Whatever "it" is, it would appear that Bonanzle has it and it would seem the spunky start-from-nothing has been asked to the big show, as they say in Baseball talk.
I've weighed in several times about Bonanzle, once very early on, stating that I thought the sites' chances at success were very high.
Rather than pour it on, I'll leave that to a couple of excerpts from other articles I've posted in blue later on the page.
Before we get to those though, here are the reasons I think the company has passed the milestones it has in such a short time, and why I think it has a very bright future.
- The site has realtime chat rooms for each seller which encourages people to communicate live in a very unrestricted manner.
- The openness of the site, allows for cross promotion, networking and a very fun, friendly atmosphere. If you don't know something on Bonanzle, just ask and you'll have help in minutes.
- The fees to sell on the site are very reasonable, it's free to list, Bonanzle get's it's money when you make a sale. Those fees are among the lowest of any selling platform.
- It's super simple to post a listing, you can do it in 60 seconds. Really.
- The founders, Bill Harding and Mark Dorsey, have kept in close contact with it's community.
- It has made it's users feel respected and empowered, which has turned them into evangelists. That kind of momentum is hard to stop.
- Bill and Mark do things that are unusual and very interesting to the buying and selling community. The site is kind of wacky! For example, the site does not have any kind of an auction format, yet I just held a REAL live online auction! It was very successful.
- Once you start buying and selling on the site, even if you wish to use other sites, there's really no need or incentive to stop using Bonanzle, which should mean a high percentage of user loyalty.
- The site encourages and in many ways, demands that you run your business your way.
If that sounds a bit like cheer leading from someone who has a vested interest in Bonanzle, maybe so, but I call 'em as I see 'em, (I sell on Bonanzle, and host an online radio show called Brainstroming Bonanzle) and if you'll click here to check out this article, I wrote in Bonanzles' "Jurassic age of September 08, you'll see that I'm singing the same tune now as I did back them, and I gotta say, it's a pretty catchy song.
From the Bonanzle braggin board:
Bonanzle Voted Best eBay Alternative (again)
In what SmallBusinessComputing called "a runaway,"
Bonanzle was named the "Best eBay Alternative" of 2008. Now let's just hope that they don't get wind of the fact that Bonanzle didn't even exist for more than half of 2008..!
Big thanks to everyone that voted and told their friends to do the same. Beating out esteemed sites like Wigix, eCrater and even Etsy is a tremendous honor that ought to put Bonanzle on the radar of more buyers.
Bonanzle Hits 1m Items (repeatedly)
Well, folks, here we are. I still remember rooting around my tiny condo for electronics I didn't need, so I could post them to billabooth and inch Bonanzle's listing count closer to 1,000 items. I also distinctly remember the day, shortly after Mark came onboard, when he somehow convinced
to post her 1,000 stamps to the site, more than doubling our overall item count to 2,000 items. Thanks, Moonie!
But that isn't some long ago story of years past. That was half a year ago. From such modest beginnings, our sellers have done an [insert your incredulous adjective here] job of getting the word out about Bonanzle to their fellow sellers. In January, we've averaged anywhere from 10k-30k new items created per day, even with a strict duplicate item filter that can cut down a seller's inventory significantly when imported from other places.
Now, if everyone would make sure their items are on Google Base, then we'd reeeeally be cookin! :)
If you your a skeptic, Bonanzle welcomes critics and anything goes in it's forums as long as you are not vulgar or threatening. There's even a special forum for heated threads that turn into quarrels.
Auctions on Bonanzle:
I just had my first REAL online auction on Bonanzle last Saturday where I called the bids live as folks bid in the chat room. I sold 17 for 17 lots and it was a blast! The auction was a mix of antiques, collectibles, ad spots for my online radio shows and more. I was VERY happy with the results and will be posting a full essay on it soon.
I plan to run these no reserve, live, audio auctions on the first Saturday of every month and I hope you'll stop by to take a look at what's going on. Click here to find a page that explains it all.
I'll also be working with Bill and Mark to help devolop the REAL online auction idea so that other Bonanzlers can take advantage of it.
Thanks for reading,
AW
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Comments
Two awesome milestones at Bonanzle this week. First to hit a million listings and then to win the BEST e-bay alternative! Just a WOW week.
I agree Walt, The "Bonanzle Tune" is a catch-y one and more people are starting to sing it. Bonanzle is truly shooting up to Rockstar status and it will not be long before everyone realizes it is much more fun to do the "Bonanzle Boogie" than the "eBay Waltz"
Several congratulations in order!
Bonanzle's Best e-bay alternative award, inventory milestone, spilling over the million mark...and enhancements that continue without a hitch!
Your auction on 1/24 was like a wedding - marrying Auction Wally with Bonanzle! :)
Looking forward to more!
@Cleaosgreatdeals
Uh...I do.
@Renegade, your comments indicate that your nickname is well suited!
Bill & Mark hit the ball out of the park when others were just trying to find the ball. I love Bonanzle and I didn't even drink the kool aid!
Congrats to Auction Wally on the great success of his live auctions in his booth, (yes, I was there lol), and congrats to all of us Bonanzlers who helped make the remarkable milestone of 1,000,000 listings in less then 6 months!
Happily humming the Bonanzle tune!
mrsmoondog
Benevolent Inspiration
Wow, ya'll's on fire! In the last 24 hours, look what you've done...
Well, folks, here we are. I still remember rooting around my tiny condo for electronics I didn't need, so I could post them to billabooth and inch Bonanzle's listing count closer to 1,000 items. I also distinctly remember the day, shortly after Mark came onboard, when he somehow convinced Mooniebrn to post her 1,000 stamps to the site, more than doubling our overall item count to 2,000 items. Thanks, Moonie!
But that isn't some long ago story of years past. That was half a year ago. From such modest beginnings, our sellers have done an [insert your incredulous adjective here] job of getting the word out about Bonanzle to their fellow sellers. In January, we've averaged anywhere from 10k-30k new items created per day, even with a strict duplicate item filter that can cut down a seller's inventory significantly when imported from other places.
So where will you take us next? It's sure to be a great 2009 at Bonanzle, with our buyers and sellers busy spreading the good Bonanzle word throughout the blogosphere and beyond.
But for today, I'd recommend you grab your vice of choice and just savor the moment. It's been fun ride up, and our community deserves a long round of applause in what they've built here. All without the contrived marketing campaign aftertaste. More of the same, pls!
The advantage of Bonanzle can't get any clearer!
I have been a member of Bonanzle since Oct of 2008. I am thrilled at the growth of this site in such a short time. Just goes to show that it IS the best ebay alternative and the friendly atmosphere is very catching.
Positive breeds Positive and we are all very positive about this site.
I Love the entire friendly community here and the quick Support response.
It not a wonder that it is the online selling site of today and the future.
Sher
What a great article Wally! Congratulations on the success of the first Bonanzle auction. I agree that respecting and empowering the users on Bonanzle has made a tremendous difference. Not only in how people feel using the website, but in how it operates.
Bonanzlers are Everything but the Ordinary!
This is a wonderful article as usual. Your doing great work for us. Your Auction was a smashing hit, and look forward to the next on Feb.7th. The people are friendly and supportive, and the formatting is one of the easiest I have seen.
Bonanzle has empowered the sellers and is not nickel and diming them to death. They feel respected. Bonanzle will continue to shoot for the stars with buyers and sellers enjoying their site.
Will there be 2 million listings in less than a year?
It's going to be fun to watch and participate in this amazing feat.
There is alot of talk about e... but none about these other sites following in there footsteps and these are the guys that we need to be selling with and the simple fact is because they want to be better then the other guy and thats what makes them better.
A list of some sites:
Bonanzle.com
Shoptimesaver.com(There going to be adding interface for sellers soon, right now it is just for buyers)
ioffer.com
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