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Big Thank You From ComicConnect

Started by ComicConnect.com,

50 posts in this topic

qualitycomix

qualitycomix

Posted
Posted

 

This is not like craigslist/photobucket/myspace/yahoo/CGC forum/flickr/ because comicconnect actually takes payment directly and also processes the books.

 

I have it right that comicconnect has the exact same business model as comiclink? ie a comic sold is sent to comicconnect first and then shipped to the buyer. But neither they nor comiclink don't check for restoration and grading to the equivalent of CGC do they? Also comiclink requires you to be a BSD before you can sell raw books. Not sure if cc is the same.

 

This just does not take full advantage of the internets powerful tools. Shipping a comic twice is incredibly inefficient. Not being able to communicate back and forth between buyer and seller is also a significant flaw and valuable necessity that the internet is particularlly designed for. Not being able to see either buyer or seller reputations (or having a reputation system) is flawed. All it is, is a blind market place with no differentiation between comiclink and pedigree and others. The only differentiator possible is usability of the website and qualtiy of books. Since the website is equally as good but no better than the others (at least not in anyway I could see), and the majority of the books are Metros; then there is no value added by this venture.

 

Here are 10 ways to make money off a free but popular website

 

1. Advertise with banners or clickthrough ads. CGC charges $6k for a 12 month banner ad

2. Ask for donations - you'd be surprised

3. Tie donations to reputation - ie you gain reputation points by contributing to the site.

4. Charge by scale. First 100 sales are free. next 100 are 5% each, next 100 are 4% cents each etc. - the amounts can be adjusted but the idea here is to generate a viral community. A significant number of initial sales should be free to get encourage new users and also encourage veterans.

5. Charge a fee to provide for shipping insurance. The USPS insurance system is flawed, take advatage of it.

6. Charge a fee as a third party grader/checker on raw books - good idea QC.

7. Charge for auctions but not listings. Listings are static, auctios generate excitement.

8. Charge only for CGC comics, or the opposite only for raw comics, or only for high dollar comics or only for low low dollar comics. But create some sort of free service that keeps people coming back over and over again. This is the craigslist model - they charge only for job postings.

9. Tie in the website to other websites like CGC, GPA, etc. Set up partnerships if viable.

10. Expand to other markets such as cards coins stamps toys posters etc. (see Amazon history)

11. Once becoming the defacto site - only then charge a nominal fee for listing. this can increase over time (see ebay) but only after you own the marketplace (again, see ebay)

 

 

All of these need the website to be the premiere place to buy and sell comics first and foremost. None of this is easy or automatic or even free to do but it seems that at least one of these or many of these would work to some degree. At the very least the ideas I've listed need to be debunked as too risky. For now it just seems like a comiclink copy cat - that seems risky in its own right. The key to this and any business is to create value for customers (and still make profit). The value of comicconnect as it currently stands is zero over and above whats out there. If the value is as a third party grader, then charge for that. If its for shipping insurance, charge for that. But don't charge for using a website and then force us to ship twice and not allow us to talk to each other. Does that add value or detract value? Name a successful stand alone website that charges money just to use the webpage? Even in the internet porn or gambiling industry, free is still used to "hook" folks in.

 

Once September comes around the buzz will have worn off. The comic listings will dry up and the website will surely disappear. That's a shame for what could be.

 

Looks like your wish will come true:

 

new website

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ft88

ft88

Posted
Posted

QC,

 

All valid comments - in the end you can't be a free internet company and run yourself out of business. But competition will squeeze the margins and since expenses using a web page are basically zero, its only a matter of time before a free site is set up. For CGC books the only real question is the delivery by the seller and payment by the buyer; something that comicconnect and comiclink can't really control either.

 

Ebay proves that raw books can be sold in droves. But a weakness in ebay is they pretty much set up shop (and a good shop too) and walk away. A dedicated site could apply some sort of filter or framework. One example would be to not allow collections or lots and force sellers to ID each single book and provide a grade. There are plenty of other methods as well. I'm disappointed that the new website doesn't allow for raw books - maybe make it a seperate part of the site.

 

The reputation aspect is also vital. Here again, ebay sets the example but there are multiple ways to improve upon it. One of the biggest is a setup of community. Here on the forum its very easy to develop a good reputation and very easy to ruin one as well. And yet its all done internally. So yes, fraud and scams will happen and caveate emptor still reigns but why not allow a marketplace for raw books? Provide guidelines and filters that make sense (add value) and let the community take care of the rest. In fact, just like here on the forum, let the community come up with the best usable guidelines.

 

But kudos on the new site; a step in the right direction. It still needs a lot of work and a major marketing effort. The best thing they could do is partner with one of the big boys - say Mile High; to lend credibility and staying power. Who said running a business enterprise was easy.

 

Ed

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Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

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Made a fair size bid on a book that was just under the BIN and it was just listed. 5 minutes later the book is gone but my bid is still pending? I'm assuming that the book wasn't BIN'd, paid for and removed from the site in the span of 5 minutes so its likely that it was delisted? If that is the case I'd like to move on to other books but I'm still in limbo. Need to adjust the system so that next time something like this happens all bids are automatically declined/removed. :juggle:

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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I have a feeling that some sellers may have listed their books with comicconnect and then possibly other sites, like ebay as well because of the lack of exclusivity. By the time some of these books listed earlier with comicconnect get decent offers, they may be long gone through another venue and the seller, who may have all but forgot their cc listings, get a reminder of what they had out there are forced to cancel their listing altogether. I had auctions listed and all have went for their starting bid value, but they've been completed except for one transaction with a buyer who was using a stolen credit card. With fees of $5 per ended successful sale below $50, sellers are forced to list higher end books to take advantage of the trial period until Sept 2007. Books that are more likely to sell listed in as many venues as possible...

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aardvark88

aardvark88

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Must be a big wig consigning the Superman #1 ® Cgc as he was able to have a LONG text description on cConnect. Much more than the standard 80? characters.

 

Or can u pay extra to be allowed to post a huge text description now? :sumo:

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ComicConnect.com

ComicConnect.com

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Must be a big wig consigning the Superman #1 ® Cgc as he was able to have a LONG text description on cConnect. Much more than the standard 80? characters.

 

Or can u pay extra to be allowed to post a huge text description now? :sumo:

 

I can explain this as there is no trickery going on here. Although it is commonly believed that "money talks", there is no ability to pay to have more than the 80 characters as your ComicConnect text description.

 

In regards to the Superman #1 CGC 7.5 on ComicConnect, the comment field works this way:

 

"Restored Holder, Extensive Professional Restoration, Off-White pages" was added to the comment field from the drop-down selections made during the listing process.

 

"1st 4 Action stories retold" as well as the really long paragraph describing this issue were added to the comment field automatically since it is coded in our database as an "issue comment", meaning it holds true for all copies of this particular issue.

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