5 ms·

Ask YC: Feedback on our startup/application

17 points by prashantdesale 18y ago

http://www.onista.com On October 2nd we (I and two of my friends) released the Alpha version of our dreams, ideas and execution called Onista. We are extremely excited to release it in open alpha with tons of hard-work behind it. I and two of my friends completed this version in part-time (completely moonlighting) and now we feel that it is ready to get feedback from expert folks. So far we have informed only our friends/contacts so we can get feedback and iterate from there. Onista is an auction-less social marketplace where people can buy and sell products. Onista is an amalgam of eBay, PriceLine, LendingTree, Alibaba.com, and LinkedIn. Onista allows instant price negotiation and enables buying products without searching. Here is quick summary of Onista Features, 1. Auction-less format 2. Instant Real-time price negotiation resulting in Instant Gratification for consumer 3. Buyers can buy products without searching and hunting for products using Request for Quotes and Price Quotes model like Alibaba.com 4. Free listings for sellers 5. Sellers get open access to qualified sales leads and targeted product placements 6. Support for multiple payment systems (Paypal, Amazon etc..) 7. A Social Network to build trading communities and mitigate the propensity for fraud Please visit http://www.onista.com and enjoy the Onista Experience. To understand more about Onista, please do not forget to watch our Demo Video by clicking icon Demo Video on right-bottom corner of Onista index page. Alternatively you can also watch this video at http://www.vimeo.com/1594866 Please provide us feedback about how we should improve Onista. Any feedback is welcome. To give you an idea on what kind of feedback you can think of, (but again, any feedback will be appreciated) * What is your first impression of the home page and also other pages? * What was confusing and what was not in entire site * What is complicated to understand, and how we can do it better? * Would you use this site to buy or sell products? if no, why? what can we improve so it appeals to you? If yes, would you invite your friends to join? * We understand that we have lot more functionality for alpha version. Does it help or it confuses you more? We also need your much appreciated help in spreading the word. If you find Onista useful, please let your friends know by becoming member and inviting your friends from http://www.onista.com/invite.php If you still reading this portion (meaning Onista is little bit interesting) then please list some products to sell. Our initial goal is to get many products listed because unless there are products to sell, the site would not be very useful. If you need any help in listing products, Onista team can also help Thank you very much in advance,

Joe_Green 18y ago
I saw a link to one of my pages on this site. Some comments: 1. No, a patent search does not cost $10,000 although an infringmenet opinion or validity opinion can run that much. Most attorneys charge $500 to $1000 or so for a basic patentability search. 2. You cannot infringe a Patent that has not issued. The claims published in an application are not the claims that will necessarily issue - if they ever issue. 3. Even once issued, trying to analyze claim infringement by amateurs is a risky sport. Armchair claim analysis is invariably WRONG. Patent claims are often not as broad as they initially appear. 4. If you released this 40 days ago, you have one year from the date of first public use, sale, offer for sale, or publication, to get your patent on file (the "bar date") keep that date in mind. You may have already voided overseas rights. 5. Business method and internet business method patents are getting unusual scrutiny from the USPTO these days. So expect a long wait and extra costs to prosecute one of these Patents. Good luck with your project in any event.
sd 18y ago
1. To bid on your DVD player, I had to randomly guess the lowest price. The only reason I would pay more than the lowest price on Onista is out of frustration from having to guess the price. Unless the prices were wildly cheaper, I'd just go to eBay and "buy it now" and avoid the hassle. 2. Before you promote your site, get a copy editor. I am very cautious about paying - let alone registering - on sites that have lots of typos. 3. Cut out as many features as you can. This probably starts with the "social network." Not only is the sheer volume of options confusing, but it's also impossible to maintain such complexity with three part-time developers. There are a lot of broken links and titles that don't accurately reflect the content they link to (such as category links that say there are multiple listings, when there are in fact none, and vice-versa). I'd rather have one simple and well-done feature than 10 half-baked ones.
rksprst 18y ago
I don't see anything different than what ebay/craigslist offers. You mention a "social marketplace" and your front page says "Leverage the power of social networks" but I don't see any features that make your site social, or where I can leverage the power of social networks. You have a community tab where users can have events. Why would I use your site for events, why not evite, facebook, etc...? You should focus on one thing and do it well, instead of adding tons of features but neglecting your main focus. "Less is more", right? Bugs: 1. I just did a search for "car" and got no results. Although you clearly have a car for sale on the site. 2. The captcha on the register page doesn't load an image until I click on the "Try another Image" link. 3. In the community -> Questions and Answers, a search for "sell", "selling", and "fees" returned no results (in fact, nothing returned any results). Overall, I don't see any unique value created for the user. I'd love for you to tell me I'm wrong and point me to some features/aspects that I missed. (Maybe all the social features are still in development?).

Joe_Green 18y ago

I saw a link to one of my pages on this site. Some comments: 1. No, a patent search does not cost $10,000 although an infringmenet opinion or validity opinion can run that much. Most attorneys charge $500 to $1000 or so for a basic patentability search. 2. You cannot infringe a Patent that has not issued. The claims published in an application are not the claims that will necessarily issue - if they ever issue. 3. Even once issued, trying to analyze claim infringement by amateurs is a risky sport. Armchair claim analysis is invariably WRONG. Patent claims are often not as broad as they initially appear. 4. If you released this 40 days ago, you have one year from the date of first public use, sale, offer for sale, or publication, to get your patent on file (the "bar date") keep that date in mind. You may have already voided overseas rights. 5. Business method and internet business method patents are getting unusual scrutiny from the USPTO these days. So expect a long wait and extra costs to prosecute one of these Patents. Good luck with your project in any event.

sd 18y ago

1. To bid on your DVD player, I had to randomly guess the lowest price. The only reason I would pay more than the lowest price on Onista is out of frustration from having to guess the price. Unless the prices were wildly cheaper, I'd just go to eBay and "buy it now" and avoid the hassle. 2. Before you promote your site, get a copy editor. I am very cautious about paying - let alone registering - on sites that have lots of typos. 3. Cut out as many features as you can. This probably starts with the "social network." Not only is the sheer volume of options confusing, but it's also impossible to maintain such complexity with three part-time developers. There are a lot of broken links and titles that don't accurately reflect the content they link to (such as category links that say there are multiple listings, when there are in fact none, and vice-versa). I'd rather have one simple and well-done feature than 10 half-baked ones.

rksprst 18y ago

I don't see anything different than what ebay/craigslist offers. You mention a "social marketplace" and your front page says "Leverage the power of social networks" but I don't see any features that make your site social, or where I can leverage the power of social networks. You have a community tab where users can have events. Why would I use your site for events, why not evite, facebook, etc...? You should focus on one thing and do it well, instead of adding tons of features but neglecting your main focus. "Less is more", right? Bugs: 1. I just did a search for "car" and got no results. Although you clearly have a car for sale on the site. 2. The captcha on the register page doesn't load an image until I click on the "Try another Image" link. 3. In the community -> Questions and Answers, a search for "sell", "selling", and "fees" returned no results (in fact, nothing returned any results). Overall, I don't see any unique value created for the user. I'd love for you to tell me I'm wrong and point me to some features/aspects that I missed. (Maybe all the social features are still in development?).