Homepage a/b test results

How about you change the test…keep the new one on all weekend long and compare it to last weekends ? Keep it up for everyone to see, at the same time, and maybe next weekend change it to the old one again and see what happens.

Maybe it’s me. Most people come in directly thru google in searh of something specific. Lack of sales can be 2 things…lack of name recognition….ask your friends and neighbors if they’ve ever heard of Bonanzle. The other is the shippings costs..most are over-inflated due to the calculators. If you do free shipping as a means of a work around the prices look even more ridiculous… the biggest turn off of all

Alex, why not use the new version as the SECOND point of contact when buyers enter the site? It is very crisp and clean and great to see that categories list down the left side. It seems like it’s a shame to toss all that work. I have mentioned several times, the new version looks like the Table of Contents page of a book. The old version looks like the book’s cover. Both are important to the book, but that old gorgeous home page is like a pretty gilt cover that makes the reader grab the book!

well Boyz isnt there a saying that bigger is better and when you have full page HPLs its better or in this case just as good as the test ….looking forward to seeing whats next !

Thanks for the update, Alex. It’s nice to know that if a new idea isn’t performing, you’re not afraid to back off and try something different.

With that in mind, I’d sure like my booth defaulted to Newest First, and I can’t afford membership yet!

I agree with Sofy. The back end needs to work intuitively, perfectly… because that’s where the sale is lost or where the money is made. The rest is frosting on the cake.

Even if someone knows the Bonanzle name, they might just not come in through the home page. My bookmark does not go to the home page, but My Bonanzle Page. If there is a specific search the Buyer always does, they might just Bookmarked that search.

How about putting wires one the face and head of testers to see where there eyeballs go, and see what they click when they see each test version?

Ok, just being silly.

Keep up the good work at attempts to improve a sight that already looks pretty awesome from initial impressions. Navigating is another issue, from buying and selling viewpoints.

I think I agree with STBThreadworks and encourage you to proceed to plan C.

A good HPL is spectacular, I have bought an awful lot from them. There are some unattractive ones too. The ‘B’ page was a good clean design and had it’s own merits but IMO it detracted from the HPL. That said I know that while I get views from within Bonanzle, the majority of my sales come in off the Google expressway, pay and are gone. No muss, no fuss ka-ching! I do not have a problem with that either. Any sale is a good sale.

Those who are playing the ‘advertise at all costs’ song probably will not want to hear this. The old days of going to hang out on eBay and see what you can find to buy are over. They are over on eBay. Why would they be reborn here? A business plan that relies on that concept is going to fail.

In the same way that eBay buyers grew up and realized that the ‘rare once in a lifetime unique gotta bid now’ item was generally ‘none of the above’ and another one would come along, internet shoppers have generally matured.

As a collector I check on Bonanzle first because it is my place, if I do not find it here I look on Google. If it is priced way too high I hit the back button on Bonanzle too, because I am not stupid. I do not believe I am unique.

Sales are poor almost everywhere, ordinary people are afraid of the economy and they are conserving their money, if they have any. I would encourage all sellers to search for comparable items to what they are selling, both here and on Google and revise their pricing accordingly. If another seller is engaged in suicidal undercutting hold your price but don’t be surprised if it sits until he or she goes out of business, which they will, eventually.

Thank you for treating Bonanzle sellers as rational beings who are vitally interested in what happens on the site, not like mushrooms.

I feel… in my humble opinion … the new page was just too busy. and really too ‘generic’ .. like everyone elses.
The original page, although plain to some has a unique favor that causes people to stop and look.

I agree with Felicitations – the majority of my sales come from Google as well and Advertising, although it DOES play a vital role, it is not the be all end all to driving traffic here and Branding.

The Bonanzle brand is gaining ground, and only through good quaility items, at good prices and excellence in customer service from all sellers here will the name Bonanzle stick in the consumers mind.

I also agree making sure the shipping, shopping cart , etc is vital to good customer experience. If they have any trouble, they will not be back.

As far as Branding goes, I have seen my own "brand’ evolve from Renagades Relics to Renagades of Music, I did not bring about this transition Deliberately, it evolved and I just adjusted accordingly.
Bill has a vision … Bonanzle is his heart … by reflecting there more and less in what works for other marketplaces you will see the direction Bonanzle needs in order to lock in and evolve the brand.

I think I know the B site you are referring to. Great minds….

Ok – I just saw it for the first time. Spectacular! and I even clicked on a few of the squares. Never felt compelled to look at the site before…

Yes that page will keep me coming back!

Wonder if there is a way to have the classic glam Home Page have a little square showing the item that was clicked on via Google – like the “B” site has little squares – only the items gallery photo would actually show super-imposed and be clickable to the item seller’s page… ?

Does that make sense?

I’m also at a complete loss as to what the other “B” site might be.

The one thing about here that has always kind of not set right with me about here is what I perceive as a “bargain” mindset. I feel that the public could grow accustomed to expecting sales, and knowing that sales WILL come along, will learn to wait for them.

Are there any ways to shift the emphasis a bit towards the uniqueness of this sites offerings and that there is the ability to chat directly with the sellers, which creates the opportunity for the BEST in customer service? I keep reading about the shifting over to social commerce and it seems to me that Bonanzle has all the necessary tools to accomadate this approach pre-built in.

I would also like to see more actual product pictures in the monthly emailings. “Don’t make me look”, show me, and tempt me that way. Would it be possible to incorporate the HPL’s into the mailings?

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