SeeAuctions.com eBay alternative for antiques & collectibles only
I received a press release in my inbox from the founder of a company which I had the pleasure of interviewing a while back on The AuctionWally Show. He is Mike Kranz from SeeAuctions.com.
Click here to hear that interview.
I decided to give Mike a call to get the inside scoop on some things that are important to me as an online seller and auctioneer, which were not covered in the Press release.
Below is a result of that conversation.
I plan to have Mike or someone from SA on an upcoming episode of the AuctionWally Show for a followup on this interesting company.
Walt: What's the best selling category on your site right now?
Mike: U.S. silver and gold coins, and paper currency. Graded lots are selling better.
Walt: Which selling format is doing best?
Mike: By far, that would be auctions, more specifically, "no reserve auctions".
Walt: What's the biggest challenge to running the site?
Mike: Well, we only allow authentic antiques and collectibles that are properly represented to be sold on the site. It's quite a chore to police the listings, and remove listings that are not legitimate. Outright frauds are taken off immediately, and the dealers are given a warning not to violate that policy again. If they do so, they are banned from selling on the site. If it's a case where we feel the dealer may have inadvertently given some incorrect information, we'll work with them.
Walt: Tell me something that's not in the press release you feel people should know about SeeAuctions.com
Mike: Because we have no final value fees, there are a lot of sales being made on SeeAuctions that are not reflected in our stats. You see, if a seller lists a lot of 50 antique books for $700 as "purchase now", which is what we call our fixed price format, that seller may be willing to negotiate, and end up selling that to a buyer for a lower price, that sale is not recorded in our statistics. We don't get a final value fee and since our selling platform provides a very low barrier between the buyer and seller, we have no need to track that as a sale.
We know that this is being done often because users are reporting it very enthusiastically on our forum boards, and through email.
From the press release:
Some antiques and collectibles dealers are saying:
So Long eBay, "Hello" SeeAuctions.com
Dealer’s Search for Alternative to eBay is Over
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thanks to SeeAuctions.com the search for an alternative to eBay comes to an end. Antique, collectible, art and coin dealers have longed for this day!
SeeAuctions.com is a real auction site that caters to the antique, collectibles, art and coin markets.
The continued increase in fees, changes in policy, and new regulations have frustrated long time eBay users, many of whom aided in creating the site's success. Until now no other site has been successful in competing with eBay. SeeAuctions.com has set out to capture the niche of antiques, collectibles, art and coins. They are doing just that. The site's current incentive of one full year of free listing fees and premiums continues to increase membership at a rapid rate.
The antique/collectible expertise of the company’s father-son duo, Mike Kranz Sr. & Mike Kranz Jr., with the expertise of their team of software engineers, assures buyers and sellers a site that is not only free of reproductions and items that are not authentic, but also one that is easy to navigate. They have created clear and concise definitions of "antique" and "collectible," as well as many other often misused terms and definitions.
SeeAuctions.com sits firm on having only reputable dealers and quality merchandise.
With the economy as it stands, more and more people are investing in gold and silver. The outrageous fees charged by other sites has created an unrealistic market of coins.
SeeAuctions.com is targeting coin dealers for the benefit of both the seller and the buyer; less overhead means higher profit margin which allows the seller to pass a savings on to the buyer. It is a win-win situation.
Many new sites have hit the internet in the last year, but SeeAuctions.com is the only one that has delivered an auction formatted site that is well designed and easy to use. It has a simple fee structure: flat monthly rates based on number of items listed. It's a real auction site that brings back the real auction atmosphere that has been recently lost among the fees and frustrations of other sites. The extended auction endings, created by and unique to SeeAuctions.com, brings back the fun. It's truly a new and unique trading site.
Email questions/comments to info@seeauctions.com or call 651-430-0707.
Contacts
SeeAuctions.com
Mike Kranz, 651-430-0707
info@seeauctions.com
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Comments
Are there any reposts on the audience size SeeAuctions is seeing? I deal in historic autographs and manuscripts, mostly Civil War and earlier, and the only thing keeping me at eBay is the fact that there is no other online auction site that is attracting the historic document buyers.
@Freelance Historian
That's a good question, I will ask Mike when I speak to him next. In the meantime, why not email him at info@seeauctions.com
Thanks for your question.
AW
I checked out seeauctions What possible good is it to any seller? Nothing has any bids on it!!!!!! I have an internet marketing friend who used some tools to check their traffic, ranking, etc.... and they are dead in the water! I love the idea of an alternative to ebay.... everyone does... but what good is a dead site with no visitors? A waste of time and money.
@Arnies Antiques - I understand your concern about traffic to the site, but to be fair, this is a startup site and it does take a while to get things off of the ground. Also, it has a Google page rank of 3, which is not too shabby at all for a site this young.
In answer to your question, what good is it to anyone, well, let me suggest this.
I can see how the site could have potential as it is offering a 100% free selling platform for the entire year of 2009.
If you think that there's little competition for items, then you'd have to admit, that means a better possibility to buy at an affordable price. No?
Thanks for your comments.
@Bill, I needed to edit your comments as they did not pass the spam test.
If you are selling silver or gold, you are better off going to ---- com The -------- post prices they pay right on their site and will buy any amount of silver or gold in any condition without all the auction hassles.
I would just like to update those interested in SeeAuctions.com. We have just over 1,000 sellers and over 4,000 users. We advertised strong starting in February and cut back in June. We will be starting a new campaign with more advertising. Summers are slow on the internet so look for a huge jump in traffic starting September 2009 with our new campaign! Thanks.
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