Storage Auctions

Resources => What's it Worth?? => Topic started by: 39shades on May 14, 2012, 12:07:48 PM

Title: Anyone ever use Worthpoint.com to determine values?
Post by: 39shades on May 14, 2012, 12:07:48 PM
I just ran into a website for Worthpoint.com, wondered of they were worth the money to subscribe.
Anyone have an opinion?

They claim a 15 million item database (that was back in 2009).

Check it out, let me know what you think!

auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y209/m02/abu0233/s02

Time spent researching an item before you sell it can be a good investment. In 2007, one eBay seller was probably happy to attract a winning bid of $300 for a single bottle of vintage beer. But imagine how that seller felt when the buyer - who knew exactly how desirable the 1852 beer actually was - turned around and sold the same bottle for $503,000.

When it comes to selling online, knowledge is power. An antiques and collectibles marketplace called WorthPoint not only offers a place to buy and sell, but also provides information so sellers can write accurate descriptions with market prices. And that, says its CEO Will Seippel, enables sellers to get the highest possible value for their merchandise.

"To me, it's the data that helps educate a buyer or seller," says Seippel. "You can talk all you want about marketing and finding the right place to sell something, but you have to go back to a more fundamental question: doing research so you can understand what it is you are trying to sell and what its true value is."

A newly developed version of the WorthPoint site gives buyers and sellers plenty of ways to gather this sort of information. Right now, they have access to the half million items in WorthPoint's database. In March, WorthPoint will add the database of past descriptions and sales on GoAntiques, a live auction-style marketplace acquired by WorthPoint in 2008. And after that, the site will add a full one-third of eBay's sales records for collectibles, purchased from Terapeak and "spidered" in as sales are made. The result: the "Worthipedia," a database of 15 million items.

On top of that, buyers and sellers have the ability to "friend" one another in the same way Facebook users do. A group of experts called Worthologists are available to answer questions about specific types of collectibles. And people whose business it is to sell antiques and collectibles, such as dealers, have the option to create a home page on the site where they can, for example, publish a calendar of upcoming sales and other events.

Seippel, 52, who lives in Atlanta, is a collectibles dealer in his own right. He started out as a member of the New England Antique Dealers Association with his own brick-and-mortar antique store. He has no nostalgia for those days, however. "I hated people coming in and taking stuff apart, trying to find little faults with them so they could get a lower price," he says. "I loved the electronic marketplace as soon as I found it. To me, this is a huge amount of fun."

His five children also collect; his oldest son likes Pez dispensers in particular. Seippel is an eBay PowerSeller, and he estimates he has sold more than 10,000 items in that marketplace. Collecting rare coins is his particular passion, so he has been actively involved on both sides of the sale with understanding his merchandise thoroughly and accurately estimating its value. And he knows his way around a database. He was involved in managing PC products and software product lines as well as other technology for Digital Equipment Corporation, and later helped United Airlines turn around their data-intensive reservation system. He has also managed some of the world's largest database technology building oil drilling earth models with some of the world's most data-intensive models at Halliburton.

He estimates traffic on WorthPoint has grown by as much as 4 percent per day since purchasing GoAntiques. While GoAntiques was primarily oriented toward professional antiques dealers, WorthPoint puts out a special welcome mat for individual buyers and sellers. You can buy a membership for as little as $3.95 per month that will allow you to place up to five items for sale at a time.

But there are plenty of marketplaces around where you can sell merchandise. WorthPoint is special because it provides so much information in such a user-friendly format. The database is easily searchable, and there are numerous ways to quickly pick the brains of experts and other members of the user community. "WorthPoint's first goal is to educate people," says Seippel. Being able to find merchandise easily is another, he says; accordingly, WorthPoint has spent time developing a "taxonomy" in which objects are logically organized.

WorthPoint is still a work in progress. There are plans to assemble a huge searchable database. Another improvement on the horizon is providing prospective sellers with a "virtual room" where they can learn exactly what an object is and identify auction houses that might be interested in selling it.

Where others see a gloom-and-doom economy, Seippel anticipates a bright future. "Between WorthPoint and GoAntiques, we attract 1.4 million unique visitors per month, which is pretty good for a company that's been around for two years," he says. "Some people say collecting is dead, but I don't think so. I think it's a great time to be in business. Data is so important to people. For consumers in this economy, getting the right price is more important than ever."
Title: Re: Anyone ever use Worthpoint.com to determine values?
Post by: Cheesehead on May 15, 2012, 12:04:32 PM
The caveat here, of course, is when you ask the CEO of the company his opinion, he's bound to tell you it's the greatest thing since sliced bread!  Didn't look at the link, but would be curious if they have a "free trial" you can check out.  Also, wonder if their "huge searchable database" takes into consideration the "regional" differences - items worth SQUAT in my area may be gold in other parts of the country.....

IMO, unless you are selling TONS of stuff, there are enough free ways to find out how much something is potentially worth. 
Title: Re: Anyone ever use Worthpoint.com to determine values?
Post by: Zao24 on May 15, 2012, 01:44:46 PM
Havn't subscribed but they do seem to have a large database.  I find things on there all the time that aren't on ebay's completed listings.  If you do a google search for something not so common, worthpoint will usually come up but they don't show you the price unless you subscribe.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use Worthpoint.com to determine values?
Post by: lgb on February 25, 2016, 11:25:40 AM
Deceptive Advertising and Billing Practices! Beware!
2/23/16 signed up for 7 day free trial, used site for one evening. Site very slow, did not provide information I was looking for. Cancelled, received confirmation subscription was cancelled via email. Looked at my credit card account a few days later and saw they billed me for $539.99, annual subscription. I was shocked! First the site makes it appear if you choose the annual subscription choice you save 50% and it is billed in monthly installments. So I called them today, 2/25/16, and spoke to the customer service person. Who informed me of how it works. It is 7 days or 7 lookups! I certainly wasn't aware of that! Oh and once you hit the 7 lookups then a box appears asking you to confirm your subscription, which I don't remember and this seals in your subscription! Ok, but I only used it for one evening. Asked about prorating the fee since did not use it for 7 days. Nope-- once you click that box apparently you are charged the full amount whether you use it or not. I won't be using it because it does not provide information I need. She was very argumentative, demeaning and telling me I was wrong and she could ask a manager to call me and see if we could reach an agreement but this was iffy, might happen, might not. Might get a call might not. I logged back in to the account and it confirms I do not have any subscriptions! I want my money back. That is absolutely absurd they would charge me $539.99 for one evening of browsing!

I just ran into a website for Worthpoint.com, wondered of they were worth the money to subscribe.
Anyone have an opinion?

They claim a 15 million item database (that was back in 2009).

Check it out, let me know what you think!

auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y209/m02/abu0233/s02

Time spent researching an item before you sell it can be a good investment. In 2007, one eBay seller was probably happy to attract a winning bid of $300 for a single bottle of vintage beer. But imagine how that seller felt when the buyer - who knew exactly how desirable the 1852 beer actually was - turned around and sold the same bottle for $503,000.

When it comes to selling online, knowledge is power. An antiques and collectibles marketplace called WorthPoint not only offers a place to buy and sell, but also provides information so sellers can write accurate descriptions with market prices. And that, says its CEO Will Seippel, enables sellers to get the highest possible value for their merchandise.

"To me, it's the data that helps educate a buyer or seller," says Seippel. "You can talk all you want about marketing and finding the right place to sell something, but you have to go back to a more fundamental question: doing research so you can understand what it is you are trying to sell and what its true value is."

A newly developed version of the WorthPoint site gives buyers and sellers plenty of ways to gather this sort of information. Right now, they have access to the half million items in WorthPoint's database. In March, WorthPoint will add the database of past descriptions and sales on GoAntiques, a live auction-style marketplace acquired by WorthPoint in 2008. And after that, the site will add a full one-third of eBay's sales records for collectibles, purchased from Terapeak and "spidered" in as sales are made. The result: the "Worthipedia," a database of 15 million items.

On top of that, buyers and sellers have the ability to "friend" one another in the same way Facebook users do. A group of experts called Worthologists are available to answer questions about specific types of collectibles. And people whose business it is to sell antiques and collectibles, such as dealers, have the option to create a home page on the site where they can, for example, publish a calendar of upcoming sales and other events.

Seippel, 52, who lives in Atlanta, is a collectibles dealer in his own right. He started out as a member of the New England Antique Dealers Association with his own brick-and-mortar antique store. He has no nostalgia for those days, however. "I hated people coming in and taking stuff apart, trying to find little faults with them so they could get a lower price," he says. "I loved the electronic marketplace as soon as I found it. To me, this is a huge amount of fun."

His five children also collect; his oldest son likes Pez dispensers in particular. Seippel is an eBay PowerSeller, and he estimates he has sold more than 10,000 items in that marketplace. Collecting rare coins is his particular passion, so he has been actively involved on both sides of the sale with understanding his merchandise thoroughly and accurately estimating its value. And he knows his way around a database. He was involved in managing PC products and software product lines as well as other technology for Digital Equipment Corporation, and later helped United Airlines turn around their data-intensive reservation system. He has also managed some of the world's largest database technology building oil drilling earth models with some of the world's most data-intensive models at Halliburton.

He estimates traffic on WorthPoint has grown by as much as 4 percent per day since purchasing GoAntiques. While GoAntiques was primarily oriented toward professional antiques dealers, WorthPoint puts out a special welcome mat for individual buyers and sellers. You can buy a membership for as little as $3.95 per month that will allow you to place up to five items for sale at a time.

But there are plenty of marketplaces around where you can sell merchandise. WorthPoint is special because it provides so much information in such a user-friendly format. The database is easily searchable, and there are numerous ways to quickly pick the brains of experts and other members of the user community. "WorthPoint's first goal is to educate people," says Seippel. Being able to find merchandise easily is another, he says; accordingly, WorthPoint has spent time developing a "taxonomy" in which objects are logically organized.

WorthPoint is still a work in progress. There are plans to assemble a huge searchable database. Another improvement on the horizon is providing prospective sellers with a "virtual room" where they can learn exactly what an object is and identify auction houses that might be interested in selling it.

Where others see a gloom-and-doom economy, Seippel anticipates a bright future. "Between WorthPoint and GoAntiques, we attract 1.4 million unique visitors per month, which is pretty good for a company that's been around for two years," he says. "Some people say collecting is dead, but I don't think so. I think it's a great time to be in business. Data is so important to people. For consumers in this economy, getting the right price is more important than ever."
Title: Re: Anyone ever use Worthpoint.com to determine values?
Post by: dwaitha on September 23, 2016, 05:32:29 PM
This company is HORRIBLE!! Most of what they provide is from eBay and you can that from eBay free. And, when I tried to cancel my account, they ignored my online, email and phone requests.
Title: Re: Anyone ever use Worthpoint.com to determine values?
Post by: alloro on September 24, 2016, 01:14:40 PM
when I tried to cancel my account, they ignored my online, email and phone requests.

You can call your bank or credit card company and have their charges blocked.