Limundo is the
biggest and the most successful auction website for physical persons on the
teritory of Serbia. It is launched to enable the members of Limundo community
to buy and sell various items from each others. The website was launched in
2006 by brothers Nenad and Vladimir Nikolić, but the turning point in its
development was year 2009 when EUR 435,000 were invested in the project. Total
of 11 European companies (including Alegro Group, one of the world’s biggest
auction companies) invested in Limundo because they recognized the importance
of development of such system in Serbia. Vladimir Nikolić is still the owner
and the CEO of Limundo.
INNOVATION
Website Limundo has
about 45,000 registered users and 140,000 auctions every month. A new member is
registered every four minutes, while the number of listed items for sale
reached 25,000 on monthly basis. About 1m items, from napkin to dredge, have
been sold via Limundo since it was launched.
Limundo is primarily
intended for physical persons, so that, for the start, it is necessary for the
users to register and open the account. Registration is free of charge, and
since Limundo team wants to have quality and interested users, each new member
must pass a rigorous verification process. The process of checking the user
currently includes several segments: e-mail verification, mobile phone number verification
and ID card verification. In association with the police and the army, the
users are protected from frauds, illegal trade, as well as trafficking of
prohibited items (e.g. weapons, archive treasures, etc.). After the check, the
user can sign in and list the item he or she wants to sell and upload a photo,
description and starting price, which sometimes amounts to only RSD 10. The
Limundo members are the most interested in electronics and collectibles – numismatics,
philately, rarities. The user himself determines the duration of the auction
(maximum is ten days), which closes exactly at the specified time, so that the
last moments of the auction are always the most interesting.
Limundo is,
actually, a mediator between sellers and buyers, and the method for delivery of
items is specified in advance by the bidder – in person, by mail, via courier
service, etc. Limundo, as the
mediator, charges a certain fee to the user’s account, while the credit on
Limundo is topped up in the same way as the credit on mobile phone. For now,
the only option is to pay for the credit in a bank, but the options of
e-banking and m-payment by means of mobile phone will be introduced in the
nearest future.
The Limundo team set
several goals for year 2010. Introduction of so-called Limundo Cash is in the
pipeline, which has been tested on small sample group, but it is not in use yet
because of the complicated online payment procedure in Serbia. Limundo Cash is
a special virtual money that would be used for trading on the website and it
would represent the means for avoiding financial transactions. The final
payment would be done in usual way, via bank account. Also, Limundo wants to
develop a web page for mobile phones since the phones that are used nowadays
enable easy access to Internet. One step further is the development of SMS
service that would make it possible for the users to list the items for sale
and follow the auction via text messages.
SOCIAL UTILITY
The Limundo system stimulates
entrepreneurship among the members and animates them to produce and sell their
own products on the Internet. It enables all those who want to sell or buy
something at favorable prices to do that via Internet. In that way, it
stimulates the development of electronic operations and introduce them to the
citizens of Serbia. By becoming a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia
and the Chamber of Commerce of Belgrade, Limundo is trying to reach all
entrepreneurs and SMEs that find this method of sale interesting.
Limundo team
and all its members use the Internet and software as the base for their
operations. In that way, the impact on ecology is minimal. In addition, Limundo
team promotes the care of environment and planting of greenery through special
sections. Limundo also takes active part in all round tables and discussions
related to Internet operations, Internet security, etc.
Limundo’s quality is
confirmed by the following awards:
· the best e-commerce website,
E-trgovina 2007, Palić
· the best e-commerce project
of the year, wfest.org 2009.
· for the second year
in a row, Limundo was among top 50 websites in Serbia in 2009, based on the
research done by PC Press in 2010
.
COMMERCIAL SUCCESS
Thanks to the investment in 2009,
the Customer Service was introduced to provide support to all current and
future members of the Limundo community. This service is available seven days a
week, between 8 AM and 12 PM. In addition to providing all information on
auctions and resolving the misunderstandings, the Customer Service systematizes
users’ requests and forwards them to the programming sector that constantly
implements them and develops new systems.
The investment of EUR
435,000 was intended for the following:
- development of the
Customer Service, employment of new people and their training, opening of free
phone line with the aim of providing adequate support to all those interested
- security and
protection of data and verification of users
- development of the
website itself and the platform, as well as server support that enables
high-speed functioning of the website and processing of large quantity of data:
about 145,000 auctions per month
- development of
marketing and care of client who would promote e-operations in Serbia and
Limundo through various segments of PR and marketing activities.
Before the
investment, Limundo had 5 employees, while now it has 16. Before the
investment, according to Alexa, Limundo was not even among 100,000 most visited
websites, while today it ranks 21st for the territory of Serbia. It
is the 197th in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the 986th in
Croatia. Limundo has about about 1,000 successful auctions every day, and the
fee system is as follows:
4% for up to RSD 2,000
3% for up to RSD 20,000
2% for up to RSD 100,000
1% for over RSD 100,000
The tendency of
growth on Limundo is obvious – number of users in January 2010 grew by 45%. The
plan is that the website has about 150,000 members prior to the end of the year,
and three more new workers will be hired soon.
| 
| 
