what do you guys think about this idea?

[JoeliusZ28]

i got most of it up, but man with my limited website knowledge this is definately testing me. Its mostly working, just need to add a homepage, and do a lot of tweaks that I would like to do. Thinking about hiring some help to get it how I want it.

i think some professional help would be a good investment at the start, especially if there is money making potential on this thing. It will save you an incredible ammount of time and money and will probably be better than anything you or i could come up with.

 

[JoeliusZ28]

are you going to add wanted sub-forums also?

 

[DarkoStoj]

Not if you use this...

http://www.searchtempest.com/

This searches CraigsLists across the country
for an item for you - it works GREAT.

type your zip code & select how many miles
away you're willing to search and this will bring
up all the CraigsLists ads in that area.

yea i use that all the time

 

[DarkoStoj]

are you going to add wanted sub-forums also?

ah great idea, didnt even think about that

as far as progress, its coming along a little slow because i gotta learn everything....but its coming along

 

[DarkoStoj]

well the homepage is done mostly, the forums are done mostly....just gotta finish up all the details now www.usedpartforum.com

 

[JoeliusZ28]

that looks great so far. how difficult was setting up the homepage?

 

[DarkoStoj]

that looks great so far. how difficult was setting up the homepage?

well overall it was pretty easy, but learning what to do and how to do it was the worst part of it all.

things are coming together, starting to customize and do the add-ons. Spent most of the night tonight adding the i-trader feedback setup!

I'm going to reorganize the forums still and add wanted sections

still need to make a fancy homepage logo, and play with the forum colors still.

soon here gonna start advertising to try and get some members and get it started off!

 

[347convert]

Maybe have user profiles set up so they list a persons "parts cars" or something they specialize in, Then you can have the profiles searchable. Like how matt shehan (XR4TSi) on xceed is huge into DSM's. Once this gets rolling I would send him a PM to join, I think he has a ton of parts DSM's.

I Think it should be manditory to have every list there zip code, and profiles should be searchable by zip code.

 

[347convert]

You can also add an atv section????? Parting those out is common.

 

[4v Shane]

I need foglight brackets for a 96-98 cobra I want the junkyard open by 9am tomorrow you have 7 hours and 52 minutes get moving :laugh:

 

[cdz28]

I just signed up. Its looking really good!

 

[ItsAllAboutTheT&A]

Signed up. Looks great. This is a sweet idea.

 

[2L8IWIN]

So how is this suppose to be more effective than Craigslist or Ebay?

Perhaps I'm not understanding it fully, but your basically creating a forum where one can buy/sell car parts?

From a simplicity stand point it doesnt get much easier than craigslist. An email address is all you need and you can focus on specific metro areas where the part(s) may be located.

You also have to consider the classifieds that exist at car enthusiast forums (i.e. corral.net, ls2.com, etc). This is usually the listing of choice as it focuses on a specific group/buyer.

I'm all for being an entrepreneur but your competing against some established entities.

 

[JoeliusZ28]

yea 2L8IWIN is right, to make this work there reallyneeds to be a database attached to it - so that things can be narrowed down by make, model, year, etc. using the board search isnt going to give you a competitive edge.

 

[8540cs]

Looks good nice job

 

[DarkoStoj]

So how is this suppose to be more effective than Craigslist or Ebay?

Perhaps I'm not understanding it fully, but your basically creating a forum where one can buy/sell car parts?

From a simplicity stand point it doesnt get much easier than craigslist. An email address is all you need and you can focus on specific metro areas where the part(s) may be located.

You also have to consider the classifieds that exist at car enthusiast forums (i.e. corral.net, ls2.com, etc). This is usually the listing of choice as it focuses on a specific group/buyer.

I'm all for being an entrepreneur but your competing against some established entities.

yea I've been thinking about that same thing also. Without the specific narrow selection of parts that most forums have I kind of get a feeling that its going to flop. As far as craigslist goes, you can only search locally, and you gotta pay to list stuff on ebay. This site is all free.

I'm going to try and sell the idea to junkyards....if they start listing stuff it will create a huge selection of stuff fast....and i'm thinking anyway to connect buyers to sellers is atleast worth a shot, and a board like this doesnt exist.

 

[DarkoStoj]

Maybe have user profiles set up so they list a persons "parts cars" or something they specialize in, Then you can have the profiles searchable. Like how matt shehan (XR4TSi) on xceed is huge into DSM's. Once this gets rolling I would send him a PM to join, I think he has a ton of parts DSM's.

I Think it should be manditory to have every list there zip code, and profiles should be searchable by zip code.

yea i could put a section in the profile with a pulldown menu of choices that lists what someone specializes in, and make that searchable? I could list that under the username by the avatar also

 

[sho_off]

Nice site and good idea! I'm putting together a similar idea for over here in Windsor.

The problem around here is that when you call most of the yards, its like you are bothering them to get off their ass and do something for you.

 

[BB69]

Here is my bit of, hopefully, constructive criticism:

1. Why would a junkyard sell their parts for less on your site? You said early on that getting parts at a reduced cost was a goal. The junkyards are already setup on car-part or or some of the other sites and they are selling at the current market price. What is the incentive for them to come on your site and spend time creating posts (as opposed to a more automated system) to sell the same parts for less?

2. Having sponsors creates problems. Once you have sponsors, they really aren't going to want to sell for less unless you make some rule that non-paying sponsors can't advertise parts. It kinda defeats the purpose. It also leads to sponsor nutswingers that either talk up a sponsor or rip on a non-sponsor.

3. Why have a community section on a classified forum? If I'm looking for a part, I'm not interested in BSing in a forum. I just want to find the part and get on with my life.

My suggestion is to either charge a percentage based fee to sell so you can cover the costs of your time and advertising, or you make it all free and try to spread it by word-of-mouth.

Ken

 

[JoeliusZ28]

perhaps make it donation based?