Kron

Ebay has taken 7+ years to get to this current state where many agree its too big and now badly managed/maintained, When the site started the traffic was small and it had very few people that wanted to trust it as it was an entirely new online concept. Now in 2005 if people want an alternative they will have to support a site doing so from new (i.e. in a similar situation ebay was in when it first started) and trying to run for the right reasons (like the people at videogameauctions.com are trying). Looking for something that is "remotely close" is being totally unrealistic at this point as people will need to give something other than ebay a chance for a decent period. The only positive I can see lately is that alot of people are genuinely becoming aware of ebay's shortcoming and problems and are beginning to voice their concearns that the marketplace needs more options, Unfortunately ebay is getting continually worse and unless people act upon their feelings and show support to new sites instead of coming out with excuses and conjecture about how immediately they aren't an option due to small early userbases then nothing is ever going to change.

There is an alternative if people help themselves and support a site that is trying to do the right thing. Having a dependancy on big name companies who are able to charge whatever they want is not good for the consumer or the market, People have really got to realise that their participation is what drives a site. If Google or something similar tried to launch a site then due to the large expenses it would be ran in exactly the same way as ebay and you'd still have a poor level of customer service as every item is governed by a single set of rules that don't always fit. If people want a better deal and a truly open market then the only way forward is through dedicated specialist auction sites.

Feebay doesn't drive the market its the people that make a coincious decision to use the site that create the market. I started recognising the problems with feebay a few years ago and its dreadful customer service was one of the reasons that I was so keen to be a staff member of videogameauctions.com and start to create something that offers people a better service and fair marketplace. The problem is getting people to use something other than ebay and removing the comfort zone (or lazyness), Its rare to go on any kind of videogame forum and not see the name ebay within 3 or 4 posts, The negativity or shallow train of thought that x isn't as big as ebay is forcing the site into a complete monopoly by default. If people are genuinely fed up with ebay then show it by helping support a site that wants to offer something better.

We are almost up to 1000 individual worldwide members and thank you to everyone who has contributed to the site so far. There will never be a listing fee on the site and our end of auction charge is less than ebay. We are totally comitted to listening to the users and evolving the site over time to make it the best dedicated videogame marketplace it can be. If everyone contributes and gives the site a chance then you give yourselves an option for a better suited site with cheaper costs and much better customer service. It would be hugely apprieciated if people could continue spreading the word on the site and what it offers (no listing fee, no pirate or spam auctions, cost effective charges, dedicated service), Over the last few years I've been less than impressed by the general aim and service of ebay and know we can give people a different option if supported.

Thanks for the comments Jim, Hopefully people will appreciate the site as they start to use it and help by recommending it where possible. A quite nice update for everyone as we've had a slight re-jig on the fees (which we've introduced today) Listing Fee: Free! Second Category Fee: Free! Additional Pictures Fee: 0.05 GBP (0.08 USD) first picture upload free! Highlighted Items Fee: 0.05 GBP (0.08 USD) Bold Items Fee: 0.05 GBP (0.08 USD) Category Featured Items Fee: 0.05 GBP (0.08 USD) Home Page Featured Items Fee: 1.00 GBP (1.75 USD) Swap Item Fee: 0.50 GBP (0.88 USD) Wanted Ads Fee: Free! Reserve Price Fee: Free! Buy-it-now Fee: Free! Scheduled Listing Fee: Free! Store Setup Fee: Free! If any item you list doesn't sell it will cost you nothing and its totally free to relist. Also if you decide to not use the extra options such as bold,highlight and featured then the auction won't cost you anything other than the end of auction fee percentage (which is still cheaper than what ebay charge anyway). I hope people enjoy using the site as we've got some big plans for it and people's loyalty will be rewarded.

Anyone have any thoughts?, If people really would like a cost effective dedicated alternative to ebay then we need as much feedback as possible so we can make the site work for everyone. I'd certainly be interested to hear what it would take before some of you decide to start using the site and give it a chance.

Here are the final site fee's that will be introduced on the 14th of August... Listing Fee: None Reserve Price Fee: None Buy it Now Fee: None End of auction Fees: £0.01 - £29.99 ($0.01 - 54.99) - 3.75% £30.00 - £499.99 ($55 - $899.99) - 2.50% £500 ($900)+ - £13.00 ($23) Item Swap Fee - £1.00 ($1.75) Highlight item Fee - £0.05 ($0.08) Featured on Category - £0.05 ($0.08) Featured on Home Page - £1.00 ($1.75) Bold Fee - £0.05 ($0.08) Additional pictures (1st picture free) - £0.05 Item not sold: No Fees at all Scheduled Listing Fee: None Each member will have an automatic credit amount of £8 ($15) and won't be expected to pay anything until that limit is reached. Please feel free to do a ebay fee comparison to understand just what we are offering... http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html Any feedback as usual is very welcome, Thanks everyone!

There's a couple here http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/32x/darx.html Its a game you really need to see non emulated and in the flesh, The textures are pretty decent for a 32X game.

In all honestly when I listed it I never imagined it would actually go for the price its currently at. To say im delighted is an understatement.

Thanks for giving the site a try!

The thing is, The site is open to people worldwide to list items in their native currency. Its just that people in the UK and Europe have really appreciated what we are trying to do and taken to it. The sites operation isn't determined by a single region and we'd like people from all over the world to take part and use our service, We've had nothing but good comments from the people who have used the site and can only ask more people to do so over time. We currently offer all of these advantages over ebay and other multipurpose auctionsites... Anti-piracy stance - being gamers we know what to look for and can removed pirate auctions within minutes. Flexible system - we listen to members and can amend the site accordingly. An example is Adding Categories where members have the option to suggest a new category No reserve minimum - Ebay recently removed the option to set a reserve under £50.00 This means if you have something to sell up to £50.00 then you either have to have a high starting price and pay higher listing fees or start low and gamble on selling cheap. Reduced fees - once fees are introduced, we guarantee they will be considerably less than Ebay Like-minded gamers - a large majority of VGA members are pure gamers, this should give confidemnce that when someone list something as 'mint' it will be mint. Gamers listing options - we are able to edit and amend our site accordingly, adding listing enhancemnets like 'Spine Card' mean buyers will know more about the product from the moment they see it in the listings. We can and will add new listing options as and when the need arises. Site updates - due to the nature of the business, our software allows for regular updates giving increased flexibility and new features on a regular basis. VGA can change with the times. No restrictions on imports or development and prototype items - unless outlawed by law, VGA will always allow the buying and selling of these items. Our customer service is in a different world to the automated rubbish you get with ebay and the others as well.

But the problem with Yahoo is the same with ebay, They don't understand the items that are being listed on the site so you are left selling items in the same marketplace as countless spam and pirate auctions. I really wish there was something I could say to get you guys to simply try out www.videogameauctions.com but many of you seem very reluctant to use anything thats not an already established brand name and thats a huge shame.

The dot com domain is there we just have it on a redirect as the ssl is configured for .co.uk, And we are looking into the dual currency so users can browse in their native currency. There is a single click relist option, We didn't include an auto relist as we thought people would rather have the option. We allow all of these types of item as standard, The staff are knowledgable to differenciate between items like these and items that are just pirated. If you want to PM me the item I'll gladly look at it for you, We have had some huge updates over the last week so some of the default links for older items have changed a little and standardised for new listings. The "%20" is a standard format code to signify a blank space as Mindfield stated.

Guys can I ask why this had huge interest compared to what we are doing? http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...2832&hl=bidiots What are we doing wrong?, Its incredibly difficult to offer a service as dedicated and specialised as ours when people are just holding back all the time.

I don't know if you guys have overlooked this topic because its pinned http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72227 But if everyone collects together and spreads the news then if people make a conscious effort to support the site and try it out then it can succeed and give everyone another option. I am one of the staff members and I would really hate for it to be overlooked as we are so very committed to offering a better service and clean up many aspects of auction sites that ebay are so lapse with. We want to offer a 100% dedicated service but we can only do that with input and feedback.