Mashable - The Social Media Guide - Latest Comments in Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

David — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:41:49 -0000

This is a take off of cozybug. which was out earlier granted it appears like more development work was implemented

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Rob — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:01 -0000

This new auction/bonanza site looks sick. Much easier to use than eBay. To bad they don't have a motors section though because my site (reviews) has tons of information on cars and their prices, specs, and more.

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Peter L — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:32:05 -0000

I have sold on Bonanzle since September 2008.

For the longest time I was one of the passionate supporters of Bonanzle. Not anymore. I just closed my store there.

Although I have to credit them for their superb technical skills, which resulted in a truly usable starters marketplace for old stuff, they lack the following two essentials to continue and will therefore

eventually fail

Missing with the Bonanzle team are:

1) A reality based solid long term vision on their business
2) Communication skills

Bonanzle's advertised vision is totally limited to a slogan, not to a well thought through business model. They advertise that their vision is to be a place where one can find 'all but the ordinary'.

First of all their slogan statement is simply not true. There are tons of items for sale there which are 'ordinary', in fact the majority of items is.

There is nothing wrong with items for sale being ordinary, but please do not create a false image, neither towards buyers nor towards sellers. It comes over as a childish 'I wanted things to be a certain

way, so they are that way' in other words, 'reality is optional'.

Secondly, just mentioning what 'products' you desire to sell on your marketplace (aka 'out of the ordinary), is not really a product of a lot of deep thought. It does not tell anyone what differentiates you

truly from other places (plenty who sell that kind of stuff) and therefore does not offer a truly unique selling proposition, a selling point that is unique only to Bonanzle and that is also hard to copy by

the competition, so hard to catch up with.

Bonanzle also pretends that their site is 'simple', which means 'simple in use, in navigation', suggesting that one can list there much quicker and buy there much quicker than elsewhere. The opposite is

true. The place is still hard to navigate and has many non-intuitive functions that slow buyers down. Listing there is also only easy if one has very little 'listing content' to put up. If one has lots of

text, a template and/or lots of images, listing becomes problematic, time-consuming, sometimes even impossible (example: true templates are really a 'no no' there for lack of full html tags suppot). And, the

interface is becoming more complex every day, which is obviously the result of functional additions. There is nothing wrong with 'not being simple' but instead 'offering lots of functionality', just don't

pretend you are something you are not.

Also Bonanzle purports to be a fun place to be. Originally that was certainly the intent of the owners as well as the early adopting sellers, and quite a lot of humorous activities and messages reflected

that. However, the owners have turned this 'we want to be a fun place' into a Pollyannish mania, where they will not tolerate any disagreement on their site, regardless if it is a civil discussion or not.

Every posting and thread on their site has to be '100% hunky dory cheery positive etc'.

To enforce this unrealistic 'smile' mania (one sees it with some signs in B+M stores telling staff to 'smile') the owners of Bonanzle have developed a battery of tools to censor anything that they feel is

not 'cheery', so any disagreement. Messages get frequently garbled by their own staff (one was especially hired for this recently) or they get relegated to a drama section o they get deleted outright.

Imagine, censorship on what is advertised as a mix of social networking and e-commerce. That is like saying that human communication must always be positive. In the real world out there this wishful thinking

does not work, neither will it in the virtual world on Bonanzle.

Initially I underestimated the 'censoring' by Bonanzle staff a bit an thought that they were merely taking out intentionally disruptive people, but, now that I have followed this for a while, I believe that

the Bonanzle owners are simply censoring dogmatically, trying to eradicate discord (even if between reasonable people) on their site altogether. Note that I also had my own run ins a few times recently with

the Bonanzle censoring machine on what were perfectly factual postings (maybe with some passion, but important subjects deserve passion).

One of the main reasons why most Ebay sellers who left for Bonanzle joined the new site, was because it purported to e friendlier than Ebay, less censoring. The truth is that Bonanzle is actually MORE

censoring, dogmatically so. The friendly atmosphere on Bonanzle is not truly friendly, since sellers there get frustrated by the Bonanzle censoring machine. In fact, Bonanzle''s own censoring machine is what

is destroying the initial friendliness.

Bonanzle has made the same mistake as Ebay, by fostering an adversarial atmosphere between its members (with its censoring mania) and that has resulted in all kinds of 'tribes' there, a Balkanization, the

result of many members using the reporting system of Bonanzle to censor those they disagree with and viceversa.

Most likely the Bonanzle owners thought that some kind of regulating was necessary, in order to prevent anarchy. In it self that is a realistic idea, but that regulating should have been based on 'justice',

which means only restricting those who actually cause damage, those who violate the rights to life and property of others. Civilized dsagreements betwene humans are not automatically 'damaging'. They have a

place in the society and actually benefit all. Eliminating disagreement is like destroying the staging ground of innovation, of growth. All that remain then is mediocrity, the lowest common denominator, and

shrinkage

Although I formally and morally agree that Bonanzle has the right to censor whatever it wants on their site, since it is their property, I do not believe it is realistic to do so. It is actually quite

irrational, as it is not in Bonanzle's self-interest to create an adversarial atmosphere on its site. It is more of interest to them to offer any debating, discussing, disagreeing members a forum, a social

networking area, The only thing they needed to do is channel it so such public discussions do not affect 'selling' negatively. In general that works best if one gives sellers a separate forum to talk freely

(even where to disagree), separate from buyers, just like in the real b+m world. Despite requests for this from many sellers, no such attempt was made.

Instead Bonanzle continues to unrealistically try to mix sellers and buyers. Sellers are basically expected to have buyers listen in on their business related conversations with fellow sellers on the site's

forums. Ever seen such a thing in the real world? A very uncomfortable set up, again caused by the Bonanzle owners' attempt to make reality 'optional' instead of 'what it is'.

This Bonanzle censoring machine is the logical end result of the lack of fundamental principled vision at Bonanzle as well as their insufficient communication skills (quite common among geeky programmers).

If the Bonanzle owners would one day want to fix their mistaken path, I am counseling them to first come up with a realistic view of people and the world around them, of how people trade and communicate

best, There is plenty of experiential information out there on that, thousands of years of it.

They'll discover that only a fact-based laissez-faire vision will work, where people are offered the greatest freedom to trade with and communicate with each other, just like good old America was most

successful when it was the freest, and like a startup Ebay (inadvertedlY) used to be way at the beginning. One cannot force a mind, not a buyer's mind nor a seller's mind. Not even Bonanzle can do that. A

carrot (=win/win) and stick (=force) approach will not work with sellers nor buyers in the long run. Only a carrot will achieve long range success.

Sorry, Bonanzle, but reality is not optional.

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Jerry — Sat, 09 May 2009 19:01:45 -0000

ebay is still King in the online auction world, but efleaa is the crowned Prince, heir to the throne. We are efleaa, We are You.

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

ZiggyZool — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:23:45 -0000

Baron:

Just a note in response to your question re: booth views in your item stats.
Wanted to point you to this note at the top of your View Booth Stats Page on
Bonanzle. This is what it says:
Booth & Item Statistics:
"Note that these statistics are updated once daily, in the evening. These stats do not include you looking at your own booth and items." (copied & pasted from my page)

Perhaps you just didn't see it. I can also assure you that every quick text or
other welcoming message were very real and sincere. It's a habit we have at
Bonanzle to welcome new neighbors to help them settle in and offer help if
needed. It would also be more help to you to post your questions in the Bonanzle
Forums or contact support@bonanzle.com you'll get an answer much more quickly.

If I wasn't one who welcomed you to Bonanzle then please accept my sincere
Welcome To Bonanzle - Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need help settlingg in.

Best,
Zig

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Baron — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:40:31 -0000

Thanks for the additional info. If People can step into my booth, why isn't the system counting them as a booth view? It seems that any potential buyer, whether they are a bonanzle seller or someone else, that visits (views) my booth should be counted as a view in my booth statistics.

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

kathyseven — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:06:56 -0000

Baron,

I assure you those were genuine messages/greetings.
Go to the People page and look to the lower left. It's just one of the
features that makes Bonanzle unique.
Take a look on the Introduce Yourself Board.
You'll see a lot more friendly folks welcoming all the new members.

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

kathyseven — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:06:56 -0000

Baron,

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

lisalisalisa7 — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:34:36 -0000

People can step into your booth, scroll down and see pictures of your items
without ever leaving the chat module. Also, the your booth stats update
once per day in the evening. Good luck at Bonanzle!

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

lisalisalisa7 — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:34:36 -0000

People can step into your booth, scroll down and see pictures of your items
without ever leaving the chat module. Also, the your booth stats update
once per day in the evening. Good luck at Bonanzle!

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Baron — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:10:55 -0000

I recently joined bonanzle after selling on eBay and Amazon for several years. The day I joined bonanzle and was greating my booth, I started receiving many text messages from what was supposed to be other sellers. I received about 30 messages in about 2 hours. The interesting thing is that some of these messages indicated that they saw my booth nd liked it. Messages like "booth is looking good", "looks great, keep up the great work". However, after reviewing my site states several hours later, I noticed that my booth views count was zero. Were these messages all automated fakes???

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Baron — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:10:55 -0000

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

ecbeauty — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:52:15 -0000

Bonanzle 28,000 members - 10,000 from Jan 6 to Feb 6th

WOW!!!!

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

ecbeauty — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:52:15 -0000

Bonanzle 28,000 members - 10,000 from Jan 6 to Feb 6th

WOW!!!!

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

John — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:31:26 -0000

Bonanzle is very cool site, you can try barnbid.com also
ebay is a rip off and you cannot make money there anymore.

bye

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Kim — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:48:15 -0000

Guilty as charged on being a bit of a cheerleader mentality when it comes to Bonanzle - I admit it I do tend to come off that way BUT there is a HUGE reason for that. Bonanzle has worked wonders for me. It brought back my enjoyment of selling online, I have actually sold over 150 items since starting there end of Oct. (and I normally have not had more than 100-150 items listed at any given time), My monthly billing statements have been around 12.00 to 14.00 a month, the feel of Bonanzle is so much more personable and I love it. SO I tend to cheer. Can't help it
BUT those who don't like the cheering just look at the numbers. The growth in members, compare members to actual sellers by looking at total members then booths. Helps to see how many are there as shoppers. Google the word Bonanzle. Find out stats. Its all there in fact not just in those of us who tend to cheer because we love it so much.

I am ALSO a buyer on Bonanzle. So know first hand that sales are being made. In Jan. I made 30 something transactions most of which were multiple item purchases from all different sellers on Bonanzle. My buying used to be on eBay but no longer is.

One other note thats not a cheer, but a fact. I had a friend who went to sign up with eBay but found it too complex, she figured she would be able to get it all going but did not bother. Well she decided to sell on Bonanzle she began selling sometime in November and is either nearing 200 sales now or might have passed it not 100% sure. Her customers coming from on Bonanzle and ones signing up that find her items in google searches (same with me my buyers come in and sign up to buy from me because of finding me on google search AND they come from already being a member of Bonanzle).

By all means those who don't go for the cheering... please just look up the numbers, the stats... Look where eBay was when they were just starting out then look at Bonanzle. It is Amazing, and yes I cannot help but cheer, and you can see here others like me who just start cheering... it is because we truly do love it!

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Kim — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:48:15 -0000

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

diana dejane — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:01:04 -0000

I have sold over 50 items in 1 1/2 months on Bonanzle, so please don't say there are no sales unless you know what you are talking about. There are buyers for sure and that is more than I have sold on E for sure! The buyers there are few and far between, at least for the type of items I sell. Some may still sell over there but most are totally disgusted and disappointed

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

ecbeauty — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:46:52 -0000

1:44 users 25,426

so in 1 hour Bonanzle has had 86 new users sign up

There is not another site that is growing at the pace Bonanzle is - not even close. I predict we will bypass ecrater in two weeks time in listing count.

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

ecbeauty — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:43:22 -0000

and at 1:42 pm there are 25,424 members

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

ecbeauty — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:25:27 -0000

And now at 1:23 pm there are 25, 393 members

and 1,051,249 listings

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

bookbrowzers — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:48:45 -0000

Yes, they are flocking to Bonanzle! The number of registered users hit 25,000 at 8:21 AM PST this morning (2/1/09). As I'm posting this (at 12:44 PM 2/1/09), the site currently has 25340 users.

Not bad growth for a company that went live in September 2008. Obviously someone likes what they see.

And no, I still don't work for Bonanzle!

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Chelle7 — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:54:13 -0000

@Jeff

Your statement is both contradictory and inaccurate.

there are no sales and very little buyers.

How can there be any buyers if there are no sales?

How do you know if no one has had a sale on Bonanzle? I have sold 18 items and I have only been there since mid December. Is that a ton? No but it isn't zero. They all signed up to buy from me also.

Bonanzle didn't rip off the eBay model for christ sake they do not even have auctions. Nothing on that site is like eBay or any other out of the box alternative site. Bonanzle was made from "scratch" by 1 person Bill Harding.

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

not rip off eBay and other sites features, dress them up a bit and think that everyone is now going to flock to them.

Again not ripping off any ideas from other sites, and sorry to inform you they, but they are flocking to Bonanzle.

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Jeff — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:11:37 -0000

I am not a bonazzle employee! I just think that bonzazzles cheerleaders goal for this post should be to create as many positive reviews as possible, but they can not hide the truth, there are no sales and very little buyers.

They should create something new and innovative, not rip off ebay and other sites features, dress them up a bit and think that everyone is now going to flock to them.

Re: Bonanzle: Social Media’s Quickly Growing Alternative to eBay

Henrietta — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:52:46 -0000

I am not a Bonanzle employee, I am known primarily as a blogger (Red Ink Diary) I have my own website and have been selling on Bonanzle since June.