New Year, More Sales

2008 was a wonderful year. But now it's time to say goodbye and look forward to an even better new year in 2009.

Mentioned in an earlier post, iOffer had a record holiday, thanks to the many buyers and sellers who were able to find and use the site. However, there are many more people out there who have never heard about it.

In this new year, why don't we all try to spread the word about iOffer, and let everyone know how wonderful it is. Without the help of everyone involved like you and me, it wouldn't have gone too far. Let's continue this upswing trend and make 2009 an even better year for all of the small buyers and sellers out there.

Okay kids, be safe out there!

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve, everybody!! Hope you all got your shopping done the past couple weeks, or days, from iOffer. If not, there's always some end-of-Christmas sales and people selling whatever they got over the holidays!

Start preparing for the big day tomorrow, it's going to be wonderful!!

eBay Alternatives: iOffer Reports Sales Are Up

Here's an article from AuctionBytes:

iOffer.com reported record dollar sales, units sold, new items listed, and new memberships over the past six weeks from November 1, 2008 to December 15, 2008. The "trading community" marketplace encourages negotiation between buyers and sellers and reported key metrics for the holiday shopping season (November 1 to December 15). Data from 2007 is listed first, followed by the same period in 2008.

• Dollar Sales: $5.5 million vs. $15.1 million (175% growth)
• Unit Sales: 121,323 vs. 275,813 (127% growth)
• New Item Listings: 470,846 vs. 1,213,476 (158% growth)
• Traffic: 3 million visits vs. 9 million visits (198% growth)
• Page Views: 31 million vs. 80 million (158% growth)
• New Member Registration: 44,192 vs. 126,175 (186% growth)

Source: iOffer.com

Congratulations, iOffer!

New iOffer Home Page

Starting today, when you visit www.ioffer.com, you will see a brand new design. Here's a breakdown of each individual section:

Smack in the middle of the page is a welcoming message about iOffer and what it is. The search box lets you search the entire site immediately. Click on "learn more" to see the various features that you can use on iOffer.

To the left of that is a little box that encourages new visitors to sell on iOffer. It is truly fast and easy to start selling on iOffer. Like the box says, there's no listing fees, you get a free iOffer store, and you can transfer your items and ratings over to iOffer from other sites. Just click on the big, yellow button to see for yourself.

Right below that is a "Current Activity on iOffer" box. This area shows you how active the site really is. Buyers and sellers are always online, and questions and offers are continuously being made. Click on each individual link to see what was said if you're interested.

Then there's the huge category visual. In addition to the normal category column on the left hand side of the page, this visual is more appealing and attractive (at least to me). These are the more popular categories on iOffer, so click on a few and browse around and see what's cooking. Wouldn't you want to click on one of those pretty pictures instead of a word? I know I would.

Right underneath that are the "Featured Items". Sellers who paid for this enhanced feature will see their items here, with a much bigger picture than before. You're sure to get more lookers this way. Pictures are always good, so I would suggest all sellers to keep putting nice pictures for their items. Pictures are FREE anyways, so why not. These 8 pictures will rotate, but if you want to see more Featured Items, just click on the "View All Featured" link.

Finally, you can see what buyers are saying about their sellers and the items they bought. Read it and you'll be sure to feel welcome. This shows how wonderful the site is, with buyers and sellers happily transacting with each other. Happy Buyers = Happy Sellers = Happy Business = Happy $$$. Now, if only I can get more sales.

So, what do you think about the new look?

iOffer Holiday Logo

Earlier this week, I received a holiday promotional email from iOffer, and they included this wonderful holiday logo! It's nice to see that iOffer is getting into the holiday spirit as well! Just wanted to share that with everyone. Happy iOffering!!

- iOffer Dude

Announcement: iOffer Currency Conversion

From the iOffer Announcements page:

International buyers can now conveniently browse the site and view item listings in their local currency. We will try our best to predict your location, but if your currency is set incorrectly, click on the country name on the top right side of the page to update your country setting.

Prices are adjusted and estimated based on daily exchange rates. However, all negotiations and transactions are still completed in U.S. Dollars.

To learn more about Currency Conversion, click here.
To read the Currency Conversion FAQ’s, click here.

- iOffer Dude

iOffer Seller Promotional Tools

After the little buying series last week, I'm going to talk about selling.

The season to buy is now, so I'm sure there are many iOffer sellers out there who want to make their stores stand out a little more. One thing about iOffer is that sellers need to do some self-promotion to get their name out there. Here's some seller promotional tools from the iOffer website that will surely help!

Google Base
Many members in the community clubs agree that Google Base gives them a bulk of their store visits. Google Base puts your items in the Google shopping search results. Only items with fixed prices may be uploaded.

Store Widget
Customize a widget for your store to feature it anywhere on the web. Simply copy and paste the HTML code provided onto your personal websites and blogs. Go crazy and post it all over the web!

Community Clubs
Get your name out there by interacting with other iOffer members. Once they get to know you, they'll visit your store, and your reputation will start to build up.

Host an Event
Host and attend events to interact with iOffer members to promote your store items.

Invite Your Friends
Send an invitation email to your friends and old customers to let them know about your new iOffer profile and store. You never know how many returning customers you'll be able to keep!

Profile Banners
Add a banner that links to your iOffer profile. Simply copy and paste the HTML code provided onto your personal websites, blogs, and emails. Like the widget, go crazy and put a banner anywhere you can think of!

Additional Tools
Another link they have with a couple of tips and hints.

- iOffer Dude

Cyber Monday

Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving feast! It's time to get back to work, and get back to buying and selling on iOffer!


As you all may know, today is Cyber Monday, the online version of Black Friday. This weekend also officially kicks off the 2008 holiday shopping extravaganza!! What better place to go than iOffer!! So hope you all enjoy your day, and

HAPPY SHOPPING!

- iOffer Dude

Happy Thanksgiving

- iOffer Dude

Buying on iOffer: Recap

This is the last of a series of posts about the simple aspects of buying on iOffer.com.

1. Buy Now - If everything looks good--price is right, shipping's awesome, no questions needed--just click the "Buy Now" button to purchase the item right away!

2. Make Offer - Have some fun with the website. If the price isn't right, make some offers and counter offers on some items to experience how the site really works!

3. Ask a Question - Are you the cautious kind of buyer? Ask as many questions as you want about the item(s) before committing to anything. You may even request an offer from the seller if you want them to make the first move.

4. Add to Cart - Maybe you're the indecisive kind. Add the item to your shopping cart so you can monitor the item(s) whenever you want. But don't wait too long because the item might be gone before you can get back to it.

5. Swap - Why pay for something when you can trade for it. If both parties agree on item(s) that each person wants from the other person, then you guys can trade those items instead of the traditional buying and selling.

That was one big and short recap of the several buying aspects of iOffer. If you want, go to their Buyer Center and learn more about buying.

Next time, we'll talk about the opposite of buying...Selling!

- iOffer Dude

Buying on iOffer: Part 5

This is the fifth of a series of posts about the simple aspects of buying on iOffer.com.

If buying isn't really your thing, one cool thing about iOffer is that you are allowed to SWAP with a seller.


Swapping lets you trade your item(s) for the item(s) that you were looking at. You may initiate the swap by clicking on the "Let's Swap" button. Then this window will pop up for you to send the seller a nice message about what you want to do. The seller can view your items and choose the ones they want to swap if everything works out.

However, you must have items for sale to be able to initiate swaps. Nonetheless, this is another great way for ioffer to engage its members to negotiate, rather than bid, bid, bid.

- iOffer Dude

Buying on iOffer: Part 4

This is the fourth of a series of posts about the simple aspects of buying on iOffer.com.

If you can't decide between "Buy Now", "Make an Offer", or "Ask a Question", your other choice can be: Add to Cart.


This window will pop up to let you know that you have added the item to your cart. Whenever you're ready to decide what you want to do with your item, just click the little shopping cart icon on the upper right hand side of the page.

- iOffer Dude

Buying on iOffer: Part 3

This is the third of a series of posts about the simple aspects of buying on iOffer.com.

If you're not ready to buy the item immediately or just have no clue what kind of offer you want to make, another option you can do is: Ask a Question


The above box will pop up. Type in whatever you want to ask, whether it's about the item itself or about shipping. Anything related to the product at all you can ask, and it will show up publicly. In fact, you can even request the seller to put more pictures of the item and ask the seller to give you an offer! Now, how cool is that?

- iOffer Dude

Buying on iOffer: Part 2

This is the second of a series of posts about the simple aspects of buying on iOffer.com.

After looking at an item and the "Buy Now" price still seems a little iffy, you may go ahead and "Make an Offer" instead.


The above box will pop up. Type in the price you want to pay instead, and check the box to specify if shipping is included in the price or you're willing to pay extra. You may even post a comment with your offer, asking an additional question or convincing the seller to accept your offer. Finally, select whether your offer will stand for the standard 3 days, 1 day, or 5 days. Review and submit your offer and you're all done!

- iOffer Dude

Buying on iOffer: Part 1

This is the first of a series of posts about the simple aspects of buying on iOffer.com.

If you're browsing items and you want a particular item, the easiest way to get that item is: Buy Now


The above box will pop up and you will easily be able to complete your checkout process. Before you know it, the product will be on its way!

- iOffer Dude

Popular iOffer Community Clubs

Below are some of the more popular community clubs on iOffer. Mouse over each club logo to see the title of each club. And since your cursor is already on top of it, why not click it and check out what other members have to say!



- iOffer Dude

Announcement: iOffer Accepting Amazon Payments

From the iOffer Announcements page:

iOffer is now accepting Amazon Payments as its newest payment option. It is free to open and use, with multiple payment sources available worldwide, including payment from your mobile device with Amazon TextPayMe.

Funds are generally available within one business day, and can be stored in your account, transferred to your bank account, or turned into an Amazon gift card.

All payments are covered by Amazon's A-to-Z Guarantee protection, and Amazon's fraud protection covers all unauthorized transactions on physical goods.

To learn more about Amazon Payments, click here.
To start accepting Amazon Payments, update your selling preferences.

- iOffer Dude

Why iOffer? Free Tools and Features

Why should people use iOffer? I've compiled a list of reasons why I started using it:

1. FREE listings

2. FREE seller store

3. FREE picture uploads

4. FREE multiple web addresses that link to you

5. Non-Auction Format
Making offers and negotiating with buyers and sellers make me feel like I'm shopping in person, rather than trying to make the highest bid in the last 5 seconds of an auction.

6. Mr. Grabber
It lets you transfer your items over from eBay, Overstock, and Sell.com. You can also transfer your eBay feedback rating so your buyer/seller reputation is intact. The best part is it's also FREE.

7. Store Widget
You can easily customize a widget for your store and post it all over the web, for FREE.

8. Group Offers
When you make an offer, you can make the same offer to other sellers who are selling similar items. Whoever accepts your offer first gets the deal. This seems like I'll get what I want quicker as a buyer, and probably a better deal too.

9. Events
It's sort of like a chatroom where people can get together and mingle away, while promoting and selling their items. How cool is that?

10. Live Notice
I thought this was a neat feature. I'm sure many sellers are online all the time, and this feature will pop up messages in your face when you sell an item or someone asked a question about your items or anything like that.

11. Community
I like this part the most. I mean, everything I've listed so far are awesome, mainly because they're all FREE, but as a newbie, I like how the members at iOffer are so nice and easy-going. They have hundreds of community clubs and I can guarantee that you will find some sort of help in any club.

Wow, sorry didn't think my list would go that long. And sorry that you had to read through everything. I'll try to add some pictures next time to even out the text/image ratio.

Am I missing anything else? Feel free to make comments and add some other features that I may not have found yet.

- iOffer Dude

Parody Feepay

Check out iOffer's cartoon and see how other sites are stealing your money!



- iOffer Dude

Welcome Introduction

Hello everyone!

As an iOffer fan, just wanted to spread the love, the joy, and the word out about iOffer. I've been using it for a bit of time now, and it's been pretty sweet.

The economy is bad, so we all need to find other ways to spend our money, or not spend any at all. One way to keep spending is to buy less, or spend less and get the same amount. That's where iOffer comes in. I find their fees to be cheaper than other eBay alternative sites, and their community members are so nice and helpful.

Therefore, I created this blog to share my ongoing experiences with iOffer. I hope you will begin to enjoy this blog, as well as iOffer itself! Until next time, keep your eyes open for more changes and updates.

Browse around iOffer yourself and tell me what you think...www.ioffer.com

- iOffer Dude