TIP #1: Open a free booth here on Bonanza first before purchasing any type of subscription and master doing that first and make some sales first….TIP #2: Advertise your booth thru social media, bonanza is not as well known as ebay so the sellers need to get their items out there to be seen….TIP #3: [URL removed] If you sell on multiple platforms, price your items here on Bonanza just a bit less than other sites so they will want to purchase from your booth on Bonanza instead of other sites…..TIP #4: make sure your advertising level on bonanza is set to least at 9%, any lower and your items will not get fed to google…..TIP #5: List items every day and update your booth everyday. Good luck to you!

I am getting more sales on Bonanza than on eBay however, this marketplace requires different tactics. It is not possible to sell here with just the most basic account and no advertising

Wow, that really is a LOT of questions! lol There’s an extensive help section right here on Bonanza – link is https://www.bonanza.com/site_help. There’s a lot of help for sellers and buyers.

If I were you, I’d start off by setting up a free booth, add items and get used to the set-up here. Learning by doing is sometimes the best way to teach yourself. I find it much “calmer” than eBay, if that makes sense. I’m always nervous about eBay – here I’m not.

As for tips, I think it’s a good idea to be as detailed as you can in your descriptions and fill in as many “traits” as you can to help yourself get found. And pick your advertising fee – most of us stick to 9% but you can go higher if its in your budget and you may get more exposure.

Now take a deep breath … lol. ;) Good luck!

“The primary thought behind this post is to determine which store I should purchase.”

Do not worry about purchasing a membership until you get your listings up for sale and ready to cater to Bonanza buyers rather than eBay buyers. I say this especially because there’s old language lingo sitting in peoples’ listings that came over from eBay. Also, just make sure you’ve optimized your listings, too.

“The various other seller options I should choose and which advertising level is optimal.”

I’ve done the 9% and the 13%, not sure yet which I prefer. Depending on the one you want, you’ve also got to take a look at your profit margin to begin with. I think this is the best indicator on which level to choose.

“I’d also like to know how to move around on the site a little better for example; on EBAY you can search for an item and click sold items or completed items to compare prices to what has sold in the past. How do you do that here?”

Yes, you can do this.
Here’s [URL removed]
In Bonanza’s search box, type in the product. Then scroll down until you come to the blue Refine Search bar on the left. Under that click Sold in last year.

“Will I need to purchase something to look at analytics or am I somehow overlooking that function of this site?”

There are some small detailed stats (not very reliable here on Bonanza to be honest) when you choose Booth Stats from the Selling drop down in the upper left corner of your page. There are more stats available with a membership. I’m not sure which membership it starts with.

“People are saying I’ll have to advertise here, but I’m under the impression that you would do this with the billing options chosen.”

Choosing from an advertising level is a way that helps to get sales without having to advertise/promote your booth on your own. Also, Bonanza has what you call a turbo pack. It costs $25. I’ve had some success as I’ve slowly worked on my booth but have decided to put it on hold until I get my booth in better shape like I want it to be. You can read about some of this stuff by going to Advertise under the Seller dropdown at the upper left of your screen.

“Since GOOGLE is used as a primary way to sell here; could I somehow implement adwords into my store?”

I do not believe this works here on Bonanza.

“Should I list my items in the same way I would on EBAY or is there another technique I should use?”

Do not keep information in your descriptions referring to the word auction. Do not leave dead ebay links in your description. Do not let eBay logos stay in your descriptions. Some sellers carry their listings over here from eBay and then just let them sit there listed the same way they did on eBay and it is confusing to shoppers here.

“My biggest seller on EBAY is magazines; how do those do here?”

The sold section will help you. But I also think the Sold section does not show all the activity of what has sold.
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“Are store categories really that important here?”

My opinionn is that I think they are. As a buyer I use categories all the time. You can create your own custom categories without having to have a membership.
Here’s [URL removed]
Choose Booth settings from the Selling dropdown at the upper left corner of your screen and then click on Categories and sorting near the top of the page right side.

“Should I really be putting my lowest priced items on top in my store?”

I’d mix it up. Shoppers can also sort by the lowest price. As a basic booth, we do not have a choise in how our listings are sorted to the shopper. It goes by popularity. Wish it would just go by newest. I believe on eBay it is for ending soonest? I can understand the logic there since all listings go on down the line by time.

“Do I really need to lower the prices of my same items here compared to my EBAY listings?”

Yes. Bonanza is not as well known as eBay. If a shopper is looking in Google shopping comparing prices and see both listings on the screen; one from eBay and one from Bonanza, for the same price, more than likely they are going to go to eBay. They need a reason to buy it on Bonanza instead.

There are many GREAT sellers here that have not had a lot of sales. At the same time, there are many GREAT sellers here that have had a lot of sales and most of them do not post to these forums. There are a small amount of people that come to the forums here, so absorb the information you receive, research the information/answers given if you feel you need to, also email Bonanza support, and then you can make an informed decision.

Good luck. I know I missed some questions but I think someone else would be better suited to answer those :)

Sharon

most questions seem to be covered…

“Is shipping discounted like EBAY and if not what is the optimal way to ship here.”

Most people, especially those that have been here since before bonanza offered shipping labels just used PayPal (find sale on paypal and click on Print shipping label or use the [URL removed] link) to print shipping labels. PayPal labels use the commercial rate.

Bonanza has shipping labels and uses the commercial rate, but cannot access the shipping that your buyer has paid, so you will have to have a shipping account..
This account is credit card loadable and a credit card fee is charged everytime you load the account.

I use paypal directly for all shipping