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Comment by swombat | Hacker News Reader

Interesting idea, but... if I'm a new user arriving there, why should I start using it instead of, say, amazon? You need to make sure there's a good reason for me to use it even if I don't have any friends on the system, or else it will be very hard to get those first users.

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The site does imply (and this may not be true) that someone always gets a commission on every purchase through the site. So if I want to buy a new camcorder, maybe I could ask a friend to be an "expert" and we could split the commision? That may be a strong initial incentive--effectively its a discount over a direct buy amazon.com.

This would seem to be an exploit, but it may still be a win-win-win for the friends, amazon.com and browseology.com.

Later down the road, established experts may be able to create real value for potential shoppers. I like the concept of being able to "shop" for my salesperson. Often time I go into Bes..err.."a big electronics retailer", hoping to get expert advice on a product but get stuck with a sales staff that can't answer my questions.

I would actually feel good about awarding a commission to a sufficiently knowledgeable salesperson.

Good feedback David. Experts can actually receive tips from shoppers they help at the time where the user jumps to the actual amazon page. It's built in using TipJoy. Commission and other incentives are definitely in place and will be announced soon. Currently we leave that a bit fuzzy until the details are nailed down from the feedback we receive.

very good point, the point should be made extremely clear that you can invite anyone even off the system. Our signin process is really for experts who want to hangout on the site and be requested, but everything works with collaborating with friends with the sharing of the URL. We've definitely seen this problem as well. Thanks for the feedback!!

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