61–70 of 111 posts
Any news from craigslist RE:bot policy update? That low altitude you're flying at can only keep you off radar for so long and you're building your entire business on shaky ground.
Can't you just get everything through RSS feeds? I don't think Craigslist would be able to even tell if you were doing it that way.
It’s unlikely Priceonomics could build a massively successful business arbitraging used goods if we have to take possession of them. Did you consider letting the buyers and sellers do the leg work? Setup a distribution center. Sellers who want to offload stuff scan the items and their details to you and you give them instant, fair quotes. If they like your offer, they bring the items to your center, and you check to…
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A bookstore isn't a scalable business either, but Amazon turned it into one. Do you really think there will never be an Amazon of pawn shops?
Well, if you take out the collateralized-loan portion of the business, both Craigslist and eBay fit the bill.
Pawn shops can deal in second hand goods and often have the licenses for outright purchase (which may be where some of the confusion that I've seen from people originates), but that is not strictly speaking what pawning is.
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Exactly. It's a hobby, but while scaling it up is hard to do, it is not impossible. Two stories. I wrote a program awhile back that would look for iPod Touches on my local Craigslist and would analyze the price for many different versions. If an individual iPod was available and was below mean price within a given time frame, I'd send the seller a note almost immediately. Then, if I purchased the item, I'd relist it…
angry emails saying what exactly?
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angry emails saying what exactly?
I got a few where people were mad that I simply re-listed their item at a higher price than they sold it for. I'm sure they felt duped for undervaluing their product in the first place. As binarysolo pointed out in this thread, some sellers feel they need to urgently sell their items, so they under-price. I'd could afford to wait for someone to pay my asking price.
Did you really think arbitrage of used goods could be a business? I think the best thing these types of experiments do is expose pain points and inefficiencies that you can make businesses out of. When I was in my ramen phase of startup life (and newly married), I used to (among other things) buy clothes at local thrift stores and resell them on eBay for a decent margin. You quickly learn what brands/items sell and o…
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err, yes, and I suppose used cars too. Maybe I should have been more specific. But pawn shops don't get into YC and I doubt Cal Worthington ever raised a series C round on Sand Hill Road. Those types raise money via bank loans (if at all) and most people in the valley would call them "lifestyle businesses". My point wasn't if such businesses exist but rather if Priceonomics really thought they could form a scalable b…
This seems like Silicon Valley echo-chamber thinking at it's finest. If your definition of a scalable business is based on the number of VC rounds raised, or which prestigious incubator it comes from, then no, I suppose it's not a scalable business.
Buying and selling used goods is absolutely not that. You're talking about searching, inspecting, paying (cash), storing inventory, selling, shipping, etc.
And, no, eBay and Craigslist are not examples. They don't buy things. They are a marketplace and that's not what the original post set out to do.
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I used to do lots of reselling and arbitrage on Craigslist during my poor student days. Here's my experience. As a general rule of thumb, always ask for cash. Or ask for a cashier's check if the buyer is not comfortable with carrying large of cash around. Don't accept anything else (e.g. personal check or even paypal).
What about square?
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A bookstore isn't a scalable business either, but Amazon turned it into one. Do you really think there will never be an Amazon of pawn shops?
Well, if you take out the collateralized-loan portion of the business, both Craigslist and eBay fit the bill.
They do not keep inventory or buy anything.
I can't tell if this is a joke or not? Some frail guys can't hack lugging chairs around so it's not a viable business model for anyone? This is a very viable business that you guys feel too entitled for. Open your eyes and guess what a pawn shop, antique store, used office furniture dealer, or IT equipment reseller do. It's not far off from this, but they aren't bitching about it and plugging a silly website.