We're all sick of eBay. Being on the selling end of a CL deal can be less than ideal. Audiogon and Head-Fi are full of snobbery and political shrill.
Imagine this: An audio-only auction / classified site. With reasonable fees. If we charge 2.5% on any transaction under 100 dollars and 2% on any transaction over 100 dollars, we wouldn't make a killing, but we'd have beer money for Saturday.
Think about it, if we can hit 10 grand in auctions per month, we'd have 200 dollars to play with. Nobody would have to worry about who gets the extra $4 back when the pizza guy shows up (Next time we need to order 4 pies).
Here's the real kicker: with Tom's store, the potential would exist to go above and beyond what eBay and Audiogon can provide. I realize that Tom is a one man show, and is behind on the service / repair side as is, but.. consider this:
- An online universe where Vintage Hi Fi acts as the real-world hub for this operation.
- Equipment being sold/purchased on proposed auction site could be shipped to Vintage Hi Fi, tested and guaranteed for xxx days.
- Testing yields service potential.
- I'd even suggest something similar to eBay, where a seller sends Vintage Hi Fi the item. The item is checked and repaired if needs be. That repair bill is then the responsibility of the seller. The item then goes on the auction site. Vintage Hi Fi makes the 2% + the repair / tune up charge + the shipping difference, assuming bulk shipping is used, and a slight markup on shipping would be employed.. Something like 1% would be inconspicuous and totally feasible.
I know it's a raw frame of an idea, but, what do yinz think? An operation for folks like us, by folks like us.
