Not sure where I went wrong

[ballbreeder]

Just looking for suggestions. I tried to create a website where everyone could put their ball pythons up for sale, that would be clean and easy to use. No forums, organized by morph, and good quality pics, all in the same format. So far NO ONE has sent me their pics. I'm not sending this out to recruit people, but trying to get some constructive criticism. Is it the Ads by Google? Because I can remove that. I'm not looking to make money off this at all. I put a few of my own collection up at extremely high prices, just to show what the site would look like. Do you think people are getting put off by this? I thought it would actually encourage people to put their snakes on there, because by comparrison, they would be extremely cheap. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you.

[BPHERP]

Just looking for suggestions. I tried to create a website where everyone could put their ball pythons up for sale, that would be clean and easy to use. No forums, organized by morph, and good quality pics, all in the same format. So far NO ONE has sent me their pics. I'm not sending this out to recruit people, but trying to get some constructive criticism. Is it the Ads by Google? Because I can remove that. I'm not looking to make money off this at all. I put a few of my own collection up at extremely high prices, just to show what the site would look like. Do you think people are getting put off by this? I thought it would actually encourage people to put their snakes on there, because by comparrison, they would be extremely cheap. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you.

I can appreciate what you are trying to do, but think about it this way... You are trying to penetrate a market where there are already established websites for this very thing. I would bet the majority of the market goes to one of three websites already, so there is no compelling reason for anyone to go elsewhere.

[jason79]

I can appreciate what you are trying to do, but think about it this way... You are trying to penetrate a market where there are already established websites for this very thing. I would bet the majority of the market goes to one of three websites already, so there is no compelling reason for anyone to go elsewhere.

I agree. But I think if you stick with it and give it time it might catch on. Is it free? If so people will use it you just got to get you name out there and give it time.

[Patrick Long]

I dont think this will ever catch on.


Not trying to be a jerk here but...

Its very unprofessional looking....even hard to look at with the background.

I think there are a handful of sites that already do this....with a layout that is 1000 times better than yours.


Like brandong said....why would I go to your site...with a no name person...with a very amateur looking site when I can go to kingsnake.com with WELL KNOWN names, and a very nice layout?



And another thing I noticed....you want people to send the pics to YOU. So lets say 50 people join and want ads...are you going to put up all 50 RIGHT NOW?

What if I want to change the price...I have to call you?

See where I am going with this?

[rabernet]

Part of it is that "how" it works isn't really clear. If you are going to be the middle man - that's not very appealing to many folks. I want direct contact with any inquiries about any of my animals.

I perused your site, and I'm not seeing how exactly it's supposed to work. Why can't breeders just post their own pictures on your site and their own ads? You may have a perfectly good reason, but it's not explained anywhere on your site.

Also, others may not want to be the first to try this, they may sit back to see how it goes first.

[ballbreeder]

Excellent points. I could def change the background. Could make it look more professional. The reason I wanted the pics sent to me is to keep a professional and managed look. I could change it so the information can be changed by the animal owner. The way it works is, if someone wants to purchase the snake, the contact info is right there. I know it's not explained very well. I have to find a way to explain everything at once without detracting from the site. Maybe I should make it more user managable. I just don't want to let it get out of hand. Again, great comments. Keep em coming. It's new, so lots of changes can and will be made.