Bye, Bye Bonz!

As much as I love Bonanza, I was entirely too frustrated with the lack of sells.  The chit-chat and self promotion took up too much of my precious time.  Time I could have spent writing new listings and selling on eBay.  I guess in this this case I really did "get what I paid for".  I didn't pay for much on Bonz and I didn't get much in return.  I am suddenly reminded of eBay's charms.  I also did not appreciate all the spam / pfishing e-mail I got from advertising my actual e-mail address on Bonz.  I rather like confidentiality of eBay's messaging system - even if I can't post pictures or links in messages there.

The Honeymoon is over, Bonanza.com

I have enjoyed my time on Bonanza.com. The people are friendly, I enjoy the live chat, and the yard sale atmosphere.  But after nearly a month there I've become aware of it's shortcomings. Don't get me wrong, I still think they're on to something. I'm not just sure about the direction of the site.

For example: the powers-that-be on Bonz have shown exactly 0 motivation to promote their awesomeness.  They do not advertise their site. They don't seem to have definite plans to promote it in the future - simply using the excuse "We will advertise when we are ready."  This usually results in grumbling from the forums; followed by a wave of posts from sellers who's main business is promoting other sellers on Twitter, Facebook, or their own personal web sites. This all looks great on the surface, except when faced the glaring fact that they seem to be - for the most part - promoting amongst themselves.  The result? A great many sellers on Bonanza Tweeting and talking to each other, but not so many buyers. 


While I'm not opposed to wholesale self promotion, it's not something I want to be consumed with. The last thing I want to do is spend my day glued to my phone or computer Tweeting my heart out, printing newsletters, and shooting off emails to clog the in-boxes of my buyers.  I would rather spend the day photographing items, writing careful descriptions, and listing on the selling venues of my choice.  Lets face it, there is a point where self-promotion doesn't matter to the customer.  Once they are in your booth they'll make a decision on weather or not to buy from you.  Bad photos and poor descriptions won't be worth a hill of beans at that point.

Then there's what I've dubbed the "Google Problem".  Many successful sellers on Bonanza use Google Checkout and Google Product Search with very few problems.  It's a service similar to PayPal combined with a search engine promotion tool.  In an effort to be more flexible to my customers I had begun to offer Google Checkout.  I quickly found I had made a HUGE mistake.  According to Google Product Search Policy - selling identical unique items on different storefronts is a big NO NO.  Stating that: "You may only submit one listing per item, no matter if you own multiple websites." Doing so is grounds for suspension of your Google Merchant Account.  Since I only sell unique items, and I put duplicate listings on other selling sites this is a relationship that won't work for me.

I have to admit, I am a little perplexed by the fact that Google has taken this stand.  I have always seen them as a pioneer on the internet.  That they would do something like this, leads me to think that they may have some big problems.  It's common practice among small sellers to use different venues.  It's human nature to try new things and visit new places.  I really don't appreciate Google telling me that I HAVE to stay loyal to only one selling site. 

Fortunately, Bonanza has recently begun to offer PayPal and Amazon checkout services.  This (at least to me) feels like a step in the right direction.  What that direction is remains to be determined.  Does all this mean that I will leave Bonanza?  Probably not.  I have learned a lot from Bonanza and the people who call it home.  I enjoy the interaction and making connections with other sellers.  I'm just not as excited about it as I was two weeks ago.  I will continue to list and post in the forums. But, I will also continue to list on other sites and try new ways of selling.