What would YOU like to see in a online auction?

[mechanicalman]

A question I would ask the OP or anyone interested in this path, why does the world need yet another AH? There's already at least 20 AHs, each offering some derivation of the same theme. Do you guys realize how many more cards we'd all own if we didn't have to pay a 12.5-30% margin for someone to broker our transactions?

Why not think bigger and create a different model to facilitate the buying and selling of cards and memorabilia? Think of a BST on steroids, where you create a platform that allows for a high volume of transactions between buyers and sellers with the "house" just taking a small cut (3-5 pts) in exchange for programming and managing the platform. Sellers can manage the "marketing" of their goods and their own shipments. Sellers and buyers could be vetted by the platform and kept honest by higher levels of transparency you'd find on eBay. PayPal still offers Buyer protection, or an escrow service could be used for high-value transactions.

Obviously, I haven't thought through all the details here, but I'm not personally interested in starting a business card related business. But if I was, I wouldn't focus on the equivalent of launching a better taxi company; I'd shoot to launch the equivalent of Uber.