Once a month I will be featuring a "get to know you" section where I will be interviewing a favorite Bonanza seller. It's fascinating to find out the inside story on how our sellers got their start on Bonanza, how their business is going, and their vision for the future!
This month I am featuring lol1955's Shanon, who sells handcrafted jewelry designs along with an electic mix of other items. Here's her story:
"One autumn evening while watching the local Seattle newscast, I saw a story about a startup company for online sales called Bonanzle. I had already had one disappointing experience with eBay, and since this new kid on the block was an alternative to said venue, I checked them out and opened my booth in November of 2008.
My booth name was a default choice of my online persona, a name I had chosen in 2005 when I first began exploring the web. It came from a time in my life when LOL meant Little Old Lady and 1955 was my birth year to prove it. Funny thing is, I really do spend an awful lot of time laughing out loud. So my official booth name is lol1955 (and, yes, the lowercase letters are deliberate). Since what I offer for sale has evolved, you will now always see the subphrase, Sara Jewelry Design and So Much More.
The advantages of listing on Bonanza are many, the greatest of which is that there is no listing fee per item…a real blessing for someone who currently has 1296 listings in her booth! But what has charmed me more and kept me there is the vibrant and convivial community. I have made so many friends there, and there are vendors from whom I will always purchase first over any other retailer, like Bella Vista Boutique! Bonanza is not just a place, it is a state of being.
When I first opened, I was cleaning out decades of accumulation: gifts, duplicates, things I no longer used, anything to eliminate the clutter and create some capital. I knew that no matter what the future held for me, a downsize was inevitable.
As things progressed and I began to realize steady sales, it dawned on me that it could be advantageous to list my commercial inventory on Bonanza in addition to my business site, sarajewelrydesign.com. It was a long process as there were 600 items to import but I managed it eventually. Now, every single item on my commercial site is linked back to its listing on Bonanza.
I gave Etsy a limited try for six months in 2010. I prefer Bonanza. And, since running a site—ANY site—requires real commitment, my Bonz booth and my commercial site were enough, LOL!
If I were to offer advice to a new seller, it would be simply this: Polish, Persevere and Promote. I took my deplorable photography skills and honed them to where I can take decent pics of my items. I am on the site every single day; I “redecorate” each month with fresh banners and panel pics and a theme. I promote constantly. My business cards are double sided with Sara Jewelry Design on one side and Bonanza on the flip. I use my Twitter and Facebook accounts to get the word out about sales and introducing new creations or new additions to the booth. If you want it, you have to work for it and I want my 2012 sales to increase as steadily as they did in 2011."
Be sure to visit Shanon's booth and let her know you read her fascinating story on my blog...here's the link:
http://www.bonanza.com/booths/lol1955
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