Previously known as Bonanzle, Bonanza prides itself on being a more seller-oriented version of eBay. The website strives for simplicity and transparency, making it easy for new sellers to get questions answered and to set up a booth in a matter of minutes. The graph below charts the number of Unique Visitors (UVs) per month.

• Traffic: more than 1.2 million visitors per month
• Pros: quick and easy store set-up, minimal fees, ability to import listings from eBay or Etsy, booth and item traffic statistics, chat feature
• Cons: smaller buyer base, fewer advertising opportunities, need for self-promotion
• Fees: $.50 cent minimum fee, with all prices based off of the Final Offer Value (FOV); Bonanza fee table

Getting started on Bonanza is a very simple, straight-forward process that only takes a few minutes. To set up a booth, just click here and follow these quick steps:

• Select a name for your booth and the payment methods you plan to accept (hint: selecting multiple payment methods is a great way to make your listings more appealing to potential buyers).
• Click on Advanced Options and set properties for your booth. These range from the length of time to ship to creating item discounts and coupons. Here, you can also select a return policy and set tax rules.
• Add one or more items to your booth. You can add items manually or import them from eBay or Etsy. When you have at least one item for sale in your booth, you'll be able to click on a button that reads, "Activate Booth".
• Create your seller account. In this step, you'll be asked to provide your name and more specific details about your acceptable payment methods.
• Review your booth's information and click "OK".

Promote your booth. Because Bonanza isn't as well-known as eBay, Amazon or Craigslist, you'll need to do some independent promoting to make sure that your listings get found by Bonanza buyers. Fortunately, Bonanza does provide ways for its sellers to promote their booths, and we recommend taking advantage of these opportunities. Participate in the Bonanza forums, join the Bonanza Facebook and Twitter pages, and be a part of Brainstorming with Bonanza each week. When you post in any of these places, be sure to include a link to your booth in your signature.

Import your feedback from eBay. In addition to being able to import your inventory listings from eBay, you also have the ability to import all of the feedback that you worked so hard to get. This is a great way for new sellers to build credibility quickly and create a strong reputation in the Bonanza buyer community. To learn how to import your feedback, click here.

Monitor your booth and item statistics. As you start to sell items, you'll want to monitor traffic to your booth carefully. Under your Bonanza account, just click on "My booth" and then "View item stats" to see how many people have viewed your both and individual items. If you sign up for a Bonanza Pro account (a minimum monthly fee of $10), you'll be given a Google Analytics code to put on all of your item, booth and profile pages that will enable you to see where your traffic is coming from and where they are located. This data will be helpful in determining what products are most attractive to buyers and how to best market them to potential customers.

Optimize your item titles and descriptions. Make sure that your item titles and listing content are as descriptive, informative, and compelling as possible. By including more keywords that are relevant to your target audience in your product description, you'll not only rank more highly on search engines like Google, but you'll also provide your customers with more detailed information about the product. For an example of how to optimize your listings, check out this brief article by Mark Dorsey, co-founder of Bonanza.

Offer freebies. Freebies are unique to Bonanza and are a great opportunity to offer an enjoyable customer experience; they are items in a booth that a seller agrees to give away for free. In your booth's "Advanced Options" tab, you can set rules for your freebies so that they are only available to certain buyers based on their purchase volume. Again, this is a great way to encourage customers to make a purchase and to keep coming back to your booth in the future.

In summary, Bonanza is a simple, transparent and fun platform that allows you to quickly and easily grow your online business. Bonanza's active community, forums, and booth chat feature allow you to develop strong relationships with both other sellers and your customers. If you're looking for a good alternative to eBay that is easy to set up and manage, Bonanza might just be for you!

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