New Garage Sale Application

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slickcoder

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#73022 7-Dec-2010 13:46

Hey guys,

I just launched http://www.salecator.co.nz a garage sale application and would need people's opinion about the UI, accessibility, problems, comments or functionalities that you think I should include.

Thank you guys!

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#414098 7-Dec-2010 15:54

I got welcomed with the error: 'Geocode cannot load because of: ERROR', after I had selected Christchurch from the drop down menu. Reloading the site worked a.ok though. Where do you intend on getting your listings? Usability is easy, UI simple but adequate. Great concept, will be interesting to see how well it is received.

Ragnor

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#414107 7-Dec-2010 16:11

I think it could do with a side bar for navigation.

Then you could have a few sections (with lists of links), eg: Top 5 Sales in this region, Trending Sales etc and with clicking on the link centering the sale on the map.

You probably want to add search also.

Also populate the each region with at least once placeholder sale, something like "Your sale here" as there is nothing currently?

tomgeeknz

923 posts

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#414126 7-Dec-2010 17:01

The green sign is to big when zoomed out.... Takes up to much real estate above the map...

Starplay

267 posts

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#414137 7-Dec-2010 17:25

Also needs all areas of New Zealand... The current range is very small. Might be a good idea to start with region and then the city. e.g Hawke's Bay -> Hastings

jbard

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#414160 7-Dec-2010 17:56

What about DUNEDIN?????

kingjj

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#414191 7-Dec-2010 19:10

jbard: What about DUNEDIN?????

Where?

slickcoder

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#414685 8-Dec-2010 15:43

@kingjj the listings will come from people who are doing garage sales. If you login with your facebook you can see more options. I just decided to use facebook login to remove the hassle of registration process. UI is adequate meaning?

@ragnor yea i was thinking of including latest listings functionality. I will include that in the future. Currently there is a listing in christchurch so you can see the marker and info about the sale. You can also put a dummy sale if you like. Its ajax so it will show up on the map right after you click 'post listing'

@tomgeeknz I can't do much about the size of marker when zoom out. Google doesn't auto-resize markers when zoom-in or out.

@jbard good spotting. I haven't included all the cities yet.

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slickcoder

23 posts

Geek

#419457 20-Dec-2010 14:37

I just added 3 features.
1. People can now see all current listings.
2. included number of views
3. and integrated streetview.

what do you guys think of the added features and what should a good feature to include?

gzt

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#427911 17-Jan-2011 10:51

what do you guys think of the added features and what should a good feature to include?

A specific saved 'home' address/location to center the map on would be good. The Auckland area is big.

When you start getting multiple sales in a small area the only way to separate them will be zoom. This is ok, but maybe something more is needed. Suggest putting a one line street number/street name address for all sales appearing in the current zoom view into the side bar.

Like it!

Dratsab

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#427938 17-Jan-2011 11:43

Just been having a look at this and have a few suggestions you may wish to consider:

- Link the sidebar to the garage sales rather than just displaying them.

- For addresses that don't actually have streetview, either don't display a streetview link or, when the link is clicked on, have a pop up message saying something like "Sorry, Streetview is not available for this address".

- Have the "Garage Sale" overlay on Streetview say "Return to Garage Sale" and get it to close Streetview when clicked on to make it easier for viewers to return to the listing.

Great concept! Hope it works well for you. When are you looking at an official launch?

slickcoder

23 posts

Geek

#428793 19-Jan-2011 12:50

@gzt yea that's a good idea, I will just tweak the layout to include that.

@Dratsab thanks for your suggestions. i will include those suggestions of yours. At the moment I'm adding functionalities such as register even without facebook, detect mobile browser, mobile app, facebook app and email sales alert. Aside from that I've been marketing it and trying to look for a business partner to do marketing and to monetize the app. So I'm unsure when is the official launch hopefully before mid feb.

slickcoder

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#434208 2-Feb-2011 12:06

Hey guys i just updated the site.
I hope the new interface is more lively and tidy.
more ajax functionalities and more interactive.

Let me know guys what you think so far.

Thanks,
kris

Dratsab

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#435618 5-Feb-2011 11:14

Nice work. It's good being able to click on a sidebar link and be directed straight to the sale location. I see you've removed the StreetView functionality altogether though.

I placed a "test" sale into the Wellington CBD and found the following:
- this sale didn't automatically show once I'd finished. I had to refresh the browser screen, which then required me to select my city (again). Auto-refresh would be good here so once a customer finishes listing a garage sale, it pops up on the map straight away.
- Although I specified a date (today) the date for the sale showed up as "undefined".
- There is no way to modify (or even remove) a listing I've created.

I liked how it was easy to log into via Facebook to create the listing. Will you be enabling logins from other social media sites (the other giant, Twitter, springs to mind straight away)? Also, see my comments a little further down...

Other missing functionality:
- The ability to log in seperately of placing a listing (from which the ability to modify my listings then flows).
- ability to open sidebar links in a new tab and/or window.

In relation to the logins, when you're ironing out your T&C's with your lawyer, check whether or not you will fall under the auspices of the Second Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 2004, in a similar manner to Trade Me. Trade Me are required to keep specific data under section 69 (contained in Part 3, Subpart 4) of this Act. They key difference with what you're doing is that you aren't actually selling anything on your site, so you'll probably be ok, but make sure you cover yourself!

Looking forward to seeing this site launch!

slickcoder

23 posts

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#435767 5-Feb-2011 22:38

Hey Dratsab,

Thank you for your time checking the site out.

Streetview functionality will still be available. i just hid it for a while.

1. Auto-refresh will be put up soon.
2. I don't understand why the date showed up as 'unidentified' but i check all the listings in wellington and everything looks fine. which one was yours?
3. Editing and deleting listings will be available soon.
4. Probably I would not consider posting via twitter for now since the majority of users have facebook. I would keep track of that request thou.

That's a good point that you brought up about the login functionality. I thought about it but does it really matter if the site has a login functionality since most users will only post once a while? Unless someone will have garage sales every week. i thought about it carefully and decided not to include it to make the posting easier for people - usability.
If a user has no facebook then he needs to post via email which has links that will redirect him to a page where he can either edit or delete his listing.

Thank you so much for your time Dratsab!

slickcoder

23 posts

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#436072 6-Feb-2011 22:34

FEATURE UPDATE:

1. Auto-reload has been added on placing new listings
2. Facebook users can now delete listings

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