EBay Alternatives, Finding Other Online Auction Sites

January 14, 2009 at 7:52 am · Filed under Useful Web Resources ·Tagged , , , , , , , ,

If you mentioned ecommerce to your grandmother or your crazy uncle Chester, who lives in a log cabin in Montana, then there’s good chance they’d think eBay.

It is certainly true that eBay is the biggest name in town when it comes to online auctions or ecommerce, with alternatives for eBay receiving almost none of the recognition outside of the immediate circle of netizines.

EBay is one of the internets many rags to riches stories. Started in a garage at the start of the 1995 dot com boom the company grew to the point where it’s IPO listing raised $60 million in September 1998.

The ability to buy and sell everything attracted many people, as did the numerous funny auctions, which gathered a lot of the media’s attention.

Things took a turn for the worst in the last few years with a series of policy changes. Changes which disgruntled sellers who have cast about alternative to eBay suspect were designed to attract bigger names to the company, shed some of the smaller sellers or get ‘more bites from the cherry’.

Here are some of the policy changes that eBay has gone through over the last four years:

  • Numerous increases in fees
  • Sellers are no longer able to leave neutral or negative feedback on buyers accounts
  • Pressure in Australia, the UK and now the US to get Paypal as the only electronic payment system on the site.
  • Higher volume sellers get discounts and added benefits for staying with the site
  • EBooks and other non-physical items can no longer be auctioned

As a result people have been casting about for eBay auction alternatives and eBay alternatives that could give an acceptable amount of eyes for less hassle and cost.

While traffic is always a concern, there is no shortage of eBay alternatives out there and just typing in eBay alternative to Google or yahoo will give you many results. As will a search for online auctions.

Then it’s usually a case of sorting through all the different listing platforms available and seeing if they are, A legitimate, B affordable and C will give you the right amount of converting traffic you need to make the move there worthwhile.

Here are some questions you might want to ask:

  • How long have they been around?
  • Are the people on this site likely to sell what I have to buy?
  • Which country does most of the traffic for this site come from?
  • Is the Internet Site a registered company, with a registration number, a street address and postal address and does it have an operating banking system in its country of origin?
  • What is their Alexa rating and/or page rank?
  • How many other listings are there in the categories you are interested in?
  • Are there are range of non PayPal payment options available?
  • How well is their site designed?
  • Is the customer service section easy to access and staffed by real people?
  • Do you have to actually have to set up an account to make an inquiry to customer service?
  • Does the site have a 24/7 customer service phone number and a either a live chat and or an email service?
  • Do both buyers and sellers have to be verified to avoid fraudulent practices?
  • Can you report sellers of fakes, stolen goods and ID theft or stolen credit cards to the website in a reliable and prompt manor?

Unfortunately not everybody has that kind of time. and while their are lists of online auction sites available like F*** eBay but they often leave you in the same position, with a list of sites that you need to check before they can even be considered as an alternative to eBay.

A wholesale dropship company called Chinavasion, which sells wholesale electronics thought it could go one better, and has put out a list of alternatives for eBay which attempts to answer some of the questions that you would need to ask before signing on with any ecommerce portal.

They say the list is dynamic and they have included contact address if you would like to see any site or any detail added or removed from the list.

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Sourcing Tips, 5 More Useful Reference Sites To Add To Your Arsenal

December 28, 2008 at 3:04 am · Filed under sourcing ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Phishing, bad service, customer theft, delayed shipments, non-delivery of goods, credit card fraud PayPal scams, change of color, change of function cancellation of orders.

It’s no wonder that there’s not more trust on the internet with ecommerce operators having to put up with this type of garbage.

Thankfully there’s a few tools at your disposal to sort the star performers from the snake-oil salesmen. They’re the right price too (free).

Fraudwatchers

Fraudwatchers is an excellent place to check if the company has been involved in any fraudulent activity

Others in a similar vein are Ripoffreport.com and Scam

EBay

While its value as a marketing mechanism and sales location is diminishing for small to medium-sized players Ebay is always a fantastic place to go to make sure that those fantastic bargains you’re considering aren’t overpriced. No sales or no-profit sales are likely to be the result.

Google Earth

Googleearth and Googl Maps are another excellent resource.

Checking out the satellite image of their address will let you know if your dropshipper is based in a factory, office building or residential apartment. For example the address from the support page on Chinavasion is a great example of this, there’s a commercial building tagged with their address. If they’re based in a residential building then tread with caution.

Their Own Website

If their website looks shoddy, bare or if it looks like too much of their photography has been ripped off another site then it’s best to avoid. After all, if they’re too cheap to take their own photos how are they going to treat your customers?

This is only some of the list. there are a few more at the source ( the Chinavasion blog)

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Sourcing Tips, 5 Useful Reference Sites To Add To Your Arsenal

December 26, 2008 at 3:02 am · Filed under sourcing ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sometimes it’s hard to know who to trust on the internet, especially if you are looking for a new supplier

Wholesale suppliers always like to sing their praises. They will even hide their true identity to try and sing their praises.

So what’s the real story? Is dropshipping a blessing or a curse and who should you believe?

Much like cooking the secret of finding a good supplier whether you’re looking for a wholesale dropship company or a bulk supplier; whether it’s electronics you’re dropshipping or clothes, is the preparation. You need to put spend just as much time preparing the source as you do getting the products.

In fact doing background research into potential wholesale dropship firms is often the difference between a successful partnership and a sunk business.

Here are 10 websites and internet services that will not only save you money when tracking down a wholesale dropship supplier but cost absolutely nothing to use:

Whois

You may think that the internet has nothing but anonymous entities it is in fact possible to check out who owns what URLs simply by using one of the many Whois services on the internet. Whois.net is probably the best known and by entering the URL of the dropship wholesalers in the Whois.net search bar you’re able to get the name of the site owner, see how long they’ve been running the business for and also see what other URLs they own.

Reseller Ratings

Resellerratings is a website where you can check out user reviews of sites and see what vendors like you think of products and how well they sell.

Dropship Forum

A UK based e-commerce forum, dropshipforum, has a fantasic section, dropship watch where you can check out to see if anybody else has had any unpleasant experience with a particular China dropshipping company or wholesale dropship company. Another forum which casts it’s net a little wider is:

The Wholesale Forums

What is it about the UK which makes them particularly fond of the dropshipping system. Thewholesaleforums is yet another UK-based dropshipping and ecommerce-related forum which casts its net a little wider than drop ship forum. There are more than peer reviews on wholesale dropship sources, there’s a whole raft of usefull information on the site.

Rateitall

Rateitall is the uber destination for reviews. Rateitall has reviews of China dropship companies, electronic appliances, phone companies, movies and many many more topics.

This is only some of the list. there are a few more at the source ( the Chinavasion blog)

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Drop Ship Management, How Small System Tweaks Can Lead To Big Revenue Gains

December 22, 2008 at 11:36 am · Filed under Dropshipping ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are you using a dropshipping wholesaler but not getting the results that you want?

Well, you aren’t alone.

Many eBay traders and online shop owners who have switched to a drop shipping supply chain management system have found that their customers often aren’t getting goods on time, items are damaged or different to the ones listed and the sites they are using have been less than honest with them.

This doesn’t mean that dropshipping is something you should avoid, but it does mean you can’t just sit back and ignore supply chain management completely, there are still things you will need to do to get your dropship performer to meet your expectations.

But what can you do to protect your profit margin and your reputation when using a dropshipping service?

Some things you should definitely consider doing include:

  • Stock items guaranteed to make money in a dropshipping system
  • Drop products and suppliers that aren’t performing well
  • Keep in contact your supplier
  • Have an inventory of products

Here’s a bit more detail on each of those points…

Stock items guaranteed to make money in a dropshipping system

A surprisingly large number of eBay traders and online store owners stock unprofitable items simply because they like them.

This can be avoided by asking some simple questions about the product. See if it stands up to these simple tests:

  • Can I buy this on this site for less than I would pay on eBay or at a store
  • Is it something that will sell profitably and well on my site?
  • Is it small and easy to ship?
  • Will it cause quality or legal-based problems for me?

Things like electronics and perfume fit this mold perfectly. When dealing with electronics you may also find that there is the added bonus of customers always wanting the latest products and upgrading frequently.

There are two directions you can go with electronics. One is to sell branded products like Apple iPhones, Sony PMPS or Cannon digital cameras, the other is to get wholesale electronicsThese can be usually found on B2B sites, with many of the necessary suppliers having pages (like this Chinavasion page on Alibaba, and this Chinavasion page on Global Sources). However it is important, when dealing with these companies to do as much reaserch on the company as you do on the products you want to stock. If not more.

Drop products and suppliers that aren’t performing well.

Monitoring a large number of things consecutively is difficult at the best of times, this is more so the case with dropship suppliers. It is far too lose focus and let a defective detective product slip through the cracks.

Cutting products on your list won’t only eliminate problem items it will also help you focus marketing more.

The process of trimming inventory is fairly easy, all you need to do is to go through records and see what items are giving you trouble. Two places you might want to look are:

  • Customer correspondence
    • Which products cause the most complaints?
  • Inventory lists
    • Which items aren’t selling well? Which items don’t make you any money?

Keep in contact your supplier

Letting anything run on autopilot in business is always a risky proposal. Drop shipping is a low maintenance supply chain management system. It isn’t a no-maintenance supply chain management system.

Regularly go over records from your shopping basket to make sure they are being filled in a timely manner. When there’s a problem get in contact with your dropshipper and find out what is going on, this can be done by email most effectively or through an onsite ticket. One example is the Chinavasion support page, although most dropshippers should have this type of function. Your wholesale dropship supplier is more likely to take more care of your customers if they can see that you care about them too.

Have an inventory of products

Another security measure you may want to make is to keep a small inventory of goods on hand just in case a shipment is delayed.

Good dropshippers will prevent customers being disappointed by things like product cancellations but some things, like the flash price crises in August of last year, can’t be planned for. EBay traders who have a small inventory of stock will be able to carry on business regardless but dropship customers who don’t risk the wrath of customers left waiting.

You may also want keep an eye on your dropshippers website to make sure the color, appearance or features of items listed on your store have not changed.

By tidying up loose ends with your inventory and practicing good maintenance techniques you should be able to watch your profits soar and your reputation strengthen.

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Ecommerce Web 2.0 Tools Everybody Should Know

December 20, 2008 at 8:53 am · Filed under Marketing ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So you have built the online shop, found the supplier to get the goods from and set up a cart and accounting system…

Now if someone would just come to your site and buy something.

It is one of the sad ironies of life that one of the reasons people often give for leaving a 9-5 job to set up their own website at home is they are tired of the traffic.

And that is exactly what they are looking for now.

Traditionally there were several ways to get this done:

  • Use the services of greedy business-savvy eBay or other puny growing online auction services.
  • Pay for ads through Google Adwords
  • Buy banner advertising
  • Write articles and comment on forums.

Thankfully, several new web 2.0 addresses have proved to be a hit with not only netizens but also search engines.

Web 2.0 platforms are a boon to smaller ecommerce operators. They don’t only allow you to bring more people to your site they also let you communicate with your paying and potential customers and build your service into one that is more targeted towards the people that buy your products.

There are several different types of web 2.0 platform that you, as an ecommerce operator, should be aware of:

  • Video platforms
  • Material hosting sites and blogs
  • Social bookmarking sites

Video sites

Rich media, like video didn’t even register on peoples’ radars five years ago but that has changed with the rise of YouTube.

Now the general consensus by marketers is that you risk ignoring video at your peril.

While YouTube is the undoubted king of video sites there is are many others on the internet with different benefits and different audiences, and it is often beneficial to release your video onto a number of different sites, much like wholesale electronics supplier Chinavasion has done. These are only two of the video sites online and a Google search will bring up many more results.

Good examples of this are the Chinavasion Metacafe page and Chinavasion Revver page.

Don’t forget, when making videos, short is sweet and including descriptions and tags is always essential.

Content Sites

There are a number of content hosting sites online including Squidoo, Hubpages and some of the document hosting sites on the internet as well as blogging platforms like wordpress and moveable type.

Blogs can be excellent content hosting solutions that constantly draw attention back to your site and your products. Some, like wordpress are useful in that you can either set one up that is hosted on their server (like http://goodecommercetips.wordpress.com) or download their software and plug it directly into your site. The Chinavasion blog is one such blog. There are plusses and minuses with both scenarios and it is a decision to weigh up carefully.

Social Bookmarking Sites

Once you’ve created content you’re going to need to get somebody to see it.

A good way to draw attention to your site, and to the resources you create for people is through social bookmarking sites.

These sites are basically ways for netizens to share sites that they think are interesting with other people and are loved by both netizens and search engines.

One popular example of this is stumbleupon, and a stumbleupon can create a lot of attention on its own right as seen by the Chinavasion Stumbleupon blog.

Social networking sites, like MySpace and Facebook are a different type of social bookmarking. While you can in fact use these to share your links with people they are also used to communicate with your customers, keep them informed of what is happening at your company and see what else is happening.

The new Friendfeed service is a great example of this, as seen by the Chinavasion Friendfeed room, with people sharing different links and discussing what they have found.

When putting items through social bookmarking sites it may pay to consider masking your actions a little by also submitting other links, particularly when using sites like Stumbleupon or Digg.

So what pitfalls do you have to take consideration when marketing through web 2.0?

There are two main concerns. The first is that you remain aware of your reputation online and the second is you take into consideration the time getting involved takes.

You develop a good reputation by providing great content. If something appears to be poorly written or lacking in useful information you risk getting a bad reputation.

Another way to ‘loose face’ is to fail to develop a relationship with customers On sites like YouTube, or in the case of Chinavasion Metacafe, check up on videos from time to time and answer any questions that clients and potential clients have. It doesn’t mean you’ve got to deal with every flamer or troll, in fact it is probably more beneficial to ignore the people who seem to be just posting a comment to get someone arguing with them.

Essentially if you cut corners or try to trick a customer it’s going to hit you hard in the long run. Treat people fairly and they will remain loyal to you.

Those are just some of the excellent web 2.0 posting tools out there on the internet that make great marketing tools for up and coming e-commerce operators strapped for cash.

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Here Come The Tips

December 20, 2008 at 4:50 am · Filed under Uncategorized

Wait for it………

Wait for it………..

Wait for it…….

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