Auction site like ebay

Ah, the old chicken and egg marketplace problem. The answer is, know who your customer is. Are you looking to serve sellers? or buyers? It's important you focus on one group, doing both simultaneously would be very difficult.

In regards to getting traffic, the short answer is digital marketing; things like email marketing, ppc, seo etc. Search WF or visit sites like Moz and Econsultancy to learn.

Basic stuff you need to do.

1. Look within your store and analyze the product name and the first two lines of the product description.

2. If you are not already listed in the Yahoo Directory, botw.org, dmoz
3. Try to use google ads for branding
4. Try your local network like friends of friends, neighborhood, community etc....
5. If you have facebook, try to advertise with your friends. Use some catchy and enticing words that make them check your store
6. Create facebook, twitter and google+ account for your business

Hope this help.

Thanks for the help

Unless you have a pile of money behind you, you are very unlikely to be able to succeed unless you are in a niche area. And even then getting critical mass is very hard to do.

Rather than try to spread the word and do it yourself, see if you can entice some JV support (just like in the IM areas.)

If you want an example to check out, take a look at SellYourItem.com (I think that was the name.) They had a loyal group of buyers/sellers who were spreading the word, and still couldn't make a go of it.

It helps if you have a "Hungry Crowd" (Gary Halbert's favorite marketing advantage) to serve before starting.

These posts are definitely on the right track.

I would highly recommend using an out-of-the box solution like MOZ to help you with your on-site SEO. I use Moz and I love it dearly.

_ Sean

I can tell you from experience myself (as I ran an auction website from 1998-2004), and from having helped with seo and marketing for a few established auction websites, that you definitely want to go after buyers! Having a niche (specific product type) can be extremely helpful, especially when it comes to marketing and search results, but you won't attract a lot of sellers without buyers and items being purchased.
I would simply sell some items yourself, and hopefully with all your efforts, more sellers will follow suit.

Another idea, is to offer 'FREE' seller account for a limited time to a limited # of sellers (after you do some work to gain 'buyers' traffic.

I would focus your efforts on press releases and articles to help you get a foothold in organic results online. I would also try to find some great websites to trade advertising with.
Paid ads are essential, but you can go broke trying to make a dime!

Use: prlog.org, bizsugar, and my website: feedia.us

I may be willing to exchange some advertising with you - let me know.