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MoeBids · 08-30-2006, 04:27 PM

Hi everyone-
I am a 20 year old college student and I just started a unique bid auction site, www.MoeBids.com. I really just want people's input on the look and functionality of the site. Also if anyone has any good advertising ideas or companies to recommend, I would certainly appreciate any advice. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoy my site.

youngmarketplace · 08-30-2006, 04:43 PM

I thought it was confusing at first. But I understand now. I question though why a customer would be willing to pay the bid fee rather than use Ebay and pass the costs to the seller, which most people are used to. Have you had much sucess so far? send me an isntant message and I would like to talk further with you.

youngmoneyblog · 08-30-2006, 04:47 PM

looks good. are you using joomla?

SlideRiceFC · 08-30-2006, 06:26 PM

It's an interesting concept but I don't know many people that would pay to basically gamble on a win. You may want to check the legality of your setup as well. Raffles and lotteries are not necessarily legal to hold under most circumstances like this. That is assuming this is a US site.

MoeBids · 08-31-2006, 12:13 AM

I had a company design it for me so I don't know what Joomla is. I would like to though.

As for the legality of the site, right now I have not found anything saying it's illegal and if someone tried to tell me it was I would ask them why elementary schools are allowed to have raffles and I'm not. But yeah, I have worried about that and I have looked into it as far as my territory and cannot find anything illegal about it.
Thanks for all your input.
Any other suggestions/comments?

DaveAPN · 08-31-2006, 01:04 PM

Whew... talk about a competitive marketplace!

I like the concept, and I don't think you have many legal concerns to worry about. I agree with the first respondent - I would try to make it stupid simple as to how it works. Your "how it works" page should be the homepage, in my opinion, and it should feature a full walkthrough with a colorful, friendly step-by-step explanation.

Good luck!

Cemiko · 09-01-2006, 07:06 AM

Looks good, If you need someone to promote your business in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany just sen me PM so we can discuss some details.

cokeclassact · 09-01-2006, 08:29 AM

it's clever but it seems like critical mass is really important. if you get only a few bids on an item you lose money...it looks like you wait until an item has a certain number of bids before declaring the winner? the problem with that strategy is that it takes a long time for a customer to receive his item. i noticed that most of your auctions were started over a month ago. for that reason this site cannot be expected to be an ebay competitor as it is not consumer-friendly enough. that being said, when looked at in a different light it is a very interesting concept for a wholesale site. with this format you can certainly undercut the prices of more conventional wholesalers. i would suggest that you modify and promote the site accordingly. probably add a dropshipping option.

SlideRiceFC · 09-01-2006, 04:13 PM

Legal raffles follow all sorts of rules. For example in my state (Texas) it has to be held by a charity organization/nonprofit and they still have to jump through all sorts of hoops. Proceeds can't directly benefit board members, yadda, yadda, yadda. There are both federal and state guidelines so even if you meet federal guidelines your raffle may not be legal in every state. If you are serious about conducting a long term business I strongly encourage you to do more research. A quick trip through google will give you a wealth of information on the subject. I would not be at all surprised if you'd require some sort of gaming license. In addition your auctions might also qualify as a lottery which is illegal in all 50 states.

MoeBids · 09-10-2006, 10:54 AM

Sorry for the delayed response. I really appreciate all of your input. Since this is my first website I am learning alot. All of you guys advice has really helped me look at things in a new light. If anyone has any good advertising or marketing connections please let me know. A strong customer base is what I need to speed the auctions up. Thanks!

4-Knots · 09-10-2006, 11:45 AM

I don't see how u make money from it if items are bought only on a unique bid! Theres an awful lot of bids you could have for a €50 product.

theapprentice · 09-10-2006, 12:05 PM

is it something like this: http://www.uniqueauction.com/?