Archive for January, 2009
Bonanzle: Good for Buyers and Sellers
There are so many sites to chose from when buying and selling on the internet. Today it was brought home to me again why I enjoy selling and buying on Bonanzle. Two things happened within hours of each other. They shut down some questionable seller shops, and they had a major site update.
Bonanzle has standards it expects all it’s sellers to uphold. Sellers trying to flog knock-offs are not welcome. Sellers that are scam-artists are not welcome. Sometimes the community of sellers spots the bad apples, and sometimes management does. Once they are identified the seller is given a chance to mend their ways, if they don’t, they are gone. As both a buyer and seller on Bonanzle I find this very heartening. There are some large sites that allow bad sellers to remain even after the have been reported several times to management. Bonanzle acts quickly and decisively to protect its community.
The other thing that happened today was a big update. Bonanzle is very unusual in that it allows it’s community decide what the next improvements should be. That’s right, we get to vote on what we think is most important to address next. Bonanzle listens to its end users. Changes are based on what will benefit the community, not what will fill their coffers.
Today’s changes included new shipping options, sellers can now pre-set the order that their items appear in their booth, and my favorite, the search for items can now include “-” so you can exclude words for more refined searches! There were many other changes, and you can find them all on the changelist page. It has a running list of improvements that have been made to the site since before they even came out of beta.
Every week that goes by makes me glad that I found Bonanzle. As a buyer I am finding what I want at a good price in a safe environment and as a seller I have a site that is easy, inexpensive, profitable, has management that actually listens, and continual improvements to an already good thing.
Have You made your Goals for 2009?
Why do New Year Resolutions seem to fail so often? Maybe you are just making wishes and aren’t really setting a reachable goal. I don’t make New Years Resolutions, but I have been setting personal and business goals for myself for years now. There are many things I have learned about how to set goals that work
- They have to be realistic and attainable. I know very well I cant lose 20 pounds in a month. If I set that as my goal, I will fail. The idea of goals is not to set yourself up to fail!
- They have to be specific. “I want to make more money” is not a goal, it’s a wish.
- They have to be couched in positive terms. “I won’t procrastinate” isn’t a good goal. “I will start working on my taxes March 15 and will finish by April 1″ is attainable, specific and positive (well, ok, it’s positive if you are getting a refund).
- Consider all the steps involved. I had set up some preliminary goals a few years ago, then looked at all the things I had to do to get there. I realized that to reach those goals I was going to have to work 120 hours a week. Ooops!
- They have to be bite sized, but not too refined. If I want to add 200 new items to my online stores each month, I can’t say I will do 6 every day. I will say I will do 50 a week, mostly because of #6
- Allow for life to interfere, and reset your goals when needed. If my child gets sick, or company drops in, or the power goes out, I can’t be fretting about not making my goals that day. I have to address the things at hand, then pick up again as soon as I can.
- Set goals for all aspects of your life so you have balance.
- Goals cannot depend on other people. I set goals for how many new items I will add to my stores, but not how many dollars I will make. I can control what I do, I cannot predict or depend on what others will do.
- Write them down. I have a sign up in my office with my goals. If you have someone in your life that tend to shoot down ideas or is down on themselves, don’t share your goals with them. Your goals can be private. Write them down and keep them in your wallet instead of on your wall.
- Forgive yourself if you blow your goals. Reevaluate, set new goals and move on. Don’t beat yourself up.
- Celebrate your successes!
- Set new goals, so you continue to grow. Goal setting is a 12 months of the year activity, its not just for January 1st!
My 2009 Goals
Add a minimum of 200 new items a month to my Bonanzle stores.
January: Add baby and toddler clothes to my Lonely Hanger Bonanzle booth
February: Add designer purses and open A Night Owls Books Bonanzle Booth
March: Add existing china inventory to my Set a Pretty Table Booth in time for Easter shoppers.
April: Fill and open my Stitchers Stash Bonanzle booth
Go to Estate Sales twice a month to find new items to list in my Bonanzle A Night Owls Treasures booth, Happy Holidays and Set A Pretty Table booth
Spend 30 minutes each morning doing something to promote and improve my business. Use ideas in the Bonanzle Action Club forum.
Have all orders packed and ready to ship before 1:00 each day so I can eat a decent lunch.
Write a blog post at least once a week, and strive for more. By May 1 be writing 3 a week.
Lose 20 pounds before my 30 year reunion in September.
Make time 3 days a week to spend an hour or two in the garden.
Spend alone time with my teen daughter at least once a week to just hang out.
Some of these are a stretch for me. You can develop bad habits in a flash, but it takes time to develop good habits. The best thing to do is keep plugging away!
Set some goals and have a Happy New Year!
