Shop site - would you use it?

[nooc]

Just a general query from the trading public.

Im thinking of starting a site where you can display your items for sale online, will basically be a very user friendly interface where you can add & remove your items for sale etc for EQ for either your character or your guild.

There will be no messing around with HTML or scripts etc it will all be set out for you so you can simply set it up and let it go.

Concept is similar to guildportal.com except you make a shop site rather than a guild site, to begin with i intend to add the following:

* Easy setup and modification interface
* Ability to add, remove and edit items for sale
* Give other members access to administor your shop also
* News page so you can advertise your latest sales
* A contact page so customers can contact you without ever knowing your email address
* Inbuilt java chat application so you can chat to your customers

Note: this is for selling items ingame for ingame money, not real money

My question is, would you use this for:

A) Only if it's free
B) ill happily pay US$2.00 per month
C) i would pay US$6.00 per month as long as it was really good
D) Never use it

This service would primarily be for EQ2 to begin with but i would design it with the intention of expanding to other online games.

Let me know.

[Pootle]

I might use it if it was free, and only if i was looking for something specific.

Sounds like you will have to store a huge amount of data if the idea takes off.

[Aethn]

Probabaly would not use it.

It would likely be outdated for goods most of the time. Not saying that would be your fault. If a person in game sold an item, I dont think the first thing they would think about is to update your site when the item was gone, until after they logged off, 1-12 hours later.

[The Judge, Alchem]

I have to agree with Aethn. While this would be a great enterprise if it could work, but I don't think it will. I hate to be dismal about it, but as he said no one would really care to update quickly, therefore you have a que of offers and bids and no replies. If it could get linked in game to Bazaar that would be great. That way, while not in game I can still check your inventory and make a bid. If I win, the item gets taken off your inventory and saved for a certain amount of time until I deliver payment. The reservation of items would awesome but cluttered too. Plus I don't know if I like the idea of selling online whether it is for ingame or out of game coin. Someone would find a way to corrupt it.

[Koru]

This would not work for me for the simple reason that I mostly sell in bulk and most of my customers know what I deal in, when I'll restock and where and at what times I am in trader. My business is too established for a site to make much difference by now. Also since I sell in bulk there's never huge competition for what I'm selling as there might be for someone selling say fungi tunics cheap.

Now, you do mention this would be intended for EQ2 though, so in those terms yes, that might be something I'd use there. Of course that all depends on what kind of trading system EQ2 will have. If they have offline auction houses where you can put your items up and log off and still sell them it would be a lot less useful. I don't know enough about how trade will be handled there to really judge that.

[papyscott]

D. Never use it.

The prices in the baz fluctuate so much and depend critically on number of sellers, etc. I don't see how I could use a site like you describe. Maybe, but I doubt it

papy

[nooc]

ok, you have some very good points.

In that case, how about an RPG game yellow pages, listing everyones names who is a trader with links to their own sites (if they have one), all setup in an easily searchable and browsable site.

each merchant/trader advertisement would also have an expiry after certain period of inactivity to keep things up to date.