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Bricktrader Lego Site Launching - Conflict with Brickclassifieds?


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Hi, Just seen Bricktrader launching/relaunching on 1st June as "the unofficial Lego auction site" and "the only Lego specific auction site on the internet". Is this going to cause problems / conflicts with Brick Classifieds launch or are they completely different / irrelevant to each other?

Opinions? as I know nothing other than ebay so far (but I'm guessing Classifieds will be better/best).

 

http://www.brickset.com/news/article/?ID=6606

 

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Hey all I can say is good luck to them, I am not sure what they have in store or how deep.  For all I know it can be an off the shelf product that they are slapping together.   They say a 5% fee, which will be much more than what ours will be and it is an auction site like eBay, so they are going to try and say hey, we are 1/2 price compared to eBay which overall is good, but eBay has about 2 billion more visitors than them.

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Hey all I can say is good luck to them, I am not sure what they have in store or how deep.  For all I know it can be an off the shelf product that they are slapping together.   They say a 5% fee, which will be much more than what ours will be and it is an auction site like eBay, so they are going to try and say hey, we are 1/2 price compared to eBay which overall is good, but eBay has about 2 billion more visitors than them.

I see -2 Billion users = Less profits if it's strictly a Auction format. I think Brick Classifieds is going to give you an opportunity to bypass lots of fees and sell more directly to people who can't get the deals/prices you've gotten.

 

For instance I've got some sets that I would like to unload bellow retail that I bought at 50% retail but on ebay I wouldn't be able to make enough profit. With the classifieds I think I could make enough for me to clear out some space for other stuff while making the small profit that I want to make on those items.

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  • 1 month later...

The site seems to be dead.  There were a few auctions up for awhile, but now there are no auctions listed and no info on the homepage about what may be going on.  That didn't last long.

Jeff must have a crystal ball. He totally saw it coming. I'll bet they get traffic, but with nothing up and running, it's a goner. You need sellers to keep buyers coming, and you need buyers to keep sellers coming to sell more. Hand in hand. If you have neither, then you don't have a selling site.

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It's very, very, very difficult to make a reputable sales site for any merchandise.  Bricklink has done a wonderful job over the years giving the LEGO fan a place to but parts and sets.  Contrary to some opinions out there about the outdated look and overall navigation of the site, Bricklink worked very well, most of the time.  Competitors will come and go and our plan for the Brick Classifieds has morphed over the last several months.  Regardless of whatever anybody else does with other LEGO sales sites, you will not beat our fees to post LEGO items.  Many members will have a chance to post items for FREE.  Active BrickPicker members may never pay anything to advertise their listings on our site if things go as planned.  

 

Jeff has been sidetracked with many issues(new forums, blogs and non-US data), but the Brick Classifieds are back on the front burner...

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Happened to check out bricktrader again and I noticed they currenly have zero auctions right now.  This can't be good for the site.  Anyone see the site lasting much longer?

 

Yeah you are right.  It's a shame, there was still a lot of work put into that site and I do appreciate what they were trying to do, but honestly even if they were to offer no commission, that isn't a site that will take off.  I can't put my finger on just why, but I really don't think it's what people are looking for.  

 

Does this mean we will get it 100% correct, probably not, but I promise you that our version will be quite different than everyone else's and like Ed said, the price will be very hard to beat.

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Yeah you are right.  It's a shame, there was still a lot of work put into that site and I do appreciate what they were trying to do, but honestly even if they were to offer no commission, that isn't a site that will take off.  I can't put my finger on just why, but I really don't think it's what people are looking for.  

 

Does this mean we will get it 100% correct, probably not, but I promise you that our version will be quite different than everyone else's and like Ed said, the price will be very hard to beat.

 

Can't wait.

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I didn't like the site for a couple reasons.  First, the site was not in US dollars.  Big turn off if for the American crowd. Second, the prices were higher than ebay.  Why would you choose to buy anything at a new auction site when you can get the items cheaper on ebay.  As far as I could tell, everything was at a buy it now price.  Did they have auctions or did I just miss that?  I do remember seeing the Imperial Flagship selling for 500 GBP.  That is just too much.  I wonder if anything actually sold on the site. It was a good try but without sellers you can't have an auction site.  Feel sorry for the individuals who created the site.  I bet it took a lot of time.

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I didn't like the site for a couple reasons.  First, the site was not in US dollars.  Big turn off if for the American crowd. Second, the prices were higher than ebay.  Why would you choose to buy anything at a new auction site when you can get the items cheaper on ebay.  As far as I could tell, everything was at a buy it now price.  Did they have auctions or did I just miss that?  I do remember seeing the Imperial Flagship selling for 500 GBP.  That is just too much.  I wonder if anything actually sold on the site. It was a good try but without sellers you can't have an auction site.  Feel sorry for the individuals who created the site.  I bet it took a lot of time.

For future reference, even though a BrickPicker member can theoretically post an item for FREE, it doesn't mean they will list it at a fair price.  Bottom line is, high prices won't sell, so price accordingly.

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Guest eightbrick

For future reference, even though a BrickPicker member can theoretically post an item for FREE, it doesn't mean they will list it at a fair price.  Bottom line is, high prices won't sell, so price accordingly.

Well said. Personally, I think that as long as you can get the word out to Huw at Brickset and the Eurobricks crowd, the Classifieds will carry itself (as long as, of course, us Brickpickers put up some listings at the time of the release so Bricksetters/Eurobrickers can see the site is up and running). If you can attract buyers early on, you will attract sellers, and the prices will be competitive. Looking forward to it.

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For future reference, even though a BrickPicker member can theoretically post an item for FREE, it doesn't mean they will list it at a fair price.  Bottom line is, high prices won't sell, so price accordingly.

 

It will be pretty hard on this site to get people to pay a premium (at or above ebay average prices).  We just have too many great tools from the Macks to tell us what a good price point should look like.  I'm hoping sellers (of the sets I'd like) use the discounted final value fees of the Classifieds to offer some tempting deals.

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Guest eightbrick

It will be pretty hard on this site to get people to pay a premium (at or above ebay average prices).  We just have too many great tools from the Macks to tell us what a good price point should look like.  I'm hoping sellers (of the sets I'd like) use the discounted final value fees of the Classifieds to offer some tempting deals.

I wonder how close most of the set prices will be to their monthly values. At least the Classifieds will get rid of the people who claim an Atlantis Portal is a $200 collectable - they would get creamed with links showing its real value.

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It will be pretty hard on this site to get people to pay a premium (at or above ebay average prices).  We just have too many great tools from the Macks to tell us what a good price point should look like.  I'm hoping sellers (of the sets I'd like) use the discounted final value fees of the Classifieds to offer some tempting deals.

 

I have said it many times before, regardless of the tools, etc, people should be able to make their profits.  

 

  1. You will not be losing tons of money on listings or commission, that alone put money back in your pockets
  2. Sets will go EOL, so those prices will go up, so no matter what those sets have value
  3. People will learn about the classifieds that are not investors
  4. Look at Bricklink, they have been around for years, I bet more than 1/2 the users are LEGO nuts that are buying and selling themselves on the site
  5. Bricklink has had a price guide for years and they are still selling plenty of sets

I think people need to clear their mind that the only people that will be looking at the their items will be stingy investors looking to score a deal.

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