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In lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade, Ran Talbott writes:
> In lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade, Jon Kozan writes:
>
> > Third, linking to my BAYLIT site. Someone said that I was "coat-tailing".
> > That, I would call "name-calling", which is always an attempt to
> > over-simplify
> > a complex situation through the use of a mild slander.
That was me although I left (or meant to leave) the hyphen out. Wasn't meant
as a slander, apologies if you took it that way. Read on for why I see it as
no slander.
> Nonsense. *Sometimes* it is, but naming is a basic feature of language: it
> doesn't over-simplify the situation to say that Sirhan Sirhan "murdered" Bobby
> Kennedy, even though the mere naming of the act leaves out the complex issues
> of motivation, possible conspiracies, etc.
This is a strongly worded analogy, not one I would have used. Let me expand. I
coattail myself... I post lots on eBay that promote a number of things in
addition to their real purpose. My latest promoted the following: LUGNET,
Brickshelf, Brickset, LDraw.org, MLCad, BrickBay in general, my own shop on
BrickBay, my Milton Train Works site, and the Guild of Bricksmiths (whew!).
Were someone to accuse me of coattailing I would smile and say "Yes, wasn't I
clever?" (my usual opinion of myself, to be sure...).
But that lot on eBay is a real, legitimate lot. I really hope it sells for a
healthy price and have every expectation that it will. I priced it at a buck
to start because I want to find out what the market thinks it's worth. I wish
people would bid it up a bit more instead of being scared of Ali but that's a
different topic.
Those ladders of yours, Jon, were you to put them on BAYLIT, would you price
them the same? (minus the 2% you have to pay Dan, perhaps) If so, it's a good
coattail. But if these really are the ladders that you can get 2 of for 10
bucks in Mickey's fire truck (I dunno) then I would say you have them priced
too high at 15 each, no matter where you have them posted. Posting them to
BrickBay at that price if they aren't also at that price on BAYLIT (too lazy
to go check) means you aren't really expecting them to sell, they will stay up
indefinitely. Meaning a bad kind of coattailing.
(note that I am not one of the "BAYLIT has too high prices, period." crowd.
I'm in the "BAYLIT is good if you need a few in a big hurry or are desparate"
camp...)
> You've put a lot of work into Baylit, and offered a valuable service that's
> often under-appreciated (How many of the people who complain about Jon's
> prices have really spent some time figuring out what it takes to build that
> kind of inventory, and fill orders for 2 or 3 each of 75 different 10-cent
> parts?). I can appreciate that it sucks to find that Brickbay has made it
> possible for amateurs and dabblers to take a bite out of your business. And I
> know it's not going to be easy to figure out how to adapt baylit to the change
> in the marketplace.
>
> But this is a poor response to that change, that's squandering the goodwill
> that you've worked so hard to build up. As a satisfied customer of both
> baylit and many brickbay sellers, I strongly encourage you to close up shop
> on brickbay, before any more damage is done.
Or, alternatively, put real inventory there, priced comparably to your BAYLIT
inventory (not all of the BAYLIT inventory, but some, and feel free to tack 2%
on to cover the cost) and let the market decide. If you get lots of traffic,
lots more than you get on BAYLIT, maybe you should consider moving, and saving
yourself the bother of running BAYLIT. If you get zippo traffic, stay where
you are.
If BrickBay is a railroad, you need to decide if you are a stagecoach company
(now obsoleted and should close up) or a freight delivery company (in a
different niche serving a different facet of the market that is just as needed
as ever) and the market is the best way to find out. Do that with a large
enoungh sample set to be a valid test. 4 ladders in one lot ain't it.
But do one or the other. Serve a real market on BrickBay or get off. If you're
serving a real market, coattail with pride. (remember, my eBay lots serve a
real market, and I coattail with pride) If you're not, don't coattail at all
or risk damage to your rep as Ran said.
Remember, when it's time to railroad, EVERYBODY railroads and the stagecoach
companies evolve or die (Wells, Fargo evolved into a bank. Everyone else, I
think, died) BrickBay is a railroad to my way of thinking. LUGNET could have
had the market if it wanted it, still could with a struggle, but it's lost
first mover there.
FUT .theory, JulieK was right, sorry about not FUTing there before, everyone
else should too.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: BAYLIT - Brickbay
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| (...) OK, None taken. Thanks. (...) I wholeheartedly agree with the concept. (...) I don't know if they're the same as Mickey's ladder or not, but I'll certainly findout. That's the problem with pulling out 25yr-old parts from a set that's not even (...) (24 years ago, 29-Sep-00, to lugnet.market.theory)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: BAYLIT - Brickbay
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| (...) Nonsense. *Sometimes* it is, but naming is a basic feature of language: it doesn't over-simplify the situation to say that Sirhan Sirhan "murdered" Bobby Kennedy, even though the mere naming of the act leaves out the complex issues of (...) (24 years ago, 29-Sep-00, to lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade)
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