I'm currently making some changes to the category structure on BQB to make it easier to submit auctions in bulk.
I'll be working on this for the next 8-10 hours, so please feel free to post/pm any suggestions you'd like to see and what you think may make it easier for you or others to navigate BQB.
So far I've gotten rid of the anti-premium, single premium, and double letter categories for .com, .net, .org, and .info. For all extensions other than .com I've also gotten rid of the double premium category. If you think we'd be better off without a double premium category for .com, please don't hesitate to let me know
Cool, a must-have imo. Does that include auctions that are on one's Watch list?
I'll get around to auctioning some names soon and will then post any suggestions I think may be helpful. Some came to my mind when i was buying a couple names but I got lazy and forgot to write them down.
I'm going over the entire BQB thread (no small task at 21 pages!) jotting down what suggestions I haven't yet implemented on BQB -- lots of good ones to come over the next few weeks
There will be an email reminder box on each BQB auction -- if you'd like to be reminded before it closes, simply let the box know how long before the auction closes you'd like to be reminded. The option will be present to choose when you'd like to be reminded: 24 hours, 12 hours, 6 hours, 3 hours, 1 hour before auction close. You don't need to have placed a bid to receive a reminder.
I am really impressed on how much dedication (and money) you are putting onto the project.
Really admirable and I really wish you sincerely you get there, çause you deserve it, I really mean it.
The auction about to end reminder is now online. I would recommend 2 things before using it:
1 - make sure bqb.com is on your email safe list so this doesn't end up in your junk folder
2 - make sure you test it with a domain you're not interested in to make sure you're receiving the emails
A few more additions for later today:
1 - Limiting auction titles to 25 characters.
2 - Making auction titles appear larger and in bold when on the auction page to make it more obvious what you're bidding on.
- moving the login box to the top, below the blue navigation bar (thanks to Rich for this idea)
- adding a 270 day auction option (suggested earlier by Phil as a good way to test out new handregs and still have a 3 months afterwards to consider a firesale should they not sell), also great for listing in bulk and not having to worry about relisting for a l-o-n-g time.
- Still working on getting the 25 character title limit working properly
Some changes made:
- Time Remaining has been added to the "Current Bids" section
- Items you're winning should appear in green now and in red if you're losing in the "Current Bids" section (more great ideas from Rich)
- Reputation Rating changed to "Reputation" on the sales page (forgot who first suggested this, but thank you anyway )
- The auction reminder notifications should be fully functional now. You don't even need to add an item to Watched or place a bid in order to use this feature -- it's found on each auction page with a dropdown box which allows you to choose how long before the auction ends you'd like to be reminded that it's ending soon. Please make sure reece(at)bqb.com is on your email safe list if using this feature and please make sure the email address you've listed in your member profile is one which you'll remember to check prior to auction ending.
- The characters found in auction titles have been made about twice the size, this should hopefully make it easier to now know what you're bidding on.
If you have a popular domaining blog or website, please send me a pm if interested in doing a banner exchange. I have 7 spots available for 200x100 ads.
A ton of additions coming within the next 2 weeks:
1. 20 new store templates, 60+ new templates for regular listings
2. RSS Feeds + better search engine indexing meta tag system for your store
3. Ability to review a members store -- essentially providing feedback for a store. Eg. "While I haven't bought anything off Reece on BQB, I've done business with him several times on Namepros and he has always pushed my domains quickly and responded in a polite manner. Would recommend him to anyone!" Great way to help members who don't know you to have increased confidence in conducting business with you.
4. Ability to respond to feedback given. Great for preventing any feedback extortion or to help justify why feedback was given. Can even be an additional way to recognize your good buyers and sellers by leaving them a response to the feedback they gave you letting everyone know how great a member they are.
5. Ability to have an avatar listed in all your auctions
6. Proxy/IP tracking and banning system which should make it much easier to make sure problem users don't signup multiple times (or sign up once again after being banned). Ability to block out new signups from full regions (or countries if necessary) to ensure the security of existing members is preserved.
7. User-friendly store URL's based on a members username.
8. Ability to stay logged in until you choose to logout (please be careful to make sure you always logout if using a public computer once this feature is implemented). It works based on stored cookies, so it's really your choice if you'd like to use this feature or not -- set your privacy Internet Options to block cookies (or just clear your cookies at the end of your use each time you visit BQB) and this feature is essentially disabled for your account.
9. Optional auction subtitle line - great way to get a little extra exposure.
10. Categories without items won't be displayed on BQB until there are items listed in them. This makes navigating the site easier to follow with less options which won't yield potential sales. You can of course choose to list your domain in any category currently on (whether visible or invisible) the BQB homepage or subcategory pages. Once any domains are listed in a category, that category will appear on the BQB homepage and/or under the relevant subcategories.
11. Ability to track how many people are watching your listings.
12. Search by auction id -- as long as you know the auction number (present at the top of every auction page), you can easily find any listing you may be interested in but have chosen not to watch.
13. Updated FAQ/Help section
14. Username/Pass login moved to underneath the blue navigation bar (will be given a new style which is more space efficient)
15. New logo
16. Installation of a customer support forum for BQB. It will be integrated into the software and all current members will have accounts created for them automatically. Due to very high security needs of an auction platform, it will be a simple, stripped down forum (no java, no html, nothing which could pose significant security threats). It's intended to help new members out, let people meet other members, announce new features, allow suggestions, and the ability to report bugs and/or troubleshoot problems members are having. It's not being designed to compete with existing domain name forums.
17. Simplified bulk listing software which will be posted on BQB, downloadable, and much easier to use than at present. It will allow members to upload 1000 domains in approximately 10 minutes once configured for listing.
What can I say Reece, you are incredible. The amount of features you are jamming into this wonderful site is incredible. You just keep giving and giving with the features and benefits to members. I really hope you can begin getting some good revenue soon from the site as you well & truely deserve it.
You would have probably noticed a big drop in the number of listed domains at BQB. This is because I sold many of the domains I had listed there in a bulk transaction. Therefer I removed them. Although this creates a lot less stock at BQB I'm sure many members will apreciate it as they were probably sick of trauling through page after page of my listings
I will be adding some more once the bulk listing feature's fully setup and I'm finished on my current deals. However I'll try to stick to bargain domains on BQB to keep things fresh.
I agree, gettin' all features quickly that I have watched eBay slowly get over the past 10 years (and some I don't recall seeing anywhere such as leaving feedback for members' stores). Ya know I bet there are a lot of BQB members that don't frequent this thread... maybe consider an occasional BQB Update Newsletter or something to let us know about these new changes once implemented?
#5.. didn't you always have ability to add a small picture?
#8.. right on, was wondering if you were going to do that.
#9... will you charge? I think you should. A Dime or quarter or so.
What can I say Reece, you are incredible. The amount of features you are jamming into this wonderful site is incredible. You just keep giving and giving with the features and benefits to members. I really hope you can begin getting some good revenue soon from the site as you well & truely deserve it.
