LiveDeal was founded in 2003 and is the brainchild of Rajesh Navar, one of the original senior engineers at eBay who stayed with eBay during its years of explosive growth, but then went back to school to receive his masters in business from Stanford University. While at Stanford, Rajesh discovered that he and his fellow graduates had no means of selling off their college furniture. No one wanted to deal with the hassles of shipping it all. Rajesh recognized the enormous opportunity in creating a local marketplace where sellers and buyers could easily connect and transact with one another, particularly around large and bulky items that are difficult to sell via online auction or other community sites – and LiveDeal was born. In 2005, Rajesh was named one of the Silicon Valley Business Journal's "40 Under 40" in reflection of his achievements as LiveDeal's founder and CEO.
How is LiveDeal.com different from or better than other online marketplaces, such as eBay and craigslist?
LiveDeal is different from sites like eBay because it 1) connects local buyers and sellers in a way that no other site can, eliminating shipping costs and reducing the chance of online fraud, which is particularly relevant for people selling big-ticket items; 2) it requires no listing fees, and 3) it works on either a fixed or negotiated pricing model instead of a bidding model, giving sellers greater control over their final sale price.
And LiveDeal is superior to other locally-focused sites such as craigslist because 1) it services every zip code in the country, providing far greater reach compared to a city-by-city model; 2) offers a professional e-commerce experience that allows users to conduct safe transactions directly through the site if they choose; 3) is built to be family-friendly so users don't have to worry about children coming across inappropriate content; and 4) again, LiveDeal requires no listing fees, even for services such as real estate or job listings.
How does LiveDeal compare with newer online classifieds services such as Google Base, Windows Live Expo and Oodle?
LiveDeal launched in January 2004 and since then has quickly become one of the leaders in the local online classifieds space. Google Base, Windows Live Expo and Oodle are all relatively new entrants to the online classifieds market. What separates LiveDeal from these three new online classifieds players is that LiveDeal offers a superior, consistent experience for both buyers and sellers. Additionally, LiveDeal provides a robust online marketplace with rich e-commerce and fraud protection functionality versus a simple "listings place." LiveDeal is also laser-focused on the local online classifieds market – that is the company's core competency unlike some of these other players and that focus enables LiveDeal to offer a superior member experience on the site.
What is LiveDeal's AdShare program?
AdShare is a pioneering, turn-key program that enables media companies to instantly launch branded online classifieds web sites -- complete with photos, e-commerce and email capabilities -- at no cost via LiveDeal's online classifieds platform. Through AdShare, newspapers, radio and television stations can extend and enhance their offline offerings with online classifieds web sites and effectively compete against online threats such as craigslist, Google Base, Microsoft Live Expo and Monster.com for market share in the $17 billion classifieds industry that's moving online.
How many people currently use LiveDeal?
LiveDeal has more than one million unique users per month. In fact, According to comScore Media Metrix, LiveDeal.com is consistently one of the top 10 most visited online classifieds sites on the Web and has ranked ahead of Yahoo! Classifieds, among others, for attracting a greater number of unique visitors over the past several months (August 2005 -February 2006). Additionally, there is more than $3 billion worth of goods listed on the LiveDeal site.
Who are the people most likely to use LiveDeal?
LiveDeal's typical users are people seeking to sell or buy hard-to-ship items like cars, furniture, appliances, homes and pets. The most-frequently searched for items include pets, cars, motorcycles and other items that people prefer to "try before you buy" or see in person.
How does a buyer or seller get started on LiveDeal?
Buyers and sellers can get started on LiveDeal in just minutes. Buyers can begin searching and browsing immediately by entering a location by city, state or zip code. In seconds, they will see listings for items available locally first and then nationally.
Sellers register and then follow a simple set of posting instructions. Sellers select specific categories and subcategories to help identify their item and then can provide a description of any length with photo, pricing and delivery information. For sellers seeking to post/sell items nationally, LiveDeal requires them to verify their address and credit card information through LiveDeal's ID Verify process to help curb fraudulent transactions. To use the "Buy Now" feature powered by PayPal, sellers simply go to the "My LiveDeal>>Change My Account" section of the site to select this option.
If LiveDeal offers free listings and stores, how does the company generate revenue?
LiveDeal has a three-tier revenue model, which includes advertising sales, a pay-per-lead program with major auto dealers, and optional listing upgrade and e-commerce/fraud prevention fees. As part of LiveDeal.com's listing upgrade program, members can pay to have their listings featured on the LiveDeal.com home page or a category page for additional exposure. LiveDeal also charges sellers who want to make their items available nationally a $5 annual fee for the ID Verified process, which helps prevent fraud by verifying their address and credit card information.
How is LiveDeal funded?
LiveDeal is publicly owned and operated. It is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol, LIVE. For complete financial details, please refer to our latest public filings.
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