Tuesday, May 26, 2009

eBay-Through the eyes of two very different sellers.

You may know him by AuctionWally, you may know him as Walt Kolenda, but after today the world will know him too. For today, Walt "Auctionwally" Kolenda is one of two sellers featured in the prestigious Wall Street Journal in and article titled "Auctions Fade As eBay Offers Wholesale Items At Fixed Prices."

The article focuses on two sellers, Mr Sheng of eForCity Corp, who describes his company as a "mini Wal-Mart" and Walt Kolenda, a professional antiques auctioneer and appraiser who focuses on quality, not quantity. The author, Geoffrey Fowler, does a wonderful job pointing out the shift the eBay has taken from "quirky flea market known for online auctions, and a shift to being more of a bargain basement offering fixed-price goods in bulk. "

Many people (myself included) feel eBay's changes have done nothing but drive the smaller sellers away from there to other venues such as Bonanzle and eCrater, and this article is one of the most complete analogies of this.

You can read the article in its entirety here.

And kudos to Auctionwally...for helping the world see eBay through the eyes of a professional in the field of collectibles.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Bonanzle Sellers Rally to Help St. Jude Charities

When it comes to rallying around a cause, the sellers at Bonanzle.com have to be some of the best there is. At this virtual "baby" of an online marketplace, when the call went out that attheboutique, Bobbi85710 ,with the help of Dede of BrightestBlessings and professional Auctioneer and fellow Bonanzler, Auctionwally, were putting together a charity auction to benefit St. Jude's Charities, the response was overwhelming! Donations of some truly unique items came pouring in.




So on Monday, June 1, 2009, they will host their Charity Auction LIVE online, in a way only Bonanzle's platform will allow. The bids can be placed in real time in the booth chat window and will be called live on-air on the Brainstorming Bonanzle Podcast which airs live every Monday night at 8PM EDT. on the Talkshoe platform. To participate you must be a registered member of Bonanzle, which is free and easy to sign up for, and can be done HERE.
Then on June 1st at 8pm EDT tune into the Brainstorming Bonanzle Podcast and go to the BonanzleUpMobile booth and listen as Auctionwally calls the bidding and watch and bid live in the chat window!


Items up on the auction block range from Roseville Pottery donated by gypsygirl of Gypsy's Trading Company, to the OOAK Handcrafted Rag Quilt Tote, created and donated by BrightestBlessings, to you own custom adspot on the award winning podcast, EbayandBeyond: Basics to business hosted by Dave White


To view all the items, please go to www.bonanzle.com/BonanzleUpMobile and for more information please visit the Press Release and be sure to view the slideshow.
Hope to see you there!
Later...............Renagade
Note: All pictures are items up for bid at this event.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Birmingham Music Examiner: Monk- The man and the music

He is Monk, with a sound he says is “like Kurt Cobain and Timbaland in the boxing ring” Auctionwally, a fellow Examiner and host of Brainstorming Bonanzle, after hearing Monk said "This guy has a pretty fresh and catchy sound. It's like a cross between U2 and Franky Goes To Hollywood! Monk Has a Style that is all MONK!

read more | digg story

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Sellers Rally For Charities

People sell to make themselves some cash. Period. But I want to tell you about some that are selling their wares, holding auctions and donating items to raise cash for some very worthwhile causes.
First up is a benefit concert and silent auction at the Eastham Elks Club on McKoy Road in Eastham, MA. to raise money for a trust for Keahlan Mullen. Keahlan lost his Mom, Rosalie Muce, in a car accident on February 27 in Falmouth, Maine. She was a hospice nurse who volunteered frequently for the eHope Foundation. Muce also received the Women's Opportunity Award from Soroptimist International in 2003.

Here is the press release on this event. I hope everyone who can attend ot help out in this cause will.

Cape Cod Musicians Rally to Raise Funds for 11-year old Proceeds from Concert, Auction will Benefit The Man Eats Fish Foundation for Keahlan Mullen05.01.2009 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michael Pandiscio, 508.432.6675; carefactor@comcast.net
EASTHAM, Mass. – On Cape Cod, musicians create one of the most vibrant and tight-knit groups of people. And on Sunday, May 17, scores of these artists will join with the community at large to celebrate the life of Rosalie Muce, and to raise funds for a trust for her son, Keahlan Mullen.
Muce, a native of Harwich and 1994 graduate of Harwich High School, was killed in a car accident on February 27 in Falmouth, Maine. She was a hospice nurse who championed community-based care, and volunteered frequently for the eHope Foundation. Muce also received the Women's Opportunity Award from Soroptimist International in 2003 for her community service efforts.
On May 17 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., a benefit concert and silent auction has been planned at the Eastham Elks Club on McKoy Road in Eastham.
“We’re going to try to raise some money for Kealahn's future,” said Michael Pandiscio, a coordinator of the event. “We thought we would do something nice; something good in such a bad situation.”
Several local businesses have already donated items and services to the silent auction, and additional donations can be made by e-mailing carefactor@comcast.net, or calling 508.432.6675.
Music will be provided by local favorites Care Factor Zero, with special guests and former founding members Nick Muce and Tim Taylor, and by Big Rhythm Wine – A Grateful Dead Experience. All of the proceeds will go toward founding and funding the Man Eats Fish Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.bigrhythmwine.com/.

Second is the Bonanzleup St Jude Charity auction on June 1, 2009. All items where donated by Bonanzle.com sellers and all proceeds is going to St Jude's. This is an event everyone can attend for it is a "LIVE" online auction with bidding in the chat box in the Bonanzleup Mobile Booth and the bids called LIVE on the air by AuctionWally on his weekly podcast of Brainstorming Bonanzle. This is a very fun and exciting way to participate in an online auction and with the proceeds going to such a great cause, I encourage everyone to tune into this. Items are up for viewing now so stop in and check them out.

Third is an update on John colderICE Lawson's "Chest For The Breast" auction. John raised over $2000 for the cause with the big prize winner of the T-shirt space on the shirt John will be wearing to the ECMTA/PESA conference in Atlanta, Ga June 3 & 4 being Galleria Gifts.
Melinda paid $760 for the privilege of having her logo printed on a shirt to be worn by John at the Pesa conference. John being the podcaster, video blogger and well known ecommerce personality that he is , Melinda's Ad is going to be seen by many!
John also made several video blogs wearing Shirts with others logos on them as well for this Charity. Go see colderICE in action!

This is just a very very small list of many sellers who donate their wares and time to help others. I hope you will visit their sites, attend their events, and help them help others.

Later.....Renagade

Monday, May 4, 2009

Forums... Are They Just Playgrounds Now?


Forums. All the marketplaces have them, and they are suppose to be the place sellers mingle on, the veteran sellers touching base with each other, welcoming the Newbies to the site, and offering help when needed. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Forums can become toxic places, full of fun and games, snarky comments, and general B.S. that makes it impossible for people to find answers to problems. Don't get me wrong, I love to have fun just like anyone else, but when I need an answer to a problem, I hate having to wade through pages of the "Whoo Hoo" "Fun" threads to find anything of value. ALL forums don't start out this way....but as the site grows so does the forums and unfortunately, not everyone is mature enough to realize the forums are public for all users, not their private playground.

I recently tried addressing this issue on Bonanzle, after being contacted by several who said they hated to bother me but could not find get a good answer in the forums, and they knew I have constantly stated "my door is always open" to anyone. The response was great! Many of the "old tymers" that have been on site since the early days responded, saying "If anyone needs help,...feel free to contact me!"

It was titled : "OLDER BONANZLERS!- United to help! - NEWBIES! Look here for help! "- but unfortunately that thread is now GONE from the site. as I said ALL forums unfortunately have the problem children that seem to be allowed to run amok, causing havoc whenever and however they please.

This is NOT just a "Bonanzle" problem.....this is an everywhere problem...and alot of times it is the same ones stirring the pot, no matter where you look.

One thing Bonanzle has going for it is there is a group of sellers that do care about the site and helping others learn the ropes. Two of them truly shine out as leaders in the help department, and that is Walt aka AuctionWally and Phaedra of attheboutique. With their weekly show on talkshoe , Brainstorming Bonanzle , they ,along with their guests, offer countless tips to all sellers. Phaedra also has one on one booth consultations .

Bonanzle also boasts a spot on a new talkshoe show, "The River, The Ranch, And The Bay" (ie the Ranch part). Tune in and check out Kat and her fine lineup of co-hosts and guest as well for some good info.

Now if you are needing some quick answers between these shows.... check out ANY of these sellers on Bonanzle.... They are ready and willing to help out anyone needing alittle help:


I know there are more willing to help..... but Like I said, unfortunately forums can be a playground for the few...and was not able to get a full list before they deleted the thread.
So the moral of the story is this....you wanna play??? go ahead and jump into the forums. You need help?? tune into a couple of fine talkshoe shows ...or go knock on the door of one of the ones listed here....Good people who only want to help....
Anyone else want to help?? What say you? Are Forums helpful or just "Playgrounds"?
Later..............Renagade