Category Archives: Usability

woman looking at mobile website on her phone.

Used-Line’s New Mobile Experience: User-Friendly, Lightning-Fast, and Stylish

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In today’s fast-paced world, mobile devices have become our constant companions. Whether we’re on the move, at a job site, or in the lab, having access to essential tools and resources at our fingertips is crucial. That’s why Used-Line, your trusted marketplace for new and used equipment in industries like test and measurement, Lab and Biopharma, and Semiconductor/PCB, is excited to introduce its new mobile experience. In this blog post, we’ll dive into the key features that make this mobile upgrade a standout, focusing on its user-friendly interface, seamless access to features, blazing-fast search speed, and stylish design.

User-Friendly Interface

The first thing you’ll notice when you visit Used-Line’s new mobile version is its intuitive and user-friendly interface. We understand that time is of the essence in your line of work, and the last thing you need is a complicated website. The revamped interface has been designed with simplicity in mind, ensuring that you can navigate effortlessly, even while on the go. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a first-time visitor, you’ll feel right at home.

Access Most Features Easily and Conveniently

Gone are the days of limited functionality on mobile websites. Used-Line’s new mobile experience allows you to access  the features you love from the desktop version with ease and convenience. From browsing product listings to messaging sellers and browsing the dealer directory, everything you need is just a tap away. No more waiting until you’re at your computer – you can now take care of business whenever and wherever you are.

Increased Search Speed

We understand that time is money, and that’s why we’ve put a strong emphasis on improving search speed in our new mobile version. Thanks to advanced optimization techniques, searching for equipment is now lightning-fast. With just a few taps, you can find the products you need, compare options, and make informed decisions in record time. Say goodbye to frustrating loading times and hello to efficiency.

A Fresh and Stylish Design

A visually appealing design is not just about aesthetics; it also enhances the overall user experience. Used-Line’s new mobile version boasts a fresh and stylish design that not only looks great but also makes navigation a breeze. Whether you’re browsing the latest equipment listings or managing your account settings, you’ll appreciate the modern and clean design that makes every interaction a pleasure.

Conclusion

With the launch of its new mobile experience, Used-Line reaffirms its commitment to providing you with the best possible platform for equipment trading. The emphasis on a user-friendly interface, seamless access to features, increased search speed, and a stylish design sets the stage for a more efficient and enjoyable equipment acquisition or selling process.
Whether you’re a seasoned industry professional or a newcomer looking for reliable equipment solutions, Used-Line’s new mobile version has you covered. Experience the future of equipment trading on your mobile device today and discover how this innovative platform simplifies your work, increases productivity, and enhances your overall experience. Visit www.used-line.com on your mobile device and explore the next level of convenience and efficiency in equipment trading.

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homepage update

Discover a Seamless Equipment Shopping Experience on Used-Line’s New Homepage

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Discover a Seamless Equipment Shopping Experience on Used-Line’s New Homepage

At Used-Line, we’re committed to providing you with a convenient and efficient way to find both new and pre-owned machinery across a range of industries. With our brand-new and improved homepage, we’ve taken user experience to the next level, ensuring that your journey to discovering the perfect equipment is simpler and more rewarding than ever before.

Simpler Design for Seamless Equipment Exploration

Our revamped homepage boasts a clean and intuitive design that places the power of equipment discovery at your fingertips. We understand that your time is valuable, and that’s why we’ve streamlined the design to make finding the equipment you’re looking for easier and more efficient. The enhanced search functionality allows you to quickly narrow down your options and locate the products that match your requirements precisely.

Whether you’re in the market for used test equipment, semiconductor process equipment, or biotech laboratory tools, our simplified layout ensures that you can effortlessly navigate through categories and listings, giving you a hassle-free experience from the moment you land on our homepage.

Special Offers: Unbeatable Discounts on Quality Equipment

We know that finding top-quality equipment at a great price is a priority for our customers. That’s why our new homepage includes a dedicated section for “Special Offer” products. These are items handpicked for their exceptional value, featuring reduced prices that you won’t want to miss. Whether you’re looking for used test equipment, semiconductor process equipment, or biotech laboratory tools, our “Special Offers” give you the chance to access high-performance machinery while saving on your budget. Keep an eye on this section for unbeatable discounts that can make a significant impact on your bottom line. At Used-Line, we’re committed to not only simplifying your search but also ensuring you get the best deals in the industry.

Top Models: Guiding Your Choices

When it comes to investing in equipment, knowing what’s tried and true can make a significant difference. That’s why our improved homepage proudly displays the “Top Models” section. If you’re seeking reassurance and reliability, this section will showcase the models that have earned their place as customer favorites. From biotech laboratory tools to semiconductor process equipment, we’ve got you covered with the equipment that has garnered trust and positive feedback from professionals like you.

A Convergence of Keywords: New and Pre-Owned Machinery

Whether you’re in need of used test equipment or you’re searching for biotech laboratory tools, our new homepage caters to all your needs. Our platform brings together the worlds of new and pre-owned machinery, offering a comprehensive range of options for your convenience. You’ll have access to the latest advancements in technology as well as budget-friendly alternatives that still deliver exceptional performance.

In conclusion, Used-Line’s revamped homepage represents our commitment to enhancing your equipment shopping experience. With a simpler design for easy navigation, the ability to discover featured products, and insight into best-selling models, our new homepage empowers you to make informed decisions in a user-friendly environment. Whether you’re exploring used test equipment, semiconductor process equipment, or biotech laboratory tools, you’ll find what you’re looking for with ease.

Explore our new homepage today and uncover a world of possibilities in the realm of new and pre-owned machinery.

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What is the D2D-InStock System, anyway, and how can it help me?

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The Used-Line D2D-InStock System Demystified

The Used-Line D2D-InStock System is a shortcut to finding equipment that you need urgently.

How does the D2D-InStock System work?

It’s really quite simple.

Really.

Let’s just have a chat about this – forget about technicalities, how-tos, and all the rest.

Instead, we’ll discuss a typical scenario that describes day-to-day business in the marketplace of used (and new) scientific and industrial equipment, including test and measurement, labs, semiconductor manufacturing, and more.

You are a dealer in used Test & Measurement equipment and one bright and sunny morning you get a call from a customer (let’s call him Bob) requesting – actually, demanding – five Agilent (now Keysight) 4396B RF Network/Spectrum/Impedance analyzers, including specific fixtures. Bob is not his usual calm self. He tells you he needs this equipment right now – in fact, yesterday – and can you ship immediately (if not yesterday)?

Keysight 4396B analyzer

Keysight (Previously Agilent) 4396B (from Keysight Technologies website)

The 4396B is now obsolete, but that’s Ok, you’ve listed it on Used-Line. But, here’s the rub. You have only one in stock right now, not five!

What to do?!

Fortunately, you have already finished your second cup of coffee of the day, so you are able to think relatively clearly. You know that there just has to be at least four Keysight 4396B analyzers somewhere out there in the marketplace, so who should you call? Certainly not Ghostbusters. (Oops, I’m dating myself!)

So, you get out your lists. Long lists of companies who sell new and used equipment. Phone numbers. Email addresses. All dealers like yourself. You gather your troops, asking everyone to join your search. Everyone is eager to lend a hand. They’re a dedicated crew. Well, that’s nice that you have such amenable staff, but how many hours are you all going to spend emailing and calling everyone you know in the business, trying to find these elusive analyzers?

Wait a minute! What is that new Used-Line D2D InStock System all about? Isn’t there some sort of buddy system I can use to check all over the world for the availability of these Keysight analyzers?

Well, yes, there is! And here’s the really simple part of it all! USED-LINE does all the work for you! Ok, almost all the work. There is just one small task you need to perform to contribute to this workflow in order to make it work:

Tell us what equipment you are looking for!

And that’s it. And here’s the one and only instruction that I have to give you:

Send an email to system1@used-line.com telling us what equipment you urgently need.  email

And that’s it! No need for any tables or spreadsheets. Just email us and tell us that you need 4 Keysight 4396B analyzers.

And don’t forget to mention which fixtures or other options you need with the units.

And then what?

man_happy_equipment_found

You go get another cup of coffee, and when you return to your desk, there is a strong chance that there’ll be an email from Used-Line waiting for you to let you know that there are sellers out there who have the equipment you need IN STOCK! Ok, maybe not if you were looking for a rare machine that was last seen in 1960 (a Tektronix 310, anyone?). But if not right away, if someone is selling what you need, you will hear about it from Used-Line SOON if not immediately, and will find all the information you need to contact the sellers.

 

No searching required by you. Used-Line does all the work! And so quickly! We also want to make Bob happy!

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Let Used-Line Visitors Click Directly Through to Your Product with our Premium Items Add-On!

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Used-Line dealers can promote their products and bring more potential buyers to their equipment listings with one or more of our special marketing Add-Ons. Each of our three Add-Ons offers a unique function that will enhance your advertising on Used-Line. Let’s take a look at Used-Line’s Premium Items Add-On.

Premium Items Add-On

The Premium Items Add-On refers to a Used-Line listing that includes a large arrow pointing to a clickable thumbnail of your item’s  page on your website.

How Premium Items work

Imagine a user looking for a particular item on Used-Line. Suddenly he notices a clickable thumbnail embedded in one of the listings of this item, which links directly to the item’s product page on the seller’s own website! This valuable Add-On, available at our special low cost, will literally bring our users to your doorstep.

How to add Premium Items to your listings

  • If you have purchased your listing plan on the Used-Line SELL page:
    1. Click Start Selling under For Large-Volume Sellers.
    2. Select the Premium Items checkbox.

Used-Line Add-Ons: InStock Icon, Premium Items, Featured Items

Used-:Line Add-Ons

 

 

 

 

All your ads will be shown on Used-Line with a large arrow pointing to the the clickable thumbnail that links directly to your item’s product page on your website.

  • If you purchased your listing plan by consulting with a Used-Line representative, you may have chosen to make some of your items Premium – but not necessarily all.

To tell the system which of your products are Premium Items:

  1. Send an Excel Spreadsheet to data@used-line.com. Include all the columns as described on our website, making sure to include a column labelled, Link.
  2. Enter a link to the item’s product page in the column labelled Link, next to each item that you wish to make into a Premium Item. A thumbnail will be embedded into each of your Premium ads. The thumbnail will link our users to the item’s product page on your website.
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A Great Way to Promote Your Products: Try our Featured Items Add-On

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Used-Line dealers can promote their products and bring more potential buyers to their equipment listings with one or more of our special marketing Add-Ons. Each of our three Add-Ons offers a unique function that will enhance your advertising on Used-Line. Let’s take a look at Used-Line Featured Items.

Featured Items Add-On

A Featured Item is a Used-Line listing that includes the following three special benefits:

  • Your product listing will appear at or near the top of page results when searched for on Used-Line.
  • You can include up to 5 images with your product listing.
  • You can edit your listing at any time – there is no need to wait for the Spider to scan for changes or for you to send in a spreadsheet with the changes.

Featured Items

Featured Items go to the top of a search list

How to purchase Featured Items

  • If you have purchased your listing plan on the Used-Line SELL page:
    1. Click Start Selling under For Large-Volume Sellers. Select the Featured Items checkbox.
    2. From the drop-down box, selected the number of items you would like to feature: 10, 25, 45, 65, or 85.
  • If you purchased your listing plan by consulting with a Used-Line representative, let your representative know how many Featured Items you would like to purchase. You can contact your representative directly or email sales1@used-line.com.

TIP: You can also – at any point – purchase up to 5 Featured Items on the Used-Line SELL page under For Occasional Sellers. The products you advertise in these ad slots become Featured Items.

How to create Featured Items

After you have purchased your Featured Items:

  1. Choose the My UL menu at the top of any page on Used-Line, and log in to Used-Line if you haven’t already done so.
  2. Click My Ads in the menu on the left side of the page.
  3. Select the My Auto Ads tab for a list of all the products you have uploaded to Used-Line.
  4. Select an item you want to Feature, then click the Feature This Ad button alongside this item. Do the same for all the items you wish to Feature.
  5. Switch to the My Manual Ads (Featured Items) tab, then edit each item as desired.
  6. Enter up to five images for each Featured Item in the spaces provided for them.
  7. Click Save.

 

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Two More Used-Line Usability Gems + One Tip

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Do you remember my recent post (December, 2013), Used-Line Usability Gems? Where I ‘fessed up that I work for Used-Line.com? And I did say that we have more gems, right? Well, here are three more that our smart web people have developed..

    • Search suggestions include Manufacturers’ names. Let’s say you’re searching for a Leeds and Northrup 4210, 1 ohm resistance standard. You enter the model number, 4210, in the Find Category or Model# box on the top right side of any page on the Used-Line website. The results show that there is a significant number of model 4210’s on Used-LIne. You probably don’t need the Fluke DC 4210 power supply. The Boonton 4210 watt-meter may be useful, but that’s not really what you’re looking for. But wait, there it is! 4210 – Leeds & Northrup is one of the search suggestions that came up.

      MFR shown in search results

      MFR shown in Used-Line search results

      With the inclusion of the manufacturer’s name in your search results, you can quickly find exactly what you were searching for.

    • Ordering directly from the dealer: Some of our dealers have taken advantage of our new Directly From Dealer button. When a buyer opens an ad listed by a dealer using this functionality, he is given the option to purchase directly from the dealer without filling out any forms on Used-Line – thus reducing the number of steps required to complete his transaction. The buyer simply clicks on a thumbnail image that takes him to the specific listing on the dealer’s website. (Click the image below to view this actual ad on Used-LIne.)

Order directly from dealer.

Ordering a product directly from a dealer.

    • Moving up the ranks in Used-Line search results: And here is our tip for the week. It is a tip for promoting your ads on Used-Line. I’m sure you’ve noticed the featured ads with photos, in a row of four mini-banners at the top of a category’s listings page. Featured Items is a special upgrade that you can purchase from Used-Line. (See the page on becoming a member.) What you may not realize about Featured Items is that the mini-banner at the top of the page is not the only benefit you get from this upgrade. You also get to send your ad uprank (I made that word up) in the list of search results (possibly to the top!) when users search for the item you wish to sell. For details on how this works, view the Used-Line video on Featured Items.

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How to Increase Your Rank in Used-Line Searches

Look out for more usability gems in future blog posts!

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Used-Line Usability Gems

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I work for Used-Line.com. You didn’t know that, right?

So, despite the fact that I am a Used-Line employee, until recently, I had not kept up 100% with ALL the exciting developments going on – particularly on the Used-Line website. I’m not talking about massive, life-changing changes, but rather, the small little niceties that I’ve come across lately, or which have been pointed out to me by co-workers.

And here they are.

  • A new search box. In an earlier blog, we discussed searching for equipment on Used-LIne, and how you can easily drill down to the specific model or category you need. Now our developers have added an additional search box to the home page, conveniently located beneath the BUY link. A small addition, but high up on the scale of good usability, in my opinion.
  • A social media bar.  Take a look at what is new on Used-Line’s LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and blog pages with direct links on the social media bar at the bottom of any page on the Used-Line website. Or share an ad on one of your own social media pages, using the share button on the bar. How about sharing your company’s ads? Then when you’re done, simply click the down arrow on the right side of the bar to close the bar.
  • A recently enhanced Dealer Directory.The upgrades to the Dealer Directory let you configure your search for a dealer in such a way that you can fulfill all your specific requirements. For example, if you require a dealer in a particular location, whose offerings include timers and counters from a specific manufacturer, and you would like to lease the equipment, you can restrict your dealer search to those specific boundaries; thus drilling down quickly to your best chance at finding the equipment you need.There’s much much more to write about the Dealer Directory but not in this space. Mmm… maybe the Dealer Directory warrants its own blog post !

  • Search box
  • Dealer Directory filter
  • Dealer Directory Brands filter
  • Dealer Directory Rentals filter

We’ve got lots more gems. More next time!

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