POTO Launches ReefnBid.com Beta
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What is ReefnBid.com?
A one-stop, easy-to-use auction website where sellers and buyers gather to sell and bid on corals and anything related to the reefing hobby. -
Why ReefnBid?
The reefing hobby lacks a one-stop auction site where sellers and buyers can converge on the same platform designed exclusively for the reefing hobby. eBay can be intimidating to navigate due to its broad audience and its long, high fee structure. Facebook groups aren't the right platform for scalable auctions. While some vendors run auctions on their own sites, it can scatter audiences, resulting in lower participation. Existing auction technologies on the market are designed to be plug-and-play, but they are challenging to work with and customize, leading to a poor user experience. ReefnBid.com solves these problems. -
Who built ReefnBid.com?
ReefnBid.com is built by POTO (Pieces of the Ocean). -
Why did we decide to build ReefnBid.com?
Since 2017, POTO has been the first to run live coral auctions on its website outside of eBay on a weekly basis. In a poll on R2R, users voted overwhelmingly in favor of auctions on our site over eBay. Speaking with fellow vendors, they expressed interest in running their auctions, but were hindered by the complexity of existing software. While we enjoy the friendly competition with other vendors, a thriving hobby relies on a vibrant marketplace that users love. Today, auctions are a preferred way for many hobbyists to buy corals, and POTO is uniquely positioned to build a platform for it. Over the years, we've learned that the key to successful auctions is selections and user participation. No single seller can offer all the corals available in the hobby. However, by bringing more sellers to the platform, it means more selections that will lead to higher participation, resulting in a more successful auction turnout for all sellers. Recognizing the mutually beneficial reasons to build an auction platform open to everyone, it makes sense to lend our success and experience to building ReefnBid.com. -
For Buyers
ReefnBid.com will offer a wider range of selections and a user-friendly bidding process - a genuine auction website without unnecessary noise. Highlights include:-
Sniping protection: If someone bids in the last minute, it will extend the auction end time by 1 minute.
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Auto-pay: You can save your payment info and let ReefnBid.com automatically charge your card when you win an auction. We use Stripe, an industry powerhouse in online payment processing, to process payments securely and safely.
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Mobile-first: Over 95% of our customers participate in our auctions on their phones. ReefnBid.com is fully optimized for mobile, end to end.
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All won auction items will automatically be placed in your cart, making it easy to check out (for those who don't have Auto-pay enabled).
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Seeing all your favorite vendors' corals on auction on one site.
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And more!
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For Sellers
In addition to the benefit of a wider audience for increased participation, sellers can expect to leverage a fully integrated dashboard for order fulfillment, including printing packing lists and shipping labels with either FedEx or UPS without leaving the platform. The seller program is part of the present roadmap currently under development. -
Low Fee
Our plan is to only charge a small fee to the seller when an item sells. We will never charge anything for listing. If an item doesn't sell, you don't pay. During the beta, the site is completely free for sellers. -
Beta Version
As we delve deeper into building ReefnBid.com , we've realized the magnitude of the website we're creating. We won't rush to launch the site and know that some issues are expected. To manage this effectively, we launched ReefnBid.com Beta with POTO as the first seller. We plan to have a tentative launch date for the public beta of the seller program toward the end of 2023. Yes, POTO auctions can only be found on ReefnBid.com starting now! -
Stay up to date
Buyers: Visit ReefnBid.com and subscribe to get the latest updates on the site.
Sellers: If you're interested in being a seller, please leave your information here.