You are not going to believe this..

[Brunwulf]

I would like to suggest you put a search bar on the Index page.

let me tell you something that got me thinking about it.

I was talking to a good friend of mine that is not very computer literate, they can buy stuff on Amazon and ebay and read and send email from gmail but that's about it.

I asked them to search on ebid.net and explained to him it's just like ebay but only smaller, it was also a good opportunity for me to watch from a distance if there was anything that was a stumbling block for him.

He typed in "ebid" to Google search and up popped a link to ebid.net, he clicked on it and it took him to the INDEX page.

Now you are not going to believe this but he spent ages looking and clicking at the image on the page completely missing the drop down menu or the enter link.

it might of been funny to watch him clicking on the buy and sell image and not getting anywhere but then it hit me like a ton of bricks. surely that's not a stumbling block for buyers.

He said to me he would of gave up and gone elsewhere if i was not here to tell him ,he said "when i go to ebay or Amazon just look for the search bar type and search"

So anyway, it was interesting to see this (hand on hart) i would never of guessed that would be a stumbling block for a buyer.

So, ebid can i suggest a search bar on the index page that's auto set by your ip for country like the cookie check etc.

and can we have some xmas decorations on site this year please? make it festive for buyers.

[EmpHolisticGifts]

The best way to test anything like ebid etc is how you have done so... with someone completely new to whatever and that is not overly confident with the computer etc.

One of the many problems with anything is that anyone who is familiar with it will have a very different perspective etc Its also not easy to find the right 'testers' to be able to obtain the info you have

[JanetB]

When I first purchased something on Ebay (many moons ago) I got lost for a while - after a few sessions, I was more confident using the site.

Same happened when I first purchased on Amazon - I got lost and frustrated and gave up, but went back and tried again. After a few sessions, again, my confidence rose and I was more comfortable using it. Now I use Amazon all the time for my medications.

Yet again, on another site I sell on, I'm still a novice and learning new things every day, but I'm getting there.

The same applies to eBid when I first joined. I thought I'd never get the hang of this place, but lo and behold, after a few days browsing around, I knew I was here to stay. After 6 years, this site has improved 1000% with all the never ending updates/additions etc


x

[HerMajesty]

Brilliant idea. Some newbies won't have the patience to prowl around till they hit the right button to do a search on a new page....

[cornishmaid1961]

Wow, that's very interesting Brunwolf. I wonder how many buyers have walked away because of that over the years ?! Your friend can't be the only one.

[suesjools]

I think this is an excellent idea. Hopefully eBid admin. will take this idea into consideration; as Cornish said, and I concur, your friend can't be the only potential buyer who has difficulties with this.

Best wishes for many sales to all,

[tigerfox]

To be fair I was the same a few years ago. Im quite computer savvy, and wanted to try ebid out. But I couldn't figure it out straight away and thought if I cant do it no one else will so just ditched it. Only getting involved now as im more experienced in the whole online buying/selling and want to see a massive successful rival to bay .
Ebid has potential but is absolutely under utilising it.

[HDLuckyLady]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't ebid require visitors to choose their country first?

[sewmuchtosee]

Ebid requires visitors to put country in first over here

[damian_steele]

Personally, I don't believe it.