Selling Venues - Bonanzle - Part 2!

I probably won't do two part posts for most of the selling sites I review, but I did feel that it was necessary to give you some more information about the site its self, and I didn't want that first post to drag on forever! So...here you go...part 2 :)

The above picture is what greeted me when I logged in today. Yes, I have signed up for Bonanzle, but at this point just so I could explore! That's one of the nice things about Bonanzle - you don't have to submit a credit card or any other super-personal information to sign up and browse. The process of signing up only takes about two minutes.

The pictures you see on the front are constantly changing - something I love! The border colors also tell you if the seller is currently on-line, near where your located (you do have to give a zip code), newly listed, or in a bonanza today! Bonanza's are site advertised sales, and each seller can sign up for one a month!

Interested in buying? Clicking on the "Buy" button takes you into a variety of ways to search for what you want to buy. At the very top you'll see current and upcoming bonanzas (sales!), and scrolling down you'll find links for local items, recently listed, bonanza items, favorite items, and freebies. Those last two caught my eye since they aren't really things I've seen on other sites so far. Keep in mind that I am beginning my research though...

Anyway, Favorite items gives you a chance to see what items others have marked as their favorites. I like that concept :) Freebies is exactly what it sounds like - free stuff! Sometimes it might be a picture that they will freely let you download, or a recipe, or instructions for a project, you never know! It's a fun area to browse :)

Diving into the world of selling - each seller gets to set up a booth (the equivalent of a shop on other sites). Below is a snap shot of a booth that I picked just because I really liked his art work! Click on the picture to check out his booth!

There's a lot of information you can input right one the front page, including your location, upcoming bonanza's, pickup if you offer it, discounts for multiple purchases and categories you offer. Also, if your currently on-line they have a real chat option! I don't see myself using this constantly if I decided to sell here, but I can see how it could be really useful in specific situations, like discussing a custom order for instance.

Now for some of the basics about costs and whatnot. Big thanks to Theresa - my research partner - for compiling this info!

~ Free to post items
~ Fees
based on Final Offer Value (FOV): less than $10, $0.50; less than $50,
$1; less than $100, $3; less than $1000, $5; $1000 or more, $10
~ Payment options: Google checkout, Paypal & money orders
~ Import directly from eBay (a major plus if you've been selling there).

I hope this information helps you! As for me, I find Bonanzle very interesting, and it's currently on my list of "I might try's," but no decisions have been made yet along those lines, lots more research to do first!

Selling Venues - Bonanzle

Today we're going to take a look at www.bonanzle.com. I've got a lot to share with you - so I'm going to have to break this up into two days :) In this post I'm going to share the response I got from a seller on Bonanzle. I'm just getting to know Terri, she's one of my twitter friends, and she's been incredibly helpful! The next post (in a day or two) will take a more in depth look at the site itself.

~ How long have you been selling with this site?
Selling on Bonanzle Since September 16 2008, (Just out of Beta) there were about 1700 members, and 30,000 listings then, now there are over 16,000 members and 600,000 listings.

~ On a scale of 1-10, (1 being hardest and 10 being easiest) how hard/easy is it to navigate and use the site?
Site is sooooo easy to navigate I have to give it a 8.5 to a 9, as I would give it a 10, but no site is ever completely perfect...only because there is a small learning curve. The live chat and  active forums, plus the Human nearly immediate support response make it very easy to find answers to your questions.

~ Have you had success selling on this site?
My top selling category is Jewelry and Jewelry findings. I also sell quite a few semi-precious and real gem stones.

~ Are there any key features that find especially helpful on this site?
The live chat is awesome, the forums are very warm and welcoming. I especially like the fact that I have over 1000 separate items listed, and have not paid a penny in listing fees....I can also include up to 4 photos, free. Final value fees are incredibly low. Up to $10 the fee is $.50, up to $50, it is $1.00.., and up to $100 it is $3.00. If you post a question in the forums, you most likely will get a hundred responses and welcomes from the members. You can chat right in your booth with friends or customers, either publically or privately. You can have 1 advertised "Bonanza" (sale) per month, and as many self promoted sales as you like. I am also an administrator of the site wide Meet & Greet called Tickle Me Tuesday, which allows people to get out and visit participating booths, have a sale, and get exposure for their own booths.

~ What's the community of artists like?
There is a huge on line community, not only artists, but sellers of many items. A large part of this community is comprised of ex-eBay Power Sellers, who have left for a variety of well known reasons. There is an entire thread of Hand Crafters, who chat, and help to promote each other. I belong to the Jewelry Integrity Group, (JIG) myself. Because we are a relatively new site and all know the bad feelings of poor customer service and high fees, the entire community bends over backwards, for the sake of Customer Service. The owners are very approachable for ideas and to solve problems.

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Woohoo! Doesn't that sound pretty cool folks? I'm going to be doing some more research into the lay out and everything for the next post, but I have to say that this site sounds pretty awesome just from my initial research. Now to tell you a little more about Terri...

You can find her shop on bonanzle under blarney_stone, and she wasn't kidding when she said she had over 1000 listings! *whew* It wears me out just thinking of all that work... Terri is doing a SALE TODAY from 1:00pm to 10:00pm Central time - 20% off everything in her booth.

So what can you find in her shop? Well, being a jewelry-freak I of course started out by checking out her jewelry and findings section. Look at this awesome butterfly pendant I found! Only $3.99 :)

With over 1000 items you can well imagine that Terri has MANY different things to offer. One of the other items that I just fell in love with was this little miniature shaving mug and brush. It's adorable! Also only $3.99 :)