Bonanzle Help

Below you'll find answers to some of our favorite general-purpose questions.

If you don't see the answer to your question below, or a question that pertains to a specific area of the site, check out our more comprehensive help resources to your left.

What is Bonanzle?
Is this site launched? Is it in "beta"? What's going on here?
So what's the launch plan?
What does it cost to use Bonanzle?
How much traffic does this site get? What are its marketing plans?
Is Bonanzle a real word?
What is a Bonanza?
What's different about Bonanzle?
Where are you located?
Who's the baby daddy?
Why another online marketplace?
How can I contact you?
What's up with the Discussion Boards?
How do I register?
How do I change my registration information?
I've forgotten my user name/password. What should I do?
How do I put up my picture?
Is this site haunted?

The Answers Thus Begin

What is Bonanzle?

Bonanzle is an online marketplace for buying and selling goods faster while having more fun. We also aim to create the marketplace that is the most simple, yet powerful choice around.

Is Bonanzle a real word?

It is now. And it's a verb. Bonanzle combines the wealth and excitement inherent in Bonanza (a large pocket of valuable mineral, or a source of prosperity), and the action implicit in -le (as in babble, burble, bustle). To Bonanzle is to spend quality time at an online space buying and selling goods, and meeting people.

Is this site launched? Is it in "beta"? What's going on here?

Bonanzle was officially opened for public beta in May. The site is still under heavy development, so don't be surprised to see a bug here, a bug there, an incomplete help section here, an unfunny joke there... you get the idea. Please report any bugs via the bug report form and we'll aim to get those bugs whacked as soon as possible.

So what's the launch plan?

In the month of May, we get as many items as possible on the site, hopefully from eBay and Craigslist refugees that are sick of complexity/fees, and who want a more immersive experience, respectively. On June 14th, the site opens to buyers. On June 21st, we open for Bonanzas. Sometime thereafter, we officially launch, depending on when the site achieves consistent stability and zippiness.

What does it cost to use Bonanzle?

Don't you hate how it usually takes like five pages of clicking around marketplace sites to get a straight answer on this question? Here's the scoop: Buying on Bonanzle is free. Selling on Bonanzle is almost free. It is completely free to post items for sale. If you set up your booth before the end of August, it will be completely free to sell your items for the next six months. If you set up your booth in September or later, here is what you'll pay when you sell items (Hint: it's not much).

How much traffic does this site get? What are its marketing plans?

Traffic to Bonanzle has been doubling ever month since its launch, so depending on when you read this, it's either hundreds or thousands of visitors per day. We also syndicate all of our items on Google Base and Oodle, so if somebody is on the Internet looking for whatever it is you have to sell, they needn't necessarily know about Bonanzle to be able to find, and ultimately buy, your Bonanzle items.

That said, we are serious about continuing to drive more traffic to Bonanzle each day. The majority of our monthly spending is on marketing and messaging Bonanzle through various online channels. One full time and two part time staff are currently dedicated to getting out the word about Bonanzle on ther Internet. Our larger goal is to target primarily sellers in July, and then target both buyers and sellers thereafter.

Of course, your friends are going to trust your evaluation of Bonanzle a lot more than they are going to trust any kind of marketing message that any of us could create, so if you want to see traffic on Bonanzle, one of the best ways to get it here is to let your friends know that there is life after eBay/Craigslist.

What is a Bonanza?

At Bonanzle, a Bonanza is a short-term super-sale. Once a month (if you're good) we'll let you dominate the entire website with your wonderful presence. For a few hours we will let all visitors know that you are having a sale, that they had better check it out, and that all in all, we think you are pretty great. You choose the time to put your goods up for sale. We direct site traffic to your booth. Magic happens.

What's different about Bonanzle?

Well, shucks. Thought you'd never ask...

Simplicity. Registering is painless; the site is easy to navigate and quick to learn. No need to wade through overly-busy pages like on eBay; no need to leave the site and check your email for messages like on Craigslist. At Bonanzle you can register, setup your booth with 10 items, and get stuff sold in less time than you spend waiting in line for your morning coffee. It's even easier to start buying. Give it a try!
Community. The personal connection thing. Bonanzle is designed to encourage real time interaction by removing the barriers between the two human beings involved in each transaction. Meet people directly through chat. See who's online right now. Visit a Bonanza and party arty arty. We hope that this brings the seller and buyer together in an altogether more lifelike experience.
Speed. Sales happen now, no waiting for a deadline, no interminable periods twiddling your thumbs while that flaky Craigslist guy figures out how to respond to your email. Until Bonanzle, if you needed a sippy cup for your newborn's birthday tomorrow, you were off to Target. With prescheduled pickup times and sellers that are online to answer questions immediately, Bonanzle is the first site you can go to when you need to go from "want it" to "possess it" in 60 minutes or less.
Users. The Bonanzle demographic skews smart, educated, and lovable. These are your people, the ones that you would choose to be stranded on a desert island with, especially if that desert island had a good coffee shop with Internet access. Bonanzle is different because its users are different. In a good way.

Where are you located?

Wherever cyberspace is. Bonanzle has no retail store. Our administrative headquarters are in Kirkland, WA (near Seattle).

Who's the baby daddy?

Founder Bill Harding has designed games for Amaze Entertainment, Nintendo, and himself. He likes 19th century British Literature, bubble baths, and romantic walks on the beach.

Why another online marketplace?

Here's a couple good reasons.

How can I contact you?

Send as an email at support@bonanzle.com.

What's up with the Discussion Boards?

The Discussion Boards are a place to confer with other Bonanzle users, ask questions, give answers. It's also a place to discuss non-Bonanzle topics, make friends, and solve the problems of the world. For example, let's say you're having trouble figuring our how much to charge for that snorkel and mask you bought in Hawaii last vacation, or you can't decide if it's really ethical to ask for money for the Samsung Laser printer that your mom gave you two years ago. Use the Discussion Boards to pose these questions, tapping into the awesome power of the Bonanzle community. It may blow your mind.

How do I register?

Like this. It's four fields. Couldn't be easier.

How do I change my registration information?

Starting at your own my Bonanzle page, click the link near the top of the page labeled "Personal Information." That takes you to your user account information. You can update your address, change your password, and a bunch of other stuff.

I've forgotten my user name/password. What should I do?

Now that's a good question! I guess you wait until I hook up something to help you through your problems.

How do I put up my picture?

Are you at your "My Bonanzle" page? Good. Click on "Edit Profile" to get to your user profile page. Click on the ""Edit" button next to "Set Picture". Use the Browse button to locate the photo you'd like to use, attach it, and watch site go!

Is this site haunted?

Yes, well, unfortunately we have had a problem with ghost since having launched in 2008. Our best guess is that some of the site's servers may have been manufactured with metal recovered from an old shipwreck. As a result, we've had a series of booth hauntings since the site's launch. We hope to minimize this problem in the future.

Could you find what you were looking for on the page?
Does it load fast enough?
What web browser are you using?
What comments or questions do you have about this page?