benedwards
benedwards on Hacker News
I have built, launched, and run Swappa
http://swappa.com while having a day job. Revenues won't support me quitting yet (or anytime soon), but Swappa is profitable.
Focus. Simplicity. Service. Price.
Swappa is taking on eBay for re-selling Android devices...
http://swappa.com
Focus. Only fully functional, ready to activate Android devices are allowed. Anything else is blatant fraud.
Simplicity. Only have one form to fill out to sell a device. No auctions. One price. A device is sold only when the buyer pays.
Service. An actual person checks in and helps on almost every transaction.
Price. Flat fee ($10), paid by buyer, only when a device sells. Sell a $300 device and save about $20 in fees.
Nice looking site. Good luck!
Python
* great community of really smart people
* cross-platform consistency
* great libraries and open-source
* has Django
* Google uses it
* ...
Get something out there that people can use, quickly. Good luck.
Allow users to pay to upgrade to a "featured" listing or something like that.
Great idea. Great looking site.
I think it means he is not looking at you as a technical co-founder. He's looking at you as an early hire. From his point of view, he has the expertise, the money, the assets, etc... you are just a resource.
Posted by
benedwards on Thursday January 13, 2011 @05:17PM
from the self-post dept.
I quietly launched Swappa, a marketplace for used Android devices, about a month ago. A buyer and seller connected for the very first sale this afternoon... a used Motorola Droid now has a new home thanks to Swappa.(I really hope the first sale was the hardest.)Thanks, HN. I've learned a lot here.
Posted by
benedwards on Thursday January 13, 2011 @10:55AM
from the swappa.blogspot.com dept.
Flippa.com is probably the best place to sell. Check out the other listings there to get an idea of how to "market" it...
I know, this was a big decision I went back and forth on. And I've read all the HN threads discussing whether or not to use it. I ended up going with Facebook connect because it's so easy to get a name and profile picture, and from what I can tell, the average user doesn't mind. I've also tried to state clearly what information is and isn't used.
Swappa has just been launched as a better way to buy and sell gently used, fully functional Android devices. Thank you for feedback...
Posted by
benedwards on Wednesday December 29, 2010 @11:13AM
from the swappa.com dept.
I once hacked an older hotel pay-per-view system by ordering a movie and rearranging/disconnecting wires while it was "activated". Had free soft-porn (and other movies) all week at COMDEX (about 12 years ago, in high school).
I'm trying #2, the sell on Flippa (rather than eBay) approach:
http://flippa.com/auctions/86405Results are still pending. It's hard to sell a product/project without existing customers and revenue though. Good luck!
Posted by
benedwards on Friday March 12, 2010 @03:45PM
from the doughellmann.com dept.
Saying Django is not appropriate for complex sites is just plain wrong. For whatever reason Django was just not a good fit for that author, but I think there's thousands of Djangonauts developing complex sites that would completely disagree with him.
Definitely don't pass on Django because of one guy's opinion.
I'd recommend Ubuntu. Good software, good community.
Posted by
benedwards on Thursday January 28, 2010 @02:19PM
from the self-post dept.
See everything in action: http://redbirdapps.comThe web-application allows anyone to create, purchase, and share their own Android application (no programming required).The technology behind the site is for sale, including: website code and Android code. (The company is not for sale. There are no obligations to existing customers.)The buyer could have their own site up and running, creating...
I learn by building stuff.
Being able to show off something you've built is better than showing a certificate for something you studied for.
Posted by
benedwards on Friday January 08, 2010 @03:03PM
from the redbirdapps.com dept.