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What In The World Are Reciprocal Links?
No one told me how important traffic was when I first started working online. To me, a neophyte to the internet marking thing, traffic was something that I was avoiding by working from home, now all of a sudden I needed this stuff.
Traffic, I...
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Five Simple steps to your first eBay sale!
It’s surprisingly simple to get started posting your very first auction on eBay. Here’s what you need to do.
Step 1: Open an eBay seller’s account.
If you’ve bought things on eBay, then you already have an account – just log in with it and...
Make Online Auctions a Home Business
Everyone is aware of online auctions nowadays. We all know someone who has bought or sold something on an Ebay online auction site. But how many people know that this hobby can be turned into a profitable business? The fact is ...
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Free Program Removes Spyware not Detected by Premium Security Scan
What is Spyware? Spyware monitors your surfing habits and sends the data off to some remote server in cyberland. Your computer can get infected with spyware easily by visiting a web page or installing a software program. Kazza is a...
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Taking Orders Online - Are You Portraying the Right Image?
Be sure to make it easy to order. Make sure you SAY exactly how
you want prospects to place their order. Don't just simply put
an "Add to cart" button on your site. Spell it out. Say, click
on "Add to cart" below to order or call our toll-free number
anytime.
If you want people to order online, make sure you have an easy,
secure online ordering system in place. PayPal is an excellent
option. Many consumers prefer to use PayPal - it is a safe,
convenient way to pay for purchases online. In fact, PayPal
boasts they are the number 1 choice for making payments online.
Opening a PayPal account won't cost you a dime. It's also a snap
for your prospects to open their own account if they choose to
pay through PayPal. I'm not sure why a business wouldn't include
PayPal as one of their payment options. There is a benefit to
having more than one choice for a payment. People buy with
different methods. Some people absolutely love charging on their
credit card. So be sure to give these types a convenient method
for doing so...
You may accept credit cards on your site by investing in a
merchant account with Authorize Net or another reputable
provider. A merchant account will enable you to accept credit
cards online and to type in a credit card number from a customer
given to you by mail. It will cost to set-up a merchant account,
but the cost will most certainly pay-off in the long run.
You can also set-up an account to allow people to pay via
electronic check through a company like ElectraCash. In
addition, I'd suggest allowing people to pay by mail (checks or
credit card). This is especially important if you offer a
high-priced item or service. What reason would you ever have to
refuse a bona-fide payment method? Heck, let them come give you
cash if they want. Money is money.
Now let's move on to fulfilling your orders.
You can set-up a simple system where digital products are sent
out immediately. It's quite simple to do using an autoresponder
or shopping cart system. For tangible purchases, you can use a
fulfillment company or do it yourself. I usually ship purchases
made by credit card the next day, regardless of whether the
money has been deposited, unless there is reason to be suspect
of the order.
Here are a few reasons to be suspect of an order...
The shipping and billing address are different. In these cases,
you may want to give the customer a ring. Simply call them to
confirm the order. They will greatly appreciate this.
The order is a high volume order. In these instances you may
also want to call the customer to
confirm that they really meant
"10" and not just "1" (of course you don't want to say it quite
like that).
Your customers will value all of this effort.
Here's another important point. Be careful of orders placed from
certain countries.
It might not seem fair, but after I personally had a $2,000
fraudulent order placed from Nigeria, I watch out. A chargeback
like that can cost you your merchant account, so just be
careful. Remember, always make sure the address matches the card
holder's address before shipping anything out or call to verify
it if it doesn't.
Put your interests in the equation Also remember to watch out
for your interests by making sure you have a Fraud prevention
system in place if you plan to accept credit cards. Merchant
accounts through Authorize Net will automatically reject cards
when the address, name and number do not match. If you use
Authorize Net, you can customize your account to provide you
with the level of security you want (I'd suggest setting it to
high).
If ever a customer is having problems placing their order online
because their card is rejected, you will naturally want to help
them. After all, you want to help them purchase from you. But
chances are good that there may be a valid reason why the credit
card was declined. It is also possible that the customer may
simply need to update their address with the credit card
company. Offer PayPal as an option in these instances.
Secure and professional If you offer online ordering make sure
the webpage you expect customers to enter their credit card
number into is secure. People recognize the yellow lock symbol
at the bottom of secure pages and trust VeriSign or other
security enabled pages. Many people simply refuse to type their
credit card info into a page without these features.
A simple, easy way to get this type of security is to use
1ShoppingCart.com. They will provide you with a very
professional order form that you simply link your web pages to.
Customers may pay via PayPal, your merchant account (if you have
one), or by check online (again, if you have an account) if you
have a 1ShoppingCart account. It's easy and reliable. They have
a variety of plans to choose from.
Copyright © 2005 by L A Parmley. All rights reserved.
About the author:
Would you like to learn how to start increasing your profits by
creating a unique image for your small business or professional
service? Discover how by visiting Positioning
Tactics and sign up for our free ecourse (Value $37)
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