jrock You have a wealth of bright guys here to bounce things off of.

With Swappa, I think it is a community not due to any previous associations, rather they have a very simple and clear expectation of those who use the site. They've defined it so simply that a guy like me who had never heard of them until recently felt comfortable enough to sell something there. I've been on ebay for over 6 years and never sold a thing. Swappa appealed to me and made me feel part of the community because it was simple to understand and it was solely about the target I was hoping to hit... cellphone hos. I had to put together a solid listing because they're literally watching. Buyers know this and can feel confident in purchasing safely. I just like what they do.

I've been part of Facebook sales groups for years. Nowhere near the aura of Swappa. You have zero clue how reputable anyone on there is. There is also uneasiness in meeting strangers. Never know what could go wrong there. Plus, once you drive away good luck rectifying a deal gone bad. You will never see them again and those communities are so big the same schmucks can just create new accounts and keep screwing people. I have been fortunate to have nothing but good experiences but it's truly a roll of the dice. I much prefer Swappa and actually feel better about them because they are pretty much singularly focused and understand cell phones and phone buyers. Not sure ebay gets that and I know a lot of these fb groups don't and couldn't do anything anyway.

I've contacted Swappa a bunch and they're super responsive and completely get it. Good luck with that on ebay or fb.

      Toulon So sounds like the key is folks who know the space (ie. phone hos, golf hos) so the community can self-police and also provide accountability of members.

      So the next question is would a site that have many verticals still work? Like if Swappa branched out into other areas like you said above, would the formula still hold true? Or do you need specialty sites/communities that support each area?

        LBlack14 Swappa adds a small fee on the buyer site on a successful purchase. But their listings include the fee up front so buyers don't feel marked up at the end. Similar to how StubHub does it.

        Ex. Price shows as $100 for item. Buyer pays $100. Seller receives $95.

            jrock Swappa adds a small fee on the buyer site on a successful purchase. But their listings include the fee up front so buyers don't feel marked up at the end. Similar to how StubHub does it.

            Ex. Price shows as $100 for item. Buyer pays $100. Seller receives $95.

            How do you pay/get paid? I don't know anything about stubhub.

                LBlack14 How do you pay/get paid? I don't know anything about stubhub.

                Are you asking how a buyer/seller gets paid? Or how the website (ex. Swappa) gets paid?

                    jrock Are you asking how a buyer/seller gets paid? Or how the website (ex. Swappa) gets paid?

                    Yep. I don't care how they get paid, they gonna take theirs regardless. I wanna know how dis ***** here get paid.

                        LBlack14 Haha gotcha. It's all done through PayPal on that site. One the purchase is made, you get your money right away (less any PayPal fees).

                          J, is there a PM or "chat" here yet? Sorry to change the subject.

                          Justin... I tried replying to your last comment through my Gmail acct. Not sure if that made it's way to you, or not?

                            jrock I responded on my phone when I saw that you'd responded to me. I just went ahead and replied on the email assuming it would get to you. I didn't see it bounce back, yet, so I figured it did make it.

                            I can just cut and paste what I wrote.

                            EDIT: The same guys couldn't do golf like they do phones so it would lose some for sure but developing the trust they have with phones would give them a shot. It would be better for or them to replicate the phone site with knowledgeable folks for whatever they branched into. They have found a winning formula.

                            --- If they were to proliferate and diversify without following the model they built themselves upon they'd be on their way to being another ebay. These singular focused sites with clear rules and familiar folks to the product is a big hit for me. Would love to see Swappa styled sites of all kinds of varieties. It's where I would go vs. ebay, FB, craigslist, etc.

                            I might be alone in what I've said...would love to hear what everyone else thinks.

                              I wanted to add one other thought. The reason mom and pop shops went away is because these soulless giants could offer prices mom and pop couldn't compete with. If you compare Swappa to Ebay it's the reverse, here. The mom and pop (Swappa) is able to offer the service and little things the giant ebay can't and Swappa can do it for less.

                              If mom and pops were able to accomplish what Swappa has there would be no Walmart.

                              "If mom and pops were able to accomplish what Swappa has there would be no Walmart."

                              "That" would be heaven.