5 ms·

Ask HN: Looking for feedback on my spare time project, Booklends.com

27 points by bhousel 16y ago

city41 16y ago
Did we kill it? I'm getting: Ruby (Rack) application could not be started Failed to connect to a master node at localhost:27017 (Mongo::ConnectionFailure)
- bhousel 16y ago
  haha yes, you killed it :) It's back up now on a more powerful VPS, thanks for being patient.. Edit: By the way, if you get the "We're sorry but something went wrong" 500 message, that's just because Amazon's API isn't responding. It's limited to a (kinda low) 2000 queries/hour, and even though I do cache the most common searches, being on the front page of HN pushes it over that limit..
Shanewho 16y ago
I would make the Sign Up button big, bold, and colorful. Check out the download button on this page: http://www.phonegap.com/ http://www.phonegap.com/ (just an example, I'm not affiliated with them). See how it's big and colorful and really stands out. Also note that your logo shouldn't be larger than your call to action button. I have to search for yours.
- bhousel 16y ago
  That's one of the first things I want to fix when I get time. I actually want to use the 'fancy buttons' gem (https://github.com/imathis/fancy-buttons https://github.com/imathis/fancy-buttons) but I would have to switch the site over to using compass for my stylesheets. Which isn't a bad thing, just not something I want to spend time on this week.
  - jayunit 16y ago
    Coworker of mine wrote this: http://ubuwaits.github.com/css3-buttons/ http://ubuwaits.github.com/css3-buttons/ (no need for sass/compass)
kariatx 16y ago
From a user perspective, I'd like some signs that people are actually using the site and lending books before signing up. Maybe consider featuring user activity on the front page (seed it with some friends if need be) and seeing how that changes your conversion ratio.
bhousel 16y ago
Before people ask, yes I do know about the other sites that are very similar to this. I got the idea around New Years and have been building it in my spare time. Even after other Kindle book lending sites launched, I figured I may as well finish mine anyway! Edit: Wow HN, you killed it! I'm upgrading the Linode now. If you can't get through, just try again later, thanks!
- sjs382 16y ago
  Does the Nook have the same "lend once" restriction that the Kindle does?
  - bhousel 16y ago
    Yes, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble have the same restrictions on lending: You can lend a book one time for 14 days. You can't access the book while it is out on loan. Also, the book's publisher gets to decide whether or not the book is lendable in the first place. The restrictions are limiting, but I am hoping that by building a community where people can offer up their books for loan, somebody out there will be able to loan you a book that you want to read.
- robinwarren 16y ago
  anything different about your site? Are you targeting a specific niche to get more of a certain type fo book or anything? BTW, congrats on completing something, always a learning experience to get anything out there I think.
  - bhousel 16y ago
    Thanks! Yeah I learned lots working on this project. I've got a bunch of other things planned too. There's nothing intentionally different about my site from the other ebook lending sites. I did try to make it as simple as possible. I have a feeling that there is space for a handful of sites like this, since Amazon did sell millions of Kindles this past holiday season. People may segregate themselves into communities of other like-minded readers. Actually you don't need a Kindle device to borrow or lend the eBooks. You can read the books on your computer or other device (iOS, Android, Blackberry, etc).
Spines11 16y ago
In Chrome, on your sign up and log in pages, the https has a red slash through it warning that the page contains unencrypted resources.
tcgore 16y ago
If this gets traction, how long until Amazon blocks your referral account? I hope they don't, but isn't this the most recent precedent?
vellum 16y ago
Change your copy to “Log In” and “Sign up Now”. Make the links stand out more. Lending Kindle books is non-obvious. Make an FAQ or a walkthrough. Make the copy something like this: “Don't know how to lend or borrow books on your Kindle? Find out“ The “Find out” part should be a button. Then once you're done with your explanation, make another call to action, “Get started today!” Get people engaged with your content on the front page. Look at Amazon's book section. They don't just start off by just listing books #1 to a billion. Put in some lists or categories, like top 10 books. Spotlight some popular books on the front page. Replace the “Find” link with "Browse" or "Explore", and make it stand out more. Put a search bar on every page. Put more decision-making information in the rows. Import the star ratings, user reviews, and some content information from Amazon.

27 points by bhousel 16y ago

Did we kill it? I'm getting: Ruby (Rack) application could not be started Failed to connect to a master node at localhost:27017 (Mongo::ConnectionFailure)

bhousel 16y ago
haha yes, you killed it :) It's back up now on a more powerful VPS, thanks for being patient.. Edit: By the way, if you get the "We're sorry but something went wrong" 500 message, that's just because Amazon's API isn't responding. It's limited to a (kinda low) 2000 queries/hour, and even though I do cache the most common searches, being on the front page of HN pushes it over that limit..

Shanewho 16y ago

I would make the Sign Up button big, bold, and colorful. Check out the download button on this page: http://www.phonegap.com/ http://www.phonegap.com/ (just an example, I'm not affiliated with them). See how it's big and colorful and really stands out. Also note that your logo shouldn't be larger than your call to action button. I have to search for yours.

bhousel 16y ago
That's one of the first things I want to fix when I get time. I actually want to use the 'fancy buttons' gem (https://github.com/imathis/fancy-buttons https://github.com/imathis/fancy-buttons) but I would have to switch the site over to using compass for my stylesheets. Which isn't a bad thing, just not something I want to spend time on this week.
- jayunit 16y ago
  Coworker of mine wrote this: http://ubuwaits.github.com/css3-buttons/ http://ubuwaits.github.com/css3-buttons/ (no need for sass/compass)

kariatx 16y ago

From a user perspective, I'd like some signs that people are actually using the site and lending books before signing up. Maybe consider featuring user activity on the front page (seed it with some friends if need be) and seeing how that changes your conversion ratio.

bhousel 16y ago

Before people ask, yes I do know about the other sites that are very similar to this. I got the idea around New Years and have been building it in my spare time. Even after other Kindle book lending sites launched, I figured I may as well finish mine anyway! Edit: Wow HN, you killed it! I'm upgrading the Linode now. If you can't get through, just try again later, thanks!

sjs382 16y ago
Does the Nook have the same "lend once" restriction that the Kindle does?
- bhousel 16y ago
  Yes, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble have the same restrictions on lending: You can lend a book one time for 14 days. You can't access the book while it is out on loan. Also, the book's publisher gets to decide whether or not the book is lendable in the first place. The restrictions are limiting, but I am hoping that by building a community where people can offer up their books for loan, somebody out there will be able to loan you a book that you want to read.
robinwarren 16y ago
anything different about your site? Are you targeting a specific niche to get more of a certain type fo book or anything? BTW, congrats on completing something, always a learning experience to get anything out there I think.
- bhousel 16y ago
  Thanks! Yeah I learned lots working on this project. I've got a bunch of other things planned too. There's nothing intentionally different about my site from the other ebook lending sites. I did try to make it as simple as possible. I have a feeling that there is space for a handful of sites like this, since Amazon did sell millions of Kindles this past holiday season. People may segregate themselves into communities of other like-minded readers. Actually you don't need a Kindle device to borrow or lend the eBooks. You can read the books on your computer or other device (iOS, Android, Blackberry, etc).

Spines11 16y ago

In Chrome, on your sign up and log in pages, the https has a red slash through it warning that the page contains unencrypted resources.

tcgore 16y ago

If this gets traction, how long until Amazon blocks your referral account? I hope they don't, but isn't this the most recent precedent?

vellum 16y ago

Change your copy to “Log In” and “Sign up Now”. Make the links stand out more. Lending Kindle books is non-obvious. Make an FAQ or a walkthrough. Make the copy something like this: “Don't know how to lend or borrow books on your Kindle? Find out“ The “Find out” part should be a button. Then once you're done with your explanation, make another call to action, “Get started today!” Get people engaged with your content on the front page. Look at Amazon's book section. They don't just start off by just listing books #1 to a billion. Put in some lists or categories, like top 10 books. Spotlight some popular books on the front page. Replace the “Find” link with "Browse" or "Explore", and make it stand out more. Put a search bar on every page. Put more decision-making information in the rows. Import the star ratings, user reviews, and some content information from Amazon.