New Charlotte-based Shopping Website

A new shopping website has launched to compete with eBay. Chekkout.com is "a bid, buy and sell online marketplace based in Charlotte, North Carolina where you can find new and used cars, electronics, collectables, antiques, appliances, games, clothing and more at low prices." The operators of the site believe they'll be able to cipher off some of eBay's massive business by allowing sellers to use the site at lower fees than the e-giant.


The site could work. Online shopping has been increasing each year for the last decade. The key to success for auction sites like this is to build up the number of users quickly because people won't be inclined to buy and sell there unless there's lots of activity. So to attract new business, Chekkout.com is currently running a promotion in which you get $100 credited to your account when you register.

My only criticism of the site so far is a very important one: the choice of domain name--actually, the spelling. I assume they spelled Chekkout.com with an extra "k" instead of a "c" because the regular spelling wasn't available (or the holder of the domain name wanted too much money for it). But just imagine the number of people who will mistakenly type "Checkout" and find one of those parked sites. So Chekkout.com is going to have to workk extra hard with branding.