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intrader2 replied on October 24, 2008 15:51 to the idea "Why is intrade so small when it actually IS great??" in Intrade:
intrader2 replied on October 24, 2008 14:46 to the idea "Why is intrade so small when it actually IS great??" in Intrade:
What about a Canadian bank? Do you have a lot of Canadians trading on the US election? I was able to use my Canadian bank credit card, after they phoned me for approval.
As you probably know, Canada has only around 6 banks and they are all fairly large by global standards. Some operate in the US, like TD or possibly Scotiabank.
In addition, what I'm suggesting is that you make the option of each user having their own bank account more obvious and readily available, like being a standard option on opening an ID, and having a link from your website to the statement. Sorry, I don't mean to tell you your business, but just the perspective of a happy customer who could be happier. As long as you have a set-up where 99.9% of north americans will view your website as a place where they won't consider sending more than $100, how can you get sufficient liquidity in your market? At the moment the only contract that has any real liquidity is president.obama. There are probably a lot of people who would be willing to "invest" $10,000 to $20,000 in these markets (ie. a significant amount, but not at the level of their investment portfolio) but you don't have a set-up where it's wise to do so.
Cheers!
intrader2 shared an idea in Intrade on October 22, 2008 23:56:
what does intrade need to do to get more popular?suggestion: You should make it easier for prospective members to understand that a price of 50 is actually $5. It took me quite a bit of looking around originally to figure this out.
In addition, although all the accounting reports provide good detail, the summary stats on the position aren't easily understandable. In particular, I don't belive that the PL always is my mark to market. Ive taken to just adding together my frozen and my available to see how i'm doing (roughly). You should put more effort into diagnostics that could pop up and show people how they're doing. You should package all of the typical "confusions and objections" that an interested but cautious member has into a very visible "button" that they could press as a quick start to get the minimum amount of info and confidence you need to actually join...just sticking this is various help locations isn't enough to jumpt the credibility barrier. You should link this info to external web reputational sources to bolster it.
As the site is, the small volume of there is partly reflective of the fact that only 'early adopter' types (like me) can figure it out enough to use it.... your commitment to prediction markets is laudable, and the amount of money on there impressive, but you haven't really made the leap to a true market on a global scale...that would make the predictions really valuable.
In addition it needs to be easier to put money into an intrade account (see my other post).
intrader2 shared an idea in Intrade on October 22, 2008 23:37:
Why is intrade so small when it actually IS great??idea: figure out an easier way for people to get money into their intrade accounts.... my guess is that this is what is limiting the amount of volume traded on intrade -- those interested in starting out are put off by not being able to use credit cards in the US, and those who can use a credit card from another country then later on run into the arbitrary credit card limits, which are fairly low. My bank contacted me initially on credit card approvals and I feel that is sufficient security. In any case, do you realize the negative impact this is having on your business -- intrade for the US presidential election has a much higher profile in the media than it does actual volume... for what other reason than difficulty in depositing, and perceived risk of giving money to a website in Ireland. You should do something as well to let people know that they have their own segregated accounts, and give this a higher profile. Using a bank in the US may help as well. You have a great site but need to do something to grow this faster.
intrader2 asked a question in Intrade on October 22, 2008 23:24:
Depositing large $$$ without having to figure out "wire transfering"...can i hook up a bank account to intrade for deposits? instead of doing a wire transfer
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