Yesterday, Ecommerce Guide called Bonanzle "the best eBay alternative we've seen" in more than four years of doing online marketplace reviews.

Given that Bonanzle just launched a month ago, and is technically still in beta through August, this is a statement that is sure to surprise many. The article cites in evidence of its conclusion a litany of Bonanzle-only features help set it apart from the crowd of other eBay alternatives (real time online interaction, online picture cropping, an intuitive one-page item listing interface, Bonanzas, etc.), as well as the "developed from scratch" approach the site has taken.

We think the premise of this article is a stretch. Not because we don't think Bonanzle is doing fine, but because it's hard to call the site an "eBay alternative" when we don't even have auctions, and when our entire philosophy of "relentless simplicity" means that that we're working toward a different goal than eBay or most eBay alternatives. When Bill was building Bonanzle, the inspiration was part Biznik, part Etsy, part Amazon, part Google. eBay didn't offer much in the way of inspiration, so I think that a lot of users are going to visit Bonanzle with eBay or iOffer or bluJay in mind are going to think "what the hell is this?"

And I think they have a valid point. If you do like the feel of an iOffer, or an OnlineAuction.com, you're probably going to not like Bonanzle. If you like what Etsy has done, you're more likely someone who will mesh with what we're trying to build.

Anyway, I'm not going to make a pitch here (I'll save that for our thread), but if you've been on the fence, you might want to give the site a try. Sellers that set up their store by August 31st, will be grandfathered in to be able to continue selling for free for six months after all the new users have to pay.

Best to you,
Mark

P.S. OK, one teensy weensy pitch: we import eBay items/feedback and work with Google Checkout