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Old 11 October 2012, 14:15   #1
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Anybody have a trade account with Apollo Duck ?

If so what are your thoughts, seems cheap to me and site looks better than the others. Slightly unsure on the payment method (in particular where the card details are kept on file then charged manually each month) but it might just be me.

Any input appreciated before we sign up

Thanks

Peter @ Boatsandoutboards4sale ~ askboatsandoutboards4sale@sky.com ~ 07930 421007
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Old 11 October 2012, 14:46   #2
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I can't comment from a sellers point of view, but would confirm your thoughts from a buyers perspective.

Two boats in our current fleet, Ocean 6.5 and Bombard 380, came off the site as projects.
The site appeared to have far less obvious scams than your namesake, is easier to browse, and I feel generally better all round.

Nasher.
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Old 11 October 2012, 15:11   #3
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When I contacted them direct about my issues with dan cooper & outboardmotorseurope they closed his site down immediately !!
To me that speaks volumes about the integrity of the site operator unlike ebay or some other advertisers mentioning no names !!!!!
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Old 11 October 2012, 15:34   #4
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I'd agree they seem far more proactive that that other lot (mentioning no names) and are far better priced.

Do people actually search it ?

Would still welcome input from another trade account holder though
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Old 11 October 2012, 15:59   #5
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Not trade - but I bought my SR4 through Apollo Duck and would highly recommend it
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Old 11 October 2012, 16:00   #6
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What about contacting one that's already advertising on there that's not directly competing with you for goods/services & asking them ?
I stumbled on it when looking for 'outboards for sale uk' on google !
Ebay seems to be the easiest marketplace for a buyer despite the obvious pitfalls.
Bought one (hopefully) through contact on here this time so I'm having the full range !
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Old 11 October 2012, 17:22   #7
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They used to give a free trial period for trade accounts, worth asking them.
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Old 11 October 2012, 18:32   #8
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Hi Peter

Just spotted your 4 adds on Apollo Duck - look well

Best of luck
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Old 11 October 2012, 19:12   #9
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Thanks

Very basic start but let's see what interest it generates. Already the numbers look great, although that's all they've been so far

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Old 11 October 2012, 21:01   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boats&Outboards View Post
Do people actually search it ?
I check it daily (the Irish site). It a virtually global operation and seems very well managed.
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Old 11 October 2012, 21:30   #11
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Quote:
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I check it daily (the Irish site). It a virtually global operation and seems very well managed.
Cobra 8.5m with diesel inboard £7k!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..............not that well managed!!!!
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Old 11 October 2012, 22:04   #12
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Quote:
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I check it daily (the Irish site). It a virtually global operation and seems very well managed.
I think Peter meant, "do people who buy boats actually read it?"... lets face it even when you come to buy a proper boat again you've not really left yourself many options where its coming from!
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Old 12 October 2012, 07:45   #13
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I think Peter meant
I see.

And there was me going by what he SAID, not what he actually really MEANT. Here, are you SURE you're not related to Mrs willk?

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Old 12 October 2012, 15:43   #14
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Think it is a very well laid site. Fast Web Servers also,unlike some.
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Old 13 October 2012, 21:02   #15
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Update

Have created an account and I like the trade upload process. Works far better than its competitors, particularly Boatsandoutboards. A lot less scams (or harder to spot) with very proactive people employed in rooting them out. Payment process a bit dated (no direct debit etc).

In terms of figures I'm both astonished and concerned. We have only put up 10 listings right now, 4 ribs, 1 Pilothouse, 4 Outboards and a wanted ad. 3 under £1k, 5 under £10k and one at £20k. These have been on just 3 days and had 30,000 views between them, all getting 2,000 + hits which is fantastic.

Concerning figure is we had just 1 enquiry from them all. Very unusual. I even put up a test ad with a stupidly cheap package price to see what happened and it had 5,000 hits in 24 hours but not one enquiry!!!

Compare that to B/O where the same ads have had just 3,000 hits between them in the last 5 days but at least 10 enquiries., 2 leading to sales. A typical eBay listing generates 3,000 views in 10 days.

I guess what I'm trying to say is Apollo Duck seems to get far more lurkers whereas B/O gets the serious buyers. Too early to make a decision but I'm thinking Apollo Duck has a much wider customer base, most of which are not within a distance to proceed interest (USA etc). That being said its so cheap it's well worth it but as bad as the site is, Boatsandoutboards still produces the best results.

At 4.5 times the price I should darn well hope so

Peter @ Boatsandoutboards4sale ~ askboatsandoutboards4sale@sky.com ~ 07930 421007
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Old 13 October 2012, 21:16   #16
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How are you measuring the stats? Could part of it be search engine spiders or other bots? What matters is buyers not views or enquiries in fact if e.g. b+o produced more enquiries each taking your time but fewer sales it might be less profitable.
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Old 13 October 2012, 21:27   #17
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It's stats provided by each site. I'd rather 10 enquiries wasting my time then nothing at all, as I can potentially turn them into leads.

The Apollo Duck site is far superior but to date its not yielding any leads, which is obviously not sustainable. Say what you like about B/O - it's still the best selling platform on the market.

Peter @ Boatsandoutboards4sale ~ askboatsandoutboards4sale@sky.com ~ 07930 421007
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Old 13 October 2012, 21:32   #18
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Here's one for you - I had my old RIB advertised on:

Apolloduck
Boats & Outboards
DoneDeal
RIBnet
Redbay Boats Used Boats section

Redbay sold it
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Old 13 October 2012, 21:45   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by willk
Here's one for you - I had my old RIB advertised on:

Apolloduck
Boats & Outboards
DoneDeal
RIBnet
Redbay Boats Used Boats section

Redbay sold it
Was it a Redbay by any chance ? How long did they take,

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Old 13 October 2012, 21:54   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boats&Outboards View Post
Was it a Redbay by any chance ? How long did they take
Of course

The lead came in after about 2-3 weeks.
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