posted 07-01-2016 12:34 AM               

It's been something I've been working on for some time now and I am happy to introduce to you. My goal is to be a trusted, well-respected and ethically responsible eBay-style auction that caters to collectors of all levels. I know, putting eBay and ethical in the same sentence is preposterous. Believe me I know, I spent a lot of time trying to clean up some bad sellers off eBay to no avail. With my auction, new items will be monitored daily for accurate representation and steps made on items that are less than accurate. I want to ensure quality, not quantity.

Here are a few of Liftoff Auction's highlights:

1. Low fees:
   1. free listings
      
   2. Free to add Buy Outs and Best Offers
      
   3. Low fees for listing addons
      
   4. 2% final value fee
      
   5. No buyer's premiums

2. The most trusted and used payment method - PayPal integrated.

3. There is actually someone watching for accurately represented items and taking steps to ensure a measure of quality.

4. A wide range of listing categories that cater to Space, Aviation, Rocketry and even RC Aviation enthusiasts.

5. This one I hold dear: Liftoff Auction donates 100% of all the fees collected to youth STEM education programs! As our slogan states, "The auction that invests in the future!"

   In fact, helping with charities is important. I will work out special rates so charities can keep more in their pocket. It's just the right thing to do.

posted 07-02-2016 08:34 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by SpaceyInMN:
I, too, hope this does well. Best of luck with the new site, Brian!

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posted 07-16-2016 09:46 AM               

You have a chance of winning $100 dollars cash by just listing 10 items to the site by Aug. 21. Every registered user that lists 10 items will be entered into a drawing that takes place on Sept. 1. Go to the website for more details.

posted 08-02-2016 11:00 AM               

If you changed ________ I would be much more likely to list on the site!

posted 08-02-2016 11:29 AM               

People looking to sell something in an online-auction, do-it-yourself format, generally want to list it where the most people are going to see their items. Or at the very least, where the most members of their target audience are going to see them.

The former (original) Astro-Auction, for example, was able to do this by hosting astronaut "garage sales" and then promoting those sales to the space community. The auctions of Gene Cernan's, Mike Collins' and Jim McDivitt's personal items drove viewers, who then also checked out what others were listing.

(It also shouldn't be overlooked that Novaspace began Astro-Auction with an existing large customer base, which they then advertised and promoted the site to, such that they had eyeballs from the start.)

Going even further back, Russ Still's ValuSign reverse auctions also tapped into an existing audience (readers of "Relics of the Space Race" and ValuSign's ranking of eBay listings), as well as what was then (and to a large part still today) a unique format (reducing the cost, rather than raising it, with each passing day).

So what can you do to increase eyeballs for Liftoff Auction?

Depending on how much you want to (or can) invest in the site, you can advertise. There are a number of space publications (beyond cS) that cater indirectly to your target audience (e.g. Universe Today and Spaceflight Now) that sell ad spots.

Or, you can try to find something unique to auction and then use the press to get the word out. Of course, that is something of a Catch-22, as attracting unusual items generally requires an existing large user base, unless you can find someone who has an interest in supporting Liftoff Auction.

Keep in mind, that there were some very large companies (i.e. Amazon and Yahoo) who have tried to do what you're doing and in the end were unable to compete with eBay. You have the benefit of a niche approach, but projects like ValuSign and Astro-Auction were relatively short lived.

posted 08-03-2016 10:08 AM               

I think Robert has a point, but there are a lot of collectors here on cS who are aware of Liftoff Auction, even if they don't visit the site every day. The problem isn't necessarily drawing people to the site, but drawing the right people. The reason I hate eBay is because it's not monitored. I don't trust any autograph from any seller who's not on cS. I think LA will take off once collectors realize that it's a safe alternative to the forged signatures selling on eBay.

I'm not sure how Kim Poor would feel about allowing you on his site, but if I were running LA, I'd definitely talk to him about adding a link from his site to yours. Do the same with Mike Constantine over at Moonpans. You're not really competitors since you don't sell the same items. Even cS has advertisements on the side. You could offer them a link from your site in return. Hopefully, since you're giving to charity, they'll be more cooperative. Personally, I like the cS option the best, simply because that's the one site I visit almost every day. If I see a link there, I'll be far more likely to click on it. I'm not in the selling mode right now, but I would still buy something from LA if I find the right item.

posted 08-04-2016 12:47 AM               

1. As schnappsicle very well said people (unless full-time dealer and collector) have a limited time available to take care of their hobby or even remember new sites! Each day we are flooded with new sites and projects. Even me as a full time dealer do not have the time beside being swamped by regular auctions and catalogs over here in Europe to look for the multiple auction sites - so I stick to one: ebay.

   Same applies to search engines (why use Yahoo when there's Google), retail shops (why use some unknown store when there's Amazon), social media (why use Google Plus when there's Facebook). That's the way internet works, we stick to the leaders if time is limited.

2. Astro-Auction and LA are/were not "real" auction sites. Let me play devil's advocate: People love to gamble, love to play — that's the fun with auctions. You start low and there's always the chance for a bargain. When I look at LA there are only overpriced (in my opinion) items where there is no "space" to bid higher.

3. People lose interest over time. (I wouldn't even dare to list a Nespoli single signed portrait at 99c on eBay).

   If you want to succeed, you not only need to attract people but keep them on your site which is the toughest part. They need to see a value going onto LA. If it's just "another" retail space memorabilia site the auction concept isn't going to work.

posted 08-06-2016 06:58 PM               

I just want to state that I never intended to be viewed as an "eBay competitor" but rather a trustworthy "eBay alternative" with a mission to donate to youth STEM to inspire the next generation. When I envisioned this I thought that it made sense and many others would feel the same. Right now, the elementary school students could be among the first astronauts to Mars or developing systems to get us there. I'm looking to target some lower socio-economic areas and schools. We could be losing some great minds that just don't have the opportunity to expand because of that socio-economic status. It's important that we give them a chance.

Everybody has choices when it comes to how we do things and I understand that too. A lot of those bigger names, weren't always big names and had to find their way. By being different than what was currently available. Having a hook, direction and passion for what they were doing. I believe I have those things but I can't depend on myself solely to have that view and be successful. Hoping that others have the same view is what will make it successful.

The second point made of not being a real auction site I can address too. I am a platform and it is solely up to the seller on how they want to sell. They have plenty of options and if you look at eBay, many sellers are selling this way more so than they are in true auction fashion. My items that are on Liftoff right now mostly have a best offer option if you click into the listing. If people made offers, they might be surprised. I call it bidding lower, aka best offer, lol. I believe what happened to Astro Auction was that it was inundated by a sole seller that listed a lot of overpriced items that buried the deals. I remember being frustrated by that when I visited and that is why I implemented a 50 free listings/month on Liftoff, to avoid that problem. Although they can get a store and list more items at a cost.

posted 08-07-2016 05:52 AM               

It is hard to be a standalone fundraising venue and many of the STEM and STEAM organizations already have expansive networks of supportive people, possible buyers and sellers and the ability to advertise your site on there websites.

posted 08-07-2016 07:46 AM               

Like Astro-Auction, practically all sellers are "space" people selling space stuff to other "space" people. The result is that everyone knows the general value of items, and lists items (as Florian mentioned) at a retail level. Why would I spend my time looking through a list of items priced at retail? I don't want to pay retail, I want a deal. If I can't find a deal, I'll save my money until I can. And I always do, whether it's buying space autographs, sports, presidential, etc., or paying guys directly to sign.

posted 08-07-2016 07:59 PM               

Chuck, I would like to apologize to you if I didn't get back to you sometime ago. I'm sure it slipped my mind, cause my mind was somewhere else at that time. Around the time of the site launch my family was going through tough times. My father went in for open heart surgery and they didn't know if he would make it through cause of several other issues he has. I wasn't going to go to spacefest because of it but he told me to go.

So I spent alot of time helping around my parents house and going to the hospital. He made it and is fairing much better than they thought.

To address the STEM issue, I have been researching different sites for awhile now. I found changetheequation.org which I liked but I kept looking around. I have decided on donorschoose.org because you see exactly where your donation goes and who benefits. Since I want to focus on low socio-economic schools, I can better pinpoint that area. Also, with a lower amount of funds to donate I can make more of a difference. If the percentage of sales fees don't reach a $100 minimum each quarter, I personally will make up the difference.

As far as placing ads on some sites (not charity sites) to drive traffic i've messaged a few and wasn't even graced with a response. It seems ad placing is easier said than done or they are just behind in emails.

And personal gain...lol. At what I've put into getting started up and continued ads it will take quite awhile to recoup the initial investment. At the same time I have requests of site improvements. I'm not a programmer so I have to pay someone and it can be a couple hundred dollars for each improvement. My plan was as sales increased to also increase the donation percentage. Until I reached startup payoff at which I could run 75% sales fee donation maintaining %25 for improvements.

Jason, I'm going to respond but i'm biting my lip as I do, lol. As stated in my last response, I'm a platform for sellers and yes I have put some of my personal collection on there too. If you were a seller, I would not dictate what you want for your item... unless it was misrepresented, ex. a Cernan autopen that is listed as an original signature for $250. In that case I would send an email informing you about it. On collectSPACE classifieds I see a lot of good deals made by collectors and sold to collectors, space people to space people. Maybe your thoughts of a deal are different. In my google ad I have an extension for people to message me for an approximate appraisal and help listing their item. Of course, I would encourage they auction with plenty room to bid. Remember, I'm focused on being an ethically-minded site. I'm sorry that LA isn't your fit.

Again thanks for the responses.

posted 11-27-2016 11:50 AM               

My 5th grade class and I greatly appreciate your donation that allowed us to attend the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium. We had a wonderful time exploring the museum and getting to see large animals (stuffed) up close, and other historic artifacts. My students were excitedly taking pictures of everything they saw, looked through microscopes and even heard an old record player play a song. In addition to that, we attended 2 classes; one on the sun and its attributes and the second was in the planetarium where we learned about many of the dangers in space.

Today was our first day back from the trip, and as they were writing letters to you, I heard them using scientific vocabulary such as hyper-nova and constellations. I was also able to connect how, while at the museum, we used data to graph information about the sun, and how that relates to what we'll be doing in class, which is to track shadows and see how they grow and move throughout the day. Along with that, I took pictures of museum items that I can refer to, when we read our current Shared Reading book that has a character escaping from a museum. The possible connections will be continuous all year.

Again, thank you for giving my students this experience. Some of them have never been to a planetarium, so this was a valuable enrichment to their educational lives.

On another note, I have made some changes to Liftoff Auction. It is now free to list as many items as you like and at any starting price. Free buy outs, free make an offers. All listing addons are half of what they were and the final sales fee is dropped from 6% to 2%!