New PM Classified Ads Site

[motlynch]

I'd like to inform folks about a classifieds site that was just launched. Kind of like craigslist, but for precious metals, and it's totally FREE for buyers and sellers.

The URL is: http://spotpricemetals.com

PEACE!

Tom

[PMBug]

Hi Tom. Looks like your site is brand new. It's got a clean look to it. Good job on that. I think you have an uphill battle getting the attention of people who use ebay or craigslist though. Much like Spotmex.

[motlynch]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it. Yes, the hardest part is getting the word out...

[ancona]

Interesting.........

Thanks, I'll certainly keep an eye on it. In time, I may participate since it is a good concept.

Trust is difficult to earn, and even more difficult to keep.

I'm not judging Good Sir, just saying out loud.........

[rblong2us]

Good luck with this idea.

Theres a lot of trust required at every level and if a way can be found to transact and deliver both $ and metal, it has to be good.

What do you hope to get from it Tom ?

[Cybrsk8r]

Before I'd buy PMs on CraigsList, hell would not only have to freeze over, it would have to freeze all the way to the bottom.

[PMBug]

There are a lot of people who scrounge at estate and garage sales (advertised on CL).

[motlynch]

Hey guys and gals. Thanks for the comments, feedback, constructive criticism, etc... I appreciate it.

I'll try to respond to some of the comments and questions in this post.

First, I'd like to provide a little background as how the site came to be...

I started using Ebay back in 1999 and I really liked it because it was an inexpensive, valuable service - I loved it! Then it became more and more and more expensive. Greed is the root of all evil. To get, get, get, one must take, take, take, at any any expense. At the expense of others of course...

In 2005 I watched a documentary video, titled 'Crash: The Coming Financial Collapse of America'. That year, I was 25 years old. I was already privy to some of the things that we're not taught (especially these days) in public school, but that documentary really awoke me to the financial situation in the US. I was inspired to research and learn more from then on....

Fast forward to 2013: My Grandpa passed away on the 13th of February. I keep as little money as possible in the bank. I don't link banks. At all. Anyway, I needed to get cash fast for a trip from the northwest to the east coast of the US.

I called the local coin shop, from which I purchased the coins from, and they offered to pay me NEGATIVE 37% what I bought the "junk silver" that I had bought from them a few days earlier. (No, this was not during a DIP)

So, I was a little turned off, to say the least.

I had thought about a trading platform for metals a few years ago but didn't take an action on it. After this interaction, I was driven to make it happen.

I was pissed. I couldn't believe that they wanted to screw me for 37%.!

So, here's the site, after 2 months of work...

Anyway, I just wanted to provide a platform for people like me, and others, to be able to connect with one another, without coin shops or dealers.

Everyone wants to be treated properly and get a fare value.

So, on the plane ride over to the east coast, for my Grandfather's funeral, I started discussing this with my sister, the idea about the site.....

When I returned, I started working on it.

It was difficult, but I finally got it good after two months of work.

Now??? It's just about telling people about it....

As far as the TRUST thing.... The site only connects people.
It doesn't have anything to do with my trust. It's only a platform for people to connect. They have to work out the whole "trust thing" on their own.

If You're trying to decide on a place for exchange, consider your local POLICE DEPARTMENT PARKING LOT.

You paid for it. So, use it!

TRUST............

Well, that's a tough one. I don't deserve any from anyone who hasn't dealt with me. So, my answer is null. What I've done is built a site to connect people. It's up to them now.

[bushi]

speaking of trust:

Make sure, that you made it explicit and in block capitals, that every user that joins/transact on your site is aware of and fully accepts, that you are not responsible party, in any way whatsoever, and are not connected in any way and cannot be liable for (in any part) for the exchange between buyer/seller using your platform... And I would suggest to contact a lawyer to write
you that piece - you don't wan't to be dragged to court as any kind of co-responsible or "enabling" party, in case anything goes wrong with particular sale/sales... remember, "no good deed goes unpunished"...

[Jay]

a lot of car burglaries and crack deals in the police department parking lot (really)....

[motlynch]

I forgot to reply to rblong2us about what I expect to get out of it.

I told my barber about the idea for the site when i first started working on it. He told me, "Dude, you gotta at least charge people to sign up or get a small amount of each transaction - you could make a bunch of money!", etc....

I told him that would defeat the entire purpose... The whole point is NO MIDDLE MAN. In fact, for now, the site is so wide open that people don't even have to register to post an ad.

So, what do I expect to get out of it? Well, at this point, nothing more than a time consuming learning experience if nobody uses it. If people do use it, I'll be highly satisfied that I'm helping some folks out. People just like me, who want to connect with folks locally to trade silver, gold and whatever else...

And if I'm really lucky and it happens to become popular enough to receive a good amount of traffic, I could potentially make some money selling ad space. Potentially... Maybe enough to at least cover the cost of domain and hosting fees...

Anyway, even though I'm paying out of my own pocket to provide the service and probably won't ever make a dime, it's been a fun project and learning experience.

[motlynch]

Bushi, you bring up a very good point. Currently, at the bottom of each ad, there is this text: "This site is never involved in any transaction, and does not handle payments, shipping, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification""

But, I agree with you. I should probably work on galvanizing indemnity a bit...

One thing I could do, is create a field that requires people to agree to terms of service when they post an ad and if they don't agree, they cannot proceed.

Thanks for your post. I'll have to think about it some more. At the moment I'm not overly concerned because nobody's using it.

Thanks again,
Tom

[benjamen]

I forgot to reply to rblong2us about what I expect to get out of it.

I told my barber about the idea for the site when i first started working on it. He told me, "Dude, you gotta at least charge people to sign up or get a small amount of each transaction - you could make a bunch of money!", etc....

I told him that would defeat the entire purpose... The whole point is NO MIDDLE MAN. In fact, for now, the site is so wide open that people don't even have to register to post an ad.

So, what do I expect to get out of it? Well, at this point, nothing more than a time consuming learning experience if nobody uses it. If people do use it, I'll be highly satisfied that I'm helping some folks out. People just like me, who want to connect with folks locally to trade silver, gold and whatever else...

And if I'm really lucky and it happens to become popular enough to receive a good amount of traffic, I could potentially make some money selling ad space. Potentially... Maybe enough to at least cover the cost of domain and hosting fees...

Anyway, even though I'm paying out of my own pocket to provide the service and probably won't ever make a dime, it's been a fun project and learning experience.

You will probably want to have at least sellers register eventually. The one smart thing Ebay does is the ability to post feedback about a seller. This makes it harder for someone to rip off as many buyers before they get a bad reputation. On the other hand, many first time users will prefer to buy from a highly reviewed seller.

[motlynch]

Thanks Benjamin. Yes, I agree with you. If the site starts getting some traffic I'll consider doing that. I'll have to look in to how to incorporate a rating system. Thanks for the feedback. Tom