Rareburg – Interview

Ever since the rise of eBay, online auction sites have become commonplace and we’d basically switched off until we discovered the fabulous Rareburg.  Free listings, low fees and appraisals all in the same place?  We simply had to find out more, so I caught up with the Rareburg team:

 

How did the idea for Rareburg come about?

 

The original concept was the brainchild of Adam, our CTO, who I asked to answer this question:

 

“I’ve always been a collector. Art, vintage watches, penknives you name it! A few years ago I was scouring around the interweb for a vintage computer (don’t ask!) and couldn’t find the right one anywhere. It seemed crazy that it was so difficult to find a reliable and secure place that I could buy and sell.

 

There were (and are) many thousands of collector communities using old bulletin board platforms. These services are great for learning and ‘hanging out’ but they’re terrible for trading. Even though the users try to, they’re just not built for that type of activity. It’s a kludge at best.

 

Big online marketplaces have been putting their shareholders and annual turnover before their users.

 

Some of these multinational companies have morphed into virtual malls for common high street brands. Riddled with cheap Chinese knockoffs and countless mass produced shop shelf items. Gone are the glorious boot sales of yesteryear. All the fun has fizzled away.

 

Other major marketplace services shift the burden of the payment “contract” onto their users. This means trust and the risk of fraud is a responsibility of the end user. Who wants or needs that?

 

I knew there had to be a better solution – a place custom built for all collectors. A place to show off your collection, admire other peoples and learn more about your area of interest. Most important though: secure trading of items!

 

So with the help of a great team, we made Rareburg  – The home for collectors. And it’s not too shabby.”

 

What makes it different from other web auction sites?

 

We offer a far superior personal service.  Listing is free and forever, and our selling fees are vastly lower than competitors.

 

To help you check the provenance of an item, rather than disappearing when sold, items remain on Rareburg forever, moving from collector to collector.

 

Our ‘Knowledge Base’ features news and views from real collectors and ‘Experts’ in their collecting fields.  We’re collecting enthusiasts too, so we do everything with the sole aim to surprise and delight our fellow collectors.

 

Tell us more about the appraisal aspect of the site?  I’m sure a few of our readers might have some hidden gems!  Do you have a team of appraisers in-house?

 

Back in May 2015 we launched ‘Appraisals’  – free functionality that encourages knowledgeable collectors and experts to value items online. Our Appraisal technology allows you to reach out to the collecting community to help you arrive at an item’s market value and/or history.

 

It’s a simple concept, really. You list an item, and instead of adding a value or selling price you set it to be appraised. It then enters an eclectic section of items that are regularly scoured by resident valuers Tracy Martin or Eric Knowles (both from the telly box) or by one of our 40 or so experts. We also encourage our knowledgeable collecting community to share their valuable knowledge. As well as supplying the all-important value, experts are encouraged to supply as much information about the items as possible which is proving invaluable to those who have little idea about the history of an item.

 

We’ve had some amazing items listed so far, and have uncovered some rare gems with huge values including this room full of Sega Megadrive games  and an amazing haul of vintage Nintendo games .

 

How many visitors does the site get a month?

 

Currently, in these early days (we launched March 2015) we’re bringing anywhere between 300-500 new collectors on-board each day and we’re getting around 100k visits a month and rising.

 

We have to ask, as a retro gaming blog, what’s the most expensive retro gaming piece that has been sold on Rareburg (we’ll accept rough details if you cannot disclose the exact details!)

 

An N64 collector uploaded and sold in one job lot, his entire collection of N64s – Every Limited edition N64 ever produced, globally, and all boxed. – I never knew Blockbuster Video also had its very own version of the N64. That collection sold within a few days of it being on Rareburg.

 

Do you like video games?

 

Love them! I think the best way to really relax and escape it all is by playing video games. I don’t get much time these days, but when I do power up my console, the gaming sessions last ‘til the early hours of the morning to make up for lost time. I have lots of games I’ve never played.

 

If so, what consoles have you owned and what are your fondest memories?

 

Commodore 64 (not a console, but in terms of getting hooked on gaming for me, it’s where it all began).

Commodore Amiga 500 (The natural progression from a C64. Amazing – I didn’t need to wait 10 mins for a tape to load).

NES (I wasn’t instantly hooked, probably because I never had enough decent games).

Master System

MegaDrive

SNES

Xbox360

Xbox One (I’ll buy a PS4 around Christmas maybe).

 

I still collect consoles and games.

 

If you could go for a drink with one video game character, who would you choose and why?

 

Probably Commander Shepard from Mass Effect or Master Chief, as I’ll know I won’t be the last man standing!

 

I asked some of the team the same question…

 

“Pac-Man. Because he’ll consume as much as food as me.”

“Luigi. Because we’re both bullied by our older brothers.”

“Lara Croft. For her obvious weaponry skills.”

“Samus Aran. For the stimulating conversation.”

 

There seems to be a theme forming with the last two…

 

Guys – thanks for your time, we really appreciate it!

 

Visit www.rareburg.com

 

-Dylan