
CarsForaGrand.com: Simple idea that's generating big bucks - peter123
http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/1734-carsforagrandcom-simple-idea-thats-generating-big-bucks
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pj
I think there is a lot of false hope in what the 37signals guys are telling
their audience. Just because someone out there does very little to make a lot
of money doesn't mean that's how the average jane or joe has to do it.
Anecdotes to prove your case are easy to find, but the exceptions aren't the
rule.

You _can_ go buy a lottery ticket and win too. The question is, how many
people just like this guy and the plentyoffish guy, etc exist compared to
those who attempt to find success on the internet?

I'm not saying don't try hard and don't take risks. I'd be a hypocrite if I
did, but don't forget to be realistic about how really hard it is to build a
company and make money. The traditional rules of business apply to the
internet as well. Lots of people got lucky striking oil in the old days, but
there were way more prospectors than there were Rockefellers.

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physcab
Winston Churchill said it best: "All great things are decided not by machines
or gadgets, but by willpower. Whoever has it, will finally prevail"

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frossie
Winston Churchill said "gadgets"? Really? In what speech or book did he do so?

The old boy in his writings showed quite a healthy respect for the machinery
of war (eg see atomic bomb). I don't see him saying such a thing in earnest.

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physcab
Yeah that was one of those quotes that someone else had sent to me and I
remembered it when I read the OP. I did a search but couldn't come up with any
sources.

But the other part of the quote is this: "Success is not final, failure is not
fatal. It’s the tenacity and courage to continue that counts." And that seems
to come up quite a bit as being attributed to Churchill.

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vaksel
I like this comment:

    
    
       Couldn’t $9,999.99 be considered high six figures in the most literal sense?

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GiraffeNecktie
Illustrates that some people don't understand the concept of filtering search
results. Here's the same thing from eBay:
[http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Cars-
Trucks_?_dmpt=US_Cars...](http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Cars-
Trucks_?_dmpt=US_Cars_Trucks&_fln=1&_sacat=6001&_ssov=1&_trksid=p4506.c0.m282&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=&_udhi=1%2C000)

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run4yourlives
People not understanding things is the reason for 99% of all business. You
wouldn't call a plumber if you knew how to fix that leak yourself.

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whatusername
having the cash. lack of time. not wanting to pull apart a toilet. I can think
of a few good reasons to call a plumber even if I kknew how to do it. (I can
cook, but that doesn't stop me eating out - or even getting take-away
sometimes)

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run4yourlives
Yes, but plumbers don't make their living from people who are too busy, they
make their living from people who are ignorant. (In other words, lack of
knowledge is far and away a bigger customer).

I didn't say though that it was the only way, just that it was the main reason
most businesses exist.

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socratees
Very Neat. I like the concept of making money through ebay sales leads rather
than cramming your site with full of ads.

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vaksel
Not a bad return if $100K is real(could still be a PR stunt to get more
coverage). Probably not a recurring thing though, since I don't see anyone
coming back to a site that only has eBay listings

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pchristensen
37s use specific examples to get across a general point: quickly implement a
decent idea and let the market tell you if it's good or not. You don't need
millions of dollars or years of effort, you just need a good idea executed
quickly and well.

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minalecs
and free publicity from 37 signals blog, isn't too bad for your business
either

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climber
how does this make money?

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vaksel
eBay affiliate id, someone goes to the site clicks open a car ad, sees its an
eBay listing, and closes it. But the cookie remains, so when they come back to
eBay a few days later to buy a TV the guy gets the affiliate credit

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brm
You get paid between 50 and 75% of your referees winning bid revenue, see:
[https://ebaypartnernetwork.com/files/hub/en-
US/gettingPaid.h...](https://ebaypartnernetwork.com/files/hub/en-
US/gettingPaid.html)

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mildavw
Feh. Only has half the revenue of carsfortwogrand.com.

