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May 9, 2008
High-Fididelity Naming for eBay Competitor
A lot of people are unhappy with eBay right now, and throngs of alternative auction sites are stepping forward.
The most recent entrant isn’t precisely an auction site, it’s a place to haggle. (Cue excerpt from “The Life of Brian.”)
Fididel’s founder insists that the name doesn’t mean anything, or at least, fididel, pronounced fih-diddle, didn’t mean anything before the launch of this service.
Now it means “to haggle online,” and the site promises a whole family of related words. Fididelers, for instance, are people who do your haggling for you, for a cut.
Unlike competitor Wigix, whose name stands for “Want It-Got It Exchange,” Fididel’s was named for a Mexican restaurant called Fidel’s.
The name Fidel contains several layers of significance. It’s root meaning is faithful, implying honesty and reliability—not a bad thing for a marketplace to have. On the other hand, the most famous Fidel of the modern era is the communist dictator Fidel Castro—not quite the icon you want for a flourishing free market.
Technorati Tags: Fididel, eBay, Haggle, Fididelers, Wigix, Auction Sites, Fidel
Posted by Diane Prange at May 9, 2008 12:20 PM
Posted to Brand Naming
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