Shopping Cart Solutions

Posted July 18, 2010 by in Blog | No comments yet

Choosing the best shopping cart solutions for your launch into ecommerce is critical to the success of your online business. If you’re wanting to learn more about this sometimes confusing world, this guide will explain the points you should consider before purchasing a cart.

If you’re currently in the market for software or services and would like our recommendations, Please check our NextAge Shopping Cart software at http://www.nextagecart.com . They have a Powerful SEO Shopping Cart Script

What is a shopping cart?

In a basic definition, it’s a series of scripts that keep track of items a visitor picks to buy from your site until they proceed to the “checkout”. A popular misconception is that shopping carts handle the whole financial transaction, but they only really act as a front end which passes information via a secure connection (another service) to a payment gateway – a separate service altogether.

The payment gateway service then channels the requests and transfers throughout relevant financial networks, including the Internet merchant account with your bank. It then sends back confirmation or denial back to the shopping cart software. For further information on the “back-end” aspects of ecommerce; The good news is that there are literally hundreds of shopping cart packages available. The bad news is the same as the good. Sometimes, too many choices make it very difficult to make a decision – especially when all companies claim to have the superior product. I recently experienced this challenge by reviewing over 130 shopping cart programs. I hope this article may make your life just a little bit easier!

Free or premium shopping carts?

It’s very important before you begin reviewing software and services to be to be very specific in what you actually want the cart to be able to do. It may be that you really don’t require all the bells and buzzers offered by high end packages – if this is the case, then a good package will cost around the $US150 mark. Some companies offer free shopping carts, but bear in mind that nothing in this world is truly free – read the fine print.

Free ecommerce solutions

One of the best free ecommerce solutions around is Paypal, which integrates basic shopping cart functions with a payment gateway and merchant account – funds are paid to you via check or through direct deposit. Paypal is an excellent way to begin in ecommerce and is very widely accepted around the world.

You only pay a small percentage of each sale and there are no monthly fees or setup costs, plus you receive free fraud protection – no chargeback fees to worry about. Paypal also offers web developers a wide variety of easy to use tools to assist with rapid implementation.

What other features do shopping carts have?

Shopping cart software has come a long way in recent years, and many packages are so advanced that they are in effect entire store fronts. Some integrated elements of benefit to your online business you may wish to consider include:

Suggest sell/cross selling functions

Just as in the physical world, impulse buying via the Internet is quite common. Some shopping carts will suggest another product to complement a customers current selection. If offered at a discount rate, this strategy proves quite successful.

Quantity discounts/coupons

Many shopping carts now allow for the calculation of discount rates based on the number of units a customer wishes to purchase. Coupon functions allow you to issue special offers as part of your marketing campaigns. Usually, prospective clients are given special codes that are matched against a particular item or overall discount rate.

Autoresponders

If you follow up all your clients with regular email offers, you may want to consider shopping cart software that has integrated autoresponder capabilities – this will streamline your operations and can be used for maintaining other contact lists as well. Why buy two pieces of software when you can get them rolled into one?

Affiliate modules

One of the most effective, low cost ways to advertise your product is through an affiliate program. Your outlay is minimal if you only pay on performance; i.e. sales generated. An affiliate module can handle the signup process, provide statistics, streamline communications and keep track of payments to be made to affiliates.

Other features commonly incorporated into carts include inventory tracking, sales tax calculation and stationery creation/management.

There’s a number of questions you’ll want to ask yourself when compiling a shopping cart wish list:

What kind of shopping cart does my hosting service support?

Shopping cart scripts are written in many different coding formats – PERL, PHP, ASP just to name a few. Be sure to check with your host before purchasing a program. If you’re currently in the market for software or services and would like our recommendations, Please check our NextAge Shopping Cart software at http://www.nextagecart.com . They have a Powerful SEO Shopping Cart Script

What is my budget?

It’s easy to blow your budget on a turbo-charged shopping cart only to find that there were a number of other critical items you didn’t factor in – like a payment gateway, or the fact that the cart software may be so complex that you need to hire somebody else to assist in implementation!

What kind of delivery mechanisms will I require?

If you are selling hard goods that need shipping, choice of cart is a little easier as this is a standard function. Many carts also offer customers the ability to calculate different shipping options. If you are trading in soft goods such as software and want to make delivery available online immediately, you’ll need to carefully compare carts.

As an example, some shopping carts that are capable of delivering goods online redirect customers to a static download page after a successful transaction. This isn’t a good idea as the customer (and his/her friends) are able to return to the page to download again and again. A better equipped shopping cart will only provide customers with a temporary URL, that will be unique to that customer and may only be available for a few hours after purchase before it is deleted.

Another strategy employed by some carts for soft goods online delivery is to use a static URL for downloading, but scripting is implemented to ensure the visitor to the page has come via the shopping cart after a successful transaction has occurred.

Yet another soft goods delivery means used by carts is that the software is attached to an email sent to the customer after a successful transaction. This may be suitable for very small files, but I don’t think many ISP’s would appreciate you sending 20 megabyte attachments to a customers inbox – in fact, it would not be possible in many instances.

Where will my business be in 6 months time?

Does the package allow for scalability? While you may not require bells and buzzers now, as your business grows you may find that your needs change. The better shopping carts are in a modular format which allow for scalability with minimum downtime. Be sure to check the prices of modules you may need in the future. It isn’t uncommon for companies is to offer the base model for next to nothing and then to charge like wounded bulls for any upgrades.

Is the cart software compatible with my payment gateway?

There are dozens of different payment gateways which plug into various shopping cart packages – but perhaps not yours! Before purchasing your cart, also review gateway services supported by the software (and also make sure that the payment gateway is compatible with the Internet merchant account you have with your bank). It can be a bit of a challenge getting the cart you want to talk to the gateway service you want and also to your bank! Read our guide to

What kind of payments are supported by the cart?

Credit card transactions are now a normal part of our online world. If your shopping cart software does not support credit card transactions or if you have not enabled credit card processing, you’re in trouble – you may as well just close up shop!

There are still some customers who will refuse to use a credit card over the Internet, so you will need to be able to offer other forms of payment – e.g. money orders, echecks etc.

What about disaster planning?

A good shopping cart application will have excellent support for backing up files and allowing for export into a variety of formats. Flexible exporting functions will also be of value in the future should you need to change carts and wish to import existing data into a new application. If you’re currently in the market for software or services and would like our recommendations, Please check our NextAge Shopping Cart software at http://www.nextagecart.com . They have a Powerful SEO Shopping Cart Script

What level of support will I need and receive?

All shopping cart providers will tell you that their software is simple to install and configure. Few will be actually correct in making that statement. If you don’t have the technical expertise to configure your shopping cart, get quotes from the company or a third party contractor to undertake this work for you.

Test out the support system by sending a query to the sales department – if they don’t respond quickly this is usually a good indicator that after sales support will be even worse!

Also, read the fine print before parting with your hard earned cash – you may find that technical support will be charged out per incident.

Some shopping cart software companies also offer user forums as part of their service. This is an excellent bonus. If you are having problems with setting up your scripts, no doubt someone else has experienced the same issues and may be willing to help you out.

Be sure to review the company’s “bug” policy; i.e. if a error in the software is fixed and an updated version is released, will you be entitled to recieve that upgrade or patch at no cost.

While I am all for supporting the solo programmers, a shopping cart is so crucial that it may not be wise to purchase a product from a one-man operation as customer support may not be efficient. If you’re currently in the market for software or services and would like our recommendations, Please check our NextAge Shopping Cart software at http://www.nextagecart.com . They have a Powerful SEO Shopping Cart Script

Remotely or locally hosted shopping cart?

Some shopping cart programs can be purchased as stand alone programs or as pay per month services hosted on another companies’ server. Remotely hosted options usually allow for extensive customization of pages to fit in with your sites look and feel.

Remote hosting advantages

Fast implementation, secure connection supplied, monitoring of service and usually many other features are offered as part of the service. Because the cart is actually hosted on another server, you can also save on bandwidth charges – especially if your products are soft goods and delivered online.

Some remotely hosted shopping carts are in effect total marketing solutions, containing options to run affiliate programs and the ability to send sequential pre-defined messages to clients and leads. Some of these services are excellent for people ‘testing the water’ as they also include gateway services and even an Internet merchant account!

If you are looking for features without needing to spending thousands of dollars up front, remotely hosted may be the way to go. Plan on spending at least US$60 per month for these kinds of services. Compare prices carefully – I have seen one company charge US$200 a month for the same service provided by another for $US59 per month. Remember, this added recurring expense will need to be taken into account when establishing a price level for your products and services.

Remote hosting disadvantages

What happens if the company goes belly up overnight? Remote hosting also tends to give you less control over how cart pages display. If you are going to use a remotely hosted service, check the company history carefully. Some operators have also been known to ‘harvest’ your client databases for spamming purposes.

Local hosting advantages

Total control over the software, no ongoing fees.

Local hosting disadvantages

Time spent in installation, configuration and maintenance, greater initial outlay, requires SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to be enabled on your site which usually incurs an extra charge per month.

As you can see, there is a lot to consider before purchasing shopping cart software or services. It is very important to remember that the shopping cart is only one part of your ecommerce arsenal. Without an effective payment gateway and Internet merchant account (sometimes these are combined), the cart is useless.

Don’t rush your decision to purchase based on marketing hype – the future of your business is at stake!

Secret Shopping

Posted July 15, 2010 by in Blog | No comments yet

Secret shopping sounds mysterious and fun and well, shopping is great no matter what. Secret shopping in its basic form is shopping someone or someplace without the person or business knowing it. Shopping secretly seems to draw on this fantasy of part detective, part spy, and part shopaholic. In the best scenario you receive your “mission” and then go to the location and pretend to be a real customer all while noticing all the things going on around you. Some secret shopping companies will have the shopper actually purchase something so that the whole shopping encounter seems more realistic. If you search the words, “secret shopping” on the Internet you will get over 4 million hits on websites that have something to do with secret shopping.

There are all types of secret shopping businesses out there. There are businesses, corporations and large chains that have their own department or group of people that travel around and try to shop the stores. Sometimes this is part of the internal security team that helps reduce shrinkage or loss prevention specialists. Then there are the companies and stores that will choose to hire a secret shopping company who specializes in secret shopping that specific industry.

Some of the things that in person secret shops might uncover are:

How many customers in the store when entering?

Did anyone greet you when entering the store or how long did it take for someone to greet you after walking in the door?

Was the store neat and clean?

Did anyone offer to help you find an item or offer to help you?

Was the associate dressed appropriately?

Was the bathroom clean?

Was the associate using their time wisely?

Did an associate offer to get you a shopping bag, shopping cart, or basket or to start a dressing room for you?

Did the associate let you know of any specials or promotions going on in the store

Was it easy to navigate through the store?

How long did you have to wait to check out?

Was the cashier friendly?

Were your items rang in correctly?

Did the associate offer to open a store credit account?

Did the cashier thank you for coming in?

These are just a few questions that a secret shopper might have to fill out when doing a report on how the shop went. Of course depending on the company, different key areas would be listed and other items of interest that would be specific to that company. Besides a person going into a store and shopping them, some companies are having their shoppers wired for sound and or video. While a person can go to a place and shop and come up with their opinions, sound and video are hard to ignore. Often sound and video are used in extreme circumstances where sound and video would implicate a person or business of a wrongdoing.

There is a show on television right now that shows all kinds of hidden video of stealing, people acting stupid, intoxicated, fighting, driving recklessly, and more. It just goes to show you what people will watch on television. But is proves a powerful tool for incrimination or reprimanding employees.

What kind of business would use a secret shopping service? Lots of businesses use a secret shopping service whether it is an internal monitoring or hired out by a company that specializes in secret shopping. Corporate businesses would use a secret shopping service to make sure that the individual franchise or store is keeping up with the company’s rules and regulations. While some franchises are individually owned they still have to sign a contract with the home office that they will uphold the standards, appearances, and make sure that all the stores are virtually the same. Smaller businesses might use a secret shopping service for a number of things like monitoring, training, compliance, or incentive based information. Monitoring is just that, a basic service that gives the manager or owner a simple description of the secret shop. On going training is essential to any business so companies can use secret shopping to help with continued training. Compliance goes a little further with specific areas of sales, customer service, safety, and rules being covered. Incentive based secret shopping is when the person or business being shopped and that said person or business doing a great job would get a reward. The reward could be monetary, time off, bonus, lunch, or other items that the owner or manager will choose.

Some companies choose to do telephone secret shopping instead of or in addition to the in person secret shop. Telephone secret shopping uses the same principles as above except the whole interaction is done over the telephone. Modern software and telephone equipment have made this type of secret shopping easier and more secretive. But with technology comes the backlash of trying to be secretive, the arch nemesis of the telephone secret shopping world, caller id. There are ways around caller id and they will not be shared in this essay, but if you need to bypass a caller id there are systems that can do it, just check out the Internet. So the basic telephone secret shops goes like this:

Store-”Hi, thanks for calling XYZ business, this is Bob, how can I help you today?”

Shopper- “Hello Bob, I was wondering if you could give me some information about your….”

Store- “Sure, I can help you with that. You see here at XYZ business we have…”

You can see where this is going.

The telephone secret shop is typically recorded to an audio system or to the Internet where the call can be retrieved at a later date. Different software systems allow the secret shopping calls to be listened to online in real time or saved and sent via email when the audio format is in MP3. This software also allows its user to edit the call. Trimming the call in the beginning before the rings start and after both parties have hung up allow the call to remain in a manageable length. Some companies record the call and then send it to their clients on a CD. The CD allows the manager or owner to listen and share the call with the employee.

Are you looking for a secret shopping job? There are many established secret shopping companies out there that are looking for shoppers, but how do you know which ones to trust. First of all, like the old saying goes, “if it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is” so don’t fall for all the Internet hype about secret shopping. Could you in reality find a reputable secret shopping company and make some money, yes, if you do your homework. This is such a serious issue that the Federal Trade Commission has advice on how to avoid being scammed by fake secret shopping companies. Here is some advice on how to avoid bogus secret shopping companies:

Do your homework; check out the company BEFORE you give them any personal information

Beware of catchy banners and click me sites that offer to hire secret shoppers off of the Internet. This is a “sounds too good to be true” situation.

Check with the Better Business Bureau about background information on the company before you jump in with both feet.

Many fake secret shopping sites want you to complete “offers” before you are assigned any jobs. These offers are actually ways for that site to gather information about you like your name and email. Offers like; try these magazines or a free trial offer for who knows what, and all you have to give them is your information and sometimes a credit card number. These sites are known to sell or use your email to spam sites that will then riddle your inbox with tons of junk email.

If you know someone who is a secret shopper ask them how they got into the business and I bet they will have some advice of their own to share.

It’s not as easy as it seems, there is often some travel involved and reports have to be written in detail, called in, typed or emailed for you to be able to get paid per job.

So if you are looking for a secret shopping company or a secret shopping job, the bottom line is check the company out before doing business with them. Ask for business references (and call them, just giving a sheet a references won’t do you any good if you don’t call them), check with the better business bureau and ask around. The time you spend doing your homework before you hire or look for a secret shopping job will pay off in the end. There are some great secret shopping companies out there that offer secret shopping services and your business will prosper from the knowledge and training that a reputable secret shopping business can provide for you.

Shopping Carts Solutions

Posted July 12, 2010 by phsulit (online) in Blog | No comments yet

Shopping Carts Solutions an integrated shopping solution, a new way that lets your customers to make orders, purchase online, manage shipping…

Today every growing business tries to be customer centric and I am very sure that business entropy will increase if your customer retention rate goes low. In this article I will discuss all about shopping cart and shopping cart software solution. With plethora of internet, staying at the top of your field has become arduous and it takes a lot to remain or reach at the top position. Looking back at the decade of shopping, there were no online store and customers had to walk to the store, spend time there browsing through the catalogue, deciding products, and then the product was passed into the shopping cart (trolley), order was placed and finally checkout and payment processes were carried. Then everything was manual, all entries were made manually and pricing were calculated on hands. In present scenario – With online shopping cart you can shop from your home or your office; just need internet connection and all yours processing finalized in a minute. This online storefront with integrated shopping solution provides a platform for selecting and purchasing your favorite products.

Shopping Carts is selecting products online for purchasing. Ecommerce is complete online store for shopping where from placing orders, tracking orders and managing account all are maintained.

The interface of online stores are designed for users and it is really easy to browse, collect, place orders and make payment but behind the curtain the scene is sophisticated, it needs round the clock maintenance for smooth functioning of your ecommerce store. The current study says that abandonment rate of shopping cart ranges from 25% to 75%. Being a SEO executive and strategist I have analyzed lots of ecommerce websites, studied its web analytics funnel visualization report, it shows that most of the visitors exit at the initial step (after Login or Registration), these visitors drop out at proceeding steps, and very small percentage reach the final checkout. I would say that funnel conversion rate is very low for these ecommerce websites / shopping carts if the funnel steps are not properly set.

I would like to share what all I have inculcated through my experience, reasons for shopping cart abandonment are:

High Shipping Cost: This can be inversely managed by increasing product cost and reducing shipping cost.

Security and Privacy Problem: Providing very transparent privacy statement and high level security for payment gateway.

Lot of essentialities and billing formalities: Non essential information should be not be made mandatory, other formalities can be filled at the after checkout.

Poor Navigation: Your shopping store should respond quickly, check that your site does not take enough loading time. Search should be simple and checkout process should not be very lengthy. Clients should be notified after payment is done and visitors who wish can easily navigate back to make more shopping without time wastage.

Remember, your ecommerce website should be simple so that it entices your customers to come again for shopping. All the shopping cart segments should be integrated and should be streamlined for its smooth running. Elements of consideration are: a ecommerce shopping cart (storefront with shopping cart), a merchant account, a database server (this stores all information about customer and all your storefront products and services), a web server (hosts your website and provides all information about your product at the web browser’s request), a catalogue, legacy system, control inventory, reporting tool and secure payment gateway. Hosting of your online storefront or ecommerce website is of first consideration. Depending on your storefront hosting you choose shopping cart software, all depends on the software and your website hosting compatibility.

There are different shopping cart software available for your storefront from which you can choose. Either you can Buy a shopping cart software product, or join a service (template service build your store).

Choosing shopping cart software is the key business requirement for online shopping business solutions.

Every ecommerce site has its shopping cart and thus needs a merchant account and payment gateway. I believe these two are basic necessities of any online store for allowing credit card payment. Let be brief the main points that you should know before proceeding to shopping carts.

Merchant Account: This allows to process credit card information. Different types of merchant accounts are available to suit your business needs. Most popular merchant accounts include wireless, telecheck, mail order or phone, e-commerce. Ecommerce is the fastest growing transaction segment.

Payment Gateway: payment gateway processes this credit card and shipping information and real time information over a secure network connection.

A company that validates your credit card information in real time is electronic gateway or payment gateway. Few most widely accepted gateways are: Paypal (Globally), Verisign (Globally), 2Checkout (Globally), WorldPay (Gloablly), Authorize.Net (US), CyberSource (US), Moneris (CA), Protx (UK), EWay (AU); some others are Chronopay, Westpac, BluePay, viaKLIX, eMatters, plugnpay, eway, goemerchant.com, skipjack, MiraPay, netaxept, DirectOne, nab, NETBANX, Network Merchants, Nochex, DeltaPAY, eProcessing Network, protx, egateway, SECPay, paymate, Gotmerchant, ANZ, beanstream, Payjunction, TECHNOCASH, MiraPay, GoDaddy.

Payment gateway main motive is to provide secure channel for credit card information transfer. Basically the credit card information is encrypted and sent to respective bank for verification, these are of highest priority, no detail is stored in between.

You may be having now in mind how to create your merchant account and have your payment gateway??? Not mandatory to have one’s own, you may use merchant service providers’ shopping cart solutions for your ecommerce websites.

Type of Gateways:

Currently there are 3 main gateway interfaces available:

COM based gateway interface: Most of the COM based gateway company requires installing the DLL software on your hosting server, and also checks for your SSL certificate.

XML Transport gateway interface: XML Transport gateway companies do not require DLL installation but checks for you SLL certification instead uses Windows server installed facilities.

Form based gateway interface: This is most common gateway as does not require any software installation, very few companies ask for SSL certification.

The main advantage is that COM and XML gateways are integrated with your store and thus no redirection to external server but the drawback also lies that since the transfer is over the internet to payment gateway makes this less reliable.

Types of Shopping Cart

Merchant Service Shopping Carts

Have you set up a new business, do not have merchant account and payment gateway??? Still looking…. There are merchant services shopping carts available for new businesses with very less queries at the initial stage. Once you start your business at the initial stage there are very less orders that increases gradually, so merchant will get you licensed . It proceeds somewhat like this: it collects and stores your client’s information and takes you to its payment gateway and merchant account.

The main problem is the fee that gateway company charges. Apart from the set up fee, transaction cost is also high making the over all gateway an expensive one. Another major drawback is that client’s credit card statements will contain merchant service not your company name. There is admin login section for all sort of updation – add, delete, edit, and manage products and other information. The HTML code generated by the cart is inserted in the respected pages, once the visitor clicks on the link (button), visitor is redirected to merchant site where visitor needs to enter card detail and personal details.

Hosted Shopping Carts

Small and medium sized businesses need not worry!! Yes, they can have hosted shopping cart for those not having enough resource to go with integrated shopping cart solutions for their ecommerce websites. The hosted shopping cart solution has an administration area for entering product information. The generated HTML information code is inserted into the product page. The website visitor is redirected to another site to fill a form with information that is CC to the website. There are certain carts that provide configurable user interface so that it looks as corporate website.

The most important point to be noted is that in hosted shopping cart solutions the website owner uses ones own payment gateway and merchant account; this provides your client with credit card detail with your company title not the title of merchant service. For increasing sale this shopping cart service becomes cheaper, this may be fixed transaction charge for higher sales compared to per transaction.

Fully Integrated Shopping Carts

Fully integrated (Trunkey – a comprehensive shopping cart solution provided by one provider) shopping cart provides completely configurable user interface and other interesting features. This needs some programming knowledge so that you can better manage and handle its modules and use the extra features provided. Provider of On the ecommerce provider server the software data and web pages are hosted. Examples: Yahoo Store, Bigstep, Merchandizer, etc. these include form based built in payment gateway.

Which shopping cart to go with?? Points to ponder – Costing: The investment you put in, hosting

Shopping cart software is the common online storefront business solution. There are myriad e-commerce solutions available with varying features, design, security so that you can customize based on your requirements and specifications. With open source software solutions, osCommerce shopping cart solution there are slew of customizable shopping cart solutions available. The open source ecommerce software products are available that are very easy to setup, configure, administration. So before going with a particular solution Payment gateway or shopping cart just be clear about your requirements. There is another storefront solution, Watson shopping cart system (developed in Switzerland) is a new shopping cart or trolley that has unique database and uses audio advertising system of the internet for online shopping.

Contacting Customer Service When Online Shopping

Posted July 9, 2010 by in Blog | No comments yet

Online shoppers often need to deal with customer service representatives from the online retailer they choose to patronize. From making purchases to dealing with problems with the order a customer service representative can be a great deal of assistance to online shoppers. This article will focus on some of the common interactions online shoppers have with a customer service representative. Some of these interactions include making a purchase, asking questions about products and making a complaint about an item purchased. This article will also discuss some of the common methods for contacting customer service including telephone, email and online forms.

Contacting Customer Service Representative to Make a Purchase

One of the most common interactions between online shoppers and online retailers is the process of making a purchase. Although many online retailers offer shoppers the ability to make their purchases directly through a website, most of these retailers also offer the opportunity for the customers to make the purchase by calling a customer service representative. Online shoppers may prefer this method for a number of different reasons. Some online shoppers may have apprehensions about the security of the website while others may simply have a personal preference for placing the order online as opposed to through a website. Regardless of the reason for contacting customer service to make an online purchase, the buyer will likely find this interaction to be quite simple as long as he has all of the necessary information on hand. This included information such as the product number and his billing information.

Contacting Customer Service with Inquiries

Another reason why online shoppers often contact a customer service representative agent from an online retailer is to ask questions about the products offered by the retailer. Consumers may have questions because the website does not provide enough information about the product. Even online retailers who offer very detailed product descriptions may omit details which are important to a particular consumer. In these cases the online shopper can contact customer service to have these questions answered. These questions may pertain to the product or other factors such as the shipping policies or return policies. Regardless of the subject of the question the customer service representative should either be able to answer the question or should be able to find an answer for the consumer.

Contacting Customer Service with a Complaint

Contacting a customer service agent with a complaint about a product purchased online is definitely one of the most difficult and stressful interactions an online shopper can have with a customer service agent. However, there are occasionally situations in which these interactions are necessary. When these situations arise it is important for the consumer to ensure he has all of the necessary information available when contacting customer service. This will include information such as the order number and the billing information. The order number is important because it will allow the customer service agent to verify items such as the item which was purchased and the date of the purchase. With this information the customer service can provide information about the options available to the consumer such as a refund or an exchange.

Methods of Contacting Customer Service

Online shoppers who wish to speak to a customer service agent from an online retailer typically have a few options available to them. The most popular option is the ability to contact an agent via telephone. Most online retailers provide a phone number for reaching customer service on the receipt as well as on the website. However, the telephone is not the only way in which online shoppers can contact customer service. Email is another popular option consumers can use to reach a customer service agent. Most online retailers offer the option of emailing customer service to make inquiries or complaints. Some retailers even provide online forms which make it easy for consumers to reach a customer service agent. These forms typically enable the consumer to provide his own contact information as well as the reason for contacting customer service. A customer service agent will then investigate the inquiry or complaint and respond to the customer either via telephone or email.

Cheap Price Shop

Tablecloth Shops Easy, Step by Step Guide to Measuring Tablecloths

Posted July 6, 2010 by in Blog | No comments yet

When looking to buy a new tablecloth it is important to ensure you know the dimensions of the table you wish to cover. After all, what would be worse than finding the perfect tablecloth only to discover that you didn’t know what size to buy? This would leave you with the following dilemma: Do you buy it anyway and hope for the best or decide to leave it and go away empty handed.

Making sure you are properly prepared before you start your shopping trip will help to solve this problem before it starts. Doing your homework first ensures that when you do find the right tablecloth, you will have all the necessary data at your disposal to make an informed choice. This will help to reduce the element of risk in terms of sizing.

Measuring your tablecloth is of course, not the only consideration. It is equally important to know how much fabric should be left at each end in order to create an overhang. Doing so will make sure that once you have got your carefully measured tablecloth home, it fits perfectly and creates the right impression.

There are two basic steps involved when it comes to measuring your table in order to get the right tablecloth measurements. As part of this guide, we will walk and talk you through them to make sure you get the perfect size for your table.

Step One

The first thing to do is measure the width of your table making sure that allow for an extra 40mm (20mm on each side) to overhang the sides of the table. Always remember to check the width of the tablecloth fabric against the width of your table. Providing it is wider, the material can be trimmed accordingly. If it is too narrow, then it will not cover the table adequately.

Step Two

Repeat step one but this time measure the table length. Remember to leave the same 40mm (20mm each side) overhang to make sure that the tablecloth has an equal drop on each side.

For instance, if you had a table that measured 2 metres by 1 metre, the amount of fabric you would require for your tablecloth would be approximately 2.5 metres.

By following these simple steps, it will help to make sure that when you buy your next tablecloth, the chances of getting it wrong are greatly minimised.

So, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you give it a try now and take a look through some of the excellent table covers on offer here at the Tablecloth Shop. All you need to do is find the tablecloth you desire from our excellent range and use your newly created measurements to find one that will look amazing on your table.

Finding Product Reviews before Online Shopping

Posted July 3, 2010 by in Blog | No comments yet

The ability to find product reviews before online shopping is very useful for online shoppers. These reviews can be very helpful for consumers who are trying to decide whether or not to purchase a particular product or attempting to compare to similar products. Based on these product reviews the consumer may make a more informed decision about which products to purchase and which ones to avoid. However, there are different types of reviews available and some product reviews are more useful than others. This article will discuss product reviews which can be found directly on the online retailer’s website as well as product reviews which can be found on websites dedicated to compiling product reviews.

Reviews on the Online Retailers Website

Many online retailers provide reviews of products they offer for sale directly on their own website. These reviews typically fall into two categories and include consumer product reviews and product reviews offered in terms for compensation. Consumers who are using these reviews to gather information about a product should proceed with caution to ensure they understand what type of reviews are being offered on the website.

Consumer reviews are typically the best resource for consumers who want to learn more about a product. This includes reviews which come from others who have purchased and used the product in question. These reviews are usually completely candid and offer great insight into the form and functionality of the product. Online shoppers who find the majority of consumers are satisfied with a particular product may be reassured they have selected a high quality product. Conversely online shoppers how consistently find negative reviews of a particular product may wish to consider purchasing a different item.

Online retailers also sometimes feature reviews on their website from reviewers who have been compensated to provide a review. When a retailer compensates an individual to make a review it is usually necessary to divulge this information because the review may tend to rate the product more favorably than they would if they were not compensated to do so.

Websites Provided for Consumers to Review Products

There are also websites available which are dedicated to compiling product reviews. This includes websites such as epinions.com. Here consumers can browse through a variety of products to find additional information in the form of product reviews for products they are considering purchasing. The reviews they find may be incredibly detailed and useful or they may be brief and provide very little useful information. Consumers are advised to consider these opinions carefully especially when there are a large number of reviews available which seem to be in agreement regarding the quality of the product. However, when there are only a few reviews available it can be much more difficult for the consumer to formulate his own opinion of the product based on these reviews posted on the website. Consumers are also advised to ignore reviews which vary significantly from the majority of the other review posted. These reviews may be mistakenly referring to the wrong product or may demonstrate an anomaly. For example if the majority of reviews are overwhelmingly positive but one or two reviews are negative it is generally acceptable to ignore the negative reviews as long as the company selling the product is reputable and there are enough positive reviews available to convince the shopper the product is worthwhile.

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Online Shopping for Collectibles

Posted June 30, 2010 by in Blog | No comments yet

Online shopping for collectibles is a very popular option. This is especially true in the case of hard to find collectibles as well as collectibles which are no longer being manufactured. Finding these collectible items in traditional stores can be very time consuming but the use of the Internet enables the shopper to find items more easily and more quickly. However, the process of shopping for these items online is not simplified unless the shopper has a good strategy for finding these collectible items online. This article will provide useful information on finding collectibles online, purchasing collectibles from other collectors and verifying the authenticity of collector’s items.

Finding Collectibles Online

The Internet is a great option for collectors who are looking for specific collector’s items as long as the collector knows where to find these items. Popular options for purchasing collector’s items of all types include auction websites, clubs for collectors and message boards for collectors. This section will focus on the use of auction websites to find collectibles while the following section will discuss the possibility of purchasing collectibles through membership in clubs and participation in message boards.

Auction websites such as eBay are ideal for collectors who are seeking items to add to their collections. Whether they collect figurines, lunchboxes, war memorabilia or any other type of collectible item there is the potential to find items to add to a collection through an auction website. These websites enable online shoppers to search for items and place bids on the items. If the user is the highest bidder at the conclusion of the auction, he will be able to purchase the item.

Purchasing Items from Other Collectors

Other collectors are often one of the best resources for shoppers looking for collectible items. Most items which consumers enjoy collecting have clubs or message boards dedicated to the collection of these items. Clubs which are formed for members who enjoy collecting any type of item often have options for members who wish to buy, sell or trade collectibles. These options may include any combination of a market place on a member’s only section of the website, a newsletter sent to all members or conventions or meetings where collectors can buy, sell or trade items.

Collectors can also participate in online message boards where they can meet and converse with other collectors who share their interests. These message boards may have a section dedicated specifically to allowing members to buy and sell items. In this section the members can typically post photos and descriptions of items they are willing to sell for other members to view. Even if there is not a section dedicated to this purpose, members can still meet other members who are willing to sell or trade items and can make arrangements to acquire these items.

Verifying the Authenticity of Collector’s Items

Consumers who opt to purchase collectible items online are often faced with the dilemma of determining whether or not the items offered for sale are authentic or not. Determining the authenticity of an item can be difficult enough when the shopper has the ability to examine the item in person and can be considerably more difficult to do this with online purchases. In these cases the use of photos and descriptions provided by the seller must be used to determine authenticity.

Dealing with Defective Items When Online Shopping

Posted June 27, 2010 by in Blog | No comments yet

One of the most frustrating aspects of online shopping is definitely dealing with receiving defective items. This is a rare problem which may happen regardless of whether the shopper patronizes an online retailer or a traditional store. However, dealing with the problem can be more difficult during online shopping endeavors. Dealing with this problem may be somewhat more difficult when the consumer purchases an item online but there are some useful tips which can make dealing with defective items significantly less stressful and failure to follow these tips can make it difficult for online shoppers to have a defective item replaced. This article will discuss some of these useful tips namely the importance of testing items immediately, contacting online retailers and dealing with unresponsiveness from online retailers to help online shoppers deal with this dilemma.

Testing Items Immediately after They Arrive

One very important tip for online shoppers is to always test items immediately after they arrive from the online retailer. This means the shopper should open and test the item as soon as possible after it is delivered. Doing this is important for a couple of very important reasons. One of these reasons is testing the item for functionality immediately will help to ensure the online shopper is able to return the item within the limitations of the online retailers return policy. Online retailers often have specific policies pertaining to returns and failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in the shopper not being able to return the item for a refund or exchange. These policies can vary significantly from one online retailer to the next and some policies may be more liberal than others. However, consumers who determine an item is defective within a couple of days after the item is received will likely still be within the period in which returns are still accepted even with online retailers who offer the stingiest return policies.

Another reason why it is important to test an item purchased online for functionality immediately after receiving the item is it helps to ensure the consumer will not lose the original packaging or receipt. This is important because most online retailers will require the item be returned with an original receipt and in the original packaging. It is certainly still possibly for online shoppers to lose the receipt but they are less likely to do so if they realized immediately that the item was defective.

Contacting the Online Retailer

Once an online shopper realizes an item is defective, the first step he takes should be to contact the online retailers. This should be done immediately because the online retailer will likely document the claim of defectiveness during this initial call and this documentation will serve as evidence of when the item was reported to be defective. This proof will come in handy if the online retailer gives the customer problems with returning the item and there is a need to pursue legal actions.

In most cases, the receipt will list a contact phone number which will put the consumer in contact with a customer service representative. However, if the receipt does not have this information the consumer may return to the website of the online retailer to find the necessary contact information. The consumer should then contact a customer service representative and describe the problem with the item as accurately as possible. In most cases the customer service representative will be able to provide the consumer with information on how to return the item for an exchange or a refund.

When the Online Retailer is Unresponsive

As with any retailer, it is always possible that the online shopper will not be satisfied with the response to the complaint offered by the online retailer. The buyer may be dissatisfied with the response offered by the online retailer or may be dissatisfied by a lack of a response from the online retailer. Regardless of the reason for the dissatisfaction the consumer will likely have to pursue other methods of obtaining a response to his complaint. The consumer may wish to elevate his complaint by asking to speak to a supervisor. If this does not rectify the situation it may be necessary to file a complaint with an agency such as the Better Business Bureau. They can than contact the retailer on behalf of the disgruntled consumer and attempt to rectify the situation.

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Shopping for Plus Sized Wedding Dresses

Posted June 24, 2010 by in Blog | No comments yet

Large women do not have to worry about their weight and shape and how these can ruin their appearance on their wedding day. There are ways for large women to look attractive and feel like a royalty during their special day.

In looking for the best wedding dress, plus-sized women should know a couple of things. First, it is necessary for them to schedule an appointment with bridal boutiques. It will spare you of troubles if you can have a look at the dresses of you and your bridesmaid a few months before the wedding day.

Secondly you should have a list of shops where you can get the best deals on large size dresses. One of the great shops to go to is SalwarkameezIndia’s online store because they give promotions like outfitting your entire party if you win a contest. They also offer tailoring, as well as shoes and jewelry to accentuate your look during wedding day. However, there are many other fabulous online stores which could give you exactly what you are looking for.

Weddings may also require the bride to put on some intimate lingerie, so it could be good for the bride to shop for sexy plus lingerie. Victoria’s Secret may not be recommended but going online is. You could try browsing online for various websites affordable deals on intimate lingerie for your special night.

Remember, you don’t have to worry about your weight in order to feel like a royalty on your wedding day. Keep in mind these simple, practical reminders and chances are you will look your best on your special day.

Is Online Shopping Secure?

Posted June 21, 2010 by in Blog | No comments yet

Whether or not online shopping is secure is one question which gets asked over and over again by those who are considering making a purchase online. Unfortunately there is no simple answer to this question which will apply to all online shopping situations. However, there is a list of questions which online shoppers can ask to assist them in determining whether or not it is safe to purchase the item they are seeking online. A few of these questions deal with the online retailer’s reputation, the security of the server and the return policy offered on the items. This article will discuss some of these questions in an effort to help readers make informed decisions regarding online shopping.

Is the Online Retailer Reputable?

Determining whether or not an online retailer is reputable should be the first step shoppers take before deciding whether or not to make a purchase online from a particular online retailer. This is important because shoppers are much more likely to be satisfied with purchased from a reputable breeder than they are to be satisfied when the purchase is made from an online retailer with a less than favorable reputation.

There are a few methods shoppers can use to verify the reputation of the online retailer. Consulting the Better Business Bureau is just one of these methods which can be very beneficial to the shopper. Here the shopper can find information regarding previous complaints against the online retailer and can use this information to determine whether or not the retailer has a reputation for dealing fairly with customers. Online retailers who have been in business for a few years and do not have any complaints against them or have very few complaints against them can generally be trusted while shoppers should be wary of consumers who have many unresolved complaints against them or who have only been in business for a short period of time.

Is the Server Secure?

The security of the server used to complete the online purchase should also be questioned by online shoppers. This is a valid concern because identity theft can cause a tremendous amount of problems for the shopper. However, there is a very simple way in which an online shopper can determine whether or not the website is secure. Whenever submitting sensitive data such as credit card information the shopper should carefully examine the web address. A secure website will have a prefix of https:// while an unsecured website will have a prefix of http://. If the website is not secure the online shopper should consider making the purchase by calling customer service instead of submitting the information via the unsecured website where it can be vulnerable to being intercepted.

What is the Return Policy?

Carefully reviewing the return policy of an online retailer can also give the shopper a good indication of whether or not the seller is reputable. In general the return policies offered by online retailers should be very similar in nature to the return policies offered by traditional retailers with the exception of special provisions for handling the shipping of the product back to the retailer. Return policies which are unusually restrictive should be considered suspect by the shopper and may indicate a need for the shopper to do some additional research before deciding whether or not to patronize a particular online retailer.

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