I've finished the site now how do I spread the word

Hiya,

Hopefully someone will be kind enough to help me out.

I've just created a new site, it's a new concept too. I'm not much of a designer, so the layout is pretty basic. (I'm very good at implementing otherpeoples designs, but not that creative myself, so forgive me for lack of "imagination")

It would take too long to explain in full here, but I'll give you a quick run down.

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It's basically a bidding service like an auction, where people get others to help them purchase things from online stores.

Example: I wanted to purchase something from the US Apple Store (for delivery in the US as a present for a friend) however, as I live in England, I don't have a US Credit Card, so I post a request on the site for someone in the US to do the transaction for me.

Hopefully people will bid, and offer to do it for a small fee.

I've got the site up and running, and there is a better explanation on the site itself http://www.buy-proxy.com it's probably a good idea to read the How it works page too.

I beleive that this idea will catch on once people know about it, as it could help people from around the world, not only to order stuff that they wouldn't have access to otherwise, but it could provide a bit of extra money for those who are doing the helping.
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My biggest problem is that I don't have a budget for marketing, and was wondering if any of you know any tips or tricks for publicising websites for free, or very little cash.

Any info will help and be much appreciated. I have PHP/MySQL AppleScript Studio knowledge, so I'd be willing to trade those skills for assistance if you don't feel like dishing out free information.

I look forward to the responses, and constructive criticism of the site itself.

Heya,

Thanks for the response, you are quite correct about that apostrophe, I've fixed it.

Thanks too for the idea about submitting it to Gizmodo, Wired etc, I guess I'll have to create a "Press Release".

Hopefully people will be sensible about things, So
Basically I see it as being the same as asking a friend to do this for you, and being generous enough to give them a little something extra for their trouble. Just in this case , if you don't have a friend who's in the right place with the right payment method we help you find someone. Naturally if you ask your friend to do something illegal, and he agrees, you are both liable, so hopefully people will be sensible about things.

There is a section in the Terms and conditions about what can't be traded, i.e Adult Material, Explosives etc, and I'll be keeping an eye on this to make sure its not used for bad things.However, with regards to the legality, while I'm pretty sure that it's OK, I'll naturally welcome any info from any legally minded people out there.

Excellent ideas ppl Thank you all.

I'll work on that press release and keep you informed.

ChicoWeb said:

Great idea. So, are you the one holding the money? I'm confused as to what type of funds the proxy recieves (paypal, check, to your acct). Other than that, I think this is a great idea.

Click to expand...

Sorry, about the delay in response, I'd lost the link to this thread.

Indeed I am the one holding the money while it's in escrow. I'm discussing with my accountant about a better way to handle this, which will be important for when we grow. I don't have a better solution yet, as I can't escrow the escrow if you see what I mean. My Real Name, Address and phone number show up in the whois info for the site, so I'm fairly easy to find.

If you have any suggestions on a better way to handle this, I'd be grateful.

To answer your second question, a Principals should pay Proxies through the site (via PayPal), and the money will be placed in their account, they can then make a withdrawal to their PayPal account. It works pretty much the same as most of the "freelancer" sites out there.

Good News,

Thanks to the suggestions in this thread, I've finally produced a Press Release, whiche I'm currently sending out to as many places as I can think of.

Gizmodo is the first place that's mentioned Buy-Proxy, you can find their article here. Gizmodo article

That article brought me my first 40 members, and there are now two open Requests, one for an item from Japan, and another for an item to be sent to Canada. If you feel you can help, please drop by and sign-up.

Oh, and I've extended the "No Fees" promotion to end of July.