| wantonegotone.com could just surprise you, for a site still in beta testing it’s well worth a wander around.
What first struck me was the catchy name, then it was the fresh, clean look of wantonegotone.com. There is a notice that some functions might not be available during the beta testing but I had no problem navigating the site and found some interesting auction items, take this Uranium Glass Pendant, for example, or the Green Man / Green Maiden Candle, you may fancy this Eye of Horus symbol - the auctions look clean, tidy and quality.
The site, affectionately known already as Wogo, has been in design and beta testing for four months now. What does this tell me? That the owners are keen to get things right at the outset. Is that surprising?
As one of the admin staff at Pheebay.com, I’m used to seeing enthusiastic posts from owners of new auction sites, most often they send you to their “fantastic new rival to eBay” and there are less (sometimes far less) than 10 listings, no SSL certificate, no info unless you join up - they quietly disappear and will remain unnamed.
But wantonegotone.com is not a half-baked idea of a site, all the information is there to be seen, SSL, clear fee tables and so on. Not only that but there are pages of live auctions even though the site is still in beta (design and beta has taken four months so far) and doesn’t launch until September 1st 2008. I’ve seen auction sites which don’t have as many listings after a year in existence.
Looking around the site I noted that stores and auctions are fully integrated and I was pleased to see there is a classifieds section where members’ services can be offered. I do believe this can benefit a site by expanding the target audience.
Want a store? Got one.
The site is not only free to list on, gallery picture is included and a basic store for up to 100 items is also free. Additional fees for extras are very reasonable, as are the final sale value fees, which are charged on a clearly set out sliding scale. Want the largest store, up to 500,000 listings, a one-off fee of £50 ($100) secures this Featured Store.
Now that sounds pretty good to me, not that I ever expect to have half a million listings, but I have seen sellers with 300,000 listings and, clearly, wantonegotone.com is aiming to cater for all types of seller, from hobbyist to serious business.
I did the obvious thing and asked some of the sellers how they were finding wantonegotone and without exception they told me the listing process is easier than many other sites (including major ones) and they are happy with the performance so far. If a newbie does get in a pickle, there is a site forum where they can find answers.
It’s clear there is still some literary tidying up to be done on the information pages but, as the site is still in beta and all the important bits are working, we can forgive them the hurriedly put together info which doesn’t impact on the usability of the site and is probably still being written.
The nuts and bolts of the site all seem to be running pretty well and it’s good to see a variety of checkout options available on a site with a handy currency converter on every auction.
Already you must be realising that wantonegotone.com has been well thought out, so I return to that question I left hanging way up there … Is that surprising?
In terms of the majority of new auction sites, it would be but for one thing - the group of individuals behind the site. Powersellers and other sellers from eBay and Tazbar, an affiliate specialist, business consultant and the site owners have all got together to bring wantonegotone.com to fruition.
Now I don’t know about you, but when I see a group like this getting together I want to be sure and keep an eye on developments. Coming from this background, wantonegotone.com may be just one among many other new auction site start-ups but without doubt it has more promise than most.
When it officially launches it will do so with a good number of active listings, the management of the site is in the hands of experienced sellers and, as such, they have a clear aim and understanding of the sharp end of the business and they care about getting right first time out.
There are no external adverts on wantonegotone.com, you know, those annoying flashy things which slow down page loads, and there never will be, I have been told the banner spaces which will be available will only be for the use of members to advertise their stores.
I was also given an outline of some of the developments coming for the site: September will bring a dedicated link directory for members; there is a plan to launch a members’ discount scheme in November; December will see a very interesting addition, a mall environment for category specific shopping to be known as the Shops City.
Am I impressed? So far, yes, I am and I’ll be following this site as it grows. In my opinion it has a head start on other new sites and I wi ... |
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