Trying bonanza again after several years

I just returned to try selling on Bonanza again after being away for several years. Since its inception, I never received many page views here. Please check out my store. I am trying to gauge if I should keep my booth open and list more (I’m downsizing my own items as well as those from parents who have passed away) or call it a day. Thank you.

https://www.bonanza.com/booths/passionfuel

asked about 4 years ago

1 Comment

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: March 21, 2021

Marketing touts B as most profitable; however, sales and traffic are inversely proportional, in-line with an all-purpose clone as a pinterestesque membership-driven vanity site.

5 Answers

It does take some work..listing and waiting is really not going to work here..
You will need to use social media and any other marketing you can think of to help. Some of the suggestions here may help.

The best thing to do is work the listings, add listings, so something daily and update feed when things change. Make sure you do all you can to get listings into google shopping (use the 9% ad level).. etc

I do not know how long you have been away…but there have been a lot of changes in last few years

And if you have buyers elsewhere…send message to direct them to you booth here…

https://support.bonanza.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001350612-How-Can-I-Increase-My-Sales-on-Bonanza-

answered about 4 years ago

ccmom
Reputation: 12648
See ccmom's booth

10 Comments

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: March 21, 2021

Sellers are working hard at problem solving but something has to be done at the marketplace level. There is nothing wrong with an all-purpose eBay clone sporting a pinterst interface – the problem is marrying this to a Shopify ad model. Google shopping ads labor apart; no traction is gained agains

ccmom says: March 21, 2021

Moved from ebay in 2009..never listed there or shopped there since. I wanted this to work..so I made it work…

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: March 21, 2021

Amazon $490B; eBay $37.5B; Etsy $10.3B; Bonanza $50M? How do WE make this work?

EmpressDepot says: March 23, 2021

Cindy has had success on Bonanza. She has had success with her own website and she also sold on eBay. Someone having success on Bonanza is a good thing. We should be rejoicing :) for her and she’s proof that it can happen.

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: March 24, 2021

Are you making the claim one ought to be okay with the efficacy of this marketplace?

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: March 24, 2021

Repeatedly laundering 22 million stale listings for Google shopping at a snail’s pace is absurd. The eBay community argument for not promoting B on their blog is harm to the seller; or land of broken dreams.

EmpressDepot says: March 24, 2021

No, actually I’m not. I just think when someone mentions their own personal success it out to be just that. The original poster asked a question and an honest post was given on one’s own personal experience.

EmpressDepot says: March 24, 2021

Ought

EmpressDepot says: March 24, 2021

My booth was pretty much closed for almost 1.5 years. I’ve also not been open during certain other periods. I have not been able to do anything to it since re-opening and doubt I’ll ever be able to put the time in like I used to….but I’m having a few sales here and there (same on eBay),so I’m good

EmpressDepot says: March 24, 2021

Yes, I know it does not work for everybody. Good luck!!

I’m on my way out of Bonanza. I have had very few sales here. I’ve done all the ‘linking’ to SM (including ones that aren’t iconed here on [URL removed] Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, LinkdIn). I think I got some sales via Pinterest and a couple via FB.
It’s just not worth it to me. All the time I spend on here to get the few sales I get . . . .
It really hit home when something I had listed on here for over 1 year sold within24 hours when I listed it on the Bay.
Since, I’ve sold 3 lots of patterns patterns I had sitting on here for weeks for a higher price on that same platform.
No one knows of B. That’s the prob. We’re having to do all the advertising for this site.
I won’t put any money into the ad level upgrades and I’m not going to pay to track the views my product is getting (I don’t know what the Hades page views has to do with it. It’s the sales that matter).
I’ve heard on 2 separate TV programs that B is ‘up and coming’. I don’t see it happening.

answered about 4 years ago

7 Comments

TrinketBox says: March 23, 2021

and when you make a sale on ebay…tell/send your buyers coupon to visit your store here…make it clear they can get a better deal…if they find you ebay..they will never look for you anywhere else

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: March 23, 2021

Dialing up sold in the last year generally advertises eBay. Closest competitor might be eCrater. Better margins than Amazon or Etsy perhaps but not eBay and no where near as profitable – reality check.

TrinketBox says: March 24, 2021

if it doesn’t work for then move on..it works for some and not others…just like Amazon/ebay works for some, and not others

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: March 24, 2021

As a Paypal partner, B is the only all-purpose game in town at this time; moreover, silencing opinion fails to address infirmities bedeviling this marketplace.

kattinsanity says: March 25, 2021

I agree. I sell on ebay & that’s where the buyers are. I’ve sold 70+ on ebay in the last 30 days~~zero here in the last 9 months or longer. BTW~~I like ebays managed payments. It works great for me.

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: March 25, 2021

MP TOS is a non-starter unless you have no problem waiving professional secrecy and allowing third-parties without limit to monetize your data.

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: March 25, 2021

B needs to Google shopping drive sustainably marketable items and use that revenue to gain hegemony at the category level vis-a-vis paid ads or sit on a 50 GMV perennial Pinterestesque membership-driven-only vanity site.

I agree with CCMom. I don’t use social media myself, and it’s likely reflected in my low sales volume here.

I think if you do your best to optimize your listings for Google Shopping, that will help. While you may still not get as many sales as you like, it will be a great additional site to another you may be using. For instance, it costs nothing to list here, so your item is always available. A listing on another site will expire, and maybe spend some time in that state, so at least the Bonanza listings are always on.

Although I’ve been closed for a year due to COVID, I plan to re-open very soon. One of the great things about Bonz is, you can list everything, whereas some other sites (such as Etsy) have limitations on what is allowable and you can’t list your whole inventory there.

answered about 4 years ago

Best advice I can give, take advantage of Google shopping and realize you will need to take some time to learn about it.

If u do not do your own social media, which I do not, and you do not understand how Google shopping’s requirements work…..then more than likely the items will just sit there. Once u get the hang of Google shopping it becomes second nature and I really do not find myself thinking hard about it while I list.

However, I did recently get a direct decent sale (2 listings) from someone making a site-wide Bonanza search. It’s rare but I was happy about that.

Of course….good photos, good prices, clear and informative descriptions go hand in hand.

Good luck.

answered about 4 years ago

I maintain an average of around 125-130 listings per month. Average ebay sales 35 per month in ebay (all are Buy-it-Now). All of my ebay listings are also here in Bonanza. I have had ONE (1) sale here in TWO YEARS. Please tell me again how great Bonanza is.

answered about 4 years ago

1 Comment

VeronicaBooksAndArt says: April 01, 2021

Better margins than Amazon and Etsy (eBay wins here). Give them credit for discouraging sellers into lucrative membership fees that aren’t worth the Google ads they’re published on. It’s not about sales but, rather, happiness. Bonanza is the happiest place on Earth!

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