MerchMatch Blog

We never thought it would take this long…

Dustin Taylor — Wed, 11 May 2011 03:16:17 +0000

There’s no better way to say this… but we never thought it would take this long to really launch MerchMatch. We are, however, getting closer and closer. (YES, we’ve been saying that for ages now — that’s what you get when it’s developed part-time here and there as we have gotten married, changed jobs, developed other projects, etc.)

You’ll be happy to know that we are winding down development, finishing up some bug fixes, and will be entering beta later this summer (possibly sooner, but who knows?).

Prepare to be amazed. MerchMatch really is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

Making Life Easier

Dustin Taylor — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:30:53 +0000

What’s the purpose to what we’re doing at MerchMatch? WE WANT TO MAKE LIFE EASY FOR YOU!

Some of the top complaints when shopping online are:

“I can’t find what I’m looking for.”
“It’s too much hassle to order something.” or “It takes too long to checkout.”
“This site just takes forever to load!”
“I don’t know if I can trust this site.”
“I just want to be able to talk to a real person!”

MerchMatch was built to specifically address the first 3 complaints, but we’ll throw in a bonus and cover the last 2 as well. :)

We have created an innovative system that lets you find EXACTLY what you’re looking for within seconds of landing on our page, and with one-click, request the item for a price that you want to pay – not what we’re charging. Yup, you read that right. You get to find what you want to buy within seconds, as well as buy it with one-click! No more endless searches!

With that same system that we’ve built from scratch, we are able to increase load times and searches through hundreds of databases of information to find what you’re looking for in a matter of seconds.

Getting excited? No? Did I mention that this will all be FREE to you? Now I see that smile.

MerchMatch iPod Nano Giveaway

Dustin Taylor — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:55:21 +0000

We sponsored a party and had people entering to win a brand new iPod Nano. If you missed out on the party, you missed out on the MerchMatch Merchbot (see it below), but you can still enter our contest by going to MerchMatch.com and entering by way of your email address.

For more contests, follow us on facebook and twitter.

Launch Plans

Dustin Taylor — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:39:39 +0000

Those who aren’t very familiar with what MerchMatch is all about, please stay tuned. We’re planning a public beta release in the next few weeks with a simplified focus for our launch on used or new Apple products.

Check out our old teaser video below:

I won’t give a specific date yet as to when we’re launching, but it’s getting close. :)

MerchMatch Does

Dustin Taylor — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:00:05 +0000

When talking about MerchMatch to friends and family, the question I probably get most often is how MerchMatch is different than say, eBay or Amazon or any of the plethora of online retailers. In my mind, we are VERY different, and yet very similar at the same time.

So what makes MerchMatch different?

Fast – our system allows you to sell or find what you want and get it same day in most cases.
Simple – you tell us what you want and we’ll find it for you. No endless digging for a great match for what you’re really looking for. If you really want to go back a few years, you can even search for it.
No more bidding wars – Remember having to stay up late to make sure you win the bidding way for items you want? Not anymore. Let us fight your war for you.
No fees – WHAT?! Yes, you can buy AND sell on our site for free. Guaranteed. We won’t ever charge you.
The Secret Sauce – Yes, we have a secret sauce….and it just makes us awesome. You’ll come to know this soon. Very soon.

Our aim is truly to make getting what you want, for how much you want, happen in the blink of an eye.

If you haven’t signed up to be one of the first to hear about our beta, sign-up here.

What we’ve been up to

Dustin Taylor — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:00:07 +0000

I’m sure a lot of you have been wondering what we’ve been up to. All this talk about launching Fall of 2009 was all talk, right?

Well, to say it plainly, yes.

To add some detail, we’ve had some hangups technically and relationally. Due to the nature of our lives right now, the MerchMatch Team is so involved in many other things that puts food on the table for each of our families. We have recently re-grouped with a new determination to bring you what you’ve been waiting so long to see! The newest, most innovative way to buy and sell on the internet. I would even go as far to say that Steve Jobs would call it a magical, revolutionary way.

Look for posts in the near future detailing what we’ll be doing and how we’ll be doing it. You’ll be just as excited as we are.

Thank you for continuing to stay with us through the hard times… now you’ll have a step ahead through the good times.

I am MerchMatch

Dustin Taylor — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:25:42 +0000

Private Alpha Registration

Dustin Taylor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:39:02 +0000

The day has finally come for you to begin registering for exclusive access to the MerchMatch site, with details on how it works, what it looks like and direct involvement with the founding and managing team. We invite anybody who is remotely interested through the back door to the insides of MerchMatch!

Go HERE to register for the private alpha registration!

We’ll be releasing this private alpha to a select few in the near future! To get updates, sign-up today!

The Right People vs. The Right Idea

Dustin Taylor — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:38:45 +0000

Remember when you were a kid? When you thought you could do anything? Some wanted to be a firefighter, others a NFL player. Whatever you wanted to be, you tried to hold on to that dream as long as you could, right? What happened to that dream? Was it really a bad idea to pursue your dreams? Or did you simply not surround yourself with the right people, the kind of people that could have helped you have enough confidence and purpose to achieve your dreams.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this very debate…what is more important in a startup business? The right people or the right idea?

There are arguments on both sides of the equation, but the conclusion that I’ve come down to is that you could have the most brilliant idea and support behind said idea, but without the right people, it will fail and come short of its potential. What I’m advocating is not that if you have the right people, a horrible idea will become successful, hit the market right, BUT that with the right people, it will have a much better chance (by better, I mean more than 0%) at success.

Scott Weinert

Why am I thinking about this? I truly believe that we have an incredible team in place here at MerchMatch. In fact, we just recently added a new developer to our team. Please join us in welcoming Scott Weinert on board. Scott, a self-proclaimed and taught programmer since he was 12, is currently studying computer science on the university level, but already comes bundled with incredible talent packaged with sheer determination to succeed in whatever he does. Scott and Will are the ones who are hard at work developing what will be known in the coming months as MerchMatch, the newest way to exchange goods online, as well as locally. Welcome aboard Scott!

By the way, if you haven’t heard of our free giveaways yet, take 30 seconds and watch this video about our latest giveaway! Seriously, 30 seconds!

Now that you’ve watched it, text “mmdinner1″ to 91011 (nine-ten-eleven) to be entered to win. No spam, just free food!

Out to Change the World

Dustin Taylor — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:42:34 +0000

Here at MerchMatch, we are big followers on what’s going on out in the internet and technology worlds, and we were very surprised when we heard that at the latest TechCrunch50, hosted in September of 2009 in San Francisco, California, there were many complaints that there weren’t any startups that were aiming for the home run, hitting for the record books, going all out, etc., but rather playing it safe, only trying to make something that already exists slightly better. Mashable quoted Tony Hseish, founder of Zappos.com, as saying, “I didn’t see anything that was trying to change the world.”

Be the first to know that MerchMatch has something special in store. Something that has never been seen before. Something that will change the world, that will change you as an individual in how you interact with everyone around you. We aim to simplify your life. We aim to change your life for the better. Some say Al Gore invented the internet…we’re just going to make it better. :)

Ready?