The Twitter Effect...except for on-line auction sites!

I recently heard about how the so-called "Twitter Effect" basically killed the movie "Bruno" with almost immediate negative reviews posted and circulated like wildfire within hours of its opening.

So I wondered...how big is Twitter with the big auction sites and on-line stores like eBay and Amazon.

Well, let's look.

Here is a quick list of some of the bigger (and lesser-known) names in the field.

Company (twitterid) #followers
Amazon (amazon) 5,278
Amazon Gold Box (amazondeals) 14,452
Amazon mp3 (amazonmp3) 816,910
eBay (ebay) 1,685
eBid - no presence
ecrater (ecrater) 180
bonanzle (bonanzle) 561
CQout (CQout) 2
blujay (blujaydotcom) 51
OnlineAuction - no presence
Atomic Mall (atomicmall) 17



I only included twitter IDs that were the "official" ones, skipping the rest (such as fan sites and personal pick sites), and I also skipped some of the more technical IDs of these sites (such as Amazon's Kindle news and updates ID).

OK, now I have to admit that the # of followers for these sites may not be a great indication of their popularity, but I think it is rather telling about the demographics of Twitter and the demographics of the sites mentioned above.

For example, can I assume from these numbers that...

1. Amazon didn't just jump the bandwagon, they have the lead float in the parade. They obviously have embraced this technology and they know that younger people + mp3's + music downloads = a potentially profitable source of sales.

2. eBay has not quite fully embraced Twitter. Griff is on twitter as well (ID: ebayjimgriffith) with a not-to-impressive 281 followers.

3. Scrappy upstarts ecrater and bonanzle are getting their presence known, but slowly.

4. The rest? I think I can assume most of their sellers, if asked about twitter, would say don't need it/it's not for me/it won't help my sales/it's just a waste of time/etc.

Agree? Disagree? Think I'm nuts for spending any time at all on this?

Let me know what you think.

Bonanzle vs. ecrater: the battle continues

So...some fellow bonanzlers have already counted out ecrater as heir apparent to the coveted #3 spot right behind ebid and ebay.

Well, guess what happened?

As of this evening, ecrater has a rather firm hold on #3, with bonanzle falling behind. At one point Bonanzle was up about 50,000 listings over "the moon". Now they are about 14,000 listings behind.

Any lesson here?

Well, first, do NOT count out any competitor unless you can visually see them gasping for breath and they are just a very distant shadow behind you. 50k listings is nothing to gain or lose when you have 70-100,000 sellers on each site.

Second, why focus so much on ecrater in the first place? Don't worry about the guy right above you, you're aiming higher...right? "WE'RE NUMBER THREE" really doesn't sound good.

Basically, yeah it sucks that the ranch is #4 right now. Who cares. When/if the ranch comes close to chomping at the heels of the bay, then I'll REALLY start to get excited.

Santayana knew what he was talking about!

"Oh, yeah. I have their album Abraxas. I LOVE Oye Como Va."

No...not Santana...Santayana.

The guy who said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

THAT Santayana.

I recently posted a thread in the Bonanzle forums about how certain ebay-like sites are gone or going under.

Their response? Meh. Dumb thread. Who. Take your pick.

But in general, people didn't really care to hear about the failures.

So, why did I post it? See the above-mentioned quote.

People joined the failed/failing sites hoping to find a friendlier, less expensive and less restrictive place than ebay to sell there goods.

They found those places. And those places failed.

Now people are moving to Bonanzle from ebay to find (again) a friendlier, less expensive and less restrictive place than ebay to sell there goods.

They found Bonanzle. And Bonanzle may or may not succeed.

So far, Bonanzle is doing the right things: counting on their sellers for good items and good service, making it as cheap as possible (while still actually charging), and NOT spending a gazillion bucks on advertising. They are slowly creating buzz...incredibly effective and horribly cheap!

My point is that I don't want Bonanzle sellers (or Bonanzle) to think they are immune from the problems that plagued and brought down those before them. I want the sellers (and Bonanzle) to learn from those mistakes.

So hopefully in a couple of years, I will be reading about the incredible success Bonanzle has become.

And not reading their obits on google.

So Bonanzle...PLEASE learn from the mistakes of Wagglepop and all the others. Don't think you're immune.

Fine handmade jewelry on Bonanzle

One of the things I like about Bonanzle is the ability to showcase the items that you sell as well as items from other sellers.

I recently became aware of some wonderful handmade pieces of jewelry from Edi, a seller on Bonanzle. She makes wonderful boxchain bracelets and her crab agate piece really caught my eye. Take a look at what she has to offer.

Bonanzle: another basket for my eggs

Right now, there is a struggle between ecrater and bonanzle for the coveted #2 spot in the list of on-line sites, with ebay and ebid being #1 and #2 respectively.

I already mentioned about the folly of putting all your eggs in one basket, but I have come to the business decision of dedicating more of my time to bonanzle.

Why?

• The people. The forums are more active, friendlier, more helpful, and I just get the feeling that the sellers are not all just a bunch of disgruntled former ebayers, but a group (dare I say "team") of people who want to succeed and who want bonanzle to succeed...almost a grass roots movement.

• The site. It's clean, simple to navigate, and looks professional. The crater always had a kind of cheesy feeling to me, like its pages were just kind of thrown together. It just doesn't look cool.

• The products. This I believe is why I think bonanzle is going to be the next big thing. Antiques, cool used stuff, new stuff...it has everything. And everything is easy to find. The dreaded "best match" search algorithm used by ebay isn't on bonanzle...and that's a good thing!

• The press. I did a search of bonanzle references (trying to skip the "items for sale" links) and found plenty of great press out there for the site. So far, few disgruntled buyers.

So I am spending quite a bit more time with bonanzle. I have about 60 items listed, and I could easily get a couple of hundred out there. I will probably soon pull my ecrater listings and put them on "the ranch" instead.

Hmm...just opened my THIRD booth on Bonanzle

At first, I thought that one booth (funkybydesign) would be plenty for the stuff I have to sell.

Then I got into the Halloween stuff I have. And I have lots of it. Also, quite a bit of Christmas stuff. So, yeah...another booth was born (Holiday Finds Of Ohio).

So...I started getting into more stuff to list, and it became painfully obvious to me that I just have too much stuff. I have boxes and boxes of vintage and antique stuff that I want to sell.

But I didn't want to muddy the waters of my first booth (which is new stuff like toys, home decor and the like) or my second booth (retro wall hangings just don't fit alongside pumpkin carving kits).

Hence...my third Bonanzle booth: Vintage Finds Of Ohio.

Now I just have to work on cross-promotion, so if someone stumbles upon one of my booths, they can see I have others!

Bonanzle....MAYBE an ebay alternative

In the past few weeks I've spent some time listing some things on Bonanzle.

OK...I can hear most of you ask..."what's bonanzle?"

Imagine ebay listings, but without all the clutter. Better search results. Great prices. Big selection of unique things. Easy navigation. Happy sellers. In other words, just about everything that made ebay what it was just seconds before it hit "the big time".

Getting the picture?

Don't consider Bonanzle as an ebay alternative yet. As of today, ebay has about 27 million listings. Bonanzle has a bit over 2 million. But then again, it's only been around since 2008.

But what Bonanzle lacks in listings, it makes up easily in the happy, positive, gung-ho attitude of its sellers (versus the depressing, "why can't they fix Best Match" 'tude at the bay).

Bonanzle may not replace ebay, but they are a serious contender for fixed price listings of lots of nice items, both new and old.

Give it a quick look. Just about all the sellers are great people and willing to help whenever they can.