paypal

BOTW - dealing right with hassles

Marketing Fan — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 16:44:46 +0200

Just today I received a very polite mail from the Best of the Web directory that I booked a link in last year saying

BOTW mail wrote:

Per your cancellation request, the following listing(s) will automatically expire from the Best of the Web Directory within the next 12 hours …

WTF – I did not cancel! and I don’t want my matured link from that 1994 domain go down!

Just when I checked it, the link WAS down… so that’s that “within” word …

I mailed back that I want to keep that listing and that I did not cancel…

hours later (euro timezone vs. US timezone) I got a mail saying, that I cancelled my paypal subscription back in April and that I can gladly signup for the new rates (which are a lot higher than last year as BOTW improves it’s authority and trust status)

BOTW wrote:

Unfortunately, PayPal does not allow cancelled subscriptions to be reactivated, so I’m afraid you are going to have to visit http://botw.org/submit/ and re-submit your website at our current rates.

To avoid this from happening in the future, you may want to choose our $149.95 one-time review fee, or submit using a credit card. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

well – that was kind of a canned text in that mail and I was really setup… I felt threatened.

Just because the paypal service sucks, the BOTW service should suck as well… that kind of finger-pointed really turned me off.

PayPal once again cancelled a subscription, just because I changed the credit card info back in April… ok – does anyone by the way UNDERSTAND why paypal sucks so much in changing billing info to cancel all payment obligations in advance, before trying to rebill them ? it sucks – for me, my clients and now it sucks for BOTW

Well, after mailing them back about my disappointment something unexpected happened.

They called me back ! Yes, somebody did care. And we spoke.

And apparently the folks at BOTW weren’t aware to that extend that PayPal subcriptions get cancelled all the time when payment info changes…

I spoke to the account manager we both found ourself in a position to understand the other’s point. In fact I made some suggestions on how some days of coding for the BOTW system could improve their customer retention rate… all they need to do is handle that paypal cancel notification and mail their clients what I usually mail mine…

Customer Retention mail wrote:

“hey – we got a subscription cancel – was that intentionally because you dont need the service anymore, or did you just change your billing info???”

not less than 50% of my own clients get back and say Hey – I want to keep that .. I wasn’t aware that PayPal cancels my subscription…

well… long story short, BOTW gave me a nice promo discount for re-signing up – not for one, but for FIVE sites – which was a really nice gesture… and I could use it not only on the annually subscription, but on the one-time fee- which actually pays for itself in the second year according to their new pricing model…

Expecting a bad customer service, I already prepared for a hate-post about BOTW today – but as you can see – a prompt reaction, fast clearup of positions and a nice gesture and I’m back in… with MORE business than I was before…

That’s how you should do it… right – did you read that

VOIPBuster ?

eBay Express

Marketing Fan — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 12:51:09 +0200

eBay Express

eBay launched their new product eBay Express in spring - and it's pretty different to what we knew as eBay ... read about the differences, requirements, advantages and chances for you. Sellers have high expectations from eBay Express, eBay plans a launch of eBay Express in the UK and eBay developers will even get new features for eBay Express ... so time to look at this product!

eBay Express - the new face for eBay

eBay Express is the attempt of eBay to provide a online shopping experience that customers are already used from "traditional" e-commerce shopping sites. eBay Express was made for the busy consumer who wants new/used/hard-to-find-products and doesn't want to wait after bidding ends on an auction.

It is in a sense the same as a Buy it Now feature already available in eBay. In fact, the same listings eBay appear in eBay Express too. However, the seller has to meet certain criteria to get the products he list on eBay appear on Express. He/she also must not opt out from the option of getting his/her products listed in the new site.

They have a sleek new design at eBay Express, where buyers can make category wise search for products. Though eBay Express is mainly for new products, you can shop for antiques, used products,

A buyer can add different products to his or her shopping cart and pay for it on a single checkout process. To get eBay Express Buyers Protection, the shopper must pay using Paypal and through the Express site only.

eBay Express listings come from professional sellers. All of the rules, terms and conditions are same as that of eBay.com. The difference is that there is no bidding for auctions setup.

It's as simple as 1-2-3

Find the product(s) you want,
use your paypal account to pay different vendors in one click,
wait for the product to be shipped to you.

You can lodge complaints under the specific Buyer Protection Policy for eBay Express, if you get a defective product. I assume that this special protection is paid more attention to then the normal complaints from buyers.

Seller qualification for eBay Express

The seller does not have to do anything special to list his/her products in eBay. The main qualification criteria include a high positive public feedback (98%) with minimum 100 feedbacks from buyers or sellers. The merchant also has to accept PayPal payments and your account set to ship to unconfirmed addresses. eBay Express is currently available for US market only.

eBay Express Seller requirements

Unlike with original eBay auctions, eBay Express sellers need to provide a return policy. Publishing a photograph of the product, specifying postage charges and willingness to send the product to unconfirmed addresses in US are other requirements. If you have customers from international locations, they will have to purchase your products through eBay.com and not through eBay Express.

There is however no direct way to differentiate yourself from a bunch of sellers trying to sell products in your same category. Products are searchable on a variety of criteria.

Categorizing your product as detailed as possible is the best way for customers to find your products. It is also essential to build strong credentials as a reliable eBay power seller. In fact this qualification criterion is a blessing in disguise. If your products are listed in eBay Express, your potential customers instinctively know that the products come from reliable sources.

That means you are actually already a credible person the moment your product is listed in eBay Express.

Tools for Buying and Selling on eBay

Marketing Fan — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 10:08:50 +0200

EBay Buyer Tools

First Buy, then sell

Becoming a buyer is the first step before you start selling through eBay.

eBay Express

It is quite a democratic society, where the feedbacks from buyers and sellers are the most useful tool to protect both parties from fraudsters. Your confidence will further rise with eBay Express, where only sellers with a very high positive feedback are featured. eBay express is also the place where you can buy fixed price products relatively quickly. You also have the option to purchase items from different buyers and pay for them in a single step.

Proxy Bidding

You will often see items that capture your imagination in eBay, where prices are mostly decided on an auction system. You see the price low and you will place a bid, in the hopes of a good deal. You think you will win the bid till the last minute. It is quite an embarrassing situation to see an unsuspecting sniper successfully shooting your product in the last 3 seconds, leaving you dumb. What if you have a proxy bidding system that will bid for you while you sleep?

eBay Proxy Bidding System allows you to set the highest amount you are willing to pay for a specific item. The proxy bidding system will bid for you up to the maximum amount you are willing to pay, through gradual increment over your competitor. Auction Sniper (http://www.auctionsniper.com/) is a third party proxy-bidding tool that helps you get the product you want. You have to pay up to 1% of the bid as fees.

eBay Toolbar and my eBay page

eBay too has some buyer tools like the eBay Toolbar.

The eBay Toolbar is a free buying/bidding tool from eBay. This desktop item allows you to keep a watch list of items you are bidding for.

My eBay page is another convenient option to save your eBay favorites - searches, sellers and products or categories.

Safe eBay Transactions with PayPal

You can use eBay and Paypal account for buying and selling through eBay. The password to both sites need to be securely protected. eBay offers a guarantee for transactions up to a certain value if they are paid with PayPal.

Beware of Phishing Attacks

Have you too come across the term phishing attack before? It is the attack that some scrupulous party will send you an email in such a form that the email comes from eBay or Paypal. Don't open emails from eBay too - you can read emails addressed to you by eBay at My Messages page follow this option for safety.

Don't click in eMails - never ever!

If you receive an email from Paypal, read the content and don't click any link on it, instead type in paypal.com in your web browser and log in using your email and password. It is also to be noted that just don't click on any links to Paypal from any website. Go to paypal.com to learn more about online security - http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/fraud-prevention-outside. I also mentioned the topic phishing mails in my tech blog recently and even two years ago when I received the first paypal scam mails

Commonsense rules? no way.

In most cases sellers and business people think that commonsense rules. Experiences prove it wrong. It is always safe to keep a skeptic mind, especially if you see an offer at eBay too good to be true.