GameGavel.com: Video Gaming Auciton site Alternative to eBay!

[Michael Helgeson]

I think you can do it,if you really want to its not some impossible goal.Ill watch and wait.I am highly interested.

[nodtveidt]

Quite frankly, the name leaves much to be desired. Part of the reason ebay is so successful is that it's a recognizable brand name. You need to come up with a solid brand name if you want this idea to fly beyond the occasional "vg n00bz". My wife suggested "vbay" but I think she was messing around. If you'd like, I can inquire with some of my marketing colleagues for a decent name.

In all honesty though, the name is the least of your worries right now. Without at least a prototype of the site, you could call it "Big Chuck's Video Game Swag Party" and it'd be alright. But when the time comes, you need a good strong brand name.

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

New name....

GameGavel.com/org/net

After a few ideas from others and questioning others not even in the hobby... most people got it on the first try as to what the site was for.

Jasen

[ceti alpha]

I have one suggestion for this kind of site, something I wanted to implement into my own site...anti-snipe measures. If someone bids in the last minutes of the auction, the auction time is automatically extended to give others a chance to bid again.

I agree, sniping is a pain in the butt, but isn't that what the maximum bid is for? If someone snipes more than my maximum bid then I'm not worried because I wasn't going to pay anymore than that anyway. Still annoying though.

[Kitsunexus]

Really, no snipers. Nobody likes snipers. Controversial politicians hate snipers, Counter-Strike players hate snipers, but most of all AUCTION-GOERS HATE SNIPERS.

The anti-sniping measure that ceti Rover talks about sounds good at first glance, but think about it. Non-sniping users also bid in the last minute. This could turn auctions into a never-ending bid war, with no snipers in site.

[Necromancer]

Non-sniping users also bid in the last minute. This could turn auctions into a never-ending bid war, with no snipers in site.

At some point, the price would exceed all but the winning bidder's limit.  If I'm not mistaken, additional time (ten minutes or so) is added to Yahoo auctions and seems to work well.

[nodtveidt]

GameGavel? Well...it's a name, and at least you got the dotcom, but that's a pretty lame name and hard to really make into a brand. But it's certainly better than what you had before. No offense but naming doesn't seem to be your strong point.

Kitsu, that was my idea, ceti just forgot to use quote tags.

[Kitsunexus]

Kitsu, that was my idea, ceti just forgot to use quote tags.

My bad.

And GameGavel is kinda fruity, but it's a lot better than ChaoticConsoles because you KNOW what it is from the name.

[ceti alpha]

Kitsu, that was my idea, ceti just forgot to use quote tags. Smile

Crap! All those years in university avoiding plagiarism at all cost ruined by one post on Pcenginefx!! 

[nodtveidt]

 

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

Its been a few days, so time to update on the progress.

So far, the quick sales of the ebay stuff brought in a couple hundred bucks to the project, and now I just have to finish selling the few extra castlevania games to get a bit more. Not 100% necessary, but a nice bit to add to the pot.

I have been working with 2 companies with their auction software. One is really expensive, the other is not so much. They both feature a lot of things that are essential, in my opinion, for the site. THe more expensive software company is going to let me install on my mac server to test it out locally before I commit and buy it. I like their efforts and willingness to let me try it out fully (install to :live: test).

I have received a lot of positive and negative feedback. The positive is encouraging, the negative, mostly, is why bother you cant compete with ebay. I have chosen to ignore the negativity, obviously, and truck forth with zeal. The niche market is there, and with the proper advertising it has the ability to take off. Promos will have to be done as well as some profit sharing/cost reduction/etc to get the initial following, but I anticipate a 1 year period to break even at the longest. (Cost of Software, Cost of Hosting, Domain Registration, etc.)

I am currently exchanging ideas with Joe of DP to determine the feasibility/cost/willingness to integrate the DP Rarity Guide into the site somehow. There are a few hurdles that we must overcome to make this happen, but I think we will be able to come to a reasonable agreement in the interest of making the site be amazing!

I have contacted Moby Games to get their inputs regarding their database as well, and unfortunately have not heard back. I will keep pushing until I get an answer, or at least find a resasonable alternative database of similar value.

Marketing, as I have given it thought over the past week with the few fleeting moments of calm in my life, will be a challenge. There are a lot of gaming sites with forums, etc that I would love to hit up and post the launch date of the site (which I am aiming for a 1 MAR 2008). I think that a new registration and only a couple of posts behind it may actually hinder my ability to advertise it because I do not want to appear as a scammer/spammer. That being said, I may need to entice the folks here to help advertise the new site.

Logo. I have gotten one submission, it is nice, but I just dont think it will work. I am really interested in seeing some graphics folks put something really neat together for GameGavel.com. I still havent decided what piece of my game room will be up for the prize, but I will determine that shortly.

I will be consolidating the list of recommendations for the site and will post them up this weekend in an easy to read bulletized and organized list for everyone to view.

I think that's it for now.... talk amongst yourselves, and discuss!

[nodtveidt]

I think you may be getting in over your head, honestly...you haven't mentioned anything regarding the business end of your plan. You need a very solid business plan for this, you need to establish a corporate identity, and you need to establish your brand name. These are things that take time and money. Furthermore, it seems as if this will mainly be run by you yourself...do you have this kind of time? You're going to eventually need at least a small staff. Also, what are your plans for a server? You're not going to be able to run a site like this from your desktop Mac or from a shared server, you're going to need a dedicated machine with plenty of RAM and a big hard drive, plus plenty of bandwidth and monthly transfer. Finally, the people who say "you can't compete with ebay" are right...you're not going to be able to go head to head with ebay. So, you need to come up with something that sets your site apart. A rarity guide is a good idea, but remember that the scammers are still going to hang out on ebay where they can gouge people left and right.

So, how do you get exposure for your site? You advertise for it. This again is going to cost you a lot of money. You're also going to want top priority in Google searches...again, money is needed here.

You've got some great ideas, but ideas alone aren't going to cut it. You're going to need some serious financial backing to pull it off. I hope you've got it somewhere, because without it, you're going to be stopped cold turkey in the middle of your process. This IS a business venture after all so you need to tackle it with a business frame of mind...and the capital to back it up.

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

All good points, and all thought of. I am not willing to post up my entire business plan that I have been working on, or ready to share every intimate detail of the endevour for fear of another swooping in to steal it away.

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

So I determined what the prize for the Winning Logo for GameGavel.com will be:

A complete boxed NES System, box is in really good condition, NES works very well, most of the inserts are there.

Value (with shipping) : $120

Thanks for participating!

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

** UPDATES **

I am currently about 3/4 through with my initial draft of the Business Plan for GameGavel.com. My wife has been proof reading and providing a constant source of reasons to not start the business, but has helped in a positive manner when asked. She has been very good at helping keep me realistic about the business plan and how it could crash and burn (god forbid!). This weekend I have a 4 day weekend (thank you Admiral!) so I will be able to finish the first cut of the business plan, and write the TOS for the website incorporating many ideas that you all have given me, which I thank you very much. After the TOS is written, it will be sent to the lawyers for a review to ensure adequate saftey for everyone.

For fun, I am going to borrow my friends video camera and make a commercial on YouTube for the website. Just to keep me from being too serious, and heck it may be a good advertising tool. You never know, crazier things have happened!

Today I purchased the software required to run the website, and will be installing it locally for testing, setup, and trials before going live. I wont be running the site from my home because I don't have a server for it, nor do I want that kind of overhead initially. I have found a host that I feel confident can run the site and upgrade as demands require it to.

It looks like I have no interest in the logo contest for the website, so that will be outsourced to a graphic designer and the NES may be sold to help compensate the cost of that. I was hoping the contest would be a fun way to get folks interested and creative. I did this same idea with only a $50 gift certificate for the reef club I started in VA (www.tidewater-reefers.org) and it worked well. The fish logo is truely great!

I look forward to more comments and interest in the site. I will keep folks up-to-date on the status as it comes available. The business plan will be for internal use only, so I will not be releasing that, it is meant as a guide for me only to keep me on track over the next few years and beyond. That being said it will be a constant work in progress as the site grows and improves.

Thanks again!