68 Classifieds Blog

Site Showcase - Every Ounce Counts

Every Ounce Counts is Australia’s fresh, new on-line voucher website. It’s the free and simple way to start saving. With hundreds of offers available, start making your dollar go further today!

And to make life even easier, in an Australian first you can either print out vouchers or download them from your mobile phone. Currently, we’re focused on saving money for Queensland shoppers but have big plans.

First off I think the site looks fantastic. Who did you get to design it?

Thanks Eric. I had some work done in the initial stages by one of your members (Mike-N-Tosh), but the majority of the back-end modifications and front-end design was completed by Niche Studios here in Brisbane, Australia.

What made you decide to start a voucher website?

Back in January I was working as a construction supervisor on a railway project in Northern Queensland when the world economic crisis finally caught up to us. The government funding for the project was cut off and we were all made redundant overnight. Upon coming home and trying to figure out what to do for a living (options were very limited due to economy), things were getting thin in the back pocket.

The main factors that led to the initial concept:

It took me over 2 hours to find a decent voucher for cheap movie tickets and and a 2-for-1 dinner deal. (Happy wife = Happy life) We received over 200 pages of colored print junk-mail in the letter box in a single week. I researched printed advertising and “Shop-a-Docket” and found them to cost thousands for a single geographical area. I interviewed business owners in my local neighborhood and found that none can afford to even contemplate a “marketing budget”.

It looks like you put a lot of time in the site. What has been the biggest hurdle?

As I am sure is the case with most start-ups, the biggest hurdle is generally funding. Once the concept became more than scribble on hundreds of sheets of butchers paper, I knew that I needed an investor to really make a decent go of it. Luckily for me, there are still people out there willing to back a new venture even in uncertain times. (I think the product itself is more relevant at the moment than ever.)

Regarding the site development, I have had a relatively good run. Because we wanted to separate consumers and businesses, a lot of our focus was on developing the dual user group functionality. They both access the site the same way however ultimately have a completely different experience internally.

Some major features we have implemented are:

• Nationwide Listings - (show in searches regardless of geo)
• Dynamic suburb listing ­ postcode and suburb
• Dynamically print favorites list
• Improved statistics tracking for advertisers
• Count results in category listings
• Banner advertising in categories

And of course, we are developing our mobile site templates at the moment which are due in time for our November launch!

What’s with the UPC code in the lower right?

That QR code is there simply to raise curiosity It scans to www.everyouncecounts.com.au - We have been playing with QR codes to see how best to utilize them to enhance the mobile users experience.

What made you decide to go with 68 Classifieds?

To be completely honest, my original intention was to create the voucher site with the smallest budget possible. Your product also seemed to have the most features, and add-ons. You had the best reviews on the forums with regards to customer service, and - to be honest ­ my programming skills are very limited.

Are you happy about that decision?

I think overall, it has saved me a lot of money. Having the developer version as a core product to give to my designers would have saved them countless hours of work. And let’s face it ­ every ounce counts!

Thanks 68 Classifieds, Mike-N-Tosh, and the team at Niche Studios ­