‘MyTag – Buyers and Sellers connected’. Sounds familiar, right? Craigslist, Kijiji, eBay etc. We could all name dozens of online services providing a medium for demand and supply to connect within our own communities – and many of these online platforms have seen great success. So what makes MyTag special? What gives Tony Pham and his California team so much optimism as they plan to launch the business this Thursday September 19th? After all, dozens of bright minds have tried to take on Craigslist and failed. Well, MyTag has managed to accomplish what all these websites currently lack – safety and credibility. Not only does MyTag give users the ability to upload videos, providing a more thorough view of their goods for sale, but the website also pulls users ratings from websites like eBay and Amazon and displays them on profiles. Pham, a veteran to the retail business, claims he got the idea after he and his wife were scammed after wiring money for an online purchase. Pham’s goal is to ‘make local e-commerce more social, transparent and, most importantly, safe’.
When I found this post on TechCrunch it reminded me of an online service my family has quickly become reliant on when travelling, Air BnB. In an apartment/home rental industry, transparency and safety is the utmost concern – Air BnB established a 2-way feedback system whereby the renters rate and comment on the quality of their stay, and the tenants rate and comment on the state of their home when the renters leave. Both forms of feedback are automatically displayed on the individuals’ profiles for future renters or tenants to review. It is easy to understand why this level of transparency is required when renting your home to strangers, but is this necessary for consumer goods? Personally, my first reaction to hearing about MyTag was ‘Wow sounds like too much work’, and I think this would be true in my case – rarely do I buy something off Craigslist over the value of $100. However, g I would consider making larger scale purchases MyTag reduced some of this risk for myself, and other users?
Whether or not MyTag measures up to the high expectations set is hard to say at this point, however; they will undoubtedly be a company to follow in the upcoming year. Who knows, they may even be the company to help you furnish your apartment next September.
Interested in MyTag? Visit their website: http://mytag.com/