Bidtopia
Encyclopedia
Bidtopia was an ecommerce site originally launched in 2007 as a private auction
site for Warehouse86 Ventures, LLC. Paul St. James, owner of Bargainland, which had been the largest PowerSeller on eBay
that same year, started the new enterprise in response to changes in eBay policies regarding high volume sales of brand name merchandise and restrictions on sellers with poor customer feedback.. Bidtopia suffered the loss of one of its three distribution centers in 2008, and went offline and possibly out of business in early 2010.
system, a requirement that all items have the ability to sell for as little as 99 cents, and "popcorn bidding", a response to concerns about last second bids, or auction "sniping", wherein the auction deadline
was extended by one minute if there was a bid within the last minute before the auction was to close. Bidtopia later allowed other sellers with online business experience into their marketplace, and added the requirement that seller accounts and bidder accounts be mutually exclusive
, as their needs and desires are vastly different. Under Bidtopia's feedback system buyers were allowed to leave a positive
, neutral
or negative
feedback message for a seller for any reason, at any time after the completion of the auction, and even in the event that the sale itself was not completed. Sellers, however, were limited to making a +1 or -1 change to the buyer's Transaction
Score
, a metric
of how many times the buyer had followed through with payment for auctions they had won. Bidtopia's philosophy
was that a bidder had a single obligation
in the auction transaction, to pay for their order in a timely fashion. The buyer
would receive a -1 in the event that a seller reported that they had not paid promptly, and would receive a +1 in the event that the seller reported a successful transaction. The buyer would also automatically receive a +1 if after 30 days the seller had failed to make a negative report. Any bidder whose account accrued a Transaction Score of less than 90%, and had 5 or more negative transactions would be suspended
from further bidding.
and ability to pay with a .99 cent sign up fee. Initially there was only one seller, Bidtopia itself, but later the marketplace was expanded to include other sellers with online auction experience. Sellers could not sign up and shortly thereafter start creating auctions, but instead had to be individually approved by Bidtopia's management
, a requirement meant to help curb problems related to fraud
and the sale of stolen goods. Bidtopia had no means for sellers to directly create auctions via its website
, instead requiring that such sellers use either software of their own creation or third-party
tools designed to interact with the application programming interface
for Bidtopia's auction software.
in Southaven, Tennessee
was badly damaged when it was struck by a tornado
. What little had survived was destroyed a week later by a fire that engulfed the facility, forcing Bidtopia to run its operations from its two other locations, in Mississippi
and Utah
. Bidtopia, which had been reportedly doing well to that point, sought out and agreed upon a partnership
with Ken May
and Bill Doherty, a former CEO and an executive, respectively, of FedEx, and seemed on to be on the road to recovery. But within a year the company would be off the internet
, with customers reporting that in early February, 2010, Bidtopia stopped allowing new auctions to be started, and would not respond to queries from customers, sellers or the News Media
. With no new auctions activity on the site slowed to a crawl and then died. In June 2010
Bidtopia announced plans to restructure the site once again as a private marketplace
, but some time thereafter the site was made inaccessible to visitors, and has not reappeared since.
on the part of resellers who he claimed were repeat customers of his service making purchases in order to immediately resell the item on eBay at a higher price, and yet also hitting Bargainland with repeated negative feedback in hopes of discouraging their customers from purchasing directly from Bargainland.
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
site for Warehouse86 Ventures, LLC. Paul St. James, owner of Bargainland, which had been the largest PowerSeller on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
that same year, started the new enterprise in response to changes in eBay policies regarding high volume sales of brand name merchandise and restrictions on sellers with poor customer feedback.. Bidtopia suffered the loss of one of its three distribution centers in 2008, and went offline and possibly out of business in early 2010.
Unique features and policies
Bidtopia was designed with innovative features meant to enhance the online auction format, such as a unique feedbackFeedback
Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of the same Feedback describes the situation when output from (or information about the result of) an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or...
system, a requirement that all items have the ability to sell for as little as 99 cents, and "popcorn bidding", a response to concerns about last second bids, or auction "sniping", wherein the auction deadline
Time limit
A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished.In project management, deadlines are most often associated with milestone goals....
was extended by one minute if there was a bid within the last minute before the auction was to close. Bidtopia later allowed other sellers with online business experience into their marketplace, and added the requirement that seller accounts and bidder accounts be mutually exclusive
Mutually exclusive
In layman's terms, two events are mutually exclusive if they cannot occur at the same time. An example is tossing a coin once, which can result in either heads or tails, but not both....
, as their needs and desires are vastly different. Under Bidtopia's feedback system buyers were allowed to leave a positive
Positive
Positive is a property of positivity and may refer to:- Mathematics and science :* Converging lens or positive lens, in optics* Plus sign, the sign "+" used to indicate a positive number* Positive , a polarity of electrical charge...
, neutral
Neutral
Neutral and neutrality may mean the following:-Natural science:* Neutral element or identity element , a special type of element of a set with respect to a binary operation on that set, such if applied to, or operated with any element of the set, causes no change to this last element* Neutral...
or negative
Negative
- Science and mathematics :* Negative number* Negative mass* Negative energy * Electrical polarity* Negative result * Negative lenses, uses to describe diverging optics, see lens - Photography :...
feedback message for a seller for any reason, at any time after the completion of the auction, and even in the event that the sale itself was not completed. Sellers, however, were limited to making a +1 or -1 change to the buyer's Transaction
Financial transaction
A financial transaction is an event or condition under the contract between a buyer and a seller to exchange an asset for payment. It involves a change in the status of the finances of two or more businesses or individuals.-History:...
Score
Score (statistics)
In statistics, the score, score function, efficient score or informant plays an important role in several aspects of inference...
, a metric
Metric
Metric may refer to:* the metric system of measurement** International System of Units, or Système International , the modern form of the metric system** Metric ton, a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kg...
of how many times the buyer had followed through with payment for auctions they had won. Bidtopia's philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
was that a bidder had a single obligation
Obligation
An obligation is a requirement to take some course of action, whether legal or moral. There are also obligations in other normative contexts, such as obligations of etiquette, social obligations, and possibly...
in the auction transaction, to pay for their order in a timely fashion. The buyer
Buyer
When someone gets characterised by their role as buyer of certain assets, the term "buyer" gets new meaning:A "buyer" or merchandiser is a person who purchases finished goods, typically for resale, for a firm, government, or organization...
would receive a -1 in the event that a seller reported that they had not paid promptly, and would receive a +1 in the event that the seller reported a successful transaction. The buyer would also automatically receive a +1 if after 30 days the seller had failed to make a negative report. Any bidder whose account accrued a Transaction Score of less than 90%, and had 5 or more negative transactions would be suspended
Suspension (punishment)
Suspension is a form of punishment that people receive for violating rules and regulations.- Workplace :Suspension is a common practice in the workplace for being in violation of an organization's policy...
from further bidding.
Other key differences
Unlike their competitors in the online auction space, Bidtopia required that new bidders verify their identityIdentity
-Philosophical topics:* Identity , also called sameness, is whatever makes an entity definable and recognizable* Law of identity, principle of logic stating that an object is the same as itself...
and ability to pay with a .99 cent sign up fee. Initially there was only one seller, Bidtopia itself, but later the marketplace was expanded to include other sellers with online auction experience. Sellers could not sign up and shortly thereafter start creating auctions, but instead had to be individually approved by Bidtopia's management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, a requirement meant to help curb problems related to fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
and the sale of stolen goods. Bidtopia had no means for sellers to directly create auctions via its website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, instead requiring that such sellers use either software of their own creation or third-party
Third-party software component
In computer programming, a third-party software component is a reusable software component developed to be either freely distributed or sold by an entity other than the original vendor of the development platform...
tools designed to interact with the application programming interface
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
for Bidtopia's auction software.
Final years
In 2008 Bidtopia's distribution centerDistribution center
A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to consumers. A distribution center is a principal part, the order...
in Southaven, Tennessee
Southaven, Tennessee
Southaven is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States....
was badly damaged when it was struck by a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
. What little had survived was destroyed a week later by a fire that engulfed the facility, forcing Bidtopia to run its operations from its two other locations, in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Bidtopia, which had been reportedly doing well to that point, sought out and agreed upon a partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
with Ken May
Ken May
Kenneth A. May is a Memphis, Tennessee native, former CEO of FedEx Office, and chairman of the March of Dimes' board of trustees.-Personal life:...
and Bill Doherty, a former CEO and an executive, respectively, of FedEx, and seemed on to be on the road to recovery. But within a year the company would be off the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, with customers reporting that in early February, 2010, Bidtopia stopped allowing new auctions to be started, and would not respond to queries from customers, sellers or the News Media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
. With no new auctions activity on the site slowed to a crawl and then died. In June 2010
June 2010
June 2010 was the sixth month of that year. It began on a Tuesday and ended after 30 days on a Wednesday.- Portal:Current events :This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from June 2010.- See also :...
Bidtopia announced plans to restructure the site once again as a private marketplace
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
, but some time thereafter the site was made inaccessible to visitors, and has not reappeared since.
Controversy
Prior to the founding of Bidtopia, Bargainland was a controversial seller on eBay. While it was the largest seller on eBay in 2007 and had over a million positive feedback message, it also had one of the lowest feedback scores of any high volume seller at the time, dipping below 90% positive on several occasions. Owner Paul St. James claimed that the reasons for this low feedback were due to the nature of his business in remaindered, damaged or liquidated goods, and unfair business practicesUnfair business practices
Unfair business practices encompass fraud, misrepresentation, and oppressive or unconscionable acts or practices by business, often against consumers and are prohibited by law in many countries. For instance, in the European Union, each member state must regulate unfair business practices in...
on the part of resellers who he claimed were repeat customers of his service making purchases in order to immediately resell the item on eBay at a higher price, and yet also hitting Bargainland with repeated negative feedback in hopes of discouraging their customers from purchasing directly from Bargainland.