Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Microcap & Penny Stocks : HITSGALORE.COM (HITT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Q. who wrote (5472)	4/23/2000 1:09:00 AM
From: WVMayor	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7056

I've been in the Internet business for over 4 years and I've worked with dozens of sites. Hits Galore's original model was extremely confusing to me. I assume this is why they have operators standing by to help people. Left to the description on the page, I would venture to guess that few people would understand the sponsorship program. By the way, I initially invested $99 in the Hits Galore sponsorship program. Supposedly, they were going to work on my behalf to sign up additional sponsors under my affiliate ID. To date, I have received payment for one such sponsorship, thereby recouping $25 of my investment. I also invested $99 in the keyword bid and rank program. I believe that over 1 1/2 years later, my initial $99 balance is still well over $90. I can only conclude that there may be a lack of traffic to their site. The article from the Wall Street Journal Interactive suggests that Hits Galore does not appear in the top 10,000 sites on the web, making their traffic statistically insignificant. I did a search myself and found the same information. Whether or not PC Data online is accurate I do not know. I do know that many people refer to them as a leader in their field. If their reports are accurate, Hits Galore may not receive even 50,000 visits to their site each month. Anyway, I believe your initial question was regarding HBX2000.com. In my opinion (note the blatant disclaimer intended to notify all who read that the First Ammendment is alive and well in the United States of America), HBX2000 is an extremely confusing product/service/site. I deal with other Internet businesses every day. Whether they are e-commerce sites, marketing sites, search engines, or some other new-fangled do-hickey created to build my business, I receive inquiries and proposals from businesses eager to work with me all the time. In fact, there are so many, that I will only give each a few minutes to sell me on what they do and how my business can benefit from working with them. I can usually tell in 60 seconds if I want to pursue further investigation. If I don't understand what they are doing in the first 60 seconds, they are history. Per your request, I have read over the material on HBX2000.com, and I THINK I understand what they are trying to do. Note, I said I THINK I understand. I may be wrong in my interpretation. From what I can tell, they are charging people to sign up for their service to be listed. So company X that sells Widgets is listed as WDGIT. I do not know how much they are charging for listings. Company Z wants to buy widgets. Company Z calls HBX2000 and puts in a BUY order for Widgets, which essentially puts Z in touch with X, who then has to the ability to meet the bid price, or to counter. I'm lost just thinking about it. I do not know how HBX2000 generates revenue under this model. Now, you asked me what I THOUGHT? IN MY OPINION (subtle nod to 1st Ammendment again) I think this business model is so confusing and convoluted that it is destined to failure. If I, who I would consider to be well versed in various aspects of the Internet, especially in regard to marketing and e-commerce, can not figure out exactly what the business is all about, I can only imagine that "Joe Internet" will be scratching his head into next year trying to figure it out. I believe HBX2000 is using the "exchange" metaphor on their site in order to create the impression that they are somehow like a stock exchange. However, in my mind, the company symbols and terminology such as "place buy order" and "place sell order" only serve to create greater confusion. From what I can see, HBX2000 is something of a barter site, matching buyers and sellers of various products or services. And in and of itself, I think a barter site is a fine idea. However, burdening the concept with the idea of an "exchange" where companies go "public" is really quite bizarre in my book. HBX2000 has operators standing by "on the trading floor" to aid those who are interested in the business. I would imagine there live representatives are absolutely necessary in order to explain the concept and sell prospective customers on the idea. So let's just say I want to buy widgets. Why would I go to HBX2000 to find a widget seller? Why not just go to Yahoo and look up Widgets, thereby finding every widget maker on the web, and not just those who have paid to be on the "exchange"? I gotta say, my take on their model may be completely off base, because I am utterly confused. This is the best interpretation I can give after spending a good 15 minutes or so reading over their material. If I am wrong in my interpretation, someone can correct me. In fact, I'd love to hear if anyone else can figure out what the site is all about. It is my guess that HBX2000 is going after small businesses (many of whom may already signed up on the existing Hits Galore program). They may try to sell these small businesses on joining their program as a way to get exposure and "go public". And I suppose they will sell some on the concept. But I would venture a guess that even those who sign up may be somewhat in the dark over what they have signed up for. Mayor DISCLAIMER: Every paragraph, sentence, word and syllable from this message is only the opinion of the author, and not factual. This opinion is protected by the 1st Ammendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. You may disagree with the opinion of the author as it is your right to do so.