Review - Buy It Sell It BISI Flat Priced Storefront Compared To Ecrater

We started using inkfrog auction submit / control software a few years back. After trying many companies like andale, vendio, ebay's different attempts and probably five others I can't remember the name of, we tried inkfrog. Flat 9.95 a month, never go up, they offer more services than you can imagine and they have always been very reliable.

So when inkfrog bought and opened up Buy It Sell It storefront software, I figured I had to try it.

It is very much like ecrater. I have been told by an inside source that this is due to BISI being modeled after ecrater. My review on ecrater is farther down the blog.

But, there are things about BISI I like more than ecrater, and there are things about ecrater I like more than BISI. I will try and compare them for you.

Let's remember, all places have their learning curve. People who use eBay for the first time easily get lost. Learning new things can be a pain. So we cannot expect every site to feel like an old hat. Once again, ecrater and BISI are for people who have items that can pop out in a google search, want flat prices , and or who have a good following of return customer shoppers. These are not the venues to clean out your old junk. The bar continues, if it has a poor sell rate on eBay, you will probably have a poor sell rate anywhere.


What I Like About BISI:

• Just like ecrater; BISI is a venue. Just like eBay was intended to be.

BISI will NOT get in the middle of seller and buyer issues.

Think of a mall. A mall location is a venue. Each store gets their own space. You deal 100% with the store, not the mall land owner.

BISI is for people who have flat priced store items. No auctions. BISI and ecrater are for people who have things that have a search factor or marketability. Do you have a scrapbook / Pokemon / Makeup , insert your widget here, store on ebay with lots of return customers? Then BISI /ecrater may be right for you. Do you have rare items that always sell at a profit you are happy with that can come up on the top page of google? Then BISI / ecrater may be right for you. Do you sell in categories with a high sell rate? Then BISI / ecrater may be right for you. Are you willing to learn new things and implement those new things to be the best store you can be? Then BISI /ecrater may be right for you.

• Again, this is something I am mixed on, but as ecrater, BISI is 100% FREE flat priced storefront software.

BISI also offers a higher tiers for person domain support and digital storage and more custom pages. Ecrater does not offer this. BISI's highest priced package does not go over $20 per month and there is no contract.

• BISI software is very easy to use, as is ecrater, just a little differently designed. Yes, there is a learning curve, but it overall very simple compared to many programs and sites I have tried. I am enjoying not worrying about too many templates. I spend more time on the item, which if you have a nice item, fair market price and good pics, you don't need bright colors and bows.

BISI also gives you free TERMS, ABOUT and CONTACT pages.

• BISI has an easier method of inputting meta tags than ecrater. They do the work for you. ecrater has you input each in your ad, in a special format. BISI simply gives you lots of boxes to type your info in. Meta tag knowledge is one of the worst learning curves for people who are used to eBay. But it is also one of those things that can be easily learned over the net and once you know it, you know it.

BISI inputs your items into google for you. Our items were coming up at the top of google by the next day. Now, why do I both places? Exposure. I find it interesting that we list the same items in both places but sometimes one store will pop up at the top of google and sometimes the other. Good to be at both. Just copy and paste info from one place to another. Easy.

• BISI offers a calculated and flat priced shipping matrix. They also have a great flat priced combined item SH area that lets you show buyers how much the item will be when combined with another item. Ecrater does not offer this and quite frankly, that is one of the few annoying Ecrater issues.

• BISI has free storage for upload of 10 pictures per item. Customers can click the pictures to view a larger image. Ecrater has this as well.
  

• BISI has a common search feature, like ecrater, like eBay.
  

Which means; when buyers and possible sellers come to BISI, they can easily search from all the sellers who use BISI software. It is a fact people are drawn to and feel safer in a mall like atmosphere..use it to your advantage.

Which means; let's use the store analogy again.

A new mall has 50 spots. Only 10 are filled and this mall gets traffic for these 10 spots alone. Many people drive by with barely a glance because overall it looks so empty.

Now let's fill all 50 spaces. Now the entire mall is filled which brings in lots more traffic. Store A is getting sales because of people who originally came for store C, etc.

Take the whole Starbucks situation. ...Briefly;

Starbucks tried to buy out small moms and pops coffee shops in the venues Starbucks was building in. Many of those moms and pops that stayed had a major boom in their own business due to the traffic Starbucks brought into the mall complex. Read below.

Don't Fear Starbucks

Another article

• BISI offers no feedback. Ecrater does and it is not set up in a way that makes any sense.

I have no trouble with a feedback feature. Just make sure it is designed semi ok. But both places require no buyer sign up since each store is independent. As we all know, fb can be a double edged sword.

• BISI has RSS feed right on your main page with no configuring. Ecrater has the ability, but it takes set up. BISI has made this and meta tags SO easy.

Things I am not keen on:

• There is no feature on the ad page that shows the shipping prices. Ecrater does offer this and it is much easier for the shopper to know what prices are before having to click pages. This is my main pet peeve with BISI.

• There is no transfer of listings in bulk. One by one..ecrater is the same...but it is worth it.

• I know many of you like this, but with any free venue, comes the free mentality.

I wish BISI would charge SOMETHING for their basic service. With free sites comes bottom barrel mentality. People will list things that should be thrown out. A lot of people will make stores because they have no money to lose, at any free venue. If BISI started charging $19.99 a month, I would pay it in a heart beat and I have no doubt many sellers clearing out there kmart closet would close...which would be good for the overall look of any venue. If a dedicated and serious store cannot afford $19.99, something is wrong with that business model. If people just want to clear out their stuff, an auction venue might be a better way to go.

• The forums are not nearly as good as ecrater. Maybe because of it being a new site. But if you set up shop at both, you have double the info.

• My last issue; BISI needs a lot of good people to come in and set up shop to give a serious feel to the site...your store will have to stand alone. Do not expect the BISI to give you a shopping experience through their search feature just yet. However, for an independent, store that can stand alone, BISI is another wonderful option.
  

Overall, I really like both places. I prefer ecrater more due to a couple of things, but they are both a great place to set up your independent store.