Junkio – Social Selling!

6 thoughts on “Junkio – Social Selling!”

1. 1) Is it very clear what Junkio is from our site? If not, any suggestions?

   From visiting the site I was able to determine exactly what it is that can be done through this site, I also saw a few supporting sites that made me feel like this was a legitimate and trustworthy site such as AmazonPayments. I liked the layout because it felt easy. The only suggestion I can think of is feedback from customers, I always look for them whenever I’m in a site just so that I can get an unbiased opinion on the product or services rendered by the site.  
   2) Everyone has Junk they want to get rid of. Would you personally use this service to sell to friends, social acquaintences, and strangers (instead of other sites)? Assume traffic on Junkio is equal to Craigslist or Ebay.

   Personally? I wouldn’t sale my junk, I actually am an active member of Freecycle.Com which is basically the same as this company but it is a community that gives their junk away and receives for absolutely nothing. Now I do sale things on Ebay and judging from that perspective this is my kind of site since it makes it easy to search and buy. I don’t like too many complications and I don’t see this site as one that would present me with any. 
   3) Simplicity is our goal. Compared to eBay, Craigslist, how does it compare?

   I don’t use Craiglist much and it is mainly because I don’t trust it, eBay on the other hand I do use a lot, now I understand the site quite well since I’ve been working with them for a few years now but I can’t deny the fact that their services and site have gotten more and more complicated. I can figure it out but it is something that does annoy me and should any new customer to eBay. If simplicity was the goal then it was successful in achieving so. eBay has too many options that are not necessary when this kind of business is quite simple: You sell, you buy, pay or get paid…that’s it.  
   4) Functionally, was signing up, updating your profile and uploading a photo/Junk to sell easy, tedious, or impossible? – Please use INVITE code: “junkio121212″

    The sign up was extremely easy and not tedious at all. I was able to upload quite easily and remove as well. I placed an item in a few simple steps avoiding all those tedious options that eBay gave me. It took a manner of seconds to finish what I started on your site when it takes me minutes on eBay. Love it and I prefer to use this rather than any other service that I know of. 
   5) A new feature we are proposing is to allow you to list what you want. More of a wanted ads “feed” that can be shown to everyone or just friends. Thoughts on that?

   As I said before I’m an active member of Freecycle.com which uses that exact principle as well as they have an option to upload something that your are wishing for so that someone may see it and possibly grant that wish. I’ve been on Facebook and I’ve seen friends of mine trade, sell or give away things of this sort as well. A friend was looking to sell her camera which she had no use for and it sold that very day within the hour. This type of feature is a great idea, and even better to know that you can add your friends to this site, making this type of exchange or sell quite easy.  And not something that can be buried among the newsfeed on Facebook. Say the person who wanted it didn’t check on her/his Facebook until later that day, then he could have missed that announcement. 
   6) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have. Keep in mind there is little content or traffic due to private beta. Comments more on the concept of social selling vs traditional Ebay auction or Craigslist.

   Social selling would actually work perfectly I think because eBay only really markets to strangers. Social selling is something that can be more fun, there is gratitude involved and just a lot more friendliness to the matter. I would feel ten times better knowing that the item I want to sell was going to be used by a friend of mine than a stranger. Although I wouldn’t mind a stranger taking it of course it’s more of a personal thing. I also would love to give a friend of mine my money than a stranger, again it’s a personal thing. I feel like I’m helping a friend that I know and I can trust will put it to good use.  
   7) How often do you buy and sell off Ebay or Craigslist?

   I don’t use Craigslist. I use eBay and I’ve been working with them for two years now and have completed over 300 transaction when I only use it minimally. I haven’t devoted myself completely to the selling of items.  

2. 1) Is it very clear what Junkio is from our site? If not, any suggestions?
    
   If the purpose of the site is for people to sell things they no longer want and to do so in a safe environment, then it is clear.
    
   I do have a couple of suggestions to make:
    
   a) It is much easier to read bullets than a paragraph. Therefore, what if you bullet-pointed the green section, so that it was something like:
    
   * Buy and Sell items with anyone on the Internet
   * Buy and Sell items privately amongst friends
   * $0 to post and lower seller fees
   * All in a safe and trusted environment
    
   b) The graphic is great and I’m wondering if there are better options for the photos, i.e., a photo highlight a shiny red bike, rather than a green tinted photo of a racer on a bike.
    
   2) Everyone has Junk they want to get rid of. Would you personally use this service to sell to friends, social acquaintences, and strangers (instead of other sites)? Assume traffic on Junkio is equal to Craigslist or Ebay.
    
   Although I have sold products, mostly I sell services online. I might use it over Craigslist, eBay or eBay classifieds, I don’t know. Tell me why I should? I’m serious. What is your value proposition: how are you safer? How are your fees less than $0 as it is on craigslist and many classified ad sites. I am not saying that your site isn’t better. Tell me; show me why it is.
    
   You say your site is safe. How do I know it is? I got on to the site even before responding to the confirmation email. How do am I protected against purchasing poor products? Is there a rating system? Do I as a buyer have any recourse if a product is not sent to me?
    
   3) Simplicity is our goal. Compared to eBay, Craigslist, how does it compare?
    
   Simple is good. But I had a challenge figuring out how to find items. I quick video would be nice.
    
   By the way, since I mentioned a bicycle and it is one of the featured items, I went looking for one and there wasn’t an appropriate category. There also isn’t anything for toys. Have you looked at other sites that might help you to improve your list of categories, i.e., so that clothing were divided into men’s, women’s, boys’, and girls’.
    
   4) Functionally, was signing up, updating your profile and uploading a photo/Junk to sell easy, tedious, or impossible? – Please use INVITE code: “junkio121212″
    
   I did register. Was I supposed to get a page thanking me for registering and letting me know that a confirmation email was on it’s way? Because I don’t remember that happening. However, I did receive the email. I’m not sure how well it worked, since I was able to get on the site without it.
    
   Yes, updating information and junk is easy. I think, it would help if you mentioned on the form the format you want the money and that there is a $5.00 minimum price. First, I typed in $1 and was shown the appropriate format. Then, I typed 1.00 and was told that there is a $5.00 minimum. If this were stated on the form, it would have saved valuable time.
    
   5) A new feature we are proposing is to allow you to list what you want. More of a wanted ads “feed” that can be shown to everyone or just friends. Thoughts on that?
    
   I like the idea. I would like to be able to choose item by item which I would want public and which private.
    
   6) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have. Keep in mind there is little content or traffic due to private beta. Comments more on the concept of social selling vs traditional Ebay auction or Craigslist.
    
   I like the idea. There have been other such sites that I’ve visited but never purchased from. I think you are probably attached to the name and I’m wondering if I would be attracted to a site that associated itself with junk. What I’m thinking is the old saying, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” Have you or would you consider a name such as “From Junk to Treasure”?
    
   7) How often do you buy and sell off Ebay or Craigslist?
    
   I have never bought or sold on eBay. I have never bought a product on craigslist, although I’ve sold one. I got nibbles, but no buys. I did find my home (rental) on craigslist. It has been awhile, because of the hassle and I won’t include my email address, because of all the spam that follows.

3. 1. The headline and intro text make it pretty clear, yes.
    
   2. If you had traffic equivalent to eBay or Craigslist, I would pick your site. I’d pick it over Craigslist because Craigslist is like the Wild West–you have no idea who you’re selling to, and there are no guarantees of payment. I’d pick your site over eBay because it seems to be less expensive to list an item on Junkio. I can’t verify that because I didn’t notice any info about the percentage cut of sales you take, but since you don’t charge any fees just to list the item, I assume it would wind up being less expensive for me.
    
   3. Yesterday I answered this question in relation to your site design. Today I’ll answer it in relation to your user interface. It was incredibly easy to start listing items on your site, much easier than it is on either eBay or Craigslist, which both make users jump through hoops these days. I think it took me five minutes to list an item as opposed to half an hour on your competitors’ sites! Photo upload was very fast, too. The only criticism I have is that when I initially registered and logged into my account, the “Post Your Junk” tab was tiny and up in the top right corner where I didn’t easily notice it. I would’ve preferred to see it as an option on my dashboard next to “My Junk,” “I Want,” and “Your Friends.” (By the way, you should probably change “Your Friends” to “My Friends” since you’re also referring to the junk in the first person–“My Junk.” A minor point, but it’s good to be consistent.)
    
   4. Sign-up was a breeze, and I really liked that I didn’t have to go to my email account to confirm registration before I could get started. I had no issues creating a profile, although it would’ve been helpful to have a tab that said “Edit Profile” instead of just “edit,” which might confuse some people. As you see above, I found the listing process beautifully simplistic. 
    
   5. I’m not quite sure what you’re asking here. Are you saying you would remove the restrictions on listing items and allow people to sell services? I don’t think that’s a bad idea per se, but I do think you may have to be careful that the site doesn’t overflow with scammers, adult industry “professionals,” and the like. If you can find some way to control that, though, I’d love to be able to list services on Junkio. But I wonder how you would get your own cut from that.
    
   6. At this point, I feel like eBay and Amazon are fairly secure sites. At least, I’ve never had a problem with them. However, they’re getting very expensive, and there are so many hoops to jump through whenever you want to list an item. It starts to feel like it’s not worth it. On the other hand, Craigslist is totally insecure. It makes no guarantees and has just about nonexistent customer service. I’ve never managed to sell an item through them, and I’m guessing it’s because people don’t trust the site. I think Junkio strikes a happy balance between the overpriced eBay model and the free-for-all that is Craigslist. For me personally, I don’t think I have a wide enough circle of acquaintance to really benefit from that aspect of Junkio, but I’m sure there are people with a ton of contacts who would very much appreciate it.
    
   7. Not nearly as much as I used to, that’s for sure! I stopped selling on Craigslist because a) I wasn’t having any luck there and b) they started requiring me to list a phone number, and I didn’t feel that the site was secure enough to trust them with that info. I don’t think I trust people there enough to buy. The last time I thought about listing something on eBay, I got discouraged by all the fees, which would’ve added up to something like 30-40% of my profit at the end of the day. I buy things off eBay a few times a year. I prefer Amazon because I like paying a flat fee more than I like bidding, and I feel that they’re a little more customer-friendly. I buy off Amazon several times a month. I don’t list there, though, because of the same expense factors that I’m finding on eBay. Compared to those sites, yours is very refreshing, and even though I just set up a test account for today, when I have something to sell, I’m going to set up a real account and give Junkio a try!

4. Feedback sought:
   1) Is it very clear what Junkio is from our site? If not, any suggestions?

   Junkio is a way to sell junk online. 
   2) Everyone has Junk they want to get rid of. Would you personally use this service to sell to friends, social acquaintences, and strangers (instead of other sites)? Assume traffic on Junkio is equal to Craigslist or Ebay.
    If traffic was equal, the brand recognition and reputation of buyers would come into play. I don’t want to sell if people aren’t willing to pay. I know people will buy on Ebay and Amazon
   3) Simplicity is our goal. Compared to eBay, Craigslist, how does it compare?
   Compared to Craigslist, it is better. Ebay is pretty good. I’d say you rank in between. 
   4) Functionally, was signing up, updating your profile and uploading a photo/Junk to sell easy, tedious, or impossible? – Please use INVITE code: “junkio121212″
   I signed up. Easy to do.
   5) A new feature we are proposing is to allow you to list what you want. More of a wanted ads “feed” that can be shown to everyone or just friends. Thoughts on that?
   Allow me to list what I want? Great idea, but you should make sure you can’t sell body parts and illegal things. 
   6) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have. Keep in mind there is little content or traffic due to private beta. Comments more on the concept of social selling vs traditional Ebay auction or Craigslist.
    Right. It is hard to really gauge your site because you have so few listings and very little traffic. Ebay is becoming more social, with the ability to share on social sites. Craigslist, not so much.

   Thoughts: Since you are competing against the big dogs (ebay, craigslist, and amazon – you need a way to differentiate yourselves from them. You can do this by putting a spin on your business model. For example, there are sites that do reverse auctions. You need a gimmick that is trendy that makes you the “go to” site for selling junk. Selling junk by itself is not enough to make you the one place to go to sell.
   7) How often do you buy and sell off Ebay or Craigslist?
   I buy on Ebay quite often. Not on Craigslist because I don’t want to meet up with strangers. 

5. 1) Is it very clear what Junkio is from our site? If not, any suggestions?
   Yes, the first thing I noticed on the homepage are the letters in green stating that the website is a page to sell and buy items online. One thing I would change on that is the way it is phrased. I would write something like; “Buy or Sell items online in a safe and trustworthy environment. FREE posting and low selling fees for all!”
   2) Everyone has Junk they want to get rid of. Would you personally use this service to sell to friends, social acquaintences, and strangers (instead of other sites)? Assume traffic on Junkio is equal to Craigslist or Ebay.
   Yes, I like the setup of the actual selling page. However, the text font gives a bit of a suspicious vibe. I suggest the font that shows up next to the product is something more unique an engaging. The
   3) Simplicity is our goal. Compared to eBay, Craigslist, how does it compare?
   Compared to eBay, the site is much more user-friendly and it isn’t as abnoxious as eBay either (which is a good thing because honestly all of the ads and colorful signs distract me when trying to find an item). Compared to Craigslist, I’d say Junkio might have a chance to outshine them with the design. Craigslist is simple, but their design can come off as cheap in some aspects.
   4) Functionally, was signing up, updating your profile and uploading a photo/Junk to sell easy, tedious, or impossible? – Please use INVITE code: “junkio121212″
   Signing up was extremely easy and only took me about 30 seconds. Posting junk is also really easy to do as you are taken step by step throughout the entire process. The only thing I didn’t like is the font as previously mentioned, and teh bright yellow background when uploading photos. It distracts from the site’s color scheme. It would look a lot nicer and legit if it was a white background with just a green box border. 
   I wasn’t able to find how to edit my profile right away, until I searched for a while. If maybe there was a link below Home-Public Search that says “Update or Edit Profile” it would be helpful.
   5) A new feature we are proposing is to allow you to list what you want. More of a wanted ads “feed” that can be shown to everyone or just friends. Thoughts on that?
   That’s an excellent idea because sometimes people probably think nobody will want their junk. This will allow you to search through the want list and see if you have any of the items to sell.
   6) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have. Keep in mind there is little content or traffic due to private beta. Comments more on the concept of social selling vs traditional Ebay auction or Craigslist.
   It would be nice if you added a section where you can select your location in case people want to travel to check the items out. On the profile page would be good. Since it is a social selling/buying site, I would also recommend you make the site a bit more bubbly so that people are attracted and actually want to spend time there. The image to the right of the homepage is also a bit boring and I don’t think it quite resembles a social, fun selling/buying website.
   7) How often do you buy and sell off Ebay or Craigslist?
   I purchase dog products such as Frontline, muzzles, etc. off of eBay every month or so. I used to buy and sell cars through Craigslist but I haven’t used them in quite some time.

6. Junkio didn’t seem very clear at first glance.  So I clicked on the learn more banner. I then understood this was an online store to sell used items, the only difference is that it concentrates more on the social selling rather than the public. I would suggest more information on the main pain (it is also a little bare). I would try the new website Junkio.  I’ve already listed an item. I’m always looking for some excellent deals. I’ve already found a few!  I always like the security of a website just in case something goes wrong (non payment, or not receiving product ect;) This is an option that say, Craigslist does not offer.
   Junkio is very user friendly.  I understand that it’s still in the beta version, but so far so good.  I was able to upload a picture and list an item in less than a minute.  Very simple.
   Signing up, and updating information wasn’t a hassle.  I didn’t receive any error messages. Overall a smooth web page.
   A wants “feed” is a good idea. Compared to Craigslist where you have to go and see a want ad, this is much faster; easier…all in one place.  I think someone is more apt to buy something that’s used when they know the owner.  So it’s a good idea from both sides; whether buying or selling.
   I usually buy and sell on Craigslist probably 40 products a month.

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