What can you use the application for?
Lootslinger.com is a social networking retail auction site. Users can buy or sell items on the site, as well as Follow other users, maintain a Wall with updates, and Message other users. The site does not charge any fees for listing an item for sale, but charges the seller a 2% commission on completed sales. Users can browse the site by category or search by keyword. Categories include Arts, Automotive, Books, Collectible, Electronics, Hobbies, Jewelry, Music, Pets, Real Estate and others. Most auctions have a QuikBuy option which allows immediate purchase of the object at a set price. Users can track auctions, easily share auctions on the major social networking sites, view the profile of the seller, follow the seller, and leave comments or questions on an item.
Sellers can set the opening bid for the auction, optionally include a QuikBuy price, set the end date and time on their auctions (minimum of 1 day), upload up to 4 images of the item and select tags for the item. In addition, users can choose to charge a fixed-price for shipping or choose the convenient shipping calculator provided by the site. The shipping calculator allows for the inclusion of amounts for handling and insurance. Listing an item is free – a fee is only charged if and when an item sells. The maximum commission amount charged by the site for a single sale is $100. A PayPal account is required to receive payments on the site.
What is the history and popularity of the application?
Lootslinger.com launched in September 2009, and has undergone continuous growth since launch. It will take time for the site to build a following, and currently the selection of items available on the site is rather sparse.
What are the differences to other applications?
Competition to Lootslinger.com comes from sites such as eBay and Bidz.com. Ebay is the established market leader, but has been losing market share to other sites since making changes to its rating system. Bidz.com is a well-established auction site that has provided competition to Ebay for quite some time. The major difference that Lootslinger.com brings to the table is flexible listings, low fees and the social networking aspect. Buyers who can see the Facebook or MySpace profile of the person they are buying from are more likely to trust that person, and they may already be friends, so expect Lootslinger to grow in the near future.
How does the application look and feel to use?
The Lootslinger.com site has a very Web 2.0 look and feel. clean and uncluttered, navigation is intuitive, and the site is quite responsive. The browse and search features work well and search results are returned quickly. The tools provided for listing an item for sale are easy to use and worked quite well. There is no advertising displayed on the Lootslinger.com site.
How does the registration process work?
Registration to the Lootslinger.com site is free and is required to buy or sell items on the site. The registration process asks for first and last name, email address, username, date of birth, zip code and password. Validation of the email address is required.
What does it cost to use the application?
Registered users have access to all features of the Lootslinger.com site and there is no premium membership offered to the site. PayPal is the method of payment for all auctions on the site.
Who would you recommend the application to?
Lootslinger.com is recommended to anyone wishing to buy or sell an item in a social auction environment. The site has very competitive fees when compared to the competition, and listings are quite flexible. The selection of items for sale is currently rather slim, but this should change rapidly as the site attracts new users. The site was still in open beta at time of review, so expect considerable growth when the site comes out of beta as well.
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