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Question#1: Ebay also provides EbayBucks and I can also get 1-2% cash back from Ebates, another 1-2% form Credit Cards, how do you plan to publicize @dstors superiority over these incentives.

Question#2: One of the reasons that Ebay monopolized the buy & sell is their market share, people get anything at bargain that they want, sell to the larger audience. However, they have big chunk of deductions on selling 10-11%. How you overcome limitation of choices compared to site like Ebay or Amazon?

Question#3: How do you plan to compete with decentralized project such as OpenBazar which already provide such service but does not provide reward.

Suggestions: Digital goods (e.g. Digital art posted on Steemit), arts (e.g. painted or printed arts, t-shirts) and crafts marketplace like Etsy would be interesting place to start. If you find a niche that is overlooked as a marketplace, it may see some traction since marketplace is too competitive. Moreover, looking into OpenBazar model would be helpful.

Thanks for the awesome questions!! Full upvote given!

  1. The 1-2% is actually a limitation of Ebaybucks. STORS tokens can be spent for STEEM upvotes or WLS Upshares. While current price of STEEM is low, the FIAT value of an upvote is small. However, we believe that STEEM price can soon exceed all time highs. This means that an upvote FIAT value could well exceed a mere 1-2% cash back. Also, can eBaybucks be sold and bought on an exchange like STORS tokens? No. STORS will be listed on the Bitshares Exchange. STORS tokens also carry a convertible option in that should dStors Inc. launch an ICO, the STORS tokens can be converted to ICO coins. Can one convert eBaybucks into Ebay equity shares? No.

  2. We are conducting surveys to best identify the most desired product categories within the millennial population. Why? Cryptos are heavily driven by the millennials. We will focus product category catering first to this group. Also, we believe the differentiated incentive model will help boost the traffic to www.dstors.com; we will first start with the STEEM and WLS communities and then grow the merchant and seller populations through word of mouth, visibility campaigns and brand awareness.

  3. Our incentive model is heavily based on the WIIFM (What's In It For Me) principle. This is why the STORS token model which can be spent for lucrative upvotes and upshares is critical and thus differentiating. The reward theory has been proven many times in business models that it stokes the WIIFM to a much higher degree than without. Again, the fact that every STORS token carries a convertible option to trade for an ICO coin is powerfully aimed at the WIIFM. It's almost like having "Founders Options" to a startup company....priceless!

Remember that for eBay too, their very first product sold was a broken laser pointer. They too had a humble beginning.

Suggestions: Thank you and yes, we will definitely take them into consideration.

This is awesome! I see it says digital items here so can we sell our personal Steem Monster cards here? Silvershield Knight (777px, 10fps).gif

Absolutely! Please contact Kali Ju to hold early discussions on the store front setup requirements.

Awesome! Thank you!

First of all, I am a HUGE fan of this project. It is going to be a powerhouse in the worlds of crypto and eCommerce. Secondly, my question to ask is.. what is the long-term vision of dStors? What milestone(s) do you see yourselves reaching in 5, 10, or even 20 years down the road.
Third of all, I’m excited to be involved as an investor and a promoter as I highly believe in the concept as well as in the team’s talented execution 💯

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The vision of dStors Inc. is to match willing online sellers and buyers while rewarding through STORS token distribution. This way, dStors Inc. aims to significantly raise the value ceiling of online shopping by stoking the incentive model and intimately integrating blockchain technology as well as cryptocurrencies. To this end, traditional eCommerce channels have reached the limits of their potential and dStors was developed to enable people to "Monetize their Shopping".

Here are our goals to the first 5 years:

3 Year Goals: Era of being the First....

  • First to make dCommerce an everyday terminology that instantly connects to monetization of shopping.
  • First to brand "Monetize Your Shopping" motto and gain a top of mind awareness to online merchants and buyers.
  • Financial Target: Attain $1 to $10 Mil in sustainable monthly total transactions.
  • First for-profit corporation running on the Steem Blockchain to exceed $5 Mil in annual profits.
  • Deploy ICO plans (could happen much ahead of 3 years if financial goal attainments become accelerated.)

5 Year Goals: Global Footprint

  • Become a global powerhouse of dCommerce with 60% or more of total payments made with Cryptocurrencies!
  • Strong transaction presence each in USA, EU, China, Japan, Korea and ROW
  • Derive 65% of revenue outside of USA
  • Deliver $10 to $100 Mil per month in total transactions with no less than 6.5% in gross margins.
  • Champion cross boarder transfer of Cryptocurrencies with near zero cost to communities and countries in most need.
  • Simultaneous ICO and/or IPO considerations to be made for a potential to be first ever for-profit corporation to possess a hybrid shareholder value platform via Tokens and Equity shares.

Certainly, I have to appreciate this project. There are tremendous use cases of Steem Blockchain and you guys proved it.
I knew about Storiqa, an e-commerce based on Etherium. I am really excited to buy products on dstors.
I think it can act like eBay in decentralised world where shopping is going to be globalised.

Do you guys have guidelines on how to ship products across countries?

Or you can come up with 24×7 help to facilitate selling, buying and shipping as you have already solved transaction related problems.

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Hello @has-tag,
That's a good question to be included in the FAQ list. In the beginning, shipping will be managed by the seller. Post launch, new features of API integration of USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL will be on the upgrade list.

Thanks for your responsible reply. I hope you integrate those new features as soon as possible. Shipping is always a major concern for sellers like me and Amazon become no. 1 by just focusing on their GUI and delivery.

I wish dstors to bring revolution!

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Great job guys! Are you planning to include a referral program attached to dstors? 💯

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Yes, details for affiliate program for merchants will be released in January. It will only be for Merchant/seller referrals.

Love the question lol :D

Will the Dstors Homepage be available in different languages? And which countries are your main focused on to launch Dstors?

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On initial launch, it'll be in English. However, Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages will be added subsequently.

Firstly I'm a fan of dStors and the concept of decentralizing e-commerce. My question is with regards to delivery of the products and the countries it will cater to. Best wishes & Thank you. Cheers.

Initially, delivery will involve sharing of tracking number to be posted. It will be between the seller and buyer to ensure the delivery and receipt. Post launch, additional features of API integration with FedEx, USPS and UPS can be made available to automate the shipment tracking. For instance, once shipment is delivered, the buyer and seller will receive a dStors email alerting the delivery completion.

Way back in July of 2018 - Adidas suffered a data breach, with millions of its customers' data was potentially at risk. How do you plan to overcome the problem of the data breach & providing security to customers data? Thanks.

First, we have the right people and experience to secure the data. Second, we will rely on current technology to enable against ddos attacks as well as server breaches. We may also consider the utilization and integration of Storj decentralized storage platforms for added barriers against breaches.

What will you do in terms of mediation if the buyer doesn't receive his item? Are you going to act as escrow? What other measures will you take to prevent abuse of your platform? With abuse, I mean people trying to scam.

dStors will help mediate but ultimately, the resolution must rely on the buyer and seller. For new, non-established sellers, dStors will have a requirement of payment hold-backs for as long as three days prior to release of funds. This will add a layer of time buffer to aid in resolving fraudulent or mistaken transactions. For transactions conducted in Steem/Sbd will employ an escrow feature as well.

We will also integrate the global blacklise API to minimize spam and fraudulent users. dStors will also have a reputation score derived from buyer feedbacks. This should help guide many buyers as well.

Future options will allow buyers to prevent certain low rep scored buyers from bidding or buying in their stores and this could help reduce conflicts.

The project continues to gain traction as it develops which is encouraging. My question would be how will you monetize the eCommerce activity in order to make the costs sustainable outside of the stake gained in Steem? How long will it take to become self sufficient from the eCommerce activity revenue instead of the revenues generated from Steem which could cause the project to sell Steem to pay for bill? Thanks for reaching out to the community to explain!

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Our business model will allow immediate accrual of revenue from the very first transaction. The seller of every transaction agrees to pay dStors a % fee of the final price. We will also recognize revenue from advertisement and insertion listing fees.

Our cost basis is lean and mean. We are not generating any revenue from Steem. We are raising delegations to provide upvotes purchased by holders of our STORS tokens.