Bought out GameGavel.com, need community input.

[icemanxp300]

It seems odd you'd want anyone to rely on Paypal at all when by your account Paypal is the one refunding people from your account, after eBay has actually ruled in your favor. Which I agree, if you were right, and I assume you would not lie about it, that's pretty shitty.

 

I'm just stating how it is. It's not that I agree with it or want it to happen because I don't. I don't agree with someone buying and nes from me and a month later having it show up at my door, refused to accept and buyer skipping ebay because they know it violates eBay's terms and conditions and instead just filing a claim w/pp who gladly fully refunds them because I can just resell it, not caring that I just dropped about $20 on shipping.

 

I don't agree with a buyer not even messaging me and filing an item not described claim and when I ask them about it they say they purchased the wrong item. Then when they lose the case just open a paypal dispute and then send me a different game back. Had they just messaged me I would have taken the game back. However that was not his intentions, his intentions was to get a free game and prove how broken the system is.

 

I do not agree with it or like it. It is just a fact when you use paypal you don't need any other protection.

[+thegoldenband]

I don't even know if we should keep the auction side of things as it seem everyone currently listing are listing mostly "buy it now".

 

I'd have zero interest in a version of GameGavel that didn't have auctions. Otherwise it's just the same niche sellers charging the same premium rates as always, and for that I can already go to Ebay, Amazon, or a brick-and-mortar game store. Or if I want more humane pricing and don't need to have an item right this second, I can go to flea markets, yard sales, or the marketplaces on sites like AtariAge.

 

The whole point of an auction is that the price of an item is set by the interest of those interested in buying it, rather than the intransigence of a seller who really believes those loose Intellivision carts should go for $5 apiece. Whatever combination of free listings and BINs caused it, the decline of true auctions on Ebay has left me uninterested in buying much of anything there; their only advantage is their huge infrastructure and customer base, which GG won't have.

[+GoldenWheels]

 

I do not agree with it or like it. It is just a fact when you use paypal you don't need any other protection.

 

And as I pointed out eBay being first in the middle in my Ninja Gaiden example actually made for a better resolution for the seller than it would have been for me if I had just hit him through paypal. Granted that also takes an honest buyer, and not everyone is.

 

Having a less contentious, far easier to activate mediation avenue via eBay before I need to go nuclear and actually contest charges (and boy does dealing with Paypal just sound awesome) offers me another level of protection. Whether you think it's necessary or not, I appreciate it and how it works and I value it. Two is greater than one, especially when the first one is EASY.

[CPUWIZ]

 

I'd have zero interest in a version of GameGavel that didn't have auctions. Otherwise it's just the same niche sellers charging the same premium rates as always, and for that I can already go to Ebay, Amazon, or a brick-and-mortar game store. Or if I want more humane pricing and don't need to have an item right this second, I can go to flea markets, yard sales, or the marketplaces on sites like AtariAge.

 

The whole point of an auction is that the price of an item is set by the interest of those interested in buying it, rather than the intransigence of a seller who really believes those loose Intellivision carts should go for $5 apiece. Whatever combination of free listings and BINs caused it, the decline of true auctions on Ebay has left me uninterested in buying much of anything there; their only advantage is their huge infrastructure and customer base, which GG won't have.

 

I use ebay only as a store (I have not bid on anything in years), so I am on the opposite end. I totally hear what you are saying though, there was always some fun in bidding and scoring something cheap back then, now it is mostly just annoying to bid.

 

To me ebay is a semi reliable way of scoring electronic components from China.

 

Only 40 pages to go!

[SignGuy81]

For protection for buyers. I know sellers wouldn't like this. But I think you need to start out allowing sellers to only sell a certain amount of goods at one time, and gradually increase that amount as their feedback comes in and is good. And also only allow them to sell items below a certain dollar amount as well until their feed back comes in. For example allow them to have 3 items listed at a time and no more than $30 items.

 

Once they do this for a bit and have good feedback they can then list more and sell higher priced items. I know a lot of sellers are honest and wouldn't like this but really it shouldn't hurt them any to do this because once they prove themselves they can do more. The problem of not doing this you have some scammer come in and list a $200 item, has 10 listed and just robbed those 10 people out of $2000 total.

 

Something similar, not sure yet what it would be, should probably be done to buyers also to prove themselves.

Edited May 30, 2017 by SignGuy81

[icemanxp300]

The problem of not doing this you have some scammer come in and list a $200 item, has 10 listed and just robbed those 10 people out of $2000 total.

 

Not going to happen unless you are a naïve buyer who chooses to send some random user w/no feedback a payment like cash or gifted pp.

[SignGuy81]

 

Not going to happen unless you are a naïve buyer who chooses to send some random user w/no feedback a payment like cash or gifted pp.

 

Not going to happen to me or you but I'm trying to think about everybody.

[Flojomojo]

Please by all means let me know all the seller protection there is.

 

Perhaps I've had better luck on eBay than you, but I still feel that most people are fundamentally OK. Some are certainly smarter than others.

 

I recently sold a Linux-based handheld to a dipshit who didn't know how to load anything up. He refused to learn how to FTP anything to it, and wanted to return it as "significantly not as described." So I sent him a return shipping envelope to prepare for a refund. He left out the protective sleeve so I sat on the refund until he returned the WHOLE item. Ebay had my back throughout that time, and I got my seller fees refunded once the transaction was canceled. All I lost was shipping costs (two directions), and I ended up blocking the buyer. No big deal, as handling the public is part of doing business.

 

Very recently, some twit "accidentally" bid on a $10 Playstation 3 game and refused to pay. I told him I'd either have to report him as a non-paying bidder, or he could pay. He was like, "it was an accident," and didn't pay. Ebay's non-paying bidder process automatically started about 3 days later, and he's going to get a strike on his account. I'll get the final fees refunded, and I lost nothing but a little time. No big deal for me, I don't do this to make a living, I'm just cleaning house a little bit.

 

Ebay's well-documented, mostly automated process is helpful to me, even as a seller -- having a place to purchase and print shipping labels makes things really easy. As does automatic barcode scanning for listing commodity items such as video games. Do I wish their 10% fees were a little lower? Sure, I guess ... but they're still a much better deal than going to the record exchange or pawnstop or shipping to Amazon. Any of those existing outlets would be preferable than some brand new scheme from someone I don't necessarily trust.

 

When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton said, "because that's where the money is." Same thing with eBay. That's where the people are.

 

Eli, feel free to interpret this as me calling you a bank robber. It makes it easier when everything is all about you, baby.

 

[Defender II]

I'll address the suggestions later on today.

 

But quickly @icemanxp300

 

Unfortunately we just bought the domain, logo, name, and Ip. We didnt buy game gavel llc. That business probably is or is going bankrupt and are liquidating assets to pay creditors etc.

 

So we are not responsible for lifetime memberships. The site will be built again from the ground up, the only thing that will stay the same is the domain, name and logo, social media accounts.

 

"we just bought the domain, logo, name, and Ip" Are you saying you don't have access to any previous seller and buyer information?

 

I won't sell nor purchase on the new GameGavel or whatever its name is change to if prior agreements aren't honored.

You would have been better off starting your own auction site from scratch.

 

Do those of us who purchased a lifetime seller account still have that enabled?

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/162481-202-listings-lock-in-a-lifetime-free-seller-account-on-gamegavel/

[PikoInteractive]

Defender II have you read the whole thread? Or just the Original Post?

 

Check out later replies

[Defender II]

"PikoInteractive Posted Today, 9:25 PM

Defender II have you read the whole thread? Or just the Original Post?

Check out later replies ;)"

 

Having read your replies, my previous post was/is accurate.

 

"I won't sell nor purchase on the new GameGavel or whatever its name is change to if prior agreements aren't honored.

You would have been better off starting your own auction site from scratch."

 

Modifying an agreement isn't honoring it.

 

You didn't answer my question..."Are you saying you don't have access to any previous seller and buyer information?"

You never said that you bought the Buyer & Seller database in any of them, unless I somehow missed it; you only said "we just bought the domain, logo, name, and Ip" which doesn't say you bought the databases.

 

If you have gained access to the Seller & Buyer database and payment information, you are liable for what is done with it. The previous owner of GameGavel.com can also be held liable.

 

The web site's traffic and standings in search engines are due in part to the people who bought those lifetime accounts.

 

 

 

I've mentioned before, I don't care about making money off of this, I want traffic. Is all I want.

 

If you don't make money (a profit) somehow, you won't be in business long. Is it a non-profit organization? Even so you need to make enough money for operating expenses.

 

As a buyer, there's no reason for me to go somewhere where I have less protection and far less selection, along with a far smaller market that likely keeps prices higher.

 

Without buyers, there's no reason for sellers to go there.

 

The 800 lb gorilla has the market by the banana and I don't think there's anything anyone can do about it.

 

The fact that Ebay and PayPal have twenty years worth of tested policies, procedures, and support experience -- whether or not you like or agree with them -- is a big differentiation between them and any start-up trying to do a similar thing.

 

I agree with GW & Flojomojo, but wish the OP luck in the competition.

 

Unfortunately we just bought the domain, logo, name, and Ip. We didnt buy game gavel llc. That business probably is or is going bankrupt and are liquidating assets to pay creditors etc.

So we are not responsible for lifetime memberships. The site will be built again from the ground up, the only thing that will stay the same is the domain, name and logo, social media accounts.

 

So here is my point again, your topic title says "Bought out GameGavel.com, need community input."

If you buy something that in itself is a community forum, you have some obligations to the current members of that community legal or moral.

You may not think you are responsible, but if you want to maintain and then build that community you need to honor and respect its base that helped get it as far as it has.

 

Hey guys, as many of you may not now. I (Eli, not Piko Interactive) bought out GameGavel.com and Retro Magazine.

 

GameGavel.com is currently running a very outdated system. Want to keep it a marketplace and slowly incorporate other cool features.

 

But when it comes to the marketplaces, what would you like to see implemented? What would make you sell on the site?

 

I plan to make it free for listings that are sold in a local meet (like letgo/craigslit). Free listings and only 3% commission on a sold shipping item on the site.

 

I don't even know if we should keep the auction side of things as it seem everyone currently listing are listing mostly "buy it now".

 

I plan to dynamically bring more people to sell to the marketplace etc.

 

But features you'd like to see, comments, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

I suppose I do get what you guys mean and feel as you paid Mike a lifetime membership. If I were in your shoes I would also feel like I should keep my grandfathered account. If you were in my shoes I bet you wouldn't be so thrilled to give away free accounts.

 

But I thought of a compromise that should work pretty well. What I am going to do is to grandfather any free account that has listed/sold items up to 4 months prior the cutoff date. Cutoff date is when we move to a new platform so it should be a while from now. So there is plenty of time for everyone that wants to keep their unlimited account to list stuff for sale and be active.

 

Win Win!

 

 

My input:

1. Honor the Lifetime Seller Memberships for Fee Free Sales which were paid for. Don't implement any requirement to list by a required date or number of listings because you want all of the sellers you can get. More sellers = more items = more traffic,<- your stated goal "I want traffic. Is all I want."

2. Keep it an auction site. with a wide variety of just "games" (any kind or format of games, and game related, ex. disks, tapes, cartridges, systems, posters, board games) or your GameGavel name doesn't make sense.

3. Show buyer and feedback IDs and reject bids from the Seller's IP to promote buyer confidence that shill bids aren't allowed.

4. If like Craigslist you let people make contact directly with each-other then you might as well not have the GameGavel name because that isn't an auction.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Defender II

[SignGuy81]

 

"PikoInteractive Posted Today, 9:25 PM

Defender II have you read the whole thread? Or just the Original Post?

 

Check out later replies ;)"

 

Having read your replies, my previous post was/is accurate.

 

"I won't sell nor purchase on the new GameGavel or whatever its name is change to if prior agreements aren't honored.

You would have been better off starting your own auction site from scratch."

 

Modifying an agreement isn't honoring it.

 

You didn't answer my question..."Are you saying you don't have access to any previous seller and buyer information?"

You never said that you bought the Buyer & Seller database in any of them, unless I somehow missed it; you only said "we just bought the domain, logo, name, and Ip" which doesn't say you bought the databases.

 

If you have gained access to the Seller & Buyer database and payment information, you are liable for what is done with it. The previous owner of GameGavel.com can also be held liable.

 

The web site's traffic and standings in search engines are due in part to the people who bought those lifetime accounts.

 

 

 

If you don't make money (a profit) somehow, you won't be in business long. Is it a non-profit organization? Even so you need to make enough money for operating expenses.

 

 

 

I agree with GW & Flojomojo, but wish the OP luck in the competition.

 

 

So here is my point again, your topic title says "Bought out GameGavel.com, need community input."

If you buy something that in itself is a community forum, you have some obligations to the current members of that community legal or moral.

You may not think you are responsible, but if you want to maintain and then build that community you need to honor and respect its base that helped get it as far as it has.

 

 

PikoInteractive, on 27 May 2017 - 4:33 PM, said:

I suppose I do get what you guys mean and feel as you paid Mike a lifetime membership. If I were in your shoes I would also feel like I should keep my grandfathered account. If you were in my shoes I bet you wouldn't be so thrilled to give away free accounts.

 

But I thought of a compromise that should work pretty well. What I am going to do is to grandfather any free account that has listed/sold items up to 4 months prior the cutoff date. Cutoff date is when we move to a new platform so it should be a while from now. So there is plenty of time for everyone that wants to keep their unlimited account to list stuff for sale and be active.

 

Win Win!

 

 

 

My input:

1. Honor the Lifetime Seller Memberships for Fee Free Sales which were paid for. Don't implement any requirement to list by a required date or number of listings because you want all of the sellers you can get. More sellers = more items = more traffic,<- your stated goal "I want traffic. Is all I want."

2. Keep it an auction site. with a wide variety of just "games" or your GameGavel name doesn't make sense.

3. Show buyer and feedback IDs and reject bids from the Seller's IP to promote buyer confidence that shill bids aren't allowed.

4. If like Craigslist you let people make contact directly with each-other then you might as well not have the GameGavel name because that isn't an auction.

 

 

 

I believe that also answers your previous question Defender on whether or not they have access to database. Must have access if they are going to be able to grandfather some accounts.

[bojay1997]

 

 

I believe that also answers your previous question Defender on whether or not they have access to database. Must have access if they are going to be able to grandfather some accounts.

Not really. There are lots of ways to prove that someone had a grandfathered account. In theory, the account holder would be able to produce a confirming e-mail or other documentation without anyone having access to the database.

[SignGuy81]

Not really. There are lots of ways to prove that someone had a grandfathered account. In theory, the account holder would be able to produce a confirming e-mail or other documentation without anyone having access to the database.

 

Yeah I agree I was thinking that would be time consuming process though depending on how big the site was, maybe just doing it for the people on here though.

[Defender II]

 

 

I believe that also answers your previous question Defender on whether or not they have access to database. Must have access if they are going to be able to grandfather some accounts.

 

I see how you may draw that conclusion, but he didn't list it as one of the things he specifically purchased, so I don't.

Why didn't he just answer the question?

 

OP: Did you buy or were you given access to the buyer & seller databases and financial information?

[PikoInteractive]

Talked with the weaster today. Showed me around the admin backend I can see the userbase. I was thinking of changing platforms but doing that really would make everybody lose everything lol. So I asked the webmaster to give me a cost for implementing some of things I liked that were talked about here.

 

Everything will stay as is, no changes on accounts but will do purge non active users that won't list withing the time frame we request.

[CPUWIZ]

Everything will stay as is, no changes on accounts but will do purge non active users that won't list withing the time frame we request.

 

So, in other words, you have N amount of days until you lose your chance at keeping your free account. If you use it within that time frame and possibly never use it again, you are still in the clear, right?

[Andromeda Stardust]

Eli/Piko, let me give you my two cents on the matter. I do have an account there but have never bought/sold anything, nor do I have lifetime status, so my pleeding has no basis one way or the other.

 

Honoring existing lifetime memberships may seem like a moneypit, but it's really not. Many old users aren't coming back, nothing you can do. Some old users stay, post stuff online, and buyers log in to buy. As the marketplace grows, you attract new users not bound by the grandfather clause, and as long as your rates are not the unfair taxation that is eBay, and you've got some policies in place both sellers and buyers can agree with, then you are likely to grow.

 

But without those "lifetime" power members, you will just alienate your potentially most prolific users and vastly reduce the opportunity to grow the company for some short term monetary gain, if any. Game Gavel will remain a stub, a footnote in the history of failed online sites, do to your shortsightedness. Do you really want Game Gavel to grow? Then I would suggest honoring memberships.

[icemanxp300]

Looking at GG again, checking to see if I could sign which I (we) still can't. I realized how annoying some sellers are. I hate when someone post a picture of 15 games and only has 1 game for sale. How about a picture of like 6 Mario 3 and other games and it says wrestlemania challenge.

 

This reminded me of one thing I would like incorporated to the site. Blocked list for buyers. Ebay has a list that you can block as a seller so people can't buy from you. I think having a blocked list for people you don't want to buy from would be nice. One were you don't even have to see their annoying ass listings. I'd block that retrocrazy on GG ASAP. His listings irritate the shit out of me.

[+KylJoy]

Along with that last idea, it would be freaking assessing if you could ignore a specific item. I keep seeing the same items listed over and over for years like those intellivision systems on the stairs. I want to be able to have list of items the system has been told to no longer show me in searches, etc.

[PikoInteractive]

It would be very hard to block items, because we wouldn't be going with SKU item database. But definitely blocking buyer is a good idea.

[Atari_Bill]

Along with that last idea, it would be freaking assessing if you could ignore a specific item. I keep seeing the same items listed over and over for years like those intellivision systems on the stairs. I want to be able to have list of items the system has been told to no longer show me in searches, etc.

Yeah the guy with the overpriced Intellivision system on the stairs had been annoying me for years now. Over & over & over & over .......

[PikoInteractive]

May be block seller would be more appropriate.

[icemanxp300]

I think having a blocked list for people you don't want to buy from would be nice. One were you don't even have to see their annoying ass listings.

 

May be block seller would be more appropriate.

 

Good idea lol

[+KylJoy]

It would be very hard to block items, because we wouldn't be going with SKU item database. But definitely blocking buyer is a good idea.

 

Let me correct that to blocking a specific listing, not item.