Mystery continues to surround who is behind the Twitter handle of ConTheMarket.
Russell Quirk, founder of the online agency eMoov and who bought the domain names ConTheMarket.com and co.uk last November, has continued to deny that it is him or anyone at eMoov.
Yesterday, PeeBee posted on Eye a link which showed that last month Stephen Jury, who handles eMoov’s marketing, posted a blog using a ConTheMarket logo very similar to what appears on Twitter.
We asked eMoov if this was just coincidence.
Quirk said that it was simply a “c” in front of the OnTheMarket logo, which he said was not a particularly “exclusive idea”.
He added that he honestly had no idea who is behind the Twitter account – to which eMoov yesterday tweeted.
Quirk said: “We interact with it.
“However, whilst they are as cool and clever and funny as us, it’s not anyone at eMoov.”
Jury himself told Eye: “My blog merely reflects my professional marketing view of their launch activity.”
Jury’s blog is shown below and is here
Really, who cares. Charging up front to sell a property against an agent who offers a no sale no fee. Who’s conning the market ?.
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Charging one tenth of the fee that you do and selling a higher percentage of our listings? And delivering genuinely fantastic customer service, a concept yet to dawn on the high street. Yeah, what a con. Why is it that so many commentators on this site hide behind anonymity? What are you so afraid of?
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ONE TENTH? Matey – here oop North you’re one of the most expensive options a potential vendor has… and the rest of us don’t take it up front.
Oh – and when you claim “Sell for Only £495!”… don’t you mean £594? You’ve forgotten to advise your potential customer of the dreaded VAT already – and wasn’t it YOU that had a proper go at others about that very same heinous crime a while back, Mr Quirk?
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Doesn’t take much to rattle Quirk’s cage these days. Wonder why?
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A company can charge a low price and attract custom, thats always been the way of the world. To suggest its better than its high street counterparts is subjective. But the fact remains that companies have to make money. To make the same money as some regional estate agent emoove would need to be taking on some 20,000 properties a year they are barely taking on 2000. This company is not a big stage player, they are at best primary school production and in the end their “pluck them out of the air” charges will neither make them sustainable (given their now increased employee costs) nor investable. Probably the biggest hindrance to the business however is the man “in charge” who displays text book narcissistic characteristics. it was probably this that saw him destroy the estate agents his family had started and will ultimately make him a liability in any chance of success emoove might have had . I’m no fan of the Purplebricks model either, but you have to say one is a business, the other a market stall.
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He is probably rattled as he can see other budget no service online listers with greater name awareness eating into his market share.
With only 2% of the market these parasites have no wonder they are scrapping over the crumbs from our table.
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Not hiding behind anything and with a very rational balance on what I am and am not affraid of, please could I challenge your 10% of the average agency fee claim you just made? the average fee charged by a traditional agent right now is £2625 inc vat for a succesful completion. Please could you show how you are averaging £262.50 for the same service?
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Come on Russell, I can understand you not going belly to belly with the Anons, but I am real and asking you a civilised and obvious question based on your own claim. I appreciate you are possibly busy, I will be at 10 for a few hours, but I really would like to find out how you get your average fee down below your minimum fee. Or failing that what figures you are accessing to support you claim that the average commission on the average property is 2.86% plus VAT.
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I am back now Russell, I am happy to continue when you are.
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Robert, Don’t hold your breath. Like a number of posters on here if you challenge them to back up claims they go very quiet!
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Give him the benefit of the doubt, he might be busy today even if it is thinking up an explantion for what ws probably an ill- considered, hasty post. Mr Quirk might get away with convincing an ignorant audience of his credibility and tip of the tongue statistics but using them to troll this audience doesn’t wash.
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Russell, If you still had your residential high street business you would be making a mint at the moment, as the market is really moving…..You remember when you had your towns sown up? You were a very very successful high street agent. Maybe you should consider a move back to that set up/arrangement as you would be earning a fortune if you did?. Maybe that is why you are concentrating on trying to discredit high street agents? Maybe you have some regret about your business move from the high st. to online only?
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“What are you so afraid of?” Tell you what. If my clients are happy, I’m offering to share 10 properties on my books in exchange for 10 local properties on your books, in a straight scrap. No one side gets a price advantage over the other – no shared commission – winner takes all. Let me know if you’re interested.
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Who will it be!? We could make this as big as Who shot JR! #ConGate
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So Emoov is going to rename to conthemarket.com. how apt.
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Just to remind, my ‘conversation’ here on EYE with Mr Jury yesterday went like this:
“Feel free to absolutely categorically deny being in any way, shape or form involved – the floor is yours.
I’m sure that whatever you agree to commit to stating won’t come back and bite you on the @ss…”, to which he replied:
“not guilty on this occasion. My blog was done a while back on my marketing views for the launch.”
So – there we have it – CEO and Marketing Minion both stressing no involvement with this piece of ridiculousness.
Just as well, really – imagine the backlash if they had been behind it.
It just leaves the question why Mr Quirk bought those idiotic, totally useless domain names…
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Con puns are all the rage. Might start posting on here as ConPeeBee
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If I were you Stephen I would worry a little more about the fact that since you’ve been at Emoove, instead of seeing the business gain market share, its lost it to its biggest rival. Marketing guru? Whom in fact was conning who at that interview?
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I agree, I can’t think of ANY reason why a company would want to associate themselves with CON anything? Any marketing manager worth their salt would be spinning positive press, not deliberately try to attract negative press.?
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Well, wilko – just goes to prove that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, some still believe the old adage that any publicity is good publicity…
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“Con puns are all the rage.”
Is that right? Name me three more, then – ‘cos I seem to have missed out on all the fun…
“Might start posting on here as ConPeeBee”
Feel free – I don’t have a trademark on the “name” any more than you have on yours, or OnTheMarket have on theirs.
Oh… actually… awww, forget it – what I was going to say doesn’t matter to you ‘cos you’ve stated you’re in no way not responsible for all the malarkey anyway…
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the servatives are in a right stew about it! :0
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I don’t know why people are concerned about OTM anyway, the main website for property is and always will be Rightmove, I don’t see anyone leaving them unfortunately. Online agents do not need to be worried about the ban imo.
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Here he is, Faisal Butts boy bright and breezy waiting for the responses to his daily bit of PR and boom! First one jumped on by 07.45, he must have been gazing at his smart phone like a love sick 15 year old girl waiting for that…..(have some self respect fella?), anyway, 120% customer satisfaction, selling 11 out of 10 houses they list, save every customer 9 grand, blah blah blah and no ones going to tell him he’s just a big fish in a tiny budget model pond that’s not getting bigger, it’s just getting more fish in it, or will this be his year? – Jonnie
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@Jonnie Have to say the first couple of sentences actually made me laugh out loud, cheered my up.
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It si simple it really is…you set up a website..advertise with Rightmove and Zoopla…put loads of fake reviews on your site to hide the fact that people paying upfront for something with no promise of any return is actually a good idea. Then you push out loads of PR trying to hide the real con by stating that those who only get paid on commission are the ones conning people. I’m just amazed that the media have fallen for it and champion the con .
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I can think of someone with the sense of humour and firm belief in themselves who will be sat their laughing like a Pixie that someone else is getting the blame for this, that it is causing a bit of a stink and getting some attention.
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You could well be right, Robert – and we all know who you mean – however I would say that the list of ‘possibles’ is long… but certainly not distinguished.
I reckon though that said individual would want the world to know he was the culprit. After all – in this instance anonymity or infamy are his Choices… ;o)
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Catch 22, I reckon if it is who we think it is you are right that he would not care who knew it was him, he has the nads and confidence to enjoy all this kerfuffle. On the other hand I have experienced a side that commands some respect and this, what I suspect was a bit of japery, would hamper the jump to service supplier and that might supress the need to fess.
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See what you did there PeeBee, Very clever! 🙂
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EH? What? Where?
Who?
Me?
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One question I have for eMoov – there are 20 properties available in London out of around 90,000 on RM, but I note that below the asking price is “Estimated Savings” some showing £26,000. Now, as the search result is directed at buyers, does that imply the buyer is getting a £26k discount? If it does, then there is no benefit to a vendor, if not, then the advert is very misleading in my opinion as it seems to imply a discount to the buyer. Just an observation
108 Regency Street, London 1.14 mi
On Market £875,000
2 bedroom flat
Est. savings £16,206
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I get the whole idea behind cOnTheMarket. I think it nicely balances out all the positivity and allows us all, including the public to make up their own minds.
OTM agents are not all being open and honest with clients about why it’s here and that’s not right.
People like to think for themselves and the whole online model gives people choice which is refreshing. I wouldn’t use one even if it was free but it’s nice to have the choice. The reality is that most, nearly all home sellers don’t want to use an online agent, but some do and that’s fine. Their share will grow. Don’t fight it. It’s good to have competition, I thrive on it. I try to win and come up with new ideas my competitors haven’t though of.
Don’t get personal and pick on each other. Let the punters decide which option works best for them…like in any other industry.
Whatever you do don’t start a new website which restricts choice for the public and highlights the weakness of the industry. That would be commercial suicide and would stick out like a sore thumb to any potential client who didn’t fall for your well rehearsed sales pitch you have been using for the last 3 decades….
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Mr Quirks’ closing comment fom an interview after launching e moov;
“Is there anything you would like to say as a final word?
If I can disrupt a market that is perhaps the most overdue for disruption – I’ll be a very proud man indeed.”
So it’s all right for you to disrupt, but not anyone else?
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Anyone else wake up on a Monday morning and think ‘right I’m off to cause a little disruption…. see you tonight darling’.
What’s that all about? Talk is cheap. Kamekaze pilots casued a lot of disruption in WW2 didn’t they?
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No, But i am going to use that line tomorrow when i kiss the wife goodbye in the morning!
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…slightly off topic but does anyone know if http://www.thelondonoffice.co.uk is classed as a portal in the eyes of OTM?
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I has same question regarding radar homes yesterday
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Hard to know if anyone knows what’s going on. I would say that Radar homes is a portal. Just becuase both of the above mentioned sites are not as busy as the other sites, they would be if they could be, so in my eyes are no different to Rightmove or Zoopla.
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well 3 or 4 naughty agents in my area then! (i agree with you)
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Haha. This is actually quite funny….I’ve never been on Radar Homes before you mentioned it… I’ve been doing this for a while and spend a lot of time trying to keep up..
Reading the banner on Radar homes facebook page is like listening to the pitch of a OTM rep;
agent owned..
state of the art sites..(wonder if they have an iphone app?)
no surprises…
buy shares in your own portal…. and so on.
Why hasn’t it worked for Radar? No TV advertising? I’ve watched a bit of TV everyday in the last month and only seen one OTM ad so far. I couldn’t tell you what the other ads were and only remember the OTM as I’ve been ‘waiting’ to see one.
Does OTM care about agents breaking the rules at all? Or only if it involes poor old Zoopla?
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Yes its not the most progressive of portals. All of these portals have a great idea but like Radar and OTM or propertylive before them. Trying to get the public to buy in is the important thing and thats where most fail.
As much as i hate giving RM my hard earned money every month i cant see how a portal can rival them, even Z were not that close, thats why all the agents with OTM ditched them!
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We have all left it too late to beat the mighty RM. Knowing agents they wouldn’t have done it any other way. When it’s too late.
I wonder how long the OTM fans are going to leave the (silly) signs/targets up in their windows? I guess it must be like when the Christmas tree goes up… very nice for a couple of weeks but annoying as soon as the moment has passed.
Has the OTM moment passed for any of you lot? Or still getting lots of great leads?!
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You have not left it too late…. the little kid at the back pointing out the King is in the all together? perhaps it is time to listen?
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I think it is too late regrettably.
Too many agents are on RM and there is not a suitable alternative to make the majority of them switch.
OTM had the best chance and while it is too early to write an obituary it has not taken the market by storm.
Until a far superior (as opposed to same but different) and probably cheaper option comes along we are stuck with them.
I guess i just have to look at RM as a “Senior negotiator” cost wise.
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The frustrating thing is that the far superior follow on technology was spec’ed out in 2008 and an attempt to introduce that tech into DPG, Primelocation and Findaproperty was only thwarted by the merger with Zoopla. I was in the building and working on it at the time.
You might remember giving me a hard time back along with a comment about not having a job? Since September 2009 I have been working ( mostly unpaid) on the future and have introduced several aspects of my Generation 5 Cirrus project into partner firms to the extent where about 60% of all agents now have access to individual fragments of the project. I can say with confidence and conviction that far superior Technology has already been designed and it is only finding an Agent centric as opposed to a shareholder /profit motivated Tech platform that is holding things up.
On the other thread I mentioned having to let go of the minor stipulation about who and who isn’t allowed on a new platform. When GMW, RGS (CFP), Wigwam and Solex introduced the G2 systems no one ever queried or stipulated who was also allowed to buy the technology of the day, no-one was told where they could or couldn’t advertise. The future platform will be one that provides a service to one customer base not two and understands the importance of being a service provider.
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I note his page states “A place for my thoughts and opinions”. Well here is my thought and opinion. How very very childish and speaks volumes of why one would not want to have any dealing with you, particularly when it comes to business.
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Just heard that Mr Chesterton of Zoopla fame has invested in Emoov……I found that very interesting.
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What software do you use Wilko?
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It will be of no surprise to anyone by now that most of this anti OTM is coming from those that are not estate agents but individuals and companies (Z included) who have used estate agency industry to make money on the back of high street estate agents hard work. They are very disgruntled to find that that gravy train is under threat, as good agents have become wiser to being used and try to distance themselves from those actually are not very professional and some in particular give the industry a very big bad name. Just stop and think why OTM came about, it wasn’t just over fees and several thousands have signed up. I would even go so far as to say that by the conduct of some openly anti-estate agent organisations …. you’re having a laugh and good riddance to you.
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