CarsForaGrand.com: Simple idea that's generating big bucks

http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/1734-carsforagrandcom-simple-idea-thats-generating-big-bucks

by peter123 • 17 years ago

41 38 17 years ago

climber• 17 years ago

how does this make money?

vaksel3• 17 years ago

eBay affiliate id, someone goes to the site clicks open a car ad, sees its an eBay listing, and closes it. But the cookie remains, so when they come back to eBay a few days later to buy a TV the guy gets the affiliate credit

brm• 17 years ago

You get paid between 50 and 75% of your referees winning bid revenue, see: https://ebaypartnernetwork.com/files/hub/en-US/gettingPaid.h...

wallflower• 17 years ago

See also http://belowabuck.com

niqolas• 17 years ago

Is this true?? Why wouldn't ebay fix this to avoid giving away affiliate $$ unnecessarily?

vaksel3• 17 years ago

Not a bad return if $100K is real(could still be a PR stunt to get more coverage). Probably not a recurring thing though, since I don't see anyone coming back to a site that only has eBay listings

GiraffeNecktie• 17 years ago

Illustrates that some people don't understand the concept of filtering search results. Here's the same thing from eBay: http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Cars-Trucks_?_dmpt=US_Cars...

shaunxcode• 17 years ago

which in turn illustrates that a "viable" business can be built on making existing data more immediately accessible/refined.

run4yourlives4• 17 years ago

People not understanding things is the reason for 99% of all business. You wouldn't call a plumber if you knew how to fix that leak yourself.

whatusername• 17 years ago

having the cash. lack of time. not wanting to pull apart a toilet. I can think of a few good reasons to call a plumber even if I kknew how to do it. (I can cook, but that doesn't stop me eating out - or even getting take-away sometimes)

pj• 17 years ago

I think there is a lot of false hope in what the 37signals guys are telling their audience. Just because someone out there does very little to make a lot of money doesn't mean that's how the average jane or joe has to do it. Anecdotes to prove your case are easy to find, but the exceptions aren't the rule.

You can go buy a lottery ticket and win too. The question is, how many people just like this guy and the plentyoffish guy, etc exist compared to those who attempt to find success on the internet?

I'm not saying don't try hard and don't take risks. I'd be a hypocrite if I did, but don't forget to be realistic about how really hard it is to build a company and make money. The traditional rules of business apply to the internet as well. Lots of people got lucky striking oil in the old days, but there were way more prospectors than there were Rockefellers.

ahoyhere2• 17 years ago

pj, yes and no...

If somebody thinks they're just going to go to SVN, take a winning idea, and copy it, and make big bucks, well, yes, they're not going to succeed. Just cuz the person ahead of you in line at the lotto bought a ticket and won doesn't mean you will -- in fact, it decreases your chances.

But when a whole town calculates the odds, forms a strategy, and chips in to buy a critical % of all tickets available -- and then hits the jackpot -- you can't just say "well they just bought a lottery ticket." (This has happened before.)

It's not just the act, it's the attitude, the legwork, and the dedication.

I've made lots of "easy money" (and publicity/fame/cred) off things that didn't take me much time at all. But the key is that I am the all-grown-up version of a kid who read business books for fun & spent all night mucking around with Photoshop.

brent3• 17 years ago

If lottery tickets are generated randomly how does the person in front of you winning decrease your chance of winning?

run4yourlives4• 17 years ago

but there were way more prospectors than there were Rockefellers.

But the fact remains that Rockefeller was a prospector. Point being that 37S uses cheerleading as advertising. Their products rely on many "prospectors" taking the plunge; leaping into the world of running a business. The more successful their customers are, they more successful they are.

Hence, many "you can do it too" messages. What's even better about the whole thing is although you can chalk this up to slick marketing, 37S - because of what I said earlier - actually do want their customers to do well.

It's a brilliant piece of positioning that creates a lot of win-wins.

physcab2• 17 years ago

Winston Churchill said it best: "All great things are decided not by machines or gadgets, but by willpower. Whoever has it, will finally prevail"

frossie• 17 years ago

Winston Churchill said "gadgets"? Really? In what speech or book did he do so?

The old boy in his writings showed quite a healthy respect for the machinery of war (eg see atomic bomb). I don't see him saying such a thing in earnest.

petercooper• 17 years ago

All you've stated is a batch of truisms. Perhaps you could rewrite your first paragraph like so:

I think there is a lot of false hope in what [some person or group] are telling their audience. Just because someone out there does [some activity] to make a lot of money doesn't mean that's how the average jane or joe has to do it.

No shit!

csbartus• 17 years ago

the medium is the message ... if that case could come from elsewhere maybe pj's reaction would be different.

socratees• 17 years ago

Very Neat. I like the concept of making money through ebay sales leads rather than cramming your site with full of ads.

vaksel3• 17 years ago

I like this comment:

   Couldn’t $9,999.99 be considered high six figures in the most literal sense?

pchristensen• 17 years ago

37s use specific examples to get across a general point: quickly implement a decent idea and let the market tell you if it's good or not. You don't need millions of dollars or years of effort, you just need a good idea executed quickly and well.

minalecs• 17 years ago

and free publicity from 37 signals blog, isn't too bad for your business either

mildavw• 17 years ago

Feh. Only has half the revenue of carsfortwogrand.com.

CarsForaGrand.com: Simple idea that's generating big bucks

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