Looking back at the short evolution of Steamboat Stuff, it’s already exciting to see how this site has begun to change and morph with every customer that uses it. From my 30,000 ft. view overlooking the entire project it’s incredible to witness first hand what a little positive word of mouth has already done for our new business.
 

The Test:

Take me for example (yes… I’m going to use myself as the ‘guinea pig’ for this one). Of course as a partner in this business I wanted to test for myself exactly how strong this platform is so far. Just like Richard Branson puts himself in those hot air balloon experiments, I wanted to feel what it was like to try and sell something on Steamboat Stuff.

Just a short time live on the web and I’ll say that the shoppers are definitely here!

I, like many in this town, had an old bike in the back of my garage quite literally collecting dust. It was a beach cruiser that I pieced together years ago when I had more time to play.

Then came kids and WHAM… I found my free time limited to short spurts on my road bike when I could slip away for an hour or two. Gone were the days when I could leisurely cruise the bike path without a care in the world.

So yes, I decided to put my bike up for sale on SteamboatStuff.com partly as an experiment to gauge how effective the site really is.

Now one of the things we advocate to anyone placing their items up for sale is to take the additional step of promoting their listing through their social media channels. So yes, after my listing went live I linked it to my personal Facebook page via the built-in social sharing tools to let my friends know about my bike for sale.

Between the exposure my listing immediately received via the automated email to subscribers who opted to receive updates on new sporting goods and my own personal network of Facebook friends, my listing received over 50 views in less than 5 hours. I received 2 inquiry emails asking to test ride my bike and one made arrangements to come by my house that evening.
 

The Sale

When the prospective buyer arrived at my house (just 7 hours after going live on the site) I felt comfortable knowing that I was dealing with another Steamboat resident. I can’t say I was at all apprehensive about inviting them to my address to take a look at what I had to sell. Perhaps that’s a main difference to note between selling through a transparent marketplace like ours and using a much more broad market like Craigslist.

I made the sale. A full price offer, none the less!

Anyway, after the interested buyer took a quick spin around the block, I made the sale. A full price offer, none the less! No haggling and no worries. So here I am the co-owner of an online marketplace connecting local buyers with sellers and I was making my first sale. All of which happened in a total time of 8 hours from start to finish. Go figure.
 

Your Turn

Now I find myself compelled to compose a blog post to reinforce to anyone still hesitant to give our site a chance that it really DOES work. This is for anyone still thinking the market isn’t yet proven. For those folks and possibly you, please allow me to set your mind at ease. Heck… if I can sell a used bike in a town FILLED with used bikes in a matter of 8 hours from start to finish then I know it can work for you.

I just hope I’ve inspired you to give it a chance. I wake up daily trying to not only create a trusted marketplace that supports our community non-profits with cash payouts but I work to provide results for prospective sellers also. Based on my recent experience, I’d say we’re there.

We’ve been live for several months now and the reaction to SteamboatStuff.com from non-profits, sellers & buyers has been unbelievably positive. Non-profits are receiving real cash from listings while creating extremely creative ways to fully use SteamboatStuff.com as a viable marketing & fund-raising channel (more on this in a later update).

And while we have a number of media campaigns to increase awareness kicking off shortly, we’ve gotten a number of emails asking how this whole thing got started? This is our story:

As residents of Routt County we believe we have at least 3 things in common with our fellow locals:

• We love Steamboat Springs
• We have a garage full of STUFF
• We could stand to have some extra cash in our pocket

Building from these three commonalities as our foundation, SteamboatStuff.com was born. When we first started thinking about a new, local classified ads website we decided it needed to be more than just a place to buy and sell things. We were motivated to create something with a larger purpose than just ads.

If you look at companies like Tom’s Shoes, Sevenly and Charity Water you’ll notice that each of these started by approaching business in a fundamentally different way. These innovative approaches to business resonated with us. Specifically, the idea that a business could stand for something more than just its financial reports just felt like a better way to build a new business.

We began with the idea that this website could serve as both a valuable community resource for users to make some money for themselves while benefitting area non-profit organizations at the same time. The driving idea behind this venture is that:

The value of the transaction doesn’t end with the sale. The dollars generated here will go on to improve our community for years to come.

So as you explore the site we urge you to think about your own life and the ways you give. Perhaps you too could find one or two items around your house that it might be time to sell.

And when you decide to advertise these things to prospective buyers we hope you consider the impact you can have on local charities by choosing SteamboatStuff.com as your selling partner.

Thanks for reading!
 

About the Founders

Jay O'Hare

Jay O’Hare
Jay O’Hare is a Marketing Technologist living in Steamboat Springs, CO. His experience includes work with iXL & Agency.com, and he’s been a part of 12 start-up businesses. Most recently Jay has been the principal consultant for Altera Marketing Group. In his spare time Jay organized and started Ride 4 Yellow , Ignite Steamboat and runs a photography site www.SteamboatPics.com. You can follow him on twitter here.

David Wittlinger

David Wittlinger
David Wittlinger is the founder and Chief Marketing Analyst for Colomark Media. As an Internet Marketing Consultant, David sees himself as the bridge between client goals and online marketing channels.  David’s passion for information sharing and community building drives his innovative approach to social networking.

Hi All – We hope you’re enjoying our new-found winter weather.

We’ve been listening to your feedback and have been hard at work making SteamboatStuff.com even better.

I’m happy to tell you that we’ve simplified not only our pricing but also the non-profit benefit generated from listings. The price for any listing is simply $1 per day with a 30 day minimum. Plus we’ve increased the non-profit benefit to a full, flat $15 for every listing.
No fees, splits, etc – we eat all that cost.

Simplified Pricing & Giving

• $1 per day for all listings*
• $15 to the non-profit of your choice

The Free Box is Here!

Got things you just want to give away? The new Free Box is for you. We’ve had a ton of feedback from people who just wanted to give away a few things so we added a new category, the Free Box. Everything in the Free Box is free (duh) but it gets better. In the spirit of our mission we decided to charge a nominal $5 fee for Free Box listings.

“But that’s not Free!!” you scream! Patience grasshopper – we give 100% of the Free Box listing fee to the local non-profit of your choice. You don’t make money & neither do we but the non-profits still benefit.

So head over to SteamboatStuff.com, make some money and support any one of the 142 local non-profits you love.

Thanks for reading!

*All listings are now 30 days