Superphonica Update: January 12, 2018 - AM

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Guys - All the feedback and advice has been really great so far. We depend on the community to help make Superphonica a place for the community. That means asking for what you want and giving us honest feedback, whether it's positive or bluntly negative.  @Dave and I are just two guys, we can't match the global knowledge of many of the experts in the CA Community. We have a vision and ideas for Superphonica, but we know it can become so much more by incorporating the feedback from the community.

That said, here are a couple items from the last 24 hours.

 

1. Our number one priority: We are focussing on the private seller aspect with respect to user interface and getting more private sellers to list items on the marketplace. We had a chicken & egg issue before launch. We couldn't let the news leak, so we couldn't get private sellers to list items. We had a couple launch partners in the industry just because it's simple to ask them to keep quiet until the launch. For now the marketplace is heavy on products from members of the trade, but we are working on balancing this out right now. 

 

 

2. We launched ad campaigns all over the internet, advertising the products our sellers have listed on the site. The ad campaign is for both private sellers' products and products from members of the trade.

 

 

 

3. We adjusted the site to still allow sellers to NOT enter a shipping charge, but when a product is added to the cart there is a message displayed that the buyer needs to contact the seller to have him/her enter a shipping price. This message is also displayed on the checkout screen if the buyer attempts to pay for the item. Why do this? Because some sellers want to charge the exact amount for shipping or are shipping a 200 lbs. box and need more information about where the product is going to have a somewhat accurate shipping estimate. It's not how I would list an item, but we want to accommodate those who prefer to leave the shipping cost blank. Entering a shipping cost allows a buyer to add to cart and buy the item without any friction. As a buyer that's what I want, but the marketplace isn't just for me. As long as sellers understand that nobody can purchase their products without a shipping price eventually being entered, then we're good. 

 

 

As always, questions, comments, concerns, and more feedback is appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

[davide256]

So a real life example/question.

 

Normally I'd go through Audiogon to sell analog electronics/gear. Pretty painless using Paypal to sell/ship not so big square boxes.

 

Now however I've decided to sell/part with my Magnepan 1.7's... heavy long rectangular box, really  ought to be crated and not USPS/UPS friendly.

Does Superphonica help make the shipping part of this any easier?

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, davide256 said:

So a real life example/question.

 

Normally I'd go through Audiogon to sell analog electronics/gear. Pretty painless using Paypal to sell/ship not so big square boxes.

 

Now however I've decided to sell/part with my Magnepan 1.7's... heavy long rectangular box and really it ought to be crated. Does Superphonica help

make the shipping part of this any easier?

 

Hi David - We understand the issue and have a solution, but the solution only makes sense in some situations. We offer a concierge service that can do anything from helping to sell a product to flying to a the location and handling everything. Of course this is expensive and doesn't make sense for inexpensive products.

 

https://superphonica.com/seller-center/concierge/

 

 

Can you tell us what exactly you'd need to ease the process? Perhaps we can find a solution and offer it to everyone. We want to make buying and selling easier. If we can do it, we will.

 

 

[davide256]

39 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

Hi David - We understand the issue and have a solution, but the solution only makes sense in some situations. We offer a concierge service that can do anything from helping to sell a product to flying to a the location and handling everything. Of course this is expensive and doesn't make sense for inexpensive products.

 

https://superphonica.com/seller-center/concierge/

 

 

Can you tell us what exactly you'd need to ease the process? Perhaps we can find a solution and offer it to everyone. We want to make buying and selling easier. If we can do it, we will.

 

 

If you own a planar speaker, shipping is an adventure. That's why a lot of private sellers only sell locally. If there were an easy way to match up seller with  a shipper in reasonable distance that could safely transport, it would help. As an example, when I bought a used pair of Magnepan  MGIIIA's many years ago, I had to travel from DC to Newport News to pick up.

[rando]

In your case would you be willing to eat the freight charges to receive a shipping container?    Stands to reason, if it can be shipped to you  It can be shipped from you by appointment.   

 

Packing could still be adventurous and certainly remain time consuming.  Or...