Should CameraGAS be changed to more web marketable name?
Please vote for your choice of alternatives.
Thanks
Stephen
Please vote for your choice of alternatives.
Thanks
Stephen
CameraGAS Name Change?
- Thread starter CameraQuest
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 59
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BillBingham2
Registered User
No, it works well. Perhaps a short FAQ about where the name came from off the home page, but I like it.
B2 (;->
B2 (;->
Fotch
Man with a RF Camera
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sanserif]CAMERAGOODIES.COM[/FONT]
mfunnell
Shaken, so blurred
Keep the GAS alive!
...Mike
...Mike
David Murphy
Veteran
I think that changing the name would help, but there are some other key reasons that CameraGas is struggling and will continue to struggle as it's now configured. I think the essential idea is good though and it can be fixed. I'd be happy to elaborate, but only if you are interested.
Matthew55000
6x7 FTW
I think any name apart from CameraGAS would be a step in the right direction
sienarot
Well-known
I personally think "cameragas" is an okay name, though it only means something to only some of us. I'd never heard of GAS until after I joined RFF and even then, it wasn't until about a month or two afterwards when I really figured out what it meant.
Yes, it could use a better name to help attract a wider audience, but there are other things that could change as well that would help more. I'd gladly give some suggestions if they are welcomed.
Yes, it could use a better name to help attract a wider audience, but there are other things that could change as well that would help more. I'd gladly give some suggestions if they are welcomed.
Chavo
Member
I agree with David Murphy I have been involved setting up major business seller accounts since it started and now consult to many large organisations on how they can sell their product on eBay.
Camera GAS is a good try but falls short in that it has been designed for what the owners wanted but not what the average user/ customer ( both seller and buyer) wants to see and needs.
There are plenty of start up auction sites around all hoping they will be noticed by eBay and the bay will make the site owners an offer they cannot refuse. It is a pipe dream for most of these sites.
I guess that is what Camera Gas needs to do, is decide are we going to be a backyard bunch or do we want the best and most secure camera acution site in the world? If it is the later then you do need to change the name and change the way the whole business is run and set up. Someone needs to take ownership of the whole thing and make it stand out amongst the crowd. Remember in the online auction business you need both buyers and sellers.
Also to get the most out of the Poll you need a generic alternative ie: Yes change the name but not to any of the above.
Cheers back to my cage again 🙁
Camera GAS is a good try but falls short in that it has been designed for what the owners wanted but not what the average user/ customer ( both seller and buyer) wants to see and needs.
There are plenty of start up auction sites around all hoping they will be noticed by eBay and the bay will make the site owners an offer they cannot refuse. It is a pipe dream for most of these sites.
I guess that is what Camera Gas needs to do, is decide are we going to be a backyard bunch or do we want the best and most secure camera acution site in the world? If it is the later then you do need to change the name and change the way the whole business is run and set up. Someone needs to take ownership of the whole thing and make it stand out amongst the crowd. Remember in the online auction business you need both buyers and sellers.
Also to get the most out of the Poll you need a generic alternative ie: Yes change the name but not to any of the above.
Cheers back to my cage again 🙁
Last edited:
Ororaro
Well-known
I think it's just a silly idea altogether. The word "GAS" is an error from the start because, let's face it, it's only a few people that know what it means and it seems that the term itself has been "stolen" so money could be made off of it.
Ororaro
Well-known
David Murphy said:
Well, simply put: it's trying to be eBay, and obviously trying to beat eBay.. but without the budget and without the extremely powerful brain team behind eBay. Just can't work, IMO.
Tuolumne
Veteran
WRT the name: "CameraGAS" is entirely ridiculous, and the alternatives above not much better. I actually find the name itself kind of repugnant, and anyone who knows me will know that there isn't much that falls into that category for me.
Beyond the name, the inherent problem in all such online endeavors is creating liquidity, a large number of buyers and sellers making a marketplace tick. For all of its faults, if you want to buy a camera eBay is the best place to look. If it's for sale anywhere in the world, it will be for sale there. And if you want to sell a camera, ypu knoe you can find a buyer looking on eBay. That sort of liquidity has been hard to reproduce, and Yahoo and Amazon both have gone down in flames trying to do that.
The best boutique online sales opportunity now is probably through social networking sites like RFF, which has a classifieds for just that purpose. You should work on expanding that if you want to offer an alternative to eBay, not another auction system with weak liquidity.
/T
Beyond the name, the inherent problem in all such online endeavors is creating liquidity, a large number of buyers and sellers making a marketplace tick. For all of its faults, if you want to buy a camera eBay is the best place to look. If it's for sale anywhere in the world, it will be for sale there. And if you want to sell a camera, ypu knoe you can find a buyer looking on eBay. That sort of liquidity has been hard to reproduce, and Yahoo and Amazon both have gone down in flames trying to do that.
The best boutique online sales opportunity now is probably through social networking sites like RFF, which has a classifieds for just that purpose. You should work on expanding that if you want to offer an alternative to eBay, not another auction system with weak liquidity.
/T
sienarot
Well-known
Since people are giving their opinions on cameraGAS, I'll chime in as well.
The fact that it's an auction site is one of the reasons why I don't frequent it. There's already eBay for that and you really can't compete with it. If it were a classified site for used equipment (ie: set prices on items), I would've posted quite a bit of stuff on there already, even if there were a nominal fee for ads. You can have a classified site with an auction section and it would work out much better than the current set up, in my opinion.
I'll give an example: www.astromart.com
For many amateur astronomers, this is a one stop shop for used astronomy equipment. It's incredibly successful and anyone who's been in the hobby for even a short time will have heard of it. (For people who haven't signed in, it only shows ads within a certain time, but once you log in, MUCH more ads will be viewable.) It's a classified site, but also has an auction section for those who want to put their items up for bidding, though I've never checked out that section of the site.
To the owner(s) of CameraGas, this by no means is an attempt to put down your efforts. Quite the opposite, as I admire the effort and always wish people success on their ventures, but the plan is wrong (IMO). Personally I'd like to see a classified site where I can purchase privately used equipment from reliable and reputable sellers, without the retail store mark-up. You have quite a bit of ads posted on there given the short amount of time it's been up, so there is a bit of interest, which shows promise.
And to Mr.Gandy and the rest of the RFF crew, my suggestion is in no way attempt to draw attention/business away from the RFF classifieds!
I can expand on my suggestions if they're welcomed, as this is just a general idea 🙂
The fact that it's an auction site is one of the reasons why I don't frequent it. There's already eBay for that and you really can't compete with it. If it were a classified site for used equipment (ie: set prices on items), I would've posted quite a bit of stuff on there already, even if there were a nominal fee for ads. You can have a classified site with an auction section and it would work out much better than the current set up, in my opinion.
I'll give an example: www.astromart.com
For many amateur astronomers, this is a one stop shop for used astronomy equipment. It's incredibly successful and anyone who's been in the hobby for even a short time will have heard of it. (For people who haven't signed in, it only shows ads within a certain time, but once you log in, MUCH more ads will be viewable.) It's a classified site, but also has an auction section for those who want to put their items up for bidding, though I've never checked out that section of the site.
To the owner(s) of CameraGas, this by no means is an attempt to put down your efforts. Quite the opposite, as I admire the effort and always wish people success on their ventures, but the plan is wrong (IMO). Personally I'd like to see a classified site where I can purchase privately used equipment from reliable and reputable sellers, without the retail store mark-up. You have quite a bit of ads posted on there given the short amount of time it's been up, so there is a bit of interest, which shows promise.
And to Mr.Gandy and the rest of the RFF crew, my suggestion is in no way attempt to draw attention/business away from the RFF classifieds!
I can expand on my suggestions if they're welcomed, as this is just a general idea 🙂
Rayt
Nonplayer Character
I echo an earlier post. With all due respect for something like this to work you need to convey the message to buyers that there are bargains about and you are not going to achieve this when 80% of the auctions are from dealers selling mostly new items at high prices. Unless the dealers are willing to take a risk and offer their precious at much lower than their online store prices then what is the point? I was one of the first people to register but when coming back again and again I found there was nothing to buy at prices I can't find anywhere else.
Ororaro
Well-known
This is exactly why I beleive the ONLY viable name for such a site would be "CameraFleaMarket".
Down to earth, Direct, Unconceited and pretty much international.
Down to earth, Direct, Unconceited and pretty much international.
aizan
Veteran
gas is too specific to rff. maybe something more accessible like cameralust.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
I agree GAS is a bit too specific ... I had been a member of RFF for six months before I found out what GAS meant!
cameragear.com would make sense to me! 🙂
cameragear.com would make sense to me! 🙂
iml
Well-known
How about calling it Ebay? 🙂
Seriously, as others above have said, I don't think it will work as an auction site. I've worked with clients who have spent millions attempting to set up rivals to eBay in the UK. None of them have got anywhere, because none of them managed to get sufficient numbers of buyers or sellers to make any dent in Ebay's share of the market. Sellers won't list something on a site with small numbers of buyers when they have Ebay to try first, and buyers won't look on a small site to find something when they know they are likely to find it on Ebay first, and cheaper. Most commercial websites fail anyway, and launching one that is directly in competition with a global market leader is pretty much a guarantee of getting nowhere fast.
Making it a classifieds site is a much better idea, and if you are looking to rebrand and relaunch the site, that is what you should concentrate on, IMO.
Looking at the site now, I see that you have the same problem others have had when they have launched auction services, even those that have spent large sums of money on marketing: few sellers and few buyers. That isn't because the site has the wrong name, IMO...
Sorry to be blunt!
Ian
Seriously, as others above have said, I don't think it will work as an auction site. I've worked with clients who have spent millions attempting to set up rivals to eBay in the UK. None of them have got anywhere, because none of them managed to get sufficient numbers of buyers or sellers to make any dent in Ebay's share of the market. Sellers won't list something on a site with small numbers of buyers when they have Ebay to try first, and buyers won't look on a small site to find something when they know they are likely to find it on Ebay first, and cheaper. Most commercial websites fail anyway, and launching one that is directly in competition with a global market leader is pretty much a guarantee of getting nowhere fast.
Making it a classifieds site is a much better idea, and if you are looking to rebrand and relaunch the site, that is what you should concentrate on, IMO.
Looking at the site now, I see that you have the same problem others have had when they have launched auction services, even those that have spent large sums of money on marketing: few sellers and few buyers. That isn't because the site has the wrong name, IMO...
Sorry to be blunt!
Ian
Last edited:
Silva Lining
CanoHasseLeica
I wouldn't want to comment too much on CameraGAS as a name, without being able to suggest a better alternative, so I wont....I don't think any of those options mentioned above are really any better though.
As many have said beforehand I think that CameraGAS needs to offer something, a service or feature, that is significantly different from eBay in order to attract trade away from it.
My suggestions would be - look at the real reasons why people don't use eBay to sell their cameras, there are plenty of stories on RFF!
Great for having a go at competing with one of the most successful internet ideas ever, though! Good luck
As many have said beforehand I think that CameraGAS needs to offer something, a service or feature, that is significantly different from eBay in order to attract trade away from it.
My suggestions would be - look at the real reasons why people don't use eBay to sell their cameras, there are plenty of stories on RFF!
Great for having a go at competing with one of the most successful internet ideas ever, though! Good luck
Never Satisfied
Well-known
I think GAS is a great play on words that my wife will never catch on to. 🙂 Andrew.
teo
Well-known
I don't know if it has been already said, but camera a gas means gas chamber in italian... 😉
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