non members. Then fair to sellers, buyers and non members

[watchesandwhisky]

I have looked into this and tested a new classifieds system. However, I don't believe it adds any advantages over the current system. It would also have to be modified by a programmer in order to add features such as, multiple currencies, auction features etc which will be very expensive.

Also doesn't make any sense to charge 1% as this would get gobbled up by PayPals minimum transaction fee of £0.20 or whatever it is. So no money would be left to invest into marketing, so it wouldn't be worth charging anything.

I like the way the trade section topics are working at the moment. It's very easy for members to list items and multiple items in the same topic, and members can easily edit to update prices etc. Also it doesn't cost anything for members to list.

I may develop this classifieds system into an auction style system in the future. But for now, I think using the trade section to list an auction style topic is far better.

 

Chris can you just confirm it is ok to do an auction style listing in the for sale section? As of the moment I see prices must be posted but I would like to do a couple of Auctions with a £1 start, 50p bid increments, and a set finishing time.?

[Paul]

To save expense and technical work, i have bought stuff from rrauction.com in the past (not precious metals) they used a 30 minute rule.

 

So set start date - end date.  If someone bids within the last 30 mins - it then resets for another 30 mins if no further bid is received in this period the highest bidder wins or  another bid arrives then the 30 min starts again from when the bid is placed

 

http://www.rrauction.com/30MinuteRule.cfm

 

Provided it was x1 item per thread, this could work since each post has time when submitted

 

 

Hope it maybe helps ?

[Danny-boy]

Chris can you just confirm it is ok to do an auction style listing in the for sale section?

It's absolutely fine MH, it has been done before - I know because I won it.