Ina and I began AuctionBytes in November of 1999. In the 2 and 1/2 years that we’ve been publishing our newsletter and Web Site, we’ve seen our Site grow from about 300 hits per month to over 1.2 million monthly. We receive several hundred emails a week from our users, who turn us on to stories, keep us tuned into industry trends and make valuable suggestions for features. One request that we have been receiving quite a bit over the past year is to create an area where small merchants could promote themselves: their auctions, their Web Sites, their services, and their brick and mortar shops.
Well, after lots of thought, lots of programming and lots of help, we’re happy to announce that the “Buyers Market” is now open!
Buyers Market is like classified ads on steroids. One user described them as “Mini-Websites.” For a $25 annual subscription, subscribers to the Buyers Market will be able to update their ad whenever they need, as often as they like. There is a password-protected “Control Panel” that allows you to change your description, title, image or even move your ad to another category! (People browsing the Buyers Market can even email ads to their friends.) Use HTML within the description field to add links to any of the venues that you sell on, and, more importantly, have unobstructed contact with any of your customers.
To introduce the area, we’re giving our readers a chance to try the Buyers Market out for free for two weeks. (This offer is only good for 5 days!!) Go in, kick the tires (not the programmer, please), post your own ad, make some sales and let us know what you think. We’ve added a Buyers Market chat forum for people who want to discuss this area, give tips on how to best utilize the area and for buyers who want to post requests for items that they’re looking for. http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewforum.php?forum=20&0
Go to http://www.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/register.pl and you will find a registration page, which, once completed, will direct you to a page where you can post your own listing. Have fun with it! Let people know something about you and the types of things you sell.
Our goal has always been to help people sell online, and I hope that Buyers Market will become an important part of that effort. Visit the special Buyers Market forum to let us know what you think.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewforum.php?forum=20&0
About the author:
David Steiner is President of Steiner Associates LLC, publisher of AuctionBytes.com and the EveryPlaceISell.com merchant directory. David, a former television producer, handles business development and advertising for AuctionBytes. You can reach him at dsteiner@auctionbytes.com
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