AeroBid - Online Aviation Auction

On Apr 4, 10:23 am, Newps wrote:
Gig 601XL Builder wrote:

Disclaimer: I am a partial owner of both Wal-Mart and a couple of other Big
Box stores.

We all are.

Suppose for the sake of argument if a specialized auction site has a
tremendous amount of auctions, costs less than eBay and has a big
community around it. I think that this business model can coexist
with eBay. Forbes has a nice little article about it with niche
auction links...

http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/category.jhtml?id=242

On 3 Apr 2007 09:39:29 -0700, wrote in
. com:

Niche auction for aviation... Can it compete with eBay? Your
thoughts?

http://www.aerobid.net

If the aerobid sales commission is lower than eBay's, it will attract
sellers, but only if there is sufficient buyer bidding competition to
drive the sale price above what the item would have sold for on eBay.
Ultimately, buyers need to have incentive to patronize an alternate
auction site to eBay's well established and somewhat proven record of
successful transactions. What will attract buyers to aerobid? It's
got to be either lower prices, in which case sellers will not be
attracted, larger selection, over which aerobid has no control, or
some sort of value-added benefit...

wrote:
On Apr 4, 10:23 am, Newps wrote:
Gig 601XL Builder wrote:

Disclaimer: I am a partial owner of both Wal-Mart and a couple of
other Big Box stores.

We all are.

Suppose for the sake of argument if a specialized auction site has a
tremendous amount of auctions, costs less than eBay and has a big
community around it. I think that this business model can coexist
with eBay. Forbes has a nice little article about it with niche
auction links...

http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/category.jhtml?id=242

Each one of those is aiming at an market that is so much larger than that of
the GA market that it makes it (or the owners hope to make it) profitable as
a stand alone entity. The GA market is really pretty small compared to just
about anything. It is one of the reasons stuff costs so damn much.

There is also the not so far fetched idea that the owners of those sites sit
around every night and pray to whatever god they worship that they draw just
enough business that E-bay wants to buy them. That seems to be the primary
business model in the .com world.

On Apr 4, 11:45 am, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net
wrote:
wrote:
On Apr 4, 10:23 am, Newps wrote:
Gig 601XL Builder wrote:

Disclaimer: I am a partial owner of both Wal-Mart and a couple of
other Big Box stores.

We all are.

Suppose for the sake of argument if a specialized auction site has a
tremendous amount of auctions, costs less than eBay and has a big
community around it. I think that this business model can coexist
with eBay. Forbes has a nice little article about it with niche
auction links...

http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/category.jhtml?id=242

Each one of those is aiming at an market that is so much larger than that of
the GA market that it makes it (or the owners hope to make it) profitable as
a stand alone entity. The GA market is really pretty small compared to just
about anything. It is one of the reasons stuff costs so damn much.

There is also the not so far fetched idea that the owners of those sites sit
around every night and pray to whatever god they worship that they draw just
enough business that E-bay wants to buy them. That seems to be the primary
business model in the .com world.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I just read recently in one of AOPA's issues that there are roughly
450,000 pilots in the U.S. and little over 100,000 GA planes...
Classified ad business is huge... I understand that a lot of baby
boomers are airplane owners and there may be a computer barrier there
- then again I may be wrong. What do you think? I am looking to buy
a used Cessna 172 and right not there are only a dozen or so listed on
eBay. I wish AeroBid or a similar site would have over a hundred
listed. I would actually make plans to visit the closest sellers and
inspect some airplanes. Instead I am circling ads in Trade-a-Plane
and making the best of it...

wrote:



I just read recently in one of AOPA's issues that there are roughly
450,000 pilots in the U.S. and little over 100,000 GA planes...
Classified ad business is huge

It is not, that is not a big market. How many golfers are out there?
25 million?



.... I understand that a lot of baby
boomers are airplane owners

You understand wrong. You already said there are 100,000 GA planes. If
every one was a Cirrus owned by a boomer it would still be a trivial number.



I would actually make plans to visit the closest sellers and
inspect some airplanes. Instead I am circling ads in Trade-a-Plane
and making the best of it...

Why this fascination with an auction site to buy a 172? They are
everywhere. You shouldn't have to travel more than 300 miles to find a
good 172 to buy.

wrote:
On Apr 4, 11:45 am, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net
wrote:
wrote:
On Apr 4, 10:23 am, Newps wrote:
Gig 601XL Builder wrote:

Disclaimer: I am a partial owner of both Wal-Mart and a couple of
other Big Box stores.

We all are.

Suppose for the sake of argument if a specialized auction site has a
tremendous amount of auctions, costs less than eBay and has a big
community around it. I think that this business model can coexist
with eBay. Forbes has a nice little article about it with niche
auction links...

http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/category.jhtml?id=242

Each one of those is aiming at an market that is so much larger than
that of the GA market that it makes it (or the owners hope to make
it) profitable as a stand alone entity. The GA market is really
pretty small compared to just about anything. It is one of the
reasons stuff costs so damn much.

There is also the not so far fetched idea that the owners of those
sites sit around every night and pray to whatever god they worship
that they draw just enough business that E-bay wants to buy them.
That seems to be the primary business model in the .com world.- Hide
quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I just read recently in one of AOPA's issues that there are roughly
450,000 pilots in the U.S. and little over 100,000 GA planes...
Classified ad business is huge... I understand that a lot of baby
boomers are airplane owners and there may be a computer barrier there
- then again I may be wrong. What do you think? I am looking to buy
a used Cessna 172 and right not there are only a dozen or so listed on
eBay. I wish AeroBid or a similar site would have over a hundred
listed. I would actually make plans to visit the closest sellers and
inspect some airplanes. Instead I am circling ads in Trade-a-Plane
and making the best of it...


450,000 pilots (many not active) and 100,000 GA planes (which means far
fewer owners because many are owned by people or companies that own multiple
aircraft) is a really small market. I'd bet there are more people in
Wal-Marts in Arkansas at this moment (1:05pm CDT) than there are people that
will ever buy aviation items online.

As has been mentioned buying an airplane on E-Bay really doesn't happen that
often because people aren't buying airplanes sight unseen. Those that are
selling aircraft via E-Bay are using it as an online classified service. And
there is lots of competition in that market including Trade-a-Planes own
online site.

There are 100's of 172 for sale online. They are just spread out over
multiple sites. That ought to make you happy. You said you are in favor of
competition.

wrote:
On Apr 3, 2:42 pm, "Vaughn Simon"
wrote:

wrote in message

roups.com...


Niche auction for aviation... Can it compete with eBay? Your
thoughts?

Forgive me if I am wrong, but this smells like thinly-disguised spam to me.
Whoever you are, if you think that spam is a great addition to your business
model, then I predict a very short, unhappy life for your enterprise.

Vaughn


Would you make the same accusation if you met me in person? I just
want your honest opinion about eBay vs. niche auction sites... That
is all - no need to get paranoid on me...



You seem to know an awful lot about this business for just a casual
observer who found a cool site. Methinks you are a stakeholder.

wrote:
On Apr 3, 3:41 pm, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net
wrote:

Newps wrote:

wrote:

Niche auction for aviation... Can it compete with eBay?

No.

Your

thoughts?

In order for there to be an auction there has to be stuff up for
auction.

I agree with Newps. It doesn't have a chance. But the way to prove me wrong
is take an aviation related item and post it on both and see which site
sells it for the most.

spcek, you compare Ebay to Wal-Mart and to a certain extent that is true.
I'd be willing to bet that even the big aviation products dealers, like
Sporty's would crap their pants if they heard that Wal-Mart was going to
start an aviation products department and there wouldn't be an independent
FBO left standing if they opened Wal-Mart FBOs accross the country.


The reason I mentioned Wal-Mart was because one time I suggested my
cousin to get some hunting supplies there.
He laughed at me stating that you don't go to Wal-Mart for that. You
go to a specialized store that deals with hunting/fishing
products. I am applying the same logic here. Sure, everyone has
heard of Wal-Mart and eBay but what about countless mom and pap
shops. Is specialization a good thing at all? Not to deviate from
the topic, but as a customer I don't always want the cheapest and most
accessible. I want the best from a huge selection. Look at Trade-a-
Plane. I actually pay for that :-)



You PAY for trade-a-plane?

Why?

I didn't think anyone paid for that anymore - except maybe every now and
then when one was i n the marlet for a plane and couldn;t find listings
online.

On Apr 4, 6:02 pm, Tim wrote:
wrote:
On Apr 3, 3:41 pm, "Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net
wrote:

Newps wrote:

wrote:

Nicheauctionfor aviation... Can it compete with eBay?

No.

Your

thoughts?

In order for there to be anauctionthere has to be stuff up for
auction.

I agree with Newps. It doesn't have a chance. But the way to prove me wrong
is take an aviation related item and post it on both and see which site
sells it for the most.

spcek, you compare Ebay to Wal-Mart and to a certain extent that is true.
I'd be willing to bet that even the big aviation products dealers, like
Sporty's would crap their pants if they heard that Wal-Mart was going to
start an aviation products department and there wouldn't be an independent
FBO left standing if they opened Wal-Mart FBOs accross the country.

The reason I mentioned Wal-Mart was because one time I suggested my
cousin to get some hunting supplies there.
He laughed at me stating that you don't go to Wal-Mart for that. You
go to a specialized store that deals with hunting/fishing
products. I am applying the same logic here. Sure, everyone has
heard of Wal-Mart and eBay but what about countless mom and pap
shops. Is specialization a good thing at all? Not to deviate from
the topic, but as a customer I don't always want the cheapest and most
accessible. I want the best from a huge selection. Look at Trade-a-
Plane. I actually pay for that :-)

You PAY for trade-a-plane?

Why?

I didn't think anyone paid for that anymore - except maybe every now and
then when one was i n the marlet for a plane and couldn;t find listings
online.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It is only $3 lol and I don't buy it every time it comes out which is
3 times per month. I am very familiar with traditional auctions. I
am also a bargain hunter and auctions unlike classified ads provide
opportunities to snatch a good deal. For example I am looking into
inspecting this airplane on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-...04034089QQrdZ1

At $65K it is a steal but I need to confirm that by inspecting it in
person. Now would anyone here complain if there was a great auction
site out there with 5 times the amount of aviation stuff currently
listed on eBay...

wrote:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-...04034089QQrdZ1

At $65K it is a steal but I need to confirm that by inspecting it in
person. Now would anyone here complain if there was a great auction
site out there with 5 times the amount of aviation stuff currently
listed on eBay...


That plane isn't such a steal. The whole tail was replaced because it
was bent forward of the tail, that's a lot of damage. Plus the engine
and prop were trashed after hitting a light. It was already on a
salvage site.