Hi everyone,
Sorry for the long post... but I believe I have something good and I need your help evaluating it. No one's gonna know unless I talk about it.
http://www.cyclesnatch.com
login: eval@cyclesnatch.com
pwd: eval
The purpose of this message is to collect opinions/feedback, not generate users. If you like the site concept though... please feel free to create a free profile of your own.
MORE INFO:
I'm a southern CA based computer programmer / road racer / photographer who has always wanted to have access to a website which makes it really easy to find exactly the kind of bike I wanted to buy. From my experience, any "classifieds" site or club forums (i.e. r6messagenet, wera, cmra, etc.) always leave me scanning through lots and lots of listings which are not exactly what I want to see.
On one hand it can be fun to see what else is out there... but on the other hand, when I'm really looking, "I want what I want" and it's a waste of time to have to scan through a long list. Yeah I could do a "search"... but most sites only allow keyword searches (perhaps with price / year as well) and then you have to contend with the R1 vs. R 1 vs. R-1 issue resulting from the text input (as opposed to make/model selection) manner in which ads are created.
Additionally... at places like eBay and Cycletrader there are scam ads, dealer ads, and ads which were so old that I figured for sure the bike had to be sold already.
Can anyone relate, or is it just me? ???
So... long story short... I "built a better mousetrap"... and I'd like some feedback from whomever has time. The site has just recently launched so there are only a handful of ads in there.... but I want to change that by getting people to take notice of how good the site is compared to any other offerings. I'm hoping if you check it out you can see what I mean.
Imagine being able to get this specific with your bike search or when posting for sale:
COMMON CRITERIA
=============
- Ad type (i.e. FS vs. WTB)
- New *OR* Used (FYI cycletrader ALWAYS shows dealer ads)
- Cycle Type (incl. odd ones like "stunt bike", "pocket bike", "custom chopper")
- Street Legal (to seperate track bikes from street bikes from off road)
- Year (with <=, >=, =, between "X" and "Y")
- Selectable Make (to avoid typos and diverse spellings)
- Selectable Model (to avoid typos and diverse spellings)
- Price (with <=, >=, =, between "X" and "Y")
- Posted within (to only show recently posted ads)
- Keyword (used more for mods i.e. Ohlins, Sharkskinz, Brembo, etc.)
GEOGRAPHIC CRITERIA
================
- selectable country
- selectable state
- selectable metro area (nearest big city)
MOTOR / DRIVETRAIN
===============
- Selectable displacement (50cc to 2000cc... with <=, >=, =, between "X" and "Y")
- Cylinders (selectable 1-8 )
- Stroke (selectable 2 vs. 4)
- Drivetrain (chain vs. belt vs. shaft)
BIKE CONDITION
============
- Mileage (with <=, >=, =, between "X" and "Y")
- Condition (i.e. new, like new, excellent, good, average, needs work, parts only)
- crash damage (i.e. none, few scratches, light, moderate, heavy, totalled)
- tire condition (i.e. brand new, light wear, medium wear, heavy wear, replace)
- title status (clean, salvage, no title)
EXTRAS
=====
- Selectable main color
- paint type (i.e. factory, repainted to original, light custom, heavy custom, none)
- modifications (i.e. totally stock, light mods, medium mods, heavy mods, custom built)
- VIN (one of the only text entry fields)
- Description (text entry)
If that wasn't enough to qualify for cool... I have also put my photography skills to use and am accumulating a very high quality, well categorized image gallery loaded with hundreds of images for your persual. One very nice gallery in there is the "Team Cyclesnatch" gallery. See my avatar for a hint!
I would really appreciate any comments and feedback about the site. I am aware that there are lots of motorcycle classifieds out there.... but I'm hoping that eventually mine will be *THE PLACE* to buy and sell bikes. I put a lot of time into making it the best on the planet. If anyone else knows of a site that does what mine does I'd like to hear about it.
Oh yeah... did I mention it's FREE?
29 views and 0 replies or interest? Are people really that disinterested in a better way to do motorcycle classifieds (especially catering to racers)? ???
Give them some time, they'll give an opinion.
I checked it out, and it seems like a very good concept.
Where would you draw the potential listings from? Will it be free to list, or will there be a fee?
Would there be advertising, and if so, what types would you allow? (You know we all hate pop-ups and cookies, but banners are usually acceptable.)
A nice, concise database for this info is very useful, looks like you'vve thought this through. :D
Thanks very much. Your site is pretty cool too.
Listings will come from users like you and me who want to buy and sell bikes more easily. This is why I'm trying to get people to see how much better my site is than any other classified system out there. I know there are a lot of them and this may be a tired topic... but that's only because so many people before me have done it so half assed.
For now the system is free, and once the system reaches critical mass (probably in like a year I hope) I always intend to price it lower than any of the competition out there like Cycletrader, etc. So... best system... lowest price... you do the math!
I hope people will have a look, appreciate what I've done, and spread it around. I need to get some ads in there....
Oh... and the "Ads" will only be in the categorized "Resources" section. It's basically a directory of paid ads for any company that wants to be in there. It's better than a plain "links" section for the advertiser since it's categorized and people can find what they want there too. For people wanting a bricks and mortar location to walk into.... they are further categorized by city/state as well.
I too hate banners, popups, google bars, or any other kind of annoying thing trying to trick me into clicking on it. My goal is to keep cyclesnatch.com a very pristine and cleanly ad free zone.
I can only do it though if I get ads from the end user in there. There's no reason (other than a low but growing user count) why everyone wanting to buy and sell bikes wouldn't find the site very useful.
It's my passion to introduce a great service where none existed before.
I think e-bay is still pretty good.
Do you not have anything being listed currently?
Yes there are several bikes up there now... just not hundreds as I'd prefer. It's going to be a long effort for me to raise awareness of how much better my offering is than any other.
I couldn't get to the bikes...
Just log in, click on "Search Ads", click on "Clear Form" (to find all bikes), then click on "Submit. You're good to go.
Chances are you specified some criteria which no ads contained.
??? Why would i want to give you all of the information that you require for your sign up just to surf your sight?
good luck
Precisely why I provided a demo user id / pwd so you could take a look.
And... the idea is to buy and sell motorcycles. It's useful to have contact info when it's time to make deals.
My opinion: you're going to have to allow people in without a userid/password to build any momentum, and many people aren't going to take you seriously with the T&A on the site. I would be embarassed for my wife to see me pulling up that site. I'd go "No honey, it's a want ad site for race bikes" and she'd be like "Yea, right, pervert!". ;) I like your concept, but you MUST let people surf without signing up. Only make them sign up to bid/buy. Otherwise, I don't see it going anywhere. If eBay made people sign up to view available items, they would have thousands of members instead of billions.
Yeah, I have to agree, as a female, the tootsies do nothing to promote the site as a serious biz. I've been surfing crashedtoys.com, and you can look without signing up. I have an account, but that's only because if decide to buy, I don't want to go through the hassle of having to do the sign up if I submit a bid.
Thats the only reason I didn't browse the website because I couldn't get anywhere without creating a login and its a hassle.
QuoteThats the only reason I didn't browse the website because I couldn't get anywhere without creating a login and its a hassle.
He gave us this to use:
login: eval@cyclesnatch.com
pwd: eval
evidently ccs needs to include some type of reading test in the racer licensing. ::)
I don't mind having to sign up to surf; here's why:
I've listed and sold several bikes on used-harley-davidsons.com which does not require verification. After selling 5 bikes there, I've had at least 50 scam responses and fradulent attempts to purchase. Most are easily identified, but some waste a lot of time while finding out.
If people are serious about looking / buying / selling, it's not a lot to ask.
QuoteMy opinion: you're going to have to allow people in without a userid/password to build any momentum
I appreciate all the feedback. Keep it coming. Due to the number of people requesting this I will definitely look into retrofitting it for non-logged in browsing soon. I understand the point well.
QuoteI don't mind having to sign up to surf; here's why: After selling 5 bikes there, I've had at least 50 scam responses and fradulent attempts to purchase.
These guys are asking that once you push the "contact seller" button.... that's when you're asked to register. So... that could certainly appease both sides of the argument. Thanks for the honest feedback.
Quotemany people aren't going to take you seriously with the T&A on the site. I would be embarassed for my wife to see me pulling up that site. I'd go "No honey, it's a want ad site for race bikes" and she'd be like "Yea, right, pervert!". ;)
Once *inside* the side... there is no evidence of the women unless you click on the women specific galleries. I understand though about the front page. What I will do is make it less blatant on the front page. I have been planning to do that anyway. Appreciated.
Bryan
I'm hoping for at least a tidbit of positive reinforcement about the search mechanism. Can ANYONE but me really see how cool it is to be able to actually specify "Track Bike Only" along with "Year", "Make", "Model" and such... or maybe just select "Displacement" if you're open minded about which brand you're going to ride? And for us 2 smokers... the ability to search on "2 Stroke"?
Are there any other sites that have done it that you know of? When you are looking for a race bike (or even a street ride)... do you not have a very specific idea in mind about what you are looking for?
Just trying to get a feel for whether anyone is on board with me here :o
I'll do my part to make it less of a hassle to get into.
- add "off-road" or "play bike" and something that speaks to a ysr to "cycle type"
- make - allow multiple selections - in fact, do this for everything
- street legal - add "street bike that is prepped for track days"
- after choosing which bike - by model, the drill permits the choice of displacement. for one thing, this is redundant and secondly, this could create a conflict - someone could look for an r6 that is 1000cc in displacement.
- location ... c'mon, am i going to buy a bike from greece? does the list need to be that long to find usa? i'm never sure if it's going to be the first option of in albaphetical order.
- here's where and why i quit ...
i know the diff between 2 and 4 stroke but i clicked the 'what's this' anyway. this navigated the browser to the answer - which didn't answer the difference between the two. when i tried to return to the search drill, all of my choices were reset to the default.
so far, i'm thinking that this is taking a little longer than it should.
thx for asking and feel free to get in touch if you'd like more input.
hw
Quote- add "off-road" or "play bike" and something that speaks to a ysr to "cycle type"
Is a YSR not in the "Sport Bike" genre? That's what I'd select if I were looking for my NSR 50. You can select "Sport Bike" and drill down to "50cc" or "80cc"... chances are you'll net them. Optionally... if anyone actually POSTED a YSR... you could use the Make/Model controls to specifically see that it is (or was at some time) in the database.
Quote- make - allow multiple selections - in fact, do this for everything
I hear you, and I will consider multis on some controls. From a technical standpoint though... since the search mechanism is already so comprehensive... having multi-selects on everything would be a pretty massive undertaking. As it stands... I'm hoping this current offering is light years better than the competition?
Quote- street legal - add "street bike that is prepped for track days"
Done!
Quote- after choosing which bike - by model, the drill permits the choice of displacement. for one thing, this is redundant and secondly, this could create a conflict - someone could look for an r6 that is 1000cc in displacement.
Understood... but with power comes the ability to crash and burn. I can't save the world :-/
Quote- location ... c'mon, am i going to buy a bike from greece?
People in *Greece* might :o I built the site for the world market as much as possible. No reason why they can't have a go.
Quotedoes the list need to be that long to find usa? i'm never sure if it's going to be the first option of in albaphetical order.
I understand... and the same thing happens to me sometimes on other sites. I just press the "U" key when the control is displaying the list... gets you there quickly. I could certainly default that control to "United States"... and I might. Just seems slightly arrogant :-)
Quotei know the diff between 2 and 4 stroke but i clicked the 'what's this' anyway. this navigated the browser to the answer - which didn't answer the difference between the two. when i tried to return to the search drill, all of my choices were reset to the default.
THANK YOU! I'll fix that one. One of the most impressive feature OF my search mechanism is that is DOES remember all your settings. I simply forgot to trigger the memory in that instance. Appreciated.
Bryan
Quote- add "off-road" or "play bike"
Sorry I missed this one. I added "Pit Bike / Play Bike" to the "Cycle Type" control for you!
QuoteTHANK YOU! I'll fix that one. One of the most impressive feature OF my search mechanism is that is DOES remember all your settings. I simply forgot to trigger the memory in that instance. Appreciated.
Bryan
Humm... actually that functionality IS already there. Not sure how you lost your search settings when clicking the 2 stroke's "What's This" link. Let me know if you can reproduce it, and if so... which browser you're using. I use cookies to hold the search settings... so keep that in mind.
impressive how your mind works ... i admire your hustle.
i'm a big fan of 'open browser in new window' for 'what's this' options.
off to 'work'. i'll give it a go again later.
i wish you well.
g
QuoteI'm hoping for at least a tidbit of positive reinforcement about the search mechanism. Can ANYONE but me really see how cool it is to be able to actually specify "Track Bike Only" along with "Year", "Make", "Model" and such... or maybe just select "Displacement" if you're open minded about which brand you're going to ride? And for us 2 smokers... the ability to search on "2 Stroke"?
Are there any other sites that have done it that you know of? When you are looking for a race bike (or even a street ride)... do you not have a very specific idea in mind about what you are looking for?
Just trying to get a feel for whether anyone is on board with me here :o
I'll do my part to make it less of a hassle to get into.
I like all the selection options. Would be awsome if there were some more bikes, but that will come with time.
Alrighty then... due to popular demand, the flood gates have come down. I've retrofitted the site to be COMPLETELY OPEN to anyone not signed in. CREATING ads, SAVING to your HOTLIST, and CONTACTING sellers are the only things now which require having a profile and signing in.
I also pulled back on the babes pix on the front page to further de-emphasize the T&A factor since it wasn't really ever the main point of the site anyway. You only find them if you go looking for them. I only use the girls as a humorous marketing tool... given the name of the site (which came first, trust me!).
Everyone on board now? ;D If so please spread the word and let's try to get some ads in there.... given it's the most powerful bike search engine on the planet (no one has refuted that claim yet).
http://www.cyclesnatch.com Let the games begin.
QuoteEveryone on board now? ;D
http://www.cyclesnatch.com Let the games begin.
I'll get my five 4-sale bikes on it this weekend once I finalize pics and let you know the responses I get.
QuoteI'll get my five 4-sale bikes on it this weekend once I finalize pics and let you know the responses I get.
Thank you, good sir! I'm not expecting that you'll see a ton of responses immediately since we're in our infancy... it's a "catch-22". I'm trying to bring up 2 parts of the equation simultaneously:
- I can't increase viewers if I don't have ads (although this is the prime reason for the image gallery don'tcha know)
- I can't increase ads if I don't have viewers
So.... hang in there as it all comes together slowly but surely. Any word of mouth y'all can provide (even in other forums) is priceless.
I've recently been mentioned in Hot Bike Magazine (Nov, 2005), and most recently Two Wheel Tuner Mag (the one on stands now)... so people are starting to take notice. I need ads for the new eyeballs!