Re: New Web Site - Will It Also Fail?

**"Doreen Howard" d*@ticon.net**

Jeff,
The URL you list doesn't work.  It automatically defaults to something
called hypertracker.com, and then the dreaded 404 appears--this site doesn't
exist, etc.  Without seeing the site, I'd tentatively agree with your
assessment.  Frankly, Etera's strengths laid in their promotional cards and
tags--the plan cards for various kinds of gardens and the extensive use and
care signage attached to each plant.  That, and the fact that the plants
were stocky and unchecked in growth.  But, the average consumer doesn't
always recognize these strengths and bases his or Herr's purchase on price
and trends.
Doreen Howard

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Ball" <jeffball@starband.net>
To: <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2002 1:06 PM
Subject: [GWL] New Web Site - Will It Also Fail?

> Yo gang of writers and others trying to make money selling your very own
> ideas,
> I have spotted a new gardening web site and would love to hear some
> reactions to it.  As many of you know, Plant America bought the rights to
> the Etera.com database last year after Etera went bankrupt.  Etera had
spent
> well over $15 building the site.  Plant America has been working on
getting
> the site refined and it is now on line, I think it is new; at least I just
> noticed it.  It is called www.mygardenguide.com.  As best I can tell it is
a
> hodge-podge accumulation of stuff from Etera, from Ortho Problem Solver,
for
> the American Hort Society, and probably National Gardening Association.
As
> they advertise, it is one heck of a large pile of content.  I believe they
> will be trying to sell the site to independent garden centers as an add-on
> to the independent's sites for a monthly fee of $80 to $100 a month.
Etera
> had been in 1800 garden centers when they folded.  That number was down as
> low as 500 by this spring I heard from the grape vine.  Remembering that I
> still am trying to find a way to make some money on the web, and have been
> working for only 8 years to develop a site for independent garden centers,
> here is my biased view of the new site.
> I think it will fail in two years if it keeps its current format and
design.
> While there is an impressive amount of content, like Virtual Garden and
> Garden.com, it has little internal linking amongst all that content.  That
> is the power of the Internet but all they have done is copied the model of
> the town library, a pile of databases.  Their biggest problem is the same
> mistake that Etera made.  They are selling plants and products in direct
> competition with the very independent garden centers they are trying to
sell
> the service to.  Yes, the garden centers get a small percentage of sales
> made directly through their site, but that is not enough to overcome the
> feeling of competition.  Finally, there is no linkage between the product
> line and the content, another powerful Internet opportunity overlooked.
The
> site is slick and I assume they are throwing big bucks at its marketing.
> They have apparently dropped the newsletter that Etera had launched.  What
> do you all think?  Is this another multi-million dollar loser?
> Jeff Ball
>
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