Auction.Beta Update

[asa_carter]

Another section of Auction.Beta is ready for testing!

Auction.Beta is being developed and tested in Campbeltown. We require local people to use and test the site at each stage of it's development.

Currently, we require people to test the registration, sign in/out, and the 'sell' sections of the site. No others sections are fully completed but be will let you know when they fully working.


www.argyllnewmedia.co.uk/auction


Here are few Q&A's about Auction.Beta....

What is Auction.Beta?
Auction.Beta is an auction web site similar to eBay.

What does 'Beta' mean?
Beta is geek speak for a test version.

How will Auction.Beta benefit Campbeltown?
Anyone with internet access in Campbeltown, will be able to use the site to sell goods and services locally in an auction format. This means that instead of advertising items (for example in the Co-op or Tesco notice boards, or a newspaper) at a fixed rate, they can be sold at auction. This means that they can sell the items at the maximum price available. Soon, shops will also be able to sell stuff.

How much will Auction.Beta cost to use?
Auction.Beta is completely free to use.

How can I help develop the site?
By becoming a beta tester and giving us your feedback, we can make the site exactly the way YOU want it and also help us to discover any errors we may have missed.

Please register and start using the site today!



Best Regards,

Asa Carter

Chief Software Architect
Argyll New Media

[asa_carter]

Hi All,

New features have been added this week.....

<B>BUY</B>

http://www.argyllnewmedia.co.uk/auction/buy.php

View the top level categories and also view the next two layers of sub-categories using the expand and collapse boxes (+/-).

<B>BROWSE</B>

http://www.argyllnewmedia.co.uk/auction ... d=03000000

View the current chosen category and also view the next layer of sub-categories using the expand and collapse boxes (+/-). Also shows you how many items are listed in each category.

<B>RSS FEEDS</B>

http://www.argyllnewmedia.co.uk/auction ... d=05050000

Create RSS feeds of your favourite categories to see items ending soonest without even having to visit the site. Click the item of your choice in your favourite news reader and you will be taken straight to that item on the site to grab your last minute bargain.



<B>Coming soon...</B>

Re-design of the LIST page where you view the item listings. Work has already started on this and should be completed for next week.

<B>Feedback</B>

Please leave feedback on the site if you expereice any problems viewing any of these features or if you have any suggestions or any new idea's.

[asa_carter]

Update..

Just added a cool feature where you can view the location of our members on a map of the UK from their registration details. The map is automatically updated whenever a new person registers as a beta tester.

We will use this technology later on in development of the site to search for items within a certain radius or within the local area. This will encourage the use of new technology to promote trade within rural communities as well as the opportunity for local traders to sell to a larger community.

Also complete is the page that displays the item listings. We have provided features to sort the listings by: Description, Bids, Price, Postage, and End Date/Time, in either ascending or descending order. You can also hide or show sub categories. Please provide feedback on this page.

We are currently working on the view item page and the processes for bidding/buying an item. When this is complete the first test version should be just about ready.

We had planned on using PayPal as the service to transfer funds from buyer to seller. However, PayPal have blocked an important feature of their service which they allow eBay to use, making it impossible to implement a solution for other any other auction web site to use PayPal in the way that eBay does. We have lodged a complaint with the appropriate government authorities but we dont expect it to be resolved within the next couple of years. Therefore, can anyone recommend a person to person money transfer service they have used that we could look at using.

Thanks

Asa

[daftdog]

People can still use paypal. Just have the seller send an invoice to the buyer through paypal itself. Its just a matter of exchanging email addresses.

Or look at http://www.nochex.com/. buyers wouldnt need an account to pay for items, but there are some restrictions in place.

[asa_carter]

Hi all,

We have been busy designing a fresh new UI over the last month and pleased to announce the beta 1 is very near ready for testing... although a little behind schedule.

We have also added a few new features such as different colour schemes, a new image slideshow and some new ajax code for faster loading categories.

So far we have 29 registered beta testers in the UK (the majority in Campbeltown).

If you have not registered as a tester, click the link below to register now:

www.argyllnewmedia.co.uk/auction

To be a tester, all you need to do is use the site as you would normally. Then leave feedback about the site. Although you dont need to register to leave feedback.

You can also email me at asa@argyllnewmedia.co.uk for more information.

Regards

Asa Carter

[Surfbored]

Just wondering .... why bother doing something thats already been done ? There's already an ebay and loads of clones. Why not use your coding skills to do something original?

If you are trying to replace Tesco's and Co-op notice boards, you will have about 30 things to sell.

It hardly seems worth the effort.


Or am I missing the point?

[asa_carter]

Hi Surfbored,

There are a growing number of complaints about eBay's pricing. The problem is, if you want to sell something for a couple of £'s you could end up owing eBay and PayPal more than you made on selling your item... and thats if you even sell it.

Our aim is to create a much more affordable, easy to use auction site that has more features than eBay. We want to shape its development around the people that use it - which is why we need your input and feedback.

While our site is in beta it is free to use. I cannot confirm our pricing strategy for the full release but it will be something like as follows:

Personal Account:
10p per lisitng. Only chargeable upon sale of item.

Business Account:
£5/week to rent a stall. Sell unlimited items within the stall.

At a later stage, the site will have dedicated section for users to buy and sell in their local community. As I said before, this will be beneficial to rural towns such as Campeltown as it will allow items to be sold at a higher price if selling in an auction format. The site will also benefit local craft and manufacturing companies to sell to the whole UK population at an afforable price.

Our site has the ability to host an unlimited amount of items (a few more than 30) in over 9,000 categories.

I hope this clarifies our objective to you. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

Regards,

Asa Carter

[Surfbored]

Good luck !!!