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  • Not vetted for CNN

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    Posted March 15, 2010 by
    Location
    Palo Alto, California
    Assignment
    Assignment
    This iReport is part of an assignment:
    Tech talk

    Live from the Silicon Valley: Another Great Start Up?

     

    Now, here's a radical idea: try to start a revolution against one of the biggest names in the dot-com business.

     

    Is it possible? Could there ever be a site that replaces the original online marketplace?

     

    I think it just might be possible for another online marketplace to make its mark on the internet.

     

    The more research I have done about eBay's customer relationships, the more disgruntled eBay users I have seen. There is a general feeling of insignificance within the eBay community. Some might ask, "If that's so, why are people still using eBay?"

     

    The answer, my friends, is because eBay controls the market.

     

    According to quantcast's rough estimate of monthly visitors to its website, eBay draws in around 74 million people. And if you are selling something, you want as many eyes to see your product as is humanly possible, to increase your odds of selling the item.

     

    But with its increase in seller fees and accused unfair suspension of accounts, there are many who are looking for an alternative website to sell their goods.

     

    So, Yardsellr (http://yardsellr.com/Ew0) was created. Yardsellr, a VC backed, Bay Area start up has high ambitions: be a successful alternative to buyer and sellers using eBay.

     

    With just under 1,000 listings since the beginning of the site two months ago, Yardsellr is well on its way to creating a user-friendly marketplace that still drives demand for the products listed.

     

    Using Facebook Connect, Yardsellr requires users to connect their yard sale to their Facebook accounts, and gives the option of attaching a Twitter account.


    The strategy is for the users to market the items that are being sold to their social networks (i.e. Facebook and Twitter). Yardsellr gives the seller the option of shipping the product or meeting up locally, or both, to give the good to the buyer.

     

    Yardsellr does what eBay doesn’t do – create an easy to use online marketplace.

     

    It has serious potential, but whether it succeeds or fails is up to you.

     

    Check it out here: http://yardsellr.com/Ew0

     

    And then feel free to share your thoughts - do you hesitate when a site asks you to log into your Facebook with the site? Is it as easy and quick to use as they think? Success stories? Failures?

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