Ian, do you have packing materials available if a current owner made the mistake of discarding the original ones?

Fixed it

Thanks, Jay.

One potential problem that I can see is to have the buyer return the product, only by this time it's been damaged (perhaps by the buyer).

Always the pessimist.

For some inexplicable reason it looks as though I may have made the very same mistake Tom and packaging was the first thought to hit my mind whenever I saw the new auction. Overall this looks like the perfect avenue for folks like me who would rather drive nails into their eyeballs than to go through the hassle of selling stuff and it looks like a great way to finally add that other subwoofer I've been procrastinating for so long.

I would imagine shipping packaging materials at the cost of the seller along with the shipping label wouldn't be a problem. One of the problems with buying used equipment is the risk involved with shipping. I bet most individuals do not keep the original boxes and the best and most safe way to ship would be the materials that are designed for the actual product- cardboard boxes, foam inserts and the plastic wrapping for the speaker (to keep moisture out). Say you are shipping multiple items and don't have the original boxes and materials, I could see this significantly eating away at your margins.

There definitely should be costs outlined on the site for the packaging materials for every single Axiom product. With a program such as this, a lot of individuals will find it useful and it also offer some protection by eliminating any gray area between the seller/buyer that the products are properly shipped.

Sounds like a great idea to me, of course I already new about it.

Ian, it isn't entirely clear to me if the proposed auction program would affect the Factory Outlet program. You mention that the auction would also serve as a vehicle for the sale of "refurbished, overstock, or factory seconds". The reference to refurbished used items is understood, but are not overstocked or factory seconds the present source for the Outlet sales?

Everyone,

Thank you very much for all the feedback. I have a few musings below:

We do have packaging and cartons available to purchase for anyone who does not have their original packaging. This of course only helps if you are selling an Axiom product. We are planning on launching a page soon that will have for sale most of our parts; this seems like the perfect place to have available all the cartons and packaging.

There is always a risk of damage in freight. Insuring the shipments can help but the packaging needs to be proper or the claim will just be refused by the courier company.

The thought was to launch this program along side the current factory outlet. You would have a choice of buying seconds the way it works now or going into the auction area to see about getting an even better deal and getting it faster. The trade-up program we have been using will not be available any longer.

Grunt was wondering if there could be abuse by doing a fake sale to a friend. I have been trying to figure out the math on how this would be possible but I can’t get there. It has made me realize however that we need to be clearer on a few of our points: it is the winning bid amount that is received in Axiom Dollars and Axiom Dollars cannot be used to buy another item offered by a 3rd party seller in the auction area. The Axiom Dollars only become available after the 1 week has passed where the buyer has the option to return the product to the seller.

I think I was mistaken on who received what in payment. I was assuming that the seller got the Axiom dollars in addition to the selling price from the buyer. In which case the scam works. However, in rereading the rules it does sound like Axiom keeps the buyers money and the seller receives the Axiom dollars instead. In which case the scam doesn’t work.