UniSquare

UniSquare is an e-commerce and online auction website focused on just AbOUT any kind of products for people to buy and sell. The type of items include anything from handmade art and crafts, collectibles, vintage antiques, coins, stamps, sports memorabilia, trading cards, consumer electronics, clothes and accessories, toys and hobbies, gift cards, event tickets, home and garden, health and beauty and nearly anything else. Individuals usually sell used items, but they can also sell homemade or brand new merchandise. This marketplace gives sellers the opportunity to sell their things with no listing fees and no commission fees, and allows members to build custom web storefronts to promote themselves. Sellers can allow buyers to bargain with the seller and make offers on their items. Sellers pay no fees as the site is 100% free to use.

History

This marketplace was launched on September 20, 2011 as a small company. The concept was first born on June 13, 2011 and took nearly 3 months to go from idea, to building the site, to a full-scale launch. The name for the site "UniSquare" was term invented to describe not only a marketplace square, but a universal square for selling everything. Any seller can build their own square and have it included as part of the UniSquare marketplace.

During UniSquare's first year, new features were added including a more advanced shopping cart that allows buyers to select items based on colors and/or sizes. Around late December 2011 and January 2012, UniSquare began officially marketing the site and promoting it to other websites, dealers, retailers and other websites. By March 2012, the marketplace had acquired over 1,000 item listings and just a month later in April 2012, the founder reported that over 4,000 items were added. More features were added between April and July 2012 due to highly suggested IDeaS. New features included the integration of Google Analytics so sellers could track visitors to their pages and items. Facebook and Twitter sharing fees were developed, including a Facebook app that allows sellers to display their listings on their Facebook page. Lastly, the custom store feature was a highly popular idea that allowed sellers to name and build an optional and free customized category structure along with preferred color schemes.

Around UniSquare's first anniversary in September 2012, a new feature was developed that allowed sellers to configure an unlimited number of coupon codes for their buyers. Percentage discounts and fixed-priced reductions were allowed with highly customizable options. In late December, a bulk product uploader was added that allowed sellers to import/edit up to 10,000 items at one time, and export files via TXT and CSV files. Due to the new tools and increasing functionality, in complement with no listing fees, the popularity is still very strong with thousands of item listings.

Main Features

Selling

Almost any kind of product is allowed to be sold on UniSquare. A requirement for selling is that a user must first create a username, which becomes part of their unique URL for a member page and store page. All members will receive a member page, but a store page is optional. On a store page, sellers can build their own category structure with custom category names. Each store has its own search engine feature and users can pick customized colors, upload a logo and write a store description. Although, the store feature is optional and can be used only if members want something more customizable, like if they were building their own website. Signing up and building a store is free of charge. The sellers can determine the sale prices and accept best offers from buyers. Up to 12 images or photos can be uploaded with no charge. Listing items is also free and an unlimited number of items can be listed for an unlimited amount of time. UniSquare doesn't have any fees, including no seller commission fee.

Buying

The Primary philosophies of UniSquare's founder are to make the site easy to use and navigate. Buyers can search by entering in keywords in the basic search bar or choose the advanced search. Search queries can be done based on keywords and through a specific category. Advanced search allows members to search based on new, used or refurbished goods, price ranges, items by specific sellers, items excluding certain members, items allowing best offers from the buyer, free shipping, archived items that have already been sold, by specific bidders and what they are bidding on, and by item number. There are 35 primary main category marketplaces to list items and these include: Vintage Antiques, Antique Bottles, Art, Baby Products, Books, Business & Industrial, Cameras & Photo, Cell Phones & PDAs, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Coins & Paper Money, Collectibles, Comic Books Computers & Networking, Consumer Electronics, Crafts (Crafting and Art Supplies), Dolls & Bears, DVDs & Movies, Entertainment Memorabilia, Gift Cards & Coupons, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, Jewelry & Watches, Motors (automobiles, cars, trucks, motorsports, parts, etc.), Militaria, Music, MusicAL INSTRUMENTS, Pet Supplies, Pottery, Glass & China, Real Estate, Specialty Services, Sporting Goods, Sports Memorabilia, Cards & Fan Apparel Shop, Stamps, Tickets, Toys & Hobbies, Travel, Video Games and Everything Else. There are nearly 29,000 sub-categories within these primary marketplaces.

Buyers can view feedback ratings (positive, neutral and negative) and reviews of sellers. They can either bid on items in an auction or click the "Add to Cart" button to store items in a virtual shopping cart. When a seller accepts "best offers" on items, Buyers can click the "Make an Offer" button and put the item in a separate shopping cart called the "Bundle Builder". They can make a bundle offer on a single lot of multiple items from a seller. Both carts keep track of multiple products from multiple sellers. Buyers are required to register for an account before purchasing. They can pay using PayPal, Google Checkout/Wallet, Check, Money Order or payment on local pickup of an item. Credit cards are accepted through PayPal as well.

Operations

UniSquare can be used as a side-business or supplement to a seller's primary business operation due to its smaller size. Item's can be sold in a virtual garage sale setting and allows sellers to showcase their own handmade products in a virtual shopping mall setting, which is useful for crafters, scrapbooker or artist of handmade goods. Collectors and hobbyists typically scour the web, including UniSquare, looking for rare items or things they want to acquire. UniSquare uses social networking to help market products and all products show up on the homepage at one time or another. Items listed indefinitely will rise up to the top of the homepage every 30 day cycle, giving them maximum exposure to buyers and potential sales. Unisquare makes its income from advertising revenues instead of fees.

Competitors

UniSquare is a business that is very similar to Amazon, eBay, and iOffer. The primary functions of the site serve as an online marketplace or virtual mall, which is similar primarily to Amazon. Online auctions are also a major function of the site, making it similar to eBay as well. Lastly, buyers can make offers and sellers can accept offers on a separate Bundle Builder shopping cart, which makes it similar to iOffer.