How Richard Bell of UntilGone Built a Daily Deals Empire

If you had asked Richard Bell 10 years ago what he thought he'd be doing today, he probably wouldn't have said running four thriving online marketplaces.

Back in 2018, Bell and his wife acquired a struggling online marketplace that offered limited-time discounts on name-brand products. After re-platforming, using his technical expertise to build a custom backend, and rebranding it to UntilGone, this once underperforming marketplace transformed into a booming daily deals hub.

With the success of UntilGone, Bell saw the potential to further tap into this industry.

"After re-platforming UntilGone, we realized there wasn't any reason we couldn't run more than one store. We've acquired several stores since then and launched one of our own," explained Bell.

Today, Bell runs four successful daily deal marketplaces — UntilGone, Pick Your Plum, Daily Steals, and ShopHempDeals — all powered by BigCommerce and his custom-built backend.

"What differentiates a daily deal site from other storefronts is that we primarily run limited-time deals. We send numerous emails throughout the day containing those deals. Our goal is to have the best deals on the web," said Bell.

Through these different marketplaces, individuals, manufacturers, and vendors have the opportunity to resell products, while bargain hunters can find unbeatable prices on name-brand items.

UntilGone

Bell's introduction to the world of limited-time offer marketplaces began with UntilGone. After re-platforming the original site, UntilGone relaunched as a traditional daily deals store.

Through this marketplace, customers can buy a wide range of items, including electronics, home goods, clothing, and vehicle parts, and vendors can list them for sale.

UntilGone's diverse product line attracts a wide demographic of shoppers looking for high-quality name-brand products. The brand sends targeted promotional emails daily, ensuring customers receive tailored recommendations for deals that best suit their shopping preferences.

"We've got shoppers ranging from Gen Z to retired Baby Boomers looking for bargains. They're seeking places to buy where they're not getting destroyed by inflation and can still get branded products," explained Bell.

Pick Your Plum

After seeing such success with UntilGone, Bell and his wife decided to expand their daily deals business and acquire another marketplace. In 2022, the couple purchased Pick Your Plum, which specializes in boutique discount items.

Unlike UntilGone, Pick Your Plum offers a more selective product line with an emphasis on unique and stylish home decor, fashion, accessories, crafting supplies, and personalized gifts. Shoppers looking for niche products up to 85% off the original price can head over to Pick Your Plum, where new items are stocked at 6 am PT each morning.

"Pick Your Plum is more like a Jane store, so that's totally different from UntilGone, which is very much a traditional daily deal store," said Bell.

Similar to UntilGone, customers receive targeted promotional emails highlighting Pick Your Plum's latest deals so they can get a jump on fresh new picks.

"If you browse the Pick Your Plum site, over time, you'll start receiving targeted emails based on what you're engaging with," explained Bell.

Daily Steals

Shortly after revamping Pick Your Plum, Bell purchased Daily Steals in July 2023.

As a more traditional online marketplace, Daily Steals allows users to buy a wide selection of products, from electronics to home and office supplies. Daily Steals' emphasis on gadgets and electronics makes it a hub for tech enthusiasts seeking deals on name-brand products like MacBooks and Apple Watches.

As a newer addition to Bell's suite of marketplaces, Daily Steals has seen remarkable success since its acquisition.

"We relaunched Daily Steals in August of 2023, and sales skyrocketed in just a couple of months," said Bell.

ShopHempDeals

After successfully transforming three struggling marketplaces into thriving ecommerce stores, Bell knew it was time to open his very own daily deals marketplace. Taking advantage of BigCommerce's CBD partnership, he launched ShopHempDeals in the fall of 2023.

"In the fall of last year, we took advantage of BigCommerce's CBD partnerships and launched a CBD store called ShopHempDeals," said Bell.

ShopHempDeals is the ultimate destination for anyone looking to buy or sell hemp and CBD products at unmatched prices. This daily deals site offers a wide range of high-quality, pure products sourced from trusted brands.

The Final Word

With the help of BigCommerce, Bell has built a daily deals empire by transforming three struggling marketplaces and eventually launching his very own.

Thanks to the platform's ability to integrate outside technology through an API connection, each online store is effectively run and managed through his custom-built backend.

Bell knows that with BigCommerce's support, he'll be able to further expand his online marketplace business, creating endless opportunities for growth.

"We anticipate having more stores," said Bell. "My business works and has grown the way it should largely because BigCommerce does what it needs to do on the ecommerce side."

Want to learn more about UntilGone’s success on BigCommerce? Check out our case study for a deeper look at its transformation into a successful daily deals marketplace.