website, pre-launchI am launching a website for selling and buying mobile phones and tablets. Similar to e-bay, but for mobiles and tablets only.
How could I attract users to upload their phones they want to sell, before there are any other phones on the website?
I want to avoid launching with an empty site.
Thanks!
In the book “You Call the Shots”, Cameron Johnson explained how he started a website to buy gift cards people didn’t want (at a discount) and sell them to other people (at a discount, but so he still made a profit). It sounds similar to what you want to do, and he didn’t want to launch with an empty site. He actually bought thousands of dollars of gift cards directly from vendors, at a discount. You may need to do something similar (but hopefully there will be other answers that don’t cost as much!).
That is perhaps the toughest obstacle that any platform startup faces; how to gain initial traction. The value of a platform can only be realized once a critical mass has been achieved. Sellers have no reason to list their phone on your site if no buyers are browsing. Conversely, shoppers have no reason to browse your site if there are no phones to buy.
Here is an interesting article that describes how some of the most successful startups overcame the challenge and gained initial traction, maybe something here will inspire you.
http://www.referralcandy.com/blog/8-successful-companies-fought-first-customers-asos-uber-yelp/
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