<p>Wanted to give a couple updates about what has been going on lately round the ranch lately, and what you can expect to see unfolding in the next couple months.</p>
<h3><strong>What's Up?</strong></h3>
<p>Traffic, sales, and new user registrations have all grown more this October than we have seen since early 2009. Between word of mouth referrals, plus some opportune mentions in <a href="http://www.bonanzle.com/press">Lucky Magazine and Reader's Digest</a>, it seems that ever-greater volumes of buyers are starting to remember Bonanzle as the best destination for finding everything but the ordinary. Given that much of the recent growth has been in Google traffic, it seems that, on the whole, the changes Google made in September have benefited Bonanzle sellers in Google Product search. Keep filling out those item traits and keyword-rich titles, ladies and gentlemen. </p>
<p>Also very close to being up are the first couple applications using <a href="http://api.bonanzle.com">Bonapitit</a>, the Bonanzle API. Debuting sometime in the next couple weeks will be a Bonanzle iPhone application (oooh!), and a version of Scott Pooler's <a href="http://bonanzle-webstore.com/">Bonanzle Webstores</a> using Bonapitit (aaah!). In the last week, we've added the ability to insert or edit items via Bonapitit, and in the next couple days we'll also be configuring Bonapitit to be able to grab completed transactions. I'd bet these developments will spawn some nifty inventory management tools over the next couple months. I know that I'd personally like to see a developer come along who can offer a quality WYSIWYG editor for our sellers to use, and a tool that makes it simpler to import CSV/inventory files to Bonanzle. </p>
<div style="margin: 10px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="http://bonanzlepublic.s3.amazonaws.com/images/blog/boothbuddy.jpg" /><br />
<em>Oh geez, I almost wrote a really wordy blog without including a picture</em></div>
<h3>What's Down?</h3>
<p>Listing counts, perhaps? It seems that something of a friendly competition has unfolded over the last few months regarding the Powersellers Unite listing counts of Bonanzle and various other marketplaces. Those who have spent any time following this chart know that the numbers have a way of stopping, starting, and growing suddenly at periodic intervals. Our take? While this chart is certainly an interesting resource that sellers & marketplaces are lucky to have (we heart PSU), ultimately we don't believe it serves our users' best interests to aspire to top it. As such, we have been implementing an increasing number of measures to trim down inventory in cases where we can trade quantity for quality. Amongst these changes:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Sellers who haven't logged in for a couple months and do not respond to buyer emails will have their items reserved after a given number of warnings</li>
<li>Sellers who haven't specified a valid form of payment to accept (Paypal, MO, or Google Checkout) will have their items reserved after a given number of warnings</li>
<li>Sellers who do not pay their fees will have their booth items reserved after a given number of warnings</li>
</ul>
<p>Combine this with our already-implemented measures limiting duplicate imported listings and inauthentic items of any sort, and the net impact of these changes will likely be that Bonanzle's order in the PSU chart remains equal to or lower than its current position for the foreseeable future. But we think its a worthwhile trade to make for having responsive sellers whose items can be purchased with minimum hassle for buyers. If you're a responsive seller who pays your fees, these changes won't affect you in any way. (This would probably be a good time to reiterate that your items will <strong>not </strong>be reserved (=removed from site) without multiple advance warnings onsite and via email.)</p>
<p>Of course, the ever-increasing number of daily sales has also done its part to drive down listing counts. And we don't think that is such a bad thing!</p>
<h3>What's Next?</h3>
<p>Our focus over the next couple months will be to flesh out Bonanzle with an emphasis on building a buyer shopping experience that is tailored around the type of item the buyer is shopping for (OK, I admit that is a bit purposely vague. But we don't want to ruin all the intrigue. This is going to be a very big deal). We think that giving buyers an experience that is memorable is the key to driving return traffic, and return traffic is the key to making strategies like marketing/advertising become financially viable. </p>
<p>We also intend to work with development partners to help create something akin to a Bonanzle "Apps Marketplace," where buyers and sellers can use helpful Bonanzle "add-ons" that enhance their experience without cluttering the main site. These add-ons could, for example, provide a custom shipping calculator tailored to a seller's needs. Or help a seller to track and optimize their ranking within Google Product search. Or help sellers build custom websites with their own shopping cart. With a functional version of <a href="http://api.bonanzle.com">Bonapitit</a> driving third-party application development, we might never have to rely on our own creativity again. </p>
<p>P.S. Obligatory plug: Are you a new Bonanzler? Have you signed up for the Bonanzle Newsletter yet? Well, you should. It's more fun than playing with a barrel of monkeys and Adam Sandler at Disneyland. <a href="http://www.bonanzle.com/home/newsletter_signup">Click here if you'd like to give it a shot</a>.</p>
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2009-10-30T13:45:10-07:00
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What's Up, What's Down, What's Next.
2009-10-30T15:06:54-07:00
What_s_Up__What_s_Down__What_s_Next_