Operator of the Online Traders Web Alliance (OTWA) discussion boards Jim Wells-Miller stunned his members when he announced on Friday he planned to close the site for financial reasons. On Saturday he reversed his decision citing an outpouring of concern and offers of support, saying he would continue to operate the discussion boards.
OTWA is the oldest independent message forum in the online-auction industry. Jim and Crystal Wells-Miller founded the site in 1999 with a vision to create a place online where people could meet and visit with other online sellers and share their workday. In 2000, the Wells-Millers sold OTWA to Honesty.com so they could keep the site going. Soon after, Honesty.com owner Scott Samuel sold Honesty and OTWA to Andale.
On January 26, 2004, the Wells-Miller acquired OTWA back from Andale. In December 2004, Crystal went back to work for Andale, and Jim operated the site by himself. In April, he officially launched the OTWA Community Marketplace, an online auction and classified Marketplace for its 30,000 members.
Jim's July 15 post announcing the decision to close the site stated in part, "The time has come when it just doesn't make financial sense to invest more time and money into the site. I had a plan, I had a vision, and with the proper implementation and support I could make OTWA into a more vibrant community and marketplace, however, I have reached a point in my life where I just can't justify the time and resources to do it. I no longer want to work 60-80 hours a week for little or no return (and most times a loss), I have done that for too long already. I need to start thinking of my future and myself. I need to cut my losses and move on."
Jim told AuctionBytes Saturday he was overwhelmed with the supportive posts and emails he received from OTWA members since his Friday morning post. More than a handful of industry companies also sent messages asking if there were ways they could help support the site.
Jim will continue to maintain the business and technical operations, but will step away from the day-to-day operations. The site will become community-run, but will still be a "land of laws" with trusted long-time community members helping to moderate and run the forums.
As long as the support continues and it pays for itself, Jim plans to keep OTWA up and running, he said. He is still brainstorming on how best to fund the site, considering ways to accept corporate sponsorships without offending members' sensibilities. (Jim said after he and Cyrstal acquired OTWA back from Andale, traffic doubled, even though there were no changes in the way the site was run.)
On Sunday evening, Jim said that in addition to keeping the discussion boards open, he is also consdiering keeping the OTWA marketplace open. "Our members want the marketplace to remain open, so that may also remain," Jim said.
http://www.otwa.com/community/showthread.php?t=31605
