Why Isn't Bitmit more popular?

[cosmicboy]

I go to bitmit a lot mostly to convert btc into gift cards, amazon cards etc. The escrow system works well and all my transactions have gone smoothly (except about 20% I get no response from so I get my coin back). I do sometimes look around at other things, but I am always surprised at the lack of items being sold on there. It's mostly the same stuff over and over. Wondering why there is not more action over there as there is really no competition for an ebay like site. Any idea?

[Akka]

Bitmit has a bit off a the Hen and Egg Problem.

I'm not searching there because the Stuff I want isn't listed there anyway and more Products are not listed there until there is enough demand (you actually sell your stuff).

What to do?

[johnniewalker]

The site itself is great. It probably isn't held in higher regard just because of the crap some people post on there.

[boscorocks]

I have noticed an increase of items there recently - but I think a lot of it is the site development itself.
There are a lot of listing that have been abandoned or were originally listed in BTC and now the prices are amusing. Also I find that the layout of the site makes it a bit hard to navigate and it does seem to be slow or go down more often that I'd like.

[fwho]

I think there are def. quite a few things they could tweek and improve upon. As much as I hate to say it, small stuff that eBay has already figured out. It really is awesome though, and I think once they have an API to automate things they will have a lot more items listed. I know I will be listing more.

[wknight]

I use it to sell a few things. Just sold my first 6 pack of limited production beer. Worked very well for Escrow and all.

I am noticing a lot of overhead on the server and its slow response

[Bogart]

I find the site is really slow to respond a lot.  Maybe they're being DoS'd or something.

If they could solve that issue I might use it more.

I like browsing through the "newly listed" tab to see if anything cool just showed up that I can pwn up quick.

[ErnestoJuarell]

An easy to use auction site like Bitmit must exist for mainstream Bitcoin adoption.

[randrace]

I use it to sell a few things. Just sold my first 6 pack of limited production beer. Worked very well for Escrow and all.

I am noticing a lot of overhead on the server and its slow response

Hey, I saw that beer! Nice work.

I just bought a straight razor on there and I enjoyed the process. I'm also selling some things on there that I would normally list on eBay which is liberating. It's disappointing that there is not more activity, but I'm getting some bites.

I will say, as a longtime eBay seller, people are chomping at the bit for a viable alternative to the eBay/PayPal's unpopular fee structure. Any business that can do what eBay does but in BTC will succeed if Bitcoin goes mainstream.

[Wardrick]

To many sellers not enough buyers. I was trying to sell 30 $25 Best Buy gift codes and got absolutely zero views in 7 days.

[cosmicboy]

There should be some way the site can vet the sellers. My biggest problem with bitmit is buying stuff and then no response. If you cancel the order they hold the escrow for 2 weeks! They need to be more proactive in weeding out bad/outdated listings (like $100 amazong gift cards going for $250 because they pegged the price on btc).

It's a great opportunity for someone to create a competitive site that works better

cb

[fwho]

There should be some way the site can vet the sellers. My biggest problem with bitmit is buying stuff and then no response. If you cancel the order they hold the escrow for 2 weeks! They need to be more proactive in weeding out bad/outdated listings (like $100 amazong gift cards going for $250 because they pegged the price on btc).

It's a great opportunity for someone to create a competitive site that works better

cb

There is another site, I cant remember the name right now, but it is smaller than Bitmit. I also didnt try to use it yet.
And those outdated ads cluttering the ad space are irritating. Especially because Im selling Amazon Gift Cards, though I was smart enough to tie the price to USD. If they are going to allow indefinite listings, they should probably send out an email every week or two and make the seller confirm that they still want the item listed. No reply, remove ad.

[altoz]

The main thing is trust. There isn't any. Most sellers don't have any kind of history and hence people are not willing to risk irreversible transactions to get the item. Most buyers have a lot better deal with fiat currency on ebay complete with reversible transactions via paypal.

Until there's a really good trust system, this isn't going to get better anytime soon.

[kalinka]

But there shouldn't be trust issues as they do offer escrow.

[moni3z]

Just give the site time. Ebay started out in some guy's garage or something and took years to take off

[kalinka]

Some things that I feel could be added to the service that eBay has which makes bitmit lacking:

1. "Watch" feature - being able to track the auctions which catch your eye and remembering them for later

2. "Best Offer" feature - being able to offer less than the selling price for "Buy it now"-style listings. The other person would be able to accept or decline said offers.

3. A better advanced search functionality. Being able to search completed listings, as well as search by category and price, among other things.

All of these things I feel would attract buyers more.

Another thing that COULD attract buyers, is the ability to pay in USD. That money could then be converted to Bitcoin by a third-party service, or by Bitmit itself. However, this would be a big jump from the services they currently offer. Also, the ability to print shipping labels somehow from within bitmit would be a great advantage as well. But being as it's a small business, not likely.

The biggest thing is, are people actually willing to SPEND bitcoins. I personally would love to see a market develop. But not when 90%+ of bitcoin owners only own bitcoins to make money on bitcoin values. This needs more buyers for bitmit to be successful. It also doesn't help that the bitmit market seems to be mostly for things like electronics and  metal coins (not much a demand for anything else from what I've seen).

The one item I sold, was a pokemon white game. I ended up getting 0.21 BTC for it, 0.3 BTC for international shipping. However, it was due to my advertising on THIS site that gave me that price. Without going out and advertising it externally, it would have probably sold for 0.01 BTC (or possible 0.11, not sure if that bidder was from here as well)

[MPOE-PR]

I go to bitmit a lot mostly to convert btc into gift cards, amazon cards etc. The escrow system works well and all my transactions have gone smoothly (except about 20% I get no response from so I get my coin back). I do sometimes look around at other things, but I am always surprised at the lack of items being sold on there. It's mostly the same stuff over and over. Wondering why there is not more action over there as there is really no competition for an ebay like site. Any idea?

Because they're incompetently run (as usual in BTCland: coder people think they're "CEO" etc). Never works irl.

You need business people to run a business.

[cosmicboy]

Mpoe, I think you summed it up...by the way who is that in your icon?..looks so familiar....

[MPOE-PR]

Mpoe, I think you summed it up...by the way who is that in your icon?..looks so familiar....

Me, actually.

[fwho]

Mpoe, I think you summed it up...by the way who is that in your icon?..looks so familiar....

Me, actually.

Your the chic from Weeds?!!? Why the hell didnt you show your boobs until like season 4?