Vendio Stores Beta Launches: Could Vendio Kill the Bonanzle Star?

Written by John Comments
Last Updated March 4, 2009

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Today Vendio is scheduled to launch their long awaited stores platform. Now if you want a standard review of it you can look else where. I am not the top down reviewer type, save that for those who have good grammar.

I am kinda grungy and techy and I need to see the goods. So save the press releases folks, I AM NOT THE PRESS. Vendio actually gave me a personal preview yesterday of the new store tool suite. And you know what? That stuff waz “off the hizzy for shizzy” – - – Let me translate…I liked what I saw.

But just cause I like what was demo’d don’t mean it will work in Beta, LMAO. But what I saw was some seriously HOT features, in a seriously EASY interface. There was a trifecta too, being able to tackle eBay, Amazon and your own FREE Web Store, all in one cute little browser tool (desktop version is on the horizon soon).

The stuff on the eBay and Amazon side, were not all that “new” in concept. There are other players in that space. But what makes this Vendio one standout to me is the store portion. They made that web store completely FREE!

So what makes a free store so different? Well this gives ANYONE with a product a website that they can have a STANDALONE webstore and not just an “also ran”. An also ran is a term used in horses. Those are the horse that did not WIN the race. They just “also ran” in the race.

eBay Won, Amazon Placed and Bonanzle Showed.

ALL OF US? Also ran!

This is a webstore WITHOUT the heavy weight of a marketplace attached to it. Maybe it is just me, but I HATE having to be associated with a marketplace all the time! Its always eBay seller, Amazon seller, Bonazle booth, eCrater Store, blah blah blah. Excuse me! WTF am I just chopped liver? Dammit, its my stuff and I am doing the work here! Can I get a freakin cheerleader?!?

I want customers to TURST my brand not a marketplace.
I want customers to LOVE my brand not a marketplace.
I want to CHEERLEAD my brand not a marketplace.

I know, I am just different right? I DON’T THINK SO! There are many retailers that want to get out from under the thumb and take center stage. And THAT is why I think Vendio just may have changed the game. The store had these cool features:

Google Adwords and Analytics abilities
Google base feeds
50 Templates
Drag and Drop functional interface
SEO and SEM capabilities
Shopzilla and Shopping.com add ons
Import items from eBay (not sure if available in the beta)

A FREE store without having to advertise a marketplace full of other folks stuff is just so 2009…That other rah-rah stuff of a marketplace is kinda 2002 to me. Been there, done that…got BURNT…NOT OVER IT Yet. But that is JUST ME and my opinion and that is worth about dirt really. I could not buy a Tootsie Roll with my opinion so take it or leave it alone.

I thing there is a HOLE that small to mid sellers need. Many can not afford the development of a full featured sales e-store. So they would set up “booths” and “also ran stores” all attached to someone else’s brand. You have to share the traffic and the eyes. Your name came after the brands name, not too cool.

Now these sellers can REALLY get a branded look store with a professional back end! You do not have to pay thousands for a developer. And you do not have pay homage to a platform…Damn you just got some FREEDOM!!!

OK, OK, OK, calm down, it is just in Beta, this puppy is NOT out of the gate. But from what I saw, I liked. During the entire review, I was saying to myself that this is a game changer. An established tool suite, designed by an eBay player, and FREE! And the full package with eBay and Amazon and the free store is only $10 a month! OMG, I just got to slow down on the excitement. Get in on the Beta and lets test this puppy out boys and girls.

P.S I did a video about branding and its importance, you should check this out and then you might see how I think this is a game changer. What do you think about this topic?

Change-of-Address

I just wanted to thank Maria for her very thoughtful post in analyzing Vendio. She was very thorough and pretty objective in providing her analysis, listed all the facts, and showed both the pros and the cons. For me personally, it was very helpful to see what is not included in the free service, and what the charges are for services that one might believe were free. Thank you!

vendio

Hi Maria,

Thanks for your feedback. The Vendio Platform is item, order and customer management plus an online store completely free. You can list an unlimited number of images, products and it's not ad-supported. There is no other comparable online store offering available today. We're very proud that we can literally give away the store.

Our Marketplaces Plan enables eBay and Amazon sales automation. I'm not sure where you got read about the $20 a month, but that's incorrect. The cost is $10 a month for 1 eBay account AND 1 Amazon account.

We think that overall, as more sellers go multi-channel, the Vendio Platform's free store offering in conjunction with the ability to use the same set of inventory across eBay, Amazon, Google, your store and other CSE's is worth the $10 a month plus small success fee.

I'd be happy to discuss this with your further.

Best regards,

Helen Fang
Marketing Manager
Vendio.com

MARIA

Hi,

I was just on Vendio's site, and was surprised that so many items and features are not only NOT free at all, but they also add significant amounts to your monthly expenses. It is true that they do not charge anything to set up and host your own online store, but that may not be the main objective of many ebay and Amazon sellers. Other than that, the only things that are included for free in the $20 monthly fee they charge for 1 EBAY AND 1 AMAZON accounts are ONLY THE FOLLOWING THREE FEATURES, as per their site: counters, gallery, and customer appreciation. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, if your listing is on your ebay or Amazon page, THEY CHARGE A PERCENTAGE OF YOUR SALES AS COMMISSION, AS YOU CAN SEE BELOW, in their own words!

"Vendio Platform marketplace selling... simple pricing
Extend the Vendio Platform beyond a free store and sell on the Internet's leading marketplaces, eBay and Amazon, and pay only $10 per month*(This seems to be the fee for EACH, but I am not sure). From there, Vendio only makes money if you do. Vendio earns an incremental fee based on your monthly marketplace sales volume.
Marketplace pricing
Monthly
Sales Revenue Marketplace
Success Fees**
your first $1000 - 1.95% of sales
$1,000.01 - $2,500 1.75% of sales
$2,500.01 - $5,000 1.5% of sales
$5,000.01 - $25,000 1.2% of sales
$25,000.01 and above 1% of sales
Listings Only Available based on volume.
Please contact Vendio Sales
Sales through your Vendio Store are always 100% FREE

The individual retail store is free, but they have fairly high charges for everything else for eBay or Amazon, like for instance $1 for EACH zoomed-in image, which means that the capacity to zoom-in with Zoomstream becomes expensive if you want to provide your buyer with a couple of good images per listing and you have several listings. Notice also that: "A Vendio Image Hosting subscription is required to use Zoomstream" (see Image Hosting prices I listed above). Zoomstream fees are:
$1.00 PER image for first 2-week storage period
$0.50/image for each 2-week renewal

Their ebay research tools sound really good to check up on the competition, and they cost $20 per month. Their Vendio Reviser "makes it simple to change your live auctions, and make changes to your product listings", but the Reviser costs $20 per month.

Anyway, I do not have the time to review all their other paid features, but I can see how all this can easily add up to what one of your readers said, where he signed up for $20 but then received a bill for way over $100.

So, my advice is check their whole site carefully, do not just notice the free stuff, because the paid items might be the ones that are really vital to your business, and they can add up really quickly. Good selling!

colderice

Hey Henrietta, Bonanzle just fits in the title better LMAO. The story is not really built around Bonanzle at all. It is all about marketing YOU in 2009 and that is how I came up with the title and story.

NOW if, this is a marketplace challenger, and I do believe it is, then by default, the smaller will feel the pinches first. Other than that, it is just a catchy title :-)

Henrietta

Why would a Vendio Store be a Bonanzle killer? It is a tool. Many Bonanzle sellers also have a presence on eBay and or Amazon, or have their own website, I do, they are not mutually exclusive propositions. In fact Bonanzle both allows and encourages sellers to link to their websites, always has.

Other than that I was simply blown away by the simplicity and workability of the Vendio Stores concept! In a word, "Dang!"

Hillary

I have been on my soapbox before how the "next eBay" is never going to be another site like eBay but people going off to their own webstores. This sounds like a brilliant idea since they are making it an add on/extension of the big boys (Amazon/eBay) with your own webstore attached. I am very excited to play with this.

Renagade

It DOES sound good...and I am looking into it now. But will it replace Bonanzle? Doubt it. For Bonanzle has a great team and good platform. Athough the thought of having your own stand alone storefront may be good for some, the traffic that can come from a marketplace still is a plus to many.
I see Vendio doing well...but I still feel Bonanzle is here for the long haul and will still be a shining star in the ECommerce world.

bleumoonsattic

Thanks for the 'non' review, John. This certainly sounds interesting and maybe just what I've been looking for.

Jeff Stannard

" Been there, done that…got BURNT…NOT OVER IT Yet. "

John you totally struck a nerve with that line. Love it.

Whitlow Unique Collectibles

Sounds like a much needed alternative. To what we have been offered and promised in the past.
Very Well may be a great thing. For Sellers ready to take the bull by the Horns !

Helen

Thanks for a great write-up. We hope your readers will test out the beta site and drop us a note with feedback(feedback@corp.vendio.com). And in case anyone didn't get it - your title (which provided a nice giggle) is from this awesome one-hit wonder group, The Buggles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWtHEmVjVw8

Cliff Aliperti

Oh man, so many choices now! Was this long-awaited? I honestly never heard of it til I got Ina's AB newsletter tonight! I'd been awaiting the Auctiva eCommerce platform, until, well, until recently I'll say. Then there's Inkfrog's platform, which if I recall is free too.

What you write here is exciting though. I really want to see a detailed comparison of all of the new platforms, and hell, throw in some of the oldies too like Yahoo Stores.

My concern is so much is coming at us at once, how do we know where to go? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each? How do we know something better won't be along in two weeks? It's really thrown me into a long phase of trying and testing and never settling. Just when I think I like this platform, well here comes another one and it might have a feature I was specifically looking for. I'm usually quite decisive, but this is one area where the sea of choices pulls me underwater.

Personally, my concern here, the only reason I temper my excitement, is that I'm using Inkfrog to list on eBay--I have a feeling that's probably going to complicate any import I want to try with Vendio. Though I've found with Bonanzle, and previously my own standalone site, that probably the best way to go is start from scratch with your listings.

Taking a deep breath and awaiting more buzz on this.

Thanks,Cliff