Bonanzle social marketplace blows up
Bonanzle web traffic has been exploding in recent months, as seen from the chart above. A start-up we have just recently begun to follow - Bonanzle is gaining significant traction as a niche online marketplace. To us, this is yet another organization proving the model works when it comes to using best in class social shopping tools, combined with a transparent marketplace to reach a niche market.
Officially: (crunchbase)
Bonanzle is a social marketplace aimed at complementing Amazon in niche item categories. Bonanzle’s key differentiator is that it makes shoppers less anonymous than competing sites. Buyers and sellers can chat in real time to get questioned answered or negotiate deals. All sellers have their location and avatar shown alongside their items, underscoring the site’s dual emphasis on “people” and “items.”
These social dynamics lend themselves to the formation of communities around niche item categories such as collectibles, antiques, clothing, handbags, jewelry, and books.
Bonanzle was named “The Best eBay Alternative” by Ecommerce Guide in July 2008, and voted the “Best eBay Alternative of 2008” by readers of SmallBusinessComputing (owned by Jupiter Media) in early 2009. As of January 2009, more than one million items had been posted for sale in less than half a year online.
2 years ago