Go Swap Company Blog

Tutorials Just Launched

Ken Richards — 2010-01-25T00:00:00-05:00

We have just launched our tutorials section in the Help area of the website. It contains detailed explanations on how to use Go Swap Auctions in both HTML and PDF format for your perusal. Our hope is that this documentation will make it easier to user our services.

Improved Auction Properties Launched

Ken Richards — 2010-01-22T00:00:00-05:00

We have made some more improvements to the bidding system that will make using the website much nicer. These improvements include better information in the auction summary box (shown to the left of the auction view) and changes to the buy it now feature.

Viewing the Bid History

Ken Richards — 2010-01-17T00:00:00-05:00

A complete and full bidding history for each auction can now be viewed by clicking on the history link which appears in the auction properties on the left-hand side of the screen.

New Site Design

Ken Richards — 2010-01-15T00:00:00-05:00

We have just launched a new site design which should make the site a little easier to navigate. Besides being cleaner, it also provides a more flexible layout for presenting auctions in a format that is easy to browse.

Improved Navigation Ability

Ken Richards — 2010-01-10T00:00:00-05:00

We have improved the ability to browse auctions on the website with our new system for paging through the auction listings. This is especially useful for browsing the categories on the site.

Ability to Edit Active Auctions

Ken Richards — 2010-01-04T00:00:00-05:00

Sellers now have the ability to go back and edit their auctions as long as no bids have been placed on the auction yet. These changes will be made immediately to the auction allowing the seller to correct any mistakes, or make amendments to an auction after the posting process is complete.

Improvements to Image Upload

Ken Richards — 2009-12-30T00:00:00-05:00

We have implemented some improvements which should simplify the process for uploading images for auctions. The new system is more robust and transparent. Sellers can now see exactly what is going on in the event that an error occurs and be able to correct the problem without much hassle.

Auction Close E-mails

Ken Richards — 2009-12-23T00:00:00-05:00

The auction close e-mails have been improved to include complete details about the auction listing along with the buyer or seller information that is necessary to complete the transaction. We will continue to improve the communication between the buyer and seller so that buying and selling can be conducted quick and easy.

HTML Editor Available

Ken Richards — 2009-12-10T00:00:00-05:00

A new HTML editor is now available when listing new auctions on the site. This is shown when you go to enter the description for an auction. It allows you to use a word-processor type interface to enter simple formatting commands to your descriptions.

Automatic Extended Auctions

Ken Richards — 2009-12-02T00:00:00-05:00

As part of our effort to provide better services to our customers, we are planning on implementing a way for users to extend their auctions automatically until their item sells. This would give sellers a second and third chance at selling something if it fails to sell the first time.

Ability to opt-out of E-mails

Ken Richards — 2009-11-19T00:00:00-05:00

We have just launched a new feature which allows members to opt-out of receiving e-mails from the site. By using a link included at the bottom of each e-mail, users may choose to opt-out of all e-mails sent from Go Swap Auctions.

Administration Back-end Updated

Ken Richards — 2009-05-30T00:00:00-04:00

Some work has been done on the backend of the site to update the administrative control panel. Although this won't really affect any of the users of the site, we thought we should mention this just in case.

Yes, We are Still Here

Ken Richards — 2009-05-29T20:16:06-04:00

Just a little note to let you all know that this site is indeed still alive. I've gotten a number of e-mails asking for an update on the status of this website. While I usually try to respond to each e-mail personally, times have been pretty hectic for me recently, and I haven't had time to respond to everyone recently.

Opt-in E-mails

Ken Richards — 2009-05-26T00:00:00-04:00

We have added a new feature which allows users to opt-in to news and announcement e-mails. Another field allows user to opt-in to special jobs and work offer e-mails.

Montizing Our Free Auction Service

Ken Richards — 2009-05-24T00:00:00-04:00

There have been some questions about how we intend to run a successful business by offering all of our services for free. This is certainly a concern for us here too, but rest assured that we aren't going anywhere. Read this blog post for more information on the subject.

Status Report - May 22, 2009

Ken Richards — 2009-05-22T00:00:00-04:00

We are currrently investigating methods by which we can do a bulk import of items to sell at auction as well as inventory management for dedicated sellers who do a lot of business selling at auction.

Domain Offers

Ken Richards — 2009-04-17T00:00:00-04:00

Recently, we have been receiving some offers for the purchase of this domain. Orvado Technologies has owned this domain for quite some time now and we have devoted a lot of time towards making this site a success.

Status Report - Nov 8, 2007

Ken Richards — 2007-11-09T11:46:56-05:00

I've finally come back to finish up some of the tasks for the Go Swap Auctions website. I am looking to you to review this site and give me feedback on how I may improve it. Up until recently, there has been a decided lack of interest in this site, but now I'm going to go at it full tilt. As part of my revitalization of this site, I have improved the design of the entire site by modifying the cascading style sheet (CSS) and also creating new graphics. These should help improve the usability of the site. My primary goal is to make the site easy-to-use but powerful enough to handle all your auction needs.

Status Report - Apr 17, 2006

Ken Richards — 2006-04-17T13:07:43-04:00

I have just fnished creating the first version of my configurable search engine for Go Swap Auctions. This allows me to index the content contained in the database based on "content type configurations". Using this library, I can quickly create search forms for articles, forum posts, wiki content, blog entries, faq entries and even auction listings.

Search Engine Inclusion

Ken Richards — 2006-04-10T12:06:44-04:00

We are slowly beginning to be picked up by the major search engines. It has been a slow process (in terms of Internet time) and we will finally be glad when we are included in all of the major search engines.

Status Report - Apr 4, 2006

Ken Richards — 2006-04-04T01:20:48-04:00

We have cleaned up some issues with the blog and continued working on the auction process. We have created a reporting module for the surveys and begun work on search index module.

Online Auction Survey

Ken Richards — 2006-03-22T14:46:43-05:00

As part of our mission to provide you with a better auction service, we kindly ask our users to fill out our Online Auction Survey. This will give us an idea of your current opinions on online auctions and allow us to serve you better.

Website Development Choices

Ken Richards — 2006-03-21T13:01:59-05:00

I would like to welcome all my blog explosion readers to this new site. This site represents my first foray into a full-blown PHP/Unix development project which should pave the way for future PHP projects. To understand what this site is about, please check out our latest news section.

UniqueAuction is Something Out of the Ordinary

Ken Richards — 2006-03-21T11:45:55-05:00

A new auction site named Unique Auction has come up with a new concept for auctions. They are running a new type of auction where the "most unique" bid placed on an auction becomes the winner of the item.

Status Report - Mar 20, 2006

Ken Richards — 2006-03-20T12:28:05-05:00

Recently we just added the latest news area to the site which will give you access to news articles, press releases and announcements. We have also gone through and cleaned up several minor navigation bugs on the site.

Status Report - Mar 16, 2006

Ken Richards — 2006-03-16T17:14:23-05:00

We have added a message template for the new member registration. This brings the total number of e-mail templates created to three. We have also created the first web template for display auction details.

Go Swap Auction Launches

Ken Richards — 2006-03-13T15:12:03-05:00

Starting an online auction site is nothing unique. For startups such as ours, it requires a huge commitment and tons of work to create something truely useful. The competition is fierce and there are a lot of major players you have to contend with in this arena. Even once you have launched, a lot of work and dedication is needed to operate effectively. With all this going against us, why did we decide to startup this auction site?

Status Report - Mar 10, 2006

Ken Richards — 2006-03-10T19:45:44-05:00

Today, I've worked on expanding the My Account area of the site and created a member feedback system. Along with this, I have also done some preliminary testing on the bidding system to make sure that it works. One of the last remaining areas of the site to complete is search and fulfillment.

Bidding Module Built Today

Ken Richards — 2006-03-09T19:26:20-05:00

Today, I put together a bidding module which will manage bids placed on auctions here. This manages all aspects of bidding including: increasing your maximum bid, outbidding another bidder and placing the initial starting bid.

Status Report - Mar 8, 2006

Ken Richards — 2006-03-08T18:31:21-05:00

We have the category listings working as well as the auction details. Refinements have been made to the blog module which is allowing me to post this. Posting auctions works but needs a little refinement. The bidding process needs a lot of work as well as notifications and feedback.

Welcome to our new blog!

Ken Richards — 2006-02-14T19:49:41-05:00

As we start to ramp up development on Go Swap, we decided to start up this blog to let you know what is going on here behind the scenes. Like you, we are "fed up" with the outrageous fees that popular auction sites charge for running actions and we built this site as a means to combat excessive fees and money-hungry corporations.