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Originally Posted by txpstwx
I like this too but the monetization strategy could use some work. Something like getting a % of resolved situations or something other than relying on advertising and I'd be all for it.
Good point, and I am def weak on the monetization strategy aspect of the idea.
My ideas typically spin off in a couple directions, so here are some things I have also thought about for the site, but are fairly abstract.
In theory some people are going to scam others and never pay anyone back. These "pages" will essentially consist mostly of a "build a scammer profile" and then leave it alone because 1) they arent going to pay back and 2) no one is going to lend them money again (hopefully
). Here the site is not going to be able to make money other than advertising.
There will be a second group of people who scam money and then pay some/all of it back. This is where the money is. Human beings are creatures of habit, history repeats itself, past performance -> future results, etc. The individuals that get in a position of owing money on a stake whether they stole it, degened it, went busto, w/e BUT then pay it back are likely to do this exact same thing again. If they are paying it back because the site blows up their spot, there is obvious value there and a few ways to monetize it (charging % of debt, charging to list the debt against this person, etc.). The other opportunity is to "verify" a debt exists, and then sell the debt. We would be able to charge a vig on both the sale of the debt, and the collection. As well as potentially keeping the entire sale of the debt private, and say the "buyer of the debt" paid 30% on 1$, what would be stopping the site from trying to go after the entire amount. Ethically it would be more like an auction and we would have to be transparent and if we get for 70% paid back of a 30% sold debt, we would still charge our typical %, but customers would be very happy.
If organized correctly and made as transparent as possible, something like a banner on the person's page "Debt has been sold, Negotiations possible". It would be an opportunity to get in between the transactions. I'm not taking about trying to get 50% on a debt sold at 30%, but more like 2-3% max. After any transaction it would also be recorded and made transparent on the site, so people aren't just lending money to someone and then selling it at 30% over and again.
Also, there could be more premium features available so someone that say lends 100k's on a huge stable on 2+2, would have higher level of attention and better support then someone who is reporting a debt from 3 years ago from someone that could be dead/ in jail.