Searching for a cheap copy of “Harry Potter ‘ the Goblet of Fire,” but don’t want to pay store price?
Half.com, an online marketplace, provides fixed discounted prices on previously owned books, music, movies, DVDs and video games. Discounts vary, but some items are reduced by 97 percent.
Although Half.com is an eBay company, the site does not use the auction system. Users can view a history of the sellers and easily purchase items with a shopping cart.
“We’re easier to use than eBay. Through Half.com you can confirm your purchase electronically and you don’t have to worry about trusting the seller,” said Mark Hughes, vice president of marketing for Half.com and a 1987 College of Arts and Science graduate. “The price is right there so you can decide if you want it.”
Half.com uses a commission structure and takes 15 percent commission for items sold. Listing an item is free.
“If there’s a problem with your order, we refund you and don’t pay the seller,” Hughes said. “We’re one of the top 10 retailers on the Web, and more times than not, we have more traffic than CDNow.com or BarnesandNoble.com.”
The site lists more than 10 million items for sale, and there is a new CD listed every seven seconds and a new book listed every second. Half.com does not own the inventory featured on the site.
“The types of sellers that utilize our site really run the gamut,” Hughes said. “The CEO of eBay, for example, sold her old textbooks from Princeton. Individuals will sell, but also small businesses, such as used CD stores like on Newbury Street, or small bookstores. There are some really large sellers too.”
Some of the site’s inventory came from companies that need to unload an overstock. Textbook sales provide a large market for Half.com, and students can search for books using the ISBN number.
The company, which launched the site in January 2000, wanted to “get on the map,” literally. The dot-com convinced Halfway, OR to rename their town to Half.com, Ore.
Half.com, Ore., the first dot-com city, is located 40 miles southwest of Hells Canyon in Eastern Oregon. The town boasts a population of 345.
Half.com gave the town $100,000 to change its name, as well as 22 computers for their elementary school. The company also created a website for the town, and there are now 75 businesses and organizations with links to the site.
“We got a lot of people there on the Web faster than they may have. We have a good relationship with them,” Hughes said. “This year we gave them $20,000 and set up a scholarship fund for high school graduates.”
Recently Half.com signed a deal with the largest maker of fortune cookies to place advertisements for the dot-com on the back of fortunes.
“You have to search for innovative and fun ways to advertise on the Internet, and that’s what Half.com is all about — innovation and fun,” Hughes said.
Founded by Joshua Kopelman in 1999, the Philadelphia-based company plans to add electronics, computers, DVDs, golf equipment and trading cards to the site in the near future.
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