The Center of Effort is defined in business as the single point in a business plan where you can visualize all the forces of the marketing, supply, logistics and demand coming together to drive a company forward.

The Center of Effort is defined in business as the single point in a business plan where you can visualize all the forces of the marketing, supply, logistics and demand coming together to drive a company forward.
What credit card processor should I use?, What are the rates? What is the best for online payments? What merchant account is the easiest to integrate with my shopping cart?
or… What shopping cart do I need to easily integrate a payment system? What merchant accounts accomodate recurring billing or subscription payments?
Bonanzle is a very interesting and ever expanding marketplace that has piqued mine and several thousand other peoples interest. The entire massive and ever expanding groundswell of acceptance has not come from 50 people repeating the same comments (something I have a problem with – please be original BAC members i.e. paraphrase your comments please) on several blogs. The interest has come both from within and from outside the community. The BAC members are simply reaching outside the site to make the site known to those who have never been exposed. From there the decision is completely in the consumers hands, try Bonanzle or not – it is up to the potential member. The BAC does nothing to trick or deceive people into trying the site.
I will say that I am surprised that Etsy and Amazon did not get more votes in yesterdays poll. I can only attribute this to sellers on those plateforms not being away of our unscientic census of online merchants. If you know anyone who would be interested in weighing in for Amazon, Etsy, Dawdle or any of the others, please send them here to let us know where they are proud to sell product online!
Today we will ask where you are actually selling product or offering product in these channels. Obviously we could not list every channel available so we will leave the ones you suggest in the comments section for another poll. For this poll we will simply ask about the majors and it is multiple choice so click on every place you utilize that is on the poll.
How many of you are trying new and interesting channels such as Etsy, Bonanzle, Online Auction, Dawdle, or any of the others which have popped up in the last 12 months? Conversely, how many are sticking just with eBay or your own ecommerce shopping cart website?
While riding the gravy train of eBay can be a sound business decicion (at least many of us thought it was), the hard crash at the end of the tracks can be just as abrupt. Other have noted that eBay may be on a uncontrollable death spiral (i.e. Scot Wingo) into the abyss that some great companies (AOL) fall into.
Tomorrows 2nd anniversary eBay and Beyond show will be broadcast on TalkShoe and Ustream with Live video. It promises to be an extravaganza of unmatched excitement. I understand there will be a bevy of prizes for the listeners, including several brought to the table by yours truly… including a Website development package for one lucky winner including 6 months of free hosting.
iBusinessLogic Corporation is proud to have been selected to represent MerchantRun-GlobalLink in the USA. While the company and it’s software have been used by eBay powersellers worldwide for some time, it is relatively new here in the United States. iBusinessLogic recognizes the need for US based sellers to offer product to a global market. With the exchange rate imbalance and an ever tightening market at home, exploring new opportunities abroad could be the difference between profit and loss in the coming year(s).
This is how sites go viral, this is how fortunes are made.” SmallBusinessComputing’s editors also praised Bonanzle, adding, “This startup combines an easy listing process with cutting-edge features such as on-the-fly image cropping and live chat and an avid seller community. The founders are scaling up to meet increasing
traffic, and we can only hope it continues to thrive.”
If Bonanzle shows you additional traffic over time, that traffic can only build because the listings are on the site until sold, the Google Base works, the site is indexed quickly and often and it is just darn simple to move inventory over to Bonanzle to see how it works for your products.
Roughly twice as much traffic, from various sources went to Bonanzle. Is this a scientific result? No… Does it tell a story about the possibilities on new and exciting venues, yes! Does it mean you should pack up your business and move it to Bonanzle? That is your business decision, I would never recommend anyone leave eBay without first knowing what the new location will do for them. Keep your sales humming, if they are, on eBay… But it never hurts to take a look next door!
We have not done a head to head comparison like this in awhile… The idea is simple, basically we list the same exact item on two eCommerce platforms to see which gets the most traffic. Ultimately the test is who or where will the item sell the item first?
When ebay realizes the mis-steps they have taken in the last 18 months, if they ever do, it will be a very large job indeed to repair the damage. People like Usher Lieberman and Richard Brewer-Hay have a mountain to climb to regain the trust or eBay’s core customer base – i.e. Sellers
Do your own evaluation, check the facts, run your own business. Don’t let an unsolicited email from a supposedly reputable source cause you to make a quick decision. In the case of the eBay Stores Experience announcement, call your present designer or developer or call eBay before you jump into the unscrupulous fear mongering marketing spin of doubt and distrust.
In many cases, especially in the past, eBay was the most effective way to bring small business to market on the Internet. In this case, with many different variables and reasons it just has not proven to be the best solution for Cornerstone.
Customer Service is the Difference
The winners of 2008 include companies like Amazon.com, Zappos.com and Apple. These outstanding companies have one thing in common, the perception (at least) that they provide outstanding customer service to their customers.
I apologize to eBay, to Kompolt, to Restoration Hardware and to Mr. Carrol Shelby. I think everyone can see the tone of my earlier post that I have nothing but the most sincere respect for the good work these people and organizations do with charites and good causes. My only hope is that my little article possibly drove more traffic to the site so that the bids on that fine automobile can exceed expectations and the foundation the monies will benefit can see good things happen with the funds.
Why taint the Carroll Shelby charity event with eBay Rules violations and obvious commercialisation. Why would eBay risk the reputation of the good charitable work they do to allow the promotion of a competing website?
When I read the terms below and found there would be a 60 day delay to realize my $71.97 savings on top of several other possible ways that I would not or could not qualify for my “coupon” the thrill was gone. I went back to Amazon and bought my Christmas gift.
Stefan Gross-Selbeck, eBay’s general manager for Germany has quietly left the Stalag. It also seems that Yahoo, in deference to their relationship with eBay did not want to make a deal of the fact that one of eBay’s most important foreign market managers has departed for somewhat less lofty waters.
10,000 users have registered to buy and sell on Bonanzle. Yes, I agree, this is not a significant number when compared with the registered user of sites like eBay, Amazon.com or even Etsy. Yet, the speed in which this milestone has been reached is a significant development.
Bonanzle is an great tool for Internet sales of tangible and intangible items. The site can not be compared with eBay because it is not similar in any way other than a very fast start. If fact, I would wager that if the growth curve of eBay from day one was compared with Bonanzle’s meteoric rise in these last several months, eBay may not come out the winner.
Monday, October the 13th will be my last day at eBay. And no, I was not laid off, rather my decision to exit into the current hellish market environment is entirely voluntary. -Raghav Gupta Inventor of the eBay estimator and Best Match algorithm.
Agents of Revenue – Show One – Replay Here
Countdown to the new show…
Hope you all stop by the TalkShoe site after dropping by AgentsofRevenue.com
John and I will be glad to see you in the chat room, and we are looking forward to everyone joining the conversation…
The idea is simple, No BS eCommerce, eBay and eBusiness. We won’t be selling and DVD sets and we won’t be pulling any punches when it comes to sharing our opinions about anything to do with the industry. We know that as co-hosts we will not always agree on every subject but this is also what we think will make us unique.
Wednesday 1:14
Ok… here is the deal…
If you sell products on the Internet – It’s your job to make sure buyers find and buy those products.
Simple as that.
From basic eCommerce to business oriented informational and corporate websites to personal blogs, real estate sales, or news magazines. Wordpress as a CMS is the king of customization.