Cisco Marketplace: Buy New, Used And Refurbished?

Here’s an interesting item that just hit our inbox: The Cisco Marketplace — an independently run site, has launched to focus on the sale of new, used and refurbished Cisco equipment. To reiterate: The site is neither owned nor operated by Cisco. But we’re intrigued. VARs and companies alike looking to potential save a few bucks might want to read on…

Self-proclaimed as an “eBay store on steriods” CiscoMarketplace.com is looking to be your one-stop shop for everything Cisco, old or new. They want to help you sell your stuff, too. I poked around on the site and I’d say it’s more like the “Craiglist of Cisco” than anything else. They don’t’ have any sale listing fees, and they also don’t have any final sale fees.

Okay, but how are they in business? Apparently, with a little bit of advertising, and charging for ‘premium’ items, like bold fonts and highlighted listings. They’re pitching Cisco Marketplace as a “no-brainer” solution to selling and buying Cisco goods, since there’s no one taking a percentage off the top and there’s nothing expensive about it.

We believe CiscoMarketplace.com is owned and operated by New Vision Technology Group Inc., a solutions provider in East Brunswick, N.J. But we’re always a little wary when Web sites (both CiscoMarketplace.com and New Vision) don’t include employee names and specific staff contact numbers. Meanwhile, we’re waiting on Cisco for an official comment, but a spokesman says it’s unlikely the company will offer any official thoughts on the market place.

Right now, CiscoMarketplace.com is pretty sparse. There aren’t many listings and there doesn’t seem to be much activity overall. Still, the site is barely two-weeks old. The site structure is very straightforward, listing products by type, and then model number. They even have a section for “Linksys by Cisco” for a bit more consumer-level stuff. Each product is then followed by a number representing the amount of listings in that area. It’s good for a quick glance at what’s selling and what isn’t, and what’s hot and what’s not.

One key theme we still need to explore: Can VARs and customers avoid gray market hardware when shopping on sites like CiscoMarketplace.com? And is it possible for online marketplaces to police their sites for gray market activities? Cisco has blogged about gray market issues multiple times, and even older entries remain timely reads.

Additional reporting by Joe Panettieri.