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The ebay of golf?

moosejaa

moosejaa

Mr. Inconsistent
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http://www.sparegolf.com/index.php

Just saw this on an email I got from Swing By Swing Golf.
I never heard of it before. Sounds like a great idea.
I love ebay so I will have to check it out.
 
Saw it too and the first thing I thought was, "Isn't eBay the eBay of golf?"
 
Isn't it based out of the UK or something? I checked it out a couple months ago and something made me shy away from it, just can't put my finger on what it was.
 
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There use to be an auction site called golf club exchange that I would use. They don't appear to be in business anymore though, it's tough to compete with ebay.
 
eBay is not in the golf business. The site is brand new, based in the USA has lower fees, and is golf only.
 
spareclubs said:
eBay is not in the golf business. The site is brand new, based in the USA has lower fees, and is golf only.
Click to expand...

Hard to say. Or should I say hard to say anymore than any other site that is a classified site. It appears similar warnings are on both sites for things such as counterfeits, etc. Reading over the T&C shows similar limits of liability. Sure one is golf only, and its nice to have a niche, but the other offers 1 million times more coverage (granted tenure plays a role here).

While I understand its your site and you are to protect it and believe in it (as you should), the real selling point based on what I have read is that the fees are lower and its golf only right? Otherwise it appears to be doing something quite similar in terms of sales, liability, etc.
 
spareclubs said:
eBay is not in the golf business. The site is brand new, based in the USA has lower fees, and is golf only.
Click to expand...
I am guessing you are the owner
 
Its been live for 3 months. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

SmoothC83 said:
Isn't it based out of the UK or something? I checked it out a couple months ago and something made me shy away from it, just can't put my finger on what it was.
Click to expand...
 
Yes I am and always interested in feedback. Its not reinventing the wheel but eBay has the corner on the market and is not in the golf business. We feel being in the golf business and only focused on golf sets us apart. Yes eBay built the model and its a good one when talking about sales, liability etc. There is not much different anyone can or should do but eBay does not focus on the golfer. Many eBay people get frustrated on being able to find items as well. Its good to have choices and we hope to grow to something golfers prefer over eBay. It is hard to compete with their traffic but you have to start somewhere. Our traffic is growing nicely every week and listings a growing as well. Its only been 3 months so really an infant in the business world but the internet tends to be more viral. Again, we are always interested in feedback.
 
The one area you will struggle with as it pertains to looking at golfers on a place like THP is that THP is offering virtually the same service free of charge. I should not say the same service, but similar. Golfers can come here, list their items for no charge and reach hundreds of thousands of golfers per month.

And then add that in most cases, the feedback system has been great, and people have a chance to speak directly with the sellers and buyers via a messaging system.

So while I think there is a place for a site and system such as what you have created, the market would not be the die hard golfers that are on places such as THP and others due to the fact that they are already here, and can do the same thing with more traffic fee free.

Hope that makes sense.
 
I'm not impressed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Not a bad looking site. My only complaint was that I had to click through 4 or so levels to see clubs (drivers>brand>flex>results). I didn't see an easy to to browse all at once or something like that.
 
I had a look at the site and it looks pretty good to be honest with you. Nice to be able to find what you're looking for in one click.

I back up all the stuff JB said however. And the one place you are sorely lacking is selection, which I hope will improve with time as you get more traffic.

Do you offer any sort of buyer protection like eBay does (beyond what PayPal offers)? One pretty big perk to shopping on eBay IMHO.
 
I won't knock anyone for trying to hustle and make a living, but for me it's the Marketplace or eBay if I want to find a good deal on used golf gear.
 
I've seen the same things listed on the marketplace that are cheaper on ebay and vice-verse.
I almost always compare anything I find on ebay to amazon anyways. Options are a good thing.
If this new site offers you another choice to shop for the best price on golf equipment why not give it a chance?
I know for me if I'm shopping for anything to buy online I'm not just going to look at 1 or 2 sites.
If I was looking to buy electronics there's easily 1/2 dozen or more places I would check prices.

I've got no stake in this, just got an email from Swing by Swing that I thought others might be interested in.
 
moosejaa said:
I've seen the same things listed on the marketplace that are cheaper on ebay and vice-verse.
I almost always compare anything I find on ebay to amazon anyways. Options are a good thing.
If this new site offers you another choice to shop for the best price on golf equipment why not give it a chance?
I know for me if I'm shopping for anything to buy online I'm not just going to look at 1 or 2 sites.
If I was looking to buy electronics there's easily 1/2 dozen or more places I would check prices.

I've got no stake in this, just got an email from Swing by Swing that I thought others might be interested in.
Click to expand...

I dont disagree from the buyers perspective. However from the sellers perspective there are literally no advantages that I can see. Im not either, so have no stake in the game, but just general musings.
 
And that's fine Mikeg_74. I assume you are referring to "the Marketplace" as being this site. We just hope to offer golfers an alternative to eBay. Karsten Solheim always said competition is good for business. Most every response has been insightful so far and great feedback. We hope you will keep us in mind when looking for anything golf.
 
For a seller, you can increase your profit by selling on sparegolf versus eBay because fees are so much less. Also, we hope that this will help keep prices down for the buyer. Trying to create a win-win.
JB said:
I dont disagree from the buyers perspective. However from the sellers perspective there are literally no advantages that I can see. Im not either, so have no stake in the game, but just general musings.
Click to expand...
 
spareclubs said:
For a seller, you can increase your profit by selling on sparegolf versus eBay because fees are so much less. Also, we hope that this will help keep prices down for the buyer. Trying to create a win-win.
Click to expand...

I was speaking to compared to THP or other sites like it. Meaning looking at the marketplace section here, you already have a limited niche in golfers only. Then add in the traffic difference. Then add in that it is completely free.

If there were some other protection outside of paypal (which I believe ebay offers), then I could see it for some sellers, but the T&C showing virtually all liability elsewhere means they might as well save the fees.

Like I said, I could be missing something. I am sure there is a spot for this type of service, just not sure it would be marketing to golfers (meaning on THP) that get more for less...
 
Appreciate the feedback. We hope you are seeing an easy to navigate golf auction website. If you go to eBay.com main page you cannot see anything golf. It will take 2-3 more clicks to get to the golf stuff. You can go to our main page and see featured listings with pictures or click directly into a category. By focused on the golfer means we only focus on the golfer. We are not selling microwaves, dolls, cars and other random stuff. You do not have to sort through that to find items. Type Golf in eBay and you can buy a Volkswagen. I think free is a great alternative but of course there are plenty of ads on every page that allow it to be free. Its also not designed for storefronts for those selling multiple items or have large inventory of goods. I am new to this site and cannot even find it to be honest. We will use all comments to improve our site and we appreciate all of them.


Orange Hog said:
While I respect the effort, I guess I just don't see the differentiation between this site and eBay. eBay isn't in any business except the auction business and it's one, frankly, that they do pretty well. To be a niche player in the online auction industry requires a significant point of differentiation. You say that you're focused on the golfer. How? I'm not seeing anything different than what I would get from eBay.

To JB's point, THP has a Marketplace that is free of charge and is backed with a proverbial buffet of user reviews and commentary about most (if not all) of the equipment listed for sale. That in itself is a major point of differentiation.

I'm not trying to be negative, only constructive, so I hope you don't misinterpret my feedback.
Click to expand...
 
spareclubs said:
Appreciate the feedback. We hope you are seeing an easy to navigate golf auction website. If you go to eBay.com main page you cannot see anything golf. It will take 2-3 more clicks to get to the golf stuff. You can go to our main page and see featured listings with pictures or click directly into a category. By focused on the golfer means we only focus on the golfer. We are not selling microwaves, dolls, cars and other random stuff. You do not have to sort through that to find items. Type Golf in eBay and you can buy a Volkswagen. I think free is a great alternative but of course there are plenty of ads on every page that allow it to be free. Its also not designed for storefronts for those selling multiple items or have large inventory of goods. I am new to this site and cannot even find it to be honest. We will use all comments to improve our site and we appreciate all of them.
Click to expand...

I would never type "golf" into ebay though.

I would type for example LH Big Bertha and it will pull back thousands of results. I have never found eBay to be difficult to navigate, and never thought that I needed an auction site completely devoted to golf. Just my .02 cents and I wish you luck.
 
TexasHacker34 said:
I would never type "golf" into ebay though.

I would type for example LH Big Bertha and it will pull back thousands of results. I have never found eBay to be difficult to navigate, and never thought that I needed an auction site completely devoted to golf. Just my .02 cents and I wish you luck.
Click to expand...

You can also narrow your search by choosing golf under the sporting goods category. And then you can further filters like clubs (full clubs) or club making products and then shafts/grips/heads depending on how you want to narrow your search

You can also filter between

New/used
Rh/lh
Mens/ladies

Why recreate the wheel when there was no need. I've bought and sold a ton of equipment and never have I thought "man, if there was only a site that let me do that other than eBay or thp"
 
jlukes said:
You can also narrow your search by choosing golf under the sporting goods category. And then you can further filters like clubs (full clubs) or club making products and then shafts/grips/heads depending on how you want to narrow your search

You can also filter between

New/used
Rh/lh
Mens/ladies

Why recreate the wheel when there was no need. I've bought and sold a ton of equipment and never have I thought "man, if there was only a site that let me do that other than eBay or thp"
Click to expand...

But he is saying it takes 2 or 3 extra clicks through ebay to get to that vs his page its right there..
 
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