New Aviation Market! Need help with a name!

calberto

calberto

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Calberto
I'm making a new online aviation market tailored to the aircraft buyer's rights and needs. I need a name though, and this is the only part I'm having difficulty with :mad2:. What do you guys think?
 
calberto said:
I'm making a new online aviation market tailored to the aircraft buyer's rights and needs. I need a name though, and this is the only part I'm having difficulty with :mad2:. What do you guys think?
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Mooneypitts
 
How will you solve the chicken and egg problem? Buyers want ads, but there aren't any. Sellers want buyers (website traffic), but there aren't any. Classic problem with marketplace sites (job sites, dating sites, etc).

Will you be an aggregator (Indeed.com for airplane for-sale ads)? That's one way to solve it.
 
Well I am going to start by making a marketplace where the seller has to post a certain quality of pictures and the right pictures; in other words they have to document that their plane isn't complete ****. People waste too much time travelling to find ****ty planes from false ads.

I plan on getting traffic, by helping buyers from getting ripped off less often. I plan on getting sellers to advertise by getting more traffic. My advertising for aircraft will be targeted toward the right audiences.
 
Also, thank you all for the wonderful names. I really like mooneypitts! lol
 
There is a part time broker over on Beechtalk, Neal Schwartz. (I think his FT job is airline pilot). His for-sale posts are the gold standard. Register fot BT and check them out.

Ask him how much time each listing takes and how you / your website could make it easier.

I have wondered...
If he turns down listings, and, if so, why.
How much of the listing is his research and work vs prepped by the buyer (my gut tells me he does most of the legwork).
What his average time to sell is (easy to analyze on BT because you could search archives. He posts when they sell)


Also check out the detail jobs that VanBortel does to the planes they list. Very nice.

Another idea: I wonder what would happen if sellers paid for and posted an initial report from a place like Savvy Maintenance with their listing.

However, with all that in mind, well maintained and properly priced planes sell fast...in spite of the market being what it is today...
 
Good luck,looking forward to checking out the page.
 
Gonna say some tough things here - nothing personal
You are not offering the sellers anything that does not already exist
Buyers will not put up money to be on web sites
You have a blue sky dream and that is all
Clean, maintained to the teeth, desirable airplanes sell themselves with a simple ad - no need to pay you for anything
I do not see anything you want to offer that will generate the cash flow to sustain itself
 
Awesome guys, thanks for the feedback. I'm checking it all out and taking note of things. I'm also considering a part of the site where you can access a list of qualified mechanics for pre-buy inspections. These mechanics will be rated each time they are used by an aircraft buyer, and will have more detailed information including references to help qualify them. That way, it can be easier to find a reliable inspector who doesn't just take your money and run.
 
Also, I appreciate the negatives guys! Denny, thank you. In my mind, negative feedback is better than positive sometimes. If everyone is just saying good things then I know I am not engaging the critical thinking that I need from my target audience and that I am not going to build a viable product; SO PLEASE GIVE ME EVERYTHING NEGATIVE YOU CAN THINK OF! I really appreciate it. This site is going to be for you guys, and I want to make tailored for your needs.
 
what about flightbox.com?
 
I agree with Denny on most of this. I will tell you from both a buyer and seller point of view that nice well maintained, properly priced airplanes don't need much help. The biggest problem I have encountered on both sides of the table in unrealistic expectations. Sellers think their average old tied down 172 with KX-170's and a Loran is worth the same as nice, always hangared one with a 430W and a decent autopilot. By the same token buyers thing they should be able to buy the nicer one for the same price as the other ones.
Good airplanes will sell quickly if they are priced right, actually all airplanes will sell quickly if they are priced right. The ones that languish on the market aren't for lack of quality pictures, they are for lack of quality airplane. :D
This 421B was priced at $225,000 forever, I mean YEARS!! It is now at $125K, same pictures. :rolleyes:
http://www.controller.com/listingsdetail/aircraft-for-sale/CESSNA-421B/1975-CESSNA-421B/1177902.htm

Dr. O said:
Gonna say some tough things here - nothing personal
You are not offering the sellers anything that does not already exist
Buyers will not put up money to be on web sites
You have a blue sky dream and that is all
Clean, maintained to the teeth, desirable airplanes sell themselves with a simple ad - no need to pay you for anything
I do not see anything you want to offer that will generate the cash flow to sustain itself
Click to expand...
 
Never listen to people that tell you your idea already exists.
There are a lot of companies that make money selling light bulbs.
None of them came up with the idea.
 
Oh I know what you mean Bryan! I know what they are saying though. If I create a site that requires sellers to be more transparent then the good listings will obviously be more relevant on my site. If they go fast on my site, then all the better. I don't want to create another controller.com where their ads are just full of crap that have been on there since 1977... which is probably the last time barnstormers.com has been updated actually...

Potentially my site could be that place for buyers to check first! Well maintained planes may not need much help selling, but if people check my site first because of planes being better quality typically-- who do you think sellers with those good planes will go to first? A site full of crappy advertised planes that they have to advertise alongside? NO! If you've got the good stuff then show it! Be proud and sell quickly. Flaunt your beautiful plane on my site with all of its glorious pictures. lol
 
calberto said:
I'm making a new online aviation market tailored to the aircraft buyer's rights and needs. I need a name though, and this is the only part I'm having difficulty with :mad2:. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Free Airplanes
 
It would be nice if someone did an amalgamated search engine of all the aviation sales sights.
 
It would be nice if someone could come up with a site that offers a carrot to the buyer and seller if they can provide proof of final sale price, as well as objective information on condition, equipment, etc. That information would then be anonymized and used aggregately to create an appraisal module. That's something people might actually pay money for.
 
If someone wanted to do something, they could put together a network of people across the country that would go an give an initial verification of condition and equipment being as represented, a 'pre screening' to eliminate those $1000 trips to see a POS that was represented as a 9/10.
 
Henning said:
If someone wanted to do something, they could put together a network of people across the country that would go an give an initial verification of condition and equipment being as represented, a 'pre screening' to eliminate those $1000 trips to see a POS that was represented as a 9/10.
Click to expand...
That idea could be expanded on to make the guys "buyers agents".
A buyer could describe their mission and budget and these guys would find an appropriate plane. They would be able to evaluate the avionics and STCs and recommend a fair price, and perhaps even help negotiate.

I guess that is similar to what existing brokers do, but it would be designed around helping the buyer.
 
Henning, I know you and I have talked about this before; do you think that it would be ok to do pre-buy screenings with non-mechanics?
 
I feel like a lot of people don't necessarily need a broker or a full pre-buy inspection. They just want to know if the plane is worth their time at all. Any one feel any different about this? I know some do want the luxury of a full broker though.
 
WingBuyers
PropCentral
 
JOhnH said:
That idea could be expanded on to make the guys "buyers agents".
A buyer could describe their mission and budget and these guys would find an appropriate plane. They would be able to evaluate the avionics and STCs and recommend a fair price, and perhaps even help negotiate.

I guess that is similar to what existing brokers do, but it would be designed around helping the buyer.
Click to expand...

The thing is to have a nationwide network so you have a standard of evaluation before you travel. You can work it like Auto Trader did and send someone to take the pictures and verify the listing.
 
calberto said:
Henning, I know you and I have talked about this before; do you think that it would be ok to do pre-buy screenings with non-mechanics?
Click to expand...

Yes, I think a competent non A&P is perfectly capable of looking at a plane and determining if the plane is representative of the advertising. This isn't meant to replace a prebuy, this is just to provide a basic screening, basically an in depth preflight and equipment list verification & test. Just 20 minutes to look and say, "Yep, it appears as advertised" or not. The service would save the average buyer a couple of thousand dollars in time and travel cost looking at clearly misrepresented aircraft.
 
From my PM, shared here for all...

calberto said:
Thanks for posting on my thread! What exactly do you mean about proof of final sale price? Have you had a problem with people changing the price on you, or do you mean for haggling to be taken care of?
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What I'm suggesting is that the actual selling is not readily available (unlike say real estate), so by getting a verified selling price it helps to build a list of comps for appraisal. The verified price could be through mutual validation from both parties, bill of sale, etc.

Why would someone misreport the sale price? Move the market, pride, taxes, etc.
 
The Adventuers Club?
Set the plane pics around an old English Adventurers club setting. Leather sofas, teak wood, floor to ceiling bookcases....

Give each listing ambiance and a bit of mystery.
 
Henning said:
It would be nice if someone did an amalgamated search engine of all the aviation sales sights.
Click to expand...

Globalplanesearch.com is close, but some sites don't allow GPS to crawl their site. For example, I know it does not scrub barnstormers.
 
HonestBirds.com

Just make sure you never allow "call for price" on your site....along with other things suggested.

PM me for residuals...once you hit the big time.
 
The market place is gone.
Guess no many sellers want to be honest
 
Our Airplanes are Free*

*Nominal charge for leaving the ramp with one
 
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