Bob Shop, formerly Bidorbuy or bidorbuy.co.za (officially written as one word, all-lowercase; variations: bid or buy, Bidorbuy and Bid or Buy), is a South African e-commerce website based on an internet auction and online marketplace. Transactions on Bidorbuy are in South African Rand.
Bidorbuy (Bob Shop) was launched by Andy Higgins in August 1999 at the height of the dotcom boom, in South Africa. Initial funding and support was provided by Professor Yair Tauman, Professor Abraham Neyman, Mr. Danny Barnea, and Mr. Zohar Gilon. In 2000, it was made available in India and Australia. In 2001, after the dotcom crash, the Australian site was closed and the Indian website was merged with Baazee.com (which was sold to eBay in 2004[1]).
Bidorbuy.co.za became the largest online marketplace South Africa and Africa.[2] In 2010, it invested into PayFast,[3] a local online payment company, and 2014 into the e-commerce company uAfrica.com.[4] It merged with UAfrica, on August 2022 to form Bob Group.[5] In March 2023, UAfrica was rebranded as Bob Go and Bidorbuy as Bob Shop.[6]
Collectible items were the popular listings on Bidorbuy before it became Bob Shop, notably South African coins, stamps, antiques were listed on the platform. In 2008, Bidorbuy introduced auto listings, which attracted car dealerships to list on the site, making it one of the biggest online car shop windows in South Africa at the time. In the same year of 2008 Bid or Buy introduced property listing. Both were removed around 2022 and 2023.
Auctions. In the beginning, Bidorbuy featured only online auctions.
Buy Now. In 2001, Bidorbuy introduced the buy now format for selling items at fixed prices.
Classifieds. In 2005, Bidorbuy introduced a classifieds section where sellers can display items that may not lend themselves easily for sale on the internet, like second-hand cars, property and services.
Buy Now and Auctions with Make an Offer. In May 2015, Bidorbuy introduced a Make an Offer functionality, first for Buy Now and later on for Auctions, which allows buyers and sellers to negotiate the price.
Auctions with Buy Now. In November 2015, Bidorbuy gave sellers the option to include a Buy Now price in their auction listings.
On April 20 2010, It was reported that Bidorbuy launched BobPay-EFT an internet payment method that works with major South African banks: Absa, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank.[7]
Bidorbuy allowed registered charities and non-profit organizations to raise funds on the site. In 2009, charities raised over R425,000 through sales on this platform.[8]
The biggest amount, R300,100 was raised for the Ubuntu Education Fund through the sale of the last VW Citi Golf ever made for the general public by the seller Volkswagen South Africa.[9][10] In the same year, the Celebrities for Charities Auctions event was held on the site, in which 39 celebrities, most notably the archbishop Desmond Tutu, auctioned their time to raise funds for charities.[11] In 2011, several South African celebrities participated in the Celebrity for Charity auctions benefiting charities including Reach for a Dream and Johannesburg Child Welfare.[12]
In March 2016, the Vodacom Blue Bulls rugby team auctioned jerseys signed by the players on Bidorbuy.[citation needed]Samsung South Africa's The #SamsungHeroes online event, was organized on Bidorbuy in July 2016.[13]
Bidorbuy and institutions of higher learning collaborated to encourage entrepreneurship among young South Africans. Is claimed round 60 students of the University of Johannesburg, and Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurial Development participated in January 2010[14] and around 50 students of the Investment Society at the University of Cape Town (InvestSoc) participated in March 2010.[15]
According to Biztech Africa, Bidorbuy claims 20% of the people selling on its site makes a living though the use of the platform.[16]
