New Bonsai Auction Site

[Sir Jonesalot]

Hello, I'm in the process of building an online auction site for bonsai enthusiasts to buy and sell trees and accessories without the huge fees of the big multi-category sites. It's got some great features for the buyer and the seller.

1) Anti-snipe bidding

2) A subscribe button for each category

3) Social media share buttons for individual auctions

4) Super easy listing platform

5) Safe Secure Payments through PayPal

6) Free registration

It's only been up for a couple of days so there's not a lot of traffic yet but it has a fixed price listing option.

I hope you will check it out and create a free account. Thank You!

http://www.bonsaibuynsell.com/

 

[milehigh_7]

Sounds cool! I will jump on in a bit. However sniping rocks... Just sayin

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Hey Jones - you may already know this, but there are several "free" bonsai auction pages on Facebook that get decent traffic. Make sure you check them out so that if you do something yourself you offer something different/better. Otherwise you may find yourself having a hard time getting traction in the market.

 

[Sir Jonesalot]

Yea, I'm getting mixed reviews on the sniping. Maybe we can vote on it when it gets better populated. Thanks for checking it out!

 

[milehigh_7]

I know for me if I can get similar features as I do on ebay and save even a bit on fees I'll use it.

 

[Sir Jonesalot]

Great! feeBays cost are the reason I built it. It is up and running but only for a couple days now. You'll probably want to list fixed price until it gets some better traffic. I hope you'll sign up and give it a try. Thank you!

 

[Cadillactaste]

Personally...I doubt I would use it. One...You are a new member...and I'm not one to try things from someone I'm not familiar with...or doesn't run in the bonsai circles I know. I'm leery about such things. To many gray areas that my mind shifts to...that I'm not willing to jump on board with. Wish you well...But...I'll pass.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Yea, I'm getting mixed reviews on the sniping. Maybe we can vote on it when it gets better populated. Thanks for checking it out!

The way to take some of the value out of snipers is to offer an invisible BIN reserve price on all auctions. What that means is that if the bidding hits that level, the auction automatically ends with the last bid - the one that went over the reserve price.

If you want to use a sniper, great. However you might find yourself missing out on auctions because they end before you ever get the chance to bid snipe.

It adds a level of complexity to your bidding strategy and puts an emphasis on bidding early - particular if it is something you really want.

 

[Sir Jonesalot]

Personally...I doubt I would use it. One...You are a new member...and I'm not one to try things from someone I'm not familiar with...or doesn't run in the bonsai circles I know. I'm leery about such things. To many gray areas that my mind shifts to...that I'm not willing to jump on board with. Wish you well...But...I'll pass.

Well you probably know me better than the ebay owners. LOL! I personally am not doing anything for you other than making known a new platform to buy and sell trees. I'm sure your familiar with eBay fees.
Maybe this will help with getting to know me in case others feel the same:
my F.B. page https://www.facebook.com/MyGardenSite/
my site: http://www.diyguideas.com (previously "www.stonecraftsite.com

 

[Sir Jonesalot]

The way to take some of the value out of snipers is to offer an invisible BIN reserve price on all auctions. What that means is that if the bidding hits that level, the auction automatically ends with the last bid - the one that went over the reserve price.

If you want to use a sniper, great. However you might find yourself missing out on auctions because they end before you ever get the chance to bid snipe.

It adds a level of complexity to your bidding strategy and puts an emphasis on bidding early - particular if it is something you really want.

That sounds pretty clever but I don't know that I'm clever enough to create the code for such a feature.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Well you probably know me better than the ebay owners. LOL! I personally am not doing anything for you other than making known a new platform to buy and sell trees. I'm sure your familiar with eBay fees.

They are an established online auction site...So I feel safer there. Nothing against you...I won't even click the link to open your site. That's me...If it was a member here I knew that had your idea...that I felt knew from their being in my circle of trust if you will. Then...I would.

I will wait...and see what others think. But, at this time...I don't feel the need to buy elsewhere I have many contacts...along with sellers I trust on eBay as well as Facebook auctions. Again...nothing against you. I fought to keep dial up for the longest time. lol Facebook Auction groups allows sellers what you also claim...and...I know the ones there...They tend to run in circles. So I buy a tree from one that another in the bonsai circle knows...OR...I don't buy. That again is me. I roll to the beat of my own drum. No hard feelings.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

It's not that hard at all if you think about it. In your logic loop for the increasing bids, you just have a branch when the bid amount hits the reserve. The reserve is set by seller - the bidders never see it.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Also don't forget - the trust factor in eBay comes from ratings for both buyer and seller. Right now on your site there are a bunch of trees... but no idea who is selling them. I'm with Cadillac on this one - I wouldn't just send in money to a site that lists a "tree" because I have no idea if the tree is real or a scam.

The facebook auction sites work because they are invite only and people only invite known members of the bonsai community (generally speaking). There is still the risk that you'll get a bad apple, but once that person is discovered they are banned and the game is over.

 

[Sir Jonesalot]

All payments are through PayPal. Secure trusted and protected by their guarantee. Same as any other site using it including eBay.

 

[Sir Jonesalot]

No hard feelings here Cadillactaste. I like the feedback!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

If you want to build trust, the best thing to do would be to invite a known member of this (or any other) bonsai community to "beta test" your site. That vendor could post their trees, and people could bid on them, and we could see how it works. The whole process would be very public, and buyers and seller would be able to provide you with feedback. There would be known unknown risk - since the seller and bidders would already be members of this community.

 

[Cadillactaste]

No hard feelings here Cadillactaste. I like the feedback!

No hard feelings what so ever...questions...I'm a curious gal. Why bonsai? You're not a member of long standing here. Are you elsewhere? Do you have friends who others in the bonsai community may know? A bonsai club your affiliated with? It is a curious nature...to create an auction site for no other purpose but for Bonsai...by one who...isn't known to ones in the bonsai circle (At least not to this group/forum). So...who do you know? Surely they can assure ones of your endeavor. Bonsai...as a community is really "tight" to say the least. So...I'm curious...are you affiliated with another forum...or group...club we can contact?

 

[Sir Jonesalot]

I am a busy guy. I work full time and provide for my family. I don’t generally have much time to hang out with real folks let alone in the virtual world. I have been into bonsai for over 20 years and never really had much use for forums and such. I’ve been selling bonsai on eBay for (just looked it up) 17 years which in the early days was great. Their fees and charging on top of your shipping cost is out of control. I have been selling trees on my website for some time now but really miss the auction platform so I built my own. I figure more sellers, more selection, less fees, lower cost, it will be beneficial for everyone. I am searching the internet for a way to get some awareness and here is a rare place that actually allows you to post a link.

My often neglected facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MyGardenSite/

My unfinished website http://www.diyguideas.com

The previous (finished) one that the site builder I used decided to quit: www.stonecraftsite.com

My youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/stncrft

My ebay profile: http://www.ebay.com/usr/paragongardens

As you can see, I’ve been here, you just haven't seen me and millions of others who don’t hang in “circles” as well.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I think people are just more than a little paranoid because there have been a few recent scams that have been broadly reported. There are members of this site who have been scammed by people reporting to be one thing - when they were something else entirely. Sadly we live in a world where trust has to be earned, instead of assumed.

I allow people to post links, as long as the links are legitimate and related to bonsai. I also allow people to post about their vendor experiences (good and bad) so that we can have an informed community.

You have to admit when someone creates a new account and their very first post is to post a link to an online bonsai site... it is a little suspect However invite in a couple of respected sellers, let people know about it, and I'll bet you'll get some traffic. Just make sure people know who is doing the selling, and who is doing the buying.

 

[Sir Jonesalot]

Sure, I can understand that. You can see I have a LOT of youtube subscribers, facebook fans, ebay feedbacks and a site I care about that is gaining traffic since the old one suddenly shut down on me with all of my photos and articles I’d spent years on. Anyways everyone is very welcome and always invited, I really don’t know how to select the right certain people for a test or even how to do one because there are already registered users signed up and more coming in.

There really isn’t much anyone can do besides maybe steal your pictures. The rest is third party paypal which my generation at least is familiar with and trusts and uses regularly on all kinds of small shady sites. LOL!

By the way, I’ve always been a bit afraid of typing conversations for the lack of tone of voice. To easy to misunderstand folks. I’m laid back, not easily offended and would rather not offend.