Name of your website?GetItNext
Your name?
Ron Stewart
Your Location (city, etc)
Toronto
Please give us a short summary of your website?
GetItNext is a Web 2.0 ecommerce mashup that makes eBay easier to use by delivering 3 key features to our users:
1. An uncluttered and simple website design so easy our mom's can use it. One of eBay's problems is that a lot of users find it overwhelming and confusing. GetItNext is easy to use for everyone.
2. A search engine that finds what you are looking for the first time. Not only is GetItNext easy to use, it also provides better results than eBay. If you search for an iPhone on GetItNext we return iPhones in the search results. If you search for a 1965 Mustang GT we show you 1965 Mustang GTs. We allow you to easily find whatever you are looking for. Searching for a lot of items on eBay wastes a lot of time and effort. You have to wade through countless pages of items to find want you want. GetItNext's ease of use and superior search results allow you to find what you want, and get it.
3. An easy way to find bargains. Searching for bargains on eBay can be a chore. Enter what you are looking for in GetItNext's "Find a Deal" search and we return listings that have 0 bids and less than 4 hours remaining. No competition = bargains for GetItNext users.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
Back in the fall of 2005 our CTO (Colin) and a good friend of his (Paul) were looking for a Series 1 Tivo. Paul managed to find a screaming deal on a Tivo with a lifetime subscription on eBay for $58. Colin was determined to find one as well. After a hour of looking using all sort of advanced searching techiques Colin still couldn't find a deal let alone the item that Paul purchased.
In frustration he decided to build a quick application to find that Tivo (which he eventually did). Given the amount of trouble that Colin had to go through to find what he was looking for we knew that there had to be a better way. Now there is - GetItNext.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
A project website using basic HTML during college (early 90's)
How did you decide on a name for your website?
We considered a number of names before we decided on GetItNext. Eventually we selected GetItNext as it reflected how we had been describing the concept to people for months prior. GetItNext helps you find what you want to get next quickly and easily.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
Focusing on usability and ease of use, GetItNext is a next generation shopping tool that makes searching and shopping on eBay easier and faster. In fact, we are the recent recipients of Interactive Media Awards (IMA) Outstanding Achievement award scoring 95 out of a possible 100 points in Usability.
In contrast to current first generation eBay tools and techniques, GetItNext's Web 2.0 design improves the buyer experience of the eBay marketplace by making eBay easier to use and saving our users time and money. All of the tools and services of GetItNext are accessed online via our website. Users do not have to download or install any software in order to use the service. Registration or sign-up is also not required and best of all it is FREE!
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
First and foremost, the GetItNext management team is focused on building a market leading social commerce company. Based upon the overwhelming positive user feedback we have received to date, GetItNext is fast becoming a company that provides high value and is establishing a trusted brand amongst our passionate users. We are not merely focused on growing the company in order to sell it.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
The team has largely self-financed the development of GetItNext to date bootstrapping our efforts and having a small investor group made up of friends and family. We've made amazing progress based upon the limited amount of time and resources that we've had available.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
We'd be able to execute on our growth model within 18 months and achieve the our development goals much faster. We wouldn't change anything fundamental about our site except for being to build out all of the functionality that we have planned a lot sooner.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
We've planned for explosive growth. Our infrastructure is setup to utilize grid hosting options like Amazon's EC2 infrastructure. That's a problem that we'd love to deal with and are ready for.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Our biggest headache in the early days was finding a reliable hosting partner. We migrated through several hosting providers before finding a company that met our needs and high standards.
What has been your biggest challenge?
The most challenging issue we have had to deal with was a lack of time and lack of funding to build out a full-time team for GetItNext.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
GetItNext is designed to maximize organic search placement with leading search engines including Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Organic search delivers quality leads producing high conversion rates with low additional variable cost as compared to traditional online advertising. One of the key advantages of GetItNext's automated search optimization technology is it evolves with trends such as buyer demand and the introduction of new products into the marketplace.
We've used a number of Marketing 2.0 techiques to supplement our organic search and have been very successful with that.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
We were pleasantly surprised by the large outpouring of positive support for GetItNext. The amount of positive feedback has been really overwhelming. It has reaffirmed our belief that GetItNExt provides real value to our users.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
GetItNext launched to the general public on June 9, 2007 at 7:13 pm EST. We've enjoyed month on month growth of over 80% since launch so hope we never have that problem. So far, so good!
What is your website address?
GetItNext
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