Say Fih-diddle

This week I am going to be ID-ing start-ups that intrigue me. At the top of that list is Fididel, a sort of real time eBay for hagglers. If you are an eBay junkie like me, the idea of a real time negotiation with the seller is probably pretty intriguing. Log on, find an item, and open a real time negotiation. Or, if there's something you want that appears and you are not online, you can pay a professional Fidideler to haggle for you.

I actually overheard about this company at the little cafe area of AdTech -- two people nearby talking too loudly. But I didn't know how to spell it until I saw this post on TechCrunch.



There are three things that are appealing to me here.

1. Getting stuff now, rather than 8 days and 15 hours from now on eBay.


2. The idea that I might get a better deal on something from a motivated seller. This is intriguing because, if you believe in free markets, on eBay things should go for their fair value. On Fididel, there is always that possibility of finding a deal because the person selling just wants their cash now. It's that dream of finding the Mona Lisa at a Flea Market.


3. Getting cash NOW for stuff I want to sell.

Tech Crunch wasn't too keen on this idea, but I love it. There are tens of millions of people online with too much time o0n their hands, and Fididel will take two American pastimes (shopping and haggling) and bring them together.


And for things like tickets, I think sellers may actually do BETTER with Fididel because they can be selling until hours before an event, taking advantage of all the in market hype and interest.


Fididel is in beta, and is badly in need of a copywriter and a demo. But a beta is a beta so I will demonstrate restraint of pen and tongue on those scores.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.