A couple quick notes on some changes made today that you'll probably notice as you browse around...
Revamped Buy Page
Our "Buy" page had been bugging me more daily... not only did the left side boxes look antiquated, they also had a secondary search box (confusing), some "browse by" choices that did not separate cleanly from the choices below the Bonanzas box, and an annoying requirement of making a buyer click twice to get to some of the most common functionality (perusing a category... had to click on "Browse Categories" then pick the category itself).
I tried to resolve "all of the above" in today's round of updates. We now have links to the category showcases of the most popular categories (by listing volume), the "Browse by" box has been clarified into browsing by category and browsing by user selected items, and the choices below the Bonanzas now describe what a hand picked list, exceptional item, and favorite booth is, for the new buyers who were probably scratching their head when they looked at those choices previously.
Home Page, by You
Another change I'm really excited about is upping the limit of the hand picked lists to 20, so we can start featuring hand picked lists on the home page. Quite frankly, the whole "weighted random item selection" used to pick home page items currently does a lot worse job of picking attractive and intriguing items (that leave a good first impression) than you all do. Time and time again we see hand picked lists that inspire, that make us laugh, and that are just plain pretty. It makes a lot more sense to give new users those feelings when they first visit the home page than to give them the feeling they're looking at a random number generator.
We don't have the hand picked lists showing on the home page yet, but after some good 20-item hand picked lists get put together, we'll get them online shortly thereafter. I'd say sometime in the next week. We'll also find a way to credit the creator of the hand picked list on the home page, so it could be great exposure for a seller looking to get noticed.
Numerous other bug fixes and user requests got in today (Super B-what? I watched the last three minutes of the game today, I think it turned out to be the perfect strategy :)), as always, take a look at the "What's New" list if you're curious.
January Stats and February Starts
Judging by historical traffic graphs from other eBay alternatives, we'd expected January to be a ho-hum month for traffic and sales -- the holidays being over, buyers and sellers typically seem to take the month off, and marketplaces try to break even.
Bonanzle? Notsomuch. Traffic was up significantly again, with 55% more unique visitors than December. After increasing more than 100% in December, sales also continued upward in January, increasing by more than 30% over what they had been in December, traditionally the busiest sales month of the year. Nice work as always, team!
And February is off to an even better start, more than 1000 users registered today -- be sure to welcome the new users aboard if you encounter them! And apologize to them about the eBay importer for me... it now has more than 150 jobs queued for import Luckily, help is on the way -- we'll be doubling our server capacity yet again next week... the cycle never ends.
I am wondering what this means though for memberships basic and premier. One of the things was to be showcased on front page more. I just upgraded to premier tonight. With the hand picked list on front page going into effect how will the membership perk of exposure on front page more? Or will the hand picked list be an addition to the already featured set up of random items on front page?
The growth is awesome and amazing & that ALL numbers are going up, members, sales, everything. Way to go Bonanzle!!!!
Thanks for all of your hard work guys making this site so wonderful AND all members for working at it too
LOL I can recall being a newbi and just sayin over and over Bon-? thats cool about explaining more I love the hand picked idea and its creator my only thoughts are how does it effect membership as well cuz I thought a paying membership ment more exposure on the front its all good thou and WOW with jan new members time to do more listings I guess after I go welcome the newbis in the forums!!
Excellent questions re: membership — thanks for asking! I had meant to address that very topic in the blog, I think I got lost in the excitement over the numbers.
The short answer is that the benefits for being a premiere subscriber (plus subscribers are unaffected) are going up more than down with these recent changes:
1) Within the hand picked lists shown on the home page, the premiere members will get the “featured” (i.e., big) pictures in the list, so long as their pictures are clear and of good quality. So there is still a significant home page advantage to being premiere.
2) But more importantly, premiere members are eligible to be featured in the Category Showcases, which are now far more prominent than they had been, with the revised Buy page. Granted, it can be a bit of work to wrangle up a picture that meets the requirements to be shown in the Category Showcase, but once a seller gets one or two pictures approved for the showcase, they’re golden. Whereas the buyer traffic on the home page tends to be a very diffuse and untargeted sort, the buyers who visit the Category Showcases have already shown an interest in the category. Thus, being featured there is far more targeted (and thus lucrative) than the results one would get from the home page. Not to mention that one’s competition to be shown will be far less in a category than it was on the home page (where all million items from the site are eligible to be shown).
Of course, we will constantly be adding even more features for premiere subscribers, but even without additional features, premiere members will be in an increasingly good position to make sales through this evolution. Yet buyers will be better served too, since hand picked lists are going to make for way more interesting subject material on the home page.
Love the changes to the “Buy” page. As a still relatively new member who wants to move all of my buying and selling to Bonanzle, I spent a whole day Saturday cruising the site, learning. I had been stumped by some of the things on the “Buy” page, but figured out the purpose of each by trying things over and over, seeing what they did and figuring out how to use them. The descriptions make it much clearer now. Thanks for thinking of how newbies use the site, it really does make a difference (especially for those folks that are not selling on the site).
I discovered the lists feature Saturday and created my first – love that feature! Glad you are increasing the number of lists that can be created and that they will be offered on the main page. Now that I have discovered them I find myself going through them often and already finding favorite list creators.
I just became a Premier member last night and asked to be added to the waitlist for BAC. I’m not as concerned about my things being on the front page as I am about the items on the front page giving a fantastic first impression of Bonanzle. I’ve been telling many girlfriends about Bonanzle. A few friends had mentioned they didn’t really like the site. Wanting them to love Bonanzle as I already do, I have pressed them for feedback. They sited the pictures on the home page as one thing that turned them off. They said as online buyers they want the merchandise they first see to be inviting so they want to know and see more. One gave me the example of the way the Etsy home page always seems to have great photos of things on their front page. She said even if she isn’t interested in a one of a kind hand knitted blue cap for her dog, if the picture is great it gets her excited about shopping and helps pull her into the stores so she can find those things she can’t live without! Have you thought about a tagging system so members can rate pictures like we now can rate the items in booths? Then the best-rated photos could start cycling through the main page? Just a thought!
LOVE the new category pages, and right on about that being the place to WOW a buyer and offer them an impressive welcome to Bonanzle. Thanx for all the recent improvements!
organization, innovation, creativity, excitement, fresh, fun… such a blessing to our family to be able to see all this up close
i just clicked on one of the category options – health & beauty… wow! those spotlights are very cool… then the business & industrial… wow again… it was pretty neat to see one of my hand picked lists there in the business & industrial category area.
these changes are extremely nifty!
thank you mr. harding & mr. dorsey… again & again… thank you!
WOW I’m speechless…lol I watched the numbers yesterday and was totally astounded. we went from a major milestone of 25,000 members @ 11:21 am EST to 25,766 @ 11:48 pm EST and when I signed in just minutes ago we’re nearly at the 26,000 mark! So proud and happy to be a part of this wild ride. Thanks Bill and Mark you Rock! Haven’t even had a chance to check out the new improvements but I know I’m going to love them. Thanks Kim & Ms Jonie for your great questions right off the bat and Bill for your immediate answers to their concerns – I’m good to go now I can go play
All the new changes are wonderful. But the best thing is logging in here and seeing that yet ANOTHER post is here by the founder speaking directly to us. It is fun watching the growth.
Anything done to improve the shopping experience is great.
I love what you are doing and am a Big Supporter of Bonanzle! You site will continue to grow and I will continue to recommend it to sellers and new sellers!
Are you going to use a no right click code? I ask because if you are I will retake some pictures and leave my name off, but if not I can’t because my images are stolen all the freaking time. I don’t think anyone on Bonanzle would do that, but people have actually browsed the net and have found my images as a thumb nail and used them. Of course my concern is they will be used on eBay not here, and eBay won’t take them down unless I can prove they are mine.
My images are distinct and stand out on eBay because of my background. I can’t afford anyone with poor feedback ahead of me in auction, because after clicking a listing with my image seeing poor feedback they won’t click on my listing. Not surprising someone of such poor character who steals images typically has poor feedback
Yes, Bonanzle gets better everyday, and I am also proud to be a part of the Bonanzle community!
Interesting. I was in the PS forums over “there” this morning and saw a post from a woman who has been a huge sales force over there. She said that she comes over to Bonanzle first to check to see if there are items here she can buy to support the folks that have been driven away from … over there.
Oh Yes Big Thank you. Im not concerned at all about where my pictures will be. If we build it They will come. If others can do this WE can do better. I was gone for the weekend and Im just Shocked at the growth spurt. Keep it up Bonanzlers. We cant quit for a minute. ;-)ma
I can’t find the listings now. Literally I can’t figure out how to get to all the listings by using the category buttons. When I use the buy button and choose a category it takes me to the category page but nothing is there and I can’t find a way to get to the listings.
Thanks so much for all your HARD WORK & EFFORTS!!! You are making this a better place to be everyday. I love the way you guys are there for us and really listen to us. It makes it more personable and lets us know that you are listening! So many times that is not the case. That is what drew me to stay here. This is such a fun and caring community that I am so proud to be a part of.
Thanks,
Karen
KarensJewelry
Eyecatchingbeauty is right. When you click on the health & beauty link, no subcategories show up on the new page. Usually the text is there to drill down into more categories. It isn’t there. Needs Jim Dandy to the rescue.
Thanks Bill for being so faithful in letting us know about all that is improving here at Bonanzle. I have been here since November and all the changes you and your team have made have been great! I am a Premier Member of Bonanzle and just signed up for the One Year Membership!
@tilling and all: Thanks dudes! Yes, Health & Beauty needs some fixin’. I’ll be working on that as soon as I wrap up this morning’s email run.
@jammatun: Exactly. Etsy’s home page is consistently stunning and the reason is that they hand picked items in thematic groups to make it alluring. I am convinced this will be a pretty major breakthrough to leave a good impression on our new users. Even a silly list like Mark’s “Remember the 80’s list” would draw people in far more than the random collection of so-so items we get now
And in regards to an image rating utility, it’s on my list. I want to be done rating the Category Showcase images as soon as possible…
Thank you for addressing my concerns Bill. I appreciate it very much (see you just don’t get replies to concerns on other sites like you do here Bonanzle is one of a kind).
I do think it is VERY important that the home page is a spot that makes shoppers want to go further to see more. First impressions tend to stick.
Thanks for all your hard work up there guys!
(I hope you at least sleep a couple hours a day and maybe grab a burger while your doing all of this. From where I stand it looks like you guys eat, sleep and breathe Bonanzle lol)
I cannot say enough good things about the site, the flow of upgrades boggles the mind, I am out there everyday promoting bonanzle, I have an article in our local paper coming out this week, I trolled an art show this weekend handing out info, We are on our way to the top, and I am honored to be in on the climb. Shari
I love everything about this site, but I am having a difficult time trying to find the place you would go to when starting a discussion. I have some topics I would like to talk about, but can’t find a button or a location where you would “start” one….Please help. I’m also not receiving notices from Otto when someone replies to my responses on the forums.
Great work, guys! I am also a Premier Member. Is there any way to put that star on our listing page next to the chat box or somewhere equally as prominent?
Thanks for everything.
Alice Sisk, Something Old
The revamped Buy page is great, with one exception, which is ..The subcategories need to be green text in order for buyers to know to click on them. They don’t look “clickable” in the current grey text.
as Valdazar inspires me to say:
Whoo Hoo!
Go Bonanzle!
There’s always great news in the Blog, but I have to say that I absolutely LOVE the addition of the See all Categories on the Buy page.
I’m thrilled with that one!
Great Job Boyz!
Bill, when are you going to start running ads for buyers that are not in a trade journal? How about running ads on the internet like Speigel, Woman Within, and a few others that use banner ads on yahoo, newspapers online, and ect? Sure would bring new buyers except for only sellers no one has heard of bonanzle for shopping, havent seen any ad material yet
Appreciate all of the great communication on Bonanzle. Including owners and sellers. I have learned more here then I Have in the last 10 years on that other place.
I have had many new customers here, besides the Bonanza sellers…They told me they found me in google search and it took them right to my Booth…So putting yourself on google search really does work..
Love this place and I am so excieted to being on the ground floor of such and exciting new place.
Good Luck to us all. Judy
I am stunned. I just don’t know what to say. I have 2 premier memberships and these changes sure puts it to a competition. For a small time seller that sucks at lists and photos..Boy am I in trouble…The page sure looks great though. Kudos on your picks.
Your Homepage picks have been wonderful … stunning, vibrant, colorful, all very eye-catching! A definite PLUS for Bonanzle shoppers. I’m very pleased that my FUNNY STUFF list is making a run, too! Thanks for keeping things simple here as Bonanzle progresses into the future.
48 responses to A Couple Changes, A Couple Stats
I am wondering what this means though for memberships basic and premier. One of the things was to be showcased on front page more. I just upgraded to premier tonight. With the hand picked list on front page going into effect how will the membership perk of exposure on front page more? Or will the hand picked list be an addition to the already featured set up of random items on front page?
The growth is awesome and amazing & that ALL numbers are going up, members, sales, everything. Way to go Bonanzle!!!!
Thanks for all of your hard work guys making this site so wonderful AND all members for working at it too
Hey, if it is on Bonanzle, it is ALL good. WTG and job well done. I am so proud to be here.
LOL I can recall being a newbi and just sayin over and over Bon-? thats cool about explaining more I love the hand picked idea and its creator my only thoughts are how does it effect membership as well cuz I thought a paying membership ment more exposure on the front its all good thou and WOW with jan new members time to do more listings I guess after I go welcome the newbis in the forums!!
Just getting better every day! Thanks guys, than you so much!
Hey Kim and MissJonie,
Excellent questions re: membership — thanks for asking! I had meant to address that very topic in the blog, I think I got lost in the excitement over the numbers.
The short answer is that the benefits for being a premiere subscriber (plus subscribers are unaffected) are going up more than down with these recent changes:
1) Within the hand picked lists shown on the home page, the premiere members will get the “featured” (i.e., big) pictures in the list, so long as their pictures are clear and of good quality. So there is still a significant home page advantage to being premiere.
2) But more importantly, premiere members are eligible to be featured in the Category Showcases, which are now far more prominent than they had been, with the revised Buy page. Granted, it can be a bit of work to wrangle up a picture that meets the requirements to be shown in the Category Showcase, but once a seller gets one or two pictures approved for the showcase, they’re golden. Whereas the buyer traffic on the home page tends to be a very diffuse and untargeted sort, the buyers who visit the Category Showcases have already shown an interest in the category. Thus, being featured there is far more targeted (and thus lucrative) than the results one would get from the home page. Not to mention that one’s competition to be shown will be far less in a category than it was on the home page (where all million items from the site are eligible to be shown).
Of course, we will constantly be adding even more features for premiere subscribers, but even without additional features, premiere members will be in an increasingly good position to make sales through this evolution. Yet buyers will be better served too, since hand picked lists are going to make for way more interesting subject material on the home page.
Continues to be an awesome place! Thanks ever so much for your hard work! Sandy
Love the changes to the “Buy” page. As a still relatively new member who wants to move all of my buying and selling to Bonanzle, I spent a whole day Saturday cruising the site, learning. I had been stumped by some of the things on the “Buy” page, but figured out the purpose of each by trying things over and over, seeing what they did and figuring out how to use them. The descriptions make it much clearer now. Thanks for thinking of how newbies use the site, it really does make a difference (especially for those folks that are not selling on the site).
I discovered the lists feature Saturday and created my first – love that feature! Glad you are increasing the number of lists that can be created and that they will be offered on the main page. Now that I have discovered them I find myself going through them often and already finding favorite list creators.
I just became a Premier member last night and asked to be added to the waitlist for BAC. I’m not as concerned about my things being on the front page as I am about the items on the front page giving a fantastic first impression of Bonanzle. I’ve been telling many girlfriends about Bonanzle. A few friends had mentioned they didn’t really like the site. Wanting them to love Bonanzle as I already do, I have pressed them for feedback. They sited the pictures on the home page as one thing that turned them off. They said as online buyers they want the merchandise they first see to be inviting so they want to know and see more. One gave me the example of the way the Etsy home page always seems to have great photos of things on their front page. She said even if she isn’t interested in a one of a kind hand knitted blue cap for her dog, if the picture is great it gets her excited about shopping and helps pull her into the stores so she can find those things she can’t live without! Have you thought about a tagging system so members can rate pictures like we now can rate the items in booths? Then the best-rated photos could start cycling through the main page? Just a thought!
Keep up the great work – do you ever sleep?!
Wonderful news! Thank you for taking time to let all of us know the numbers and doubling the server capacity AGAIN! Bonanzle has had a WOW week.
LOVE the new category pages, and right on about that being the place to WOW a buyer and offer them an impressive welcome to Bonanzle. Thanx for all the recent improvements!
organization, innovation, creativity, excitement, fresh, fun… such a blessing to our family to be able to see all this up close
i just clicked on one of the category options – health & beauty… wow! those spotlights are very cool… then the business & industrial… wow again… it was pretty neat to see one of my hand picked lists there in the business & industrial category area.
these changes are extremely nifty!
thank you mr. harding & mr. dorsey… again & again… thank you!
WOW I’m speechless…lol I watched the numbers yesterday and was totally astounded. we went from a major milestone of 25,000 members @ 11:21 am EST to 25,766 @ 11:48 pm EST and when I signed in just minutes ago we’re nearly at the 26,000 mark! So proud and happy to be a part of this wild ride. Thanks Bill and Mark you Rock! Haven’t even had a chance to check out the new improvements but I know I’m going to love them. Thanks Kim & Ms Jonie for your great questions right off the bat and Bill for your immediate answers to their concerns – I’m good to go
now I can go play 
Zig
what can i say, bonanzle just keeps getting better and better. thanks for all you do. so do appreciate all of you!!
Thanks Bill…. Wow !
All the new changes are wonderful. But the best thing is logging in here and seeing that yet ANOTHER post is here by the founder speaking directly to us. It is fun watching the growth.
Anything done to improve the shopping experience is great.
wow as always great job ty
MARY
Thanks for your continued hard work for all of us!
Thank YOU for everything big and small that you tirelessly work on for us. Your insights as to what is needed never cease to amaize me.
I just love the fact that you give us updates and report on progress. This IS THE place to be.
Marla
I love what you are doing and am a Big Supporter of Bonanzle! You site will continue to grow and I will continue to recommend it to sellers and new sellers!
Question about the category pictures
Are you going to use a no right click code? I ask because if you are I will retake some pictures and leave my name off, but if not I can’t because my images are stolen all the freaking time. I don’t think anyone on Bonanzle would do that, but people have actually browsed the net and have found my images as a thumb nail and used them. Of course my concern is they will be used on eBay not here, and eBay won’t take them down unless I can prove they are mine.
My images are distinct and stand out on eBay because of my background. I can’t afford anyone with poor feedback ahead of me in auction, because after clicking a listing with my image seeing poor feedback they won’t click on my listing. Not surprising someone of such poor character who steals images typically has poor feedback
Yes, Bonanzle gets better everyday, and I am also proud to be a part of the Bonanzle community!
Thanks guys for continuing to make Bonanzle the Best!
Thank you!
Interesting. I was in the PS forums over “there” this morning and saw a post from a woman who has been a huge sales force over there. She said that she comes over to Bonanzle first to check to see if there are items here she can buy to support the folks that have been driven away from … over there.
Thank you so much for the attention to details that make this the best place to be. Your work is truly appreciated.
I love it here!
Oh Yes Big Thank you. Im not concerned at all about where my pictures will be. If we build it They will come. If others can do this WE can do better.
I was gone for the weekend and Im just Shocked at the growth spurt. Keep it up Bonanzlers. We cant quit for a minute. ;-)ma
I can’t find the listings now. Literally I can’t figure out how to get to all the listings by using the category buttons. When I use the buy button and choose a category it takes me to the category page but nothing is there and I can’t find a way to get to the listings.
Thanks so much for all your HARD WORK & EFFORTS!!! You are making this a better place to be everyday. I love the way you guys are there for us and really listen to us. It makes it more personable and lets us know that you are listening! So many times that is not the case. That is what drew me to stay here. This is such a fun and caring community that I am so proud to be a part of.
Thanks,
Karen
KarensJewelry
Eyecatchingbeauty is right. When you click on the health & beauty link, no subcategories show up on the new page. Usually the text is there to drill down into more categories. It isn’t there. Needs Jim Dandy to the rescue.
Thanks Bill for being so faithful in letting us know about all that is improving here at Bonanzle. I have been here since November and all the changes you and your team have made have been great! I am a Premier Member of Bonanzle and just signed up for the One Year Membership!
@tilling and all: Thanks dudes! Yes, Health & Beauty needs some fixin’. I’ll be working on that as soon as I wrap up this morning’s email run.
@jammatun: Exactly. Etsy’s home page is consistently stunning and the reason is that they hand picked items in thematic groups to make it alluring. I am convinced this will be a pretty major breakthrough to leave a good impression on our new users. Even a silly list like Mark’s “Remember the 80’s list” would draw people in far more than the random collection of so-so items we get now
And in regards to an image rating utility, it’s on my list. I want to be done rating the Category Showcase images as soon as possible…
Beautiful!! My happiness increases daily with the switch from e…y to Bonanzle, thank you for letting us know about the changes, I like them. Sandy
Well, we think the changes are headed in the right direction. We’re just thankful that we HAVE another direction to go in!
You know, our son is always harping at us about how great the Free People site looks. But the boyz would have to hire girlz for that. LOL
Thank you for addressing my concerns Bill. I appreciate it very much (see you just don’t get replies to concerns on other sites like you do here Bonanzle is one of a kind).
I do think it is VERY important that the home page is a spot that makes shoppers want to go further to see more. First impressions tend to stick.
Thanks for all your hard work up there guys!
(I hope you at least sleep a couple hours a day and maybe grab a burger while your doing all of this. From where I stand it looks like you guys eat, sleep and breathe Bonanzle lol)
I wonder if they’re close to Dick’s burgers – yum! Off I go now for my soup!
I cannot say enough good things about the site, the flow of upgrades boggles the mind, I am out there everyday promoting bonanzle, I have an article in our local paper coming out this week, I trolled an art show this weekend handing out info, We are on our way to the top, and I am honored to be in on the climb. Shari
I love everything about this site, but I am having a difficult time trying to find the place you would go to when starting a discussion. I have some topics I would like to talk about, but can’t find a button or a location where you would “start” one….Please help. I’m also not receiving notices from Otto when someone replies to my responses on the forums.
Go to People tab, click on which type of Discussion you want, e.g. General. Once there, the new topic little window should be right there.
Thanks Boyz for all the improvements to the site and congrats on the mind boggleing 1,000 new people in one day! Awesome!
Great work, guys! I am also a Premier Member. Is there any way to put that star on our listing page next to the chat box or somewhere equally as prominent?
Thanks for everything.
Alice Sisk, Something Old
It just keeps getting better! Thanks so much! I really like the look of the Buy page.
The revamped Buy page is great, with one exception, which is ..The subcategories need to be green text in order for buyers to know to click on them. They don’t look “clickable” in the current grey text.
as Valdazar inspires me to say:
Whoo Hoo!
Go Bonanzle!
and Bill’s Scary Belt buckle still skeers me! Never put that one on the home page!! hehe
Whoo Hoo!
Go Bonanzle!
Keep up the good work Bonanzle boyz! You rock! Oh yes, do you guys ever sleep? Thank you!
There’s always great news in the Blog, but I have to say that I absolutely LOVE the addition of the See all Categories on the Buy page.
I’m thrilled with that one!
Great Job Boyz!
Bill, when are you going to start running ads for buyers that are not in a trade journal? How about running ads on the internet like Speigel, Woman Within, and a few others that use banner ads on yahoo, newspapers online, and ect? Sure would bring new buyers except for only sellers
no one has heard of bonanzle for shopping, havent seen any ad material yet
Appreciate all of the great communication on Bonanzle. Including owners and sellers. I have learned more here then I Have in the last 10 years on that other place.
I have had many new customers here, besides the Bonanza sellers…They told me they found me in google search and it took them right to my Booth…So putting yourself on google search really does work..
Love this place and I am so excieted to being on the ground floor of such and exciting new place.
Good Luck to us all. Judy
I am stunned. I just don’t know what to say. I have 2 premier memberships and these changes sure puts it to a competition. For a small time seller that sucks at lists and photos..Boy am I in trouble…The page sure looks great though. Kudos on your picks.
Your Homepage picks have been wonderful … stunning, vibrant, colorful, all very eye-catching! A definite PLUS for Bonanzle shoppers. I’m very pleased that my FUNNY STUFF list is making a run, too! Thanks for keeping things simple here as Bonanzle progresses into the future.
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