Press Room
Bidshot is "People's Choice" for e-commerce
December 22, 2005
Bidshot Dotcom Company, creators of the original text messaging-enabled auction site recently won the 2005 People’s Choice Award at the 8th Philippine Web Awards. Bidshot bested seven other websites to win the coveted award in the e-commerce category for websites that faciliate buying and selling over the Internet. An affiliate Crushcow.com, a mobile-enabled personals and matchmaking site, was meanwhile named People’s Choice in the e-services category.
“We are extremely pleased with winning the People’s Choice Awards at this year’s Webbys. Bidshot was indeed developed for people with a highly mobile lifestyle; who enjoy the Internet immensely, but for whom transacting via text is also second nature,” said Patrick Garcia, founder and managing director of Bidshot Wireless Services.
Bidshot was launched in 2000 amidst a texting revolution that was already in full swing in Manila.The company introduced an SMS-enabled on-line auction with seamlessly-integrated and convenient wireless features. On the Bidshot auction platform, users became enabled to bid for items, to be alerted for counter bids, to post messages for buyers and sellers, and to close deals all via text messaging. MMS features were introduced as early as 2002.
“But over the years, we also believe that the reputability of our buying and selling community has more and more to do with the popularity Bidshot enjoys . We merely provide a venue and facilitate trade with web and mobile technology that they are very familiar with,” added Garcia.
Bidshot.com took the concept of an auction site and mobile-enabled it in the most intuitive way, so that people with limited Internet access may continue to enjoy trade at auctions using only their cell phones.
An affiliate of the popular PC to mobile text messaging service Chikka.com, Bidshot has leveraged off proprietary suffixing and menu-based SMS technology to pioneer such wireless services as polls, interactive TV and corporate promos as early as 2000. A mobile enabler of on-line communities, the company recently partnered with indiatimes.com to launch its auction and mobile alerts platform for mobile subscribers throughout India beginning 2006.
