February 2008 - Posts

• High Performer: Garyweeks.com Handcrafted Furniture, Impressive Guarantee

  Thirty miles southwest of Austin along the Blanco River is Wimberley, Texas. Population 3,797. Among those who call Wimberley home is one Gary Weeks. And if you make your way to West Spoke Hill Drive, you’ll come to a wooden sign that simply reads, “Gary Weeks & Company — Furniture Makers.” Gary Weeks & Company makes tables, stools and dining furniture. It also makes rocking chairs — the Weeks Rocker, which is what Weeks calls his “signature piece.” Perhaps because it is his signature piece a unique guarantee accompanies the chair. It reads: “The Weeks Rocker is guaranteed to be the most comfortable, the most beautiful and the best constructed rocking chair you have ever experienced or we will refund your money, including all shipping charges.” If you’re wondering how often Weeks has had to back up his guarantee: He’s sold more than 1,900 rockers. Five have been returned. The rockers are available in five woods, cherry, walnut, maple, mahogany and... Posted Feb 27 2008, 05:11 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• High Performer: Garyweeks.com, Handcrafted Furniture and Impressive Guarantee

  Thirty miles southwest of Austin along the Blanco River is Wimberley, Texas. Population 3,797. Among those who call Wimberley home is one Gary Weeks. And if you make your way to West Spoke Hill Drive, you’ll come to a wooden sign that simply reads, “Gary Weeks & Company — Furniture Makers.” Gary Weeks & Company makes tables, stools and dining furniture. It also makes rocking chairs — the Weeks Rocker, which is what Weeks calls his “signature piece.” Perhaps because it is his signature piece a unique guarantee accompanies the chair. It reads: “The Weeks Rocker is guaranteed to be the most comfortable, the most beautiful and the best constructed rocking chair you have ever experienced or we will refund your money, including all shipping charges.” If you’re wondering how often Weeks has had to back up his guarantee: He’s sold more than 1,900 rockers. Five have been returned. The rockers are available in five woods, cherry, walnut, maple, mahogany and... Posted Feb 27 2008, 05:11 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• PayPal Payflow Gateway Issue Notification February 27, 2008

  Resolved as of 11:35pm PT on February 27th 2008 (February 28th 2008 7:35am GMT) PO The PayPal Payflow Gateway Recurring Profile service has been generating intermittent errors since Tuesday February 26, 2008 1:00 AM PST (February 26, 2008 9:00 AM GMT... Posted Feb 27 2008, 02:04 PM by Payflow Gateway

• ADA And State Disability Laws

  We are often asked about compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. There is a reasonably strong argument, supported by court decisions, that a stand-alone business operating as a website with no physical presence may not be covered by the ADA. But without prolonged litigation we will not know for sure, and there is contradictory law on the point. Absent court decisions deciding whether states can enforce state disability laws, it may be that you will have to accommodate the disabled even if the ADA does not require it. If your website is a robust ecommerce site taking payments and selling goods, and you market or sell to residents within a particular state, you probably have to comply with that state’s laws. We could discuss the legal issues in detail, but that is a legal exercise better left to the litigation environment. This is about solutions, and there are none on the legal front. For the small commercial website, the business solution is really quite simple.... Posted Feb 25 2008, 06:38 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• Visual Bookshelf Taps Into Social Networking

  For those who are regular visitors to Facebook, you may have come across an application called Visual Bookshelf. It allows Facebook users to show on their pages the books they are reading or have read, and each of the book’s titles link back to Amazon.com. Users can also create book reviews and make recommendations. The company behind Visual Bookshelf is Hungry Machine, a six-person web development firm that specializes in Ruby on Rails technology and Facebook applications. Visual Bookshelf was launched less than a year ago, but it already has millions of users. Tim O’Shaughnessy is the firm’s co-founder and partner. High Performer Hungrymachine.com Who says you can’t sell products on Facebook? Hungry Machine’s Visual Bookshelf application sells thousands of books every month. Size: $1,000,000, approximate 2007 revenues from Visual Bookshelf Number of employees: 4 Biggest obstacle: “Keeping up with feedback and requests from users! We focus... Posted Feb 25 2008, 05:51 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• Field Test: Social Networking, Part 3 of 3

  In Field Test, Practical eCommerce has gathered ten seasoned ecommerce merchants and asked each of them the same questions around a given topic. This month’s topic is social networking. The participating ecommerce merchants are: Dave Norris, House of Antique Hardware; Justin Hertz, MuttMart; Chris Stump, Only Hammocks; Mike Reiman, PoolDawg; Dan Stewart, Xtreme Diesel Performance; Roman Kaagan, Appliance Parts Pros; Cindy Barrileaux, Write Your Best; Claudette Cyr, Gear-Source; Mike Butler, Bloom Designs Nursery; Kristen Taylor, Juvie. The responses for four of the ten merchants follow below. The answers are shown in random order to preserve anonymity. PeC: Which social networking sites do you visit? FIELD TESTER 7: Primarily Myspace.com and Youtube.com. FIELD TESTER 8: Industry specific forums, dot com journals, Digg.com, Linkedin.com and Youtube.com. FIELD TESTER 9: Digg.com. FIELD TESTER 10: Gardenweb.com, Davesgarden.com (a/k/a Garden... Posted Feb 25 2008, 05:12 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• PayPal Payflow Gateway issue notification February 21, 2008

  **UPDATE #2: This has been resolved at 1:15 PM PST (February 22, 2008 9:15 PM GMT)** **UPDATE #1: Our technical teams are still working on this issue** Payflow Link/Pro/ACH Merchants may be experiencing intermittent errors when trying to process transactions... Posted Feb 21 2008, 04:04 PM by Payflow Simulator

• High Performer: Powerbookmedic.com Parts and Repairs For Mac Laptops

  If you have laptop, and it’s a Mac, you may feel like Apple is the only place to turn for parts and repairs. But since 2002, Powerbookmedic.com has been offering an alternative. The site specializes in installations, repairs, parts, and service for many portable Apple devices. What started out on eBay in 1998 has quickly established itself with its own site. Bradley Wallace owns the company, Powerbookmedic.com. High Performer Powerbookmedic.com Company has developed a convenient, profitable system to ship and repair laptops remotely. Size: $2,000,000, approximate 2007 gross revenue. Biggest Obstacle: “There aren’t any, really. That is the beauty of ecommerce. The Internet provides a level playing field.” PeC: Your company is an online business that sells replacement Mac parts and also offers Mac repair services. How do you coordinate repair services online? WALLACE: We’ve developed a three-step process with an in-house developed application. First,... Posted Feb 20 2008, 04:24 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• Field Test: Social Networking, Part 2 of 3

  In Field Test, Practical eCommerce has gathered ten seasoned ecommerce merchants and asked each of them the same questions around a given topic. This month’s topic is social networking. The participating ecommerce merchants are: Dave Norris, House of Antique Hardware; Justin Hertz, MuttMart; Chris Stump, Only Hammocks; Mike Reiman, PoolDawg; Dan Stewart, Xtreme Diesel Performance; Roman Kaagan, Appliance Parts Pros; Cindy Barrileaux, Write Your Best; Claudette Cyr, Gear-Source; Mike Butler, Bloom Designs Nursery; Kristen Taylor, Juvie. The responses for three of the ten merchants follow below. The answers are shown to preserve anonymity. PeC: Which social networking sites do you visit? FIELD TESTER 4: Slashdot.org, Del.icio.us, Digg.com. FIELD TESTER 5: Myspace.com, Linkedin.com. FIELD TESTER 6: Myspace.com. PeC: Which social networking sites do you market your business on? FIELD TESTER 4: Wikipedia.org, Simpy.com and Digg.com. FIELD TESTER 5: ... Posted Feb 20 2008, 03:19 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• Field Test: Social Networking, Part 1 of 3

  In Field Test, Practical eCommerce has gathered ten seasoned ecommerce merchants and asked each of them the same questions around a given topic. This month’s topic is social networking. The participating ecommerce merchants are: Dave Norris, House of Antique Hardware; Justin Hertz, MuttMart; Chris Stump, Only Hammocks; Mike Reiman, PoolDawg; Dan Stewart, Xtreme Diesel Performance; Roman Kaagan, Appliance Parts Pros; Cindy Barrileaux, Write Your Best; Claudette Cyr, Gear-Source; Mike Butler, Bloom Designs Nursery; Kristen Taylor, Juvie. The responses for three of the ten merchants follow below. The answers are shown to preserve anonymity. PeC: Which social networking sites do you visit? FIELD TESTER 1: Facebook.com, Kaboodle.com, Stumbleupon.com, Yelp.com, Myfoxla.com, Dogpile.com, Del.icio.us, Iliketotallyloveit.com. FIELD TESTER 2: Linkedin.com and Facebook.com. FIELD TESTER 3: I visit Meetup.com, Linkedin.com, and occasionally Myspace.com. PeC: Which... Posted Feb 18 2008, 06:13 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• High Performer: Pasty.com Sells Meal In A Crust

  On Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula are two old copper mining communities — Kearsarge and Calumet. Calumet is home to Pasty Central, which operates a pasty kitchen in Kearsarge, the Pasty Central Express. Pasty Central is an employee-owned company, and its website, Pasty.com, has been online since 1996. The site includes the Pasty Cam Photo Of The Day, contests and hundreds of Upper Peninsula photographs. The project all started with the Still Waters Assisted Living Community (the original owners), whose residents once peeled the pasty vegetables as a regular activity. Pasty.com’s employees bought the company in 2001. To date, Pasty.com has sold and shipped more than 375,000 hand-made pasties to 5,856 zip codes in all 50 states. Pasties are shipped frozen and cost $29 for four, which includes shipping. General Manager Charlie Hopper has been with Pasty.com since its inception. High Performer Pasty.com Early day ecommerce site capitalizes on niche food item,... Posted Feb 18 2008, 04:04 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• Bikewagon.com: From Classifieds To eBay To Its Own Website

  Dale Majors is passionate about cycling. So much so that in 1999, at age 16, he decided to take a chance with selling bicycle gear online. His original goal was simple: He was looking to upgrade his own cycling equipment and needed the money to do so. Like other young aspiring entrepreneurs, he headed to eBay. One thing lead to another, and before long Majors was making roughly $1,000 a month selling cycling parts. Five years later, what had started in his parent’s basement turned into a full-time business — Bikewagon, which quickly became one of the largest cycling stores on eBay. In February 2007, Majors launched a website, Bikewagon.com, and the Salt Lake City-based business shows no sign of slowing of down. High Performer Bikewagon.com Consistent, steady growth pays off for specialty retailer: Scales from classifieds, to eBay to its own site. Size: $1 million approximate 2007 gross revenue. Biggest Obstacle: “Establishing systems and processes that are not... Posted Feb 13 2008, 08:57 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• Email Blacklists “Kind Of A Crazy Thing”

  What is an email blacklist? Email blacklists are compiled by industry watchers who track down the originating servers for emails that have the earmarks of spam. The resulting lists of web hosts, domains or IP addresses are used by anti-spam software companies, Internet service providers and corporate IT departments to determine what emails get through. - Jennifer D. Meacham Bob Frady is making his mark as vice president of direct marketing for LiveNation.com, a concert ticket mega-site based in Beverly Hills, Calif. With 26 million members, LiveNation’s emailed notices and newsletters bring in millions in ticket, CD and T-shirt sales. It’s Frady’s job to ensure those emails get through. “Sometimes I feel like the Internet service providers are playing a game of ‘What am I thinking?’ and responding with ‘You should know,’” Frady said. “Whatever the rules are, we’ll follow them. We just want to know what the rules are.” Frady already follows... Posted Feb 13 2008, 07:21 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• Quick Query: Debbie Levitt, CEO of As Was

  Debbie Levitt is the CEO of eBay’s first Certified Service Provider, As Was (Aswas.com), which offers services for online sellers including branding, design, and personalized sales and marketing strategies. Levitt is eBay’s first Certified Consultant and the first Education Specialist trained by eBay. Her recognized expertise as well as her approach to online branding, marketing and strategy are redefining the model of what are “good” eBay listings, eBay Stores, or websites. eBay recently announced some serious changes. What can you tell Practical Ecommerce readers about those changes? We know that with what eBay is planning on changing, sellers need to start reassessing how they do things and finding ways to change as soon as possible. Rather than waiting for eBay Live or an event later this year, we know that sellers need to learn what they can immediately. If Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) give your buyer the chance to rate your communication and how they felt about... Posted Feb 13 2008, 04:13 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles

• Mobile-optimized Websites Extend Customer Service

  When Apple reached out to Travelocity.com to develop an iPhone-optimized website, Travelocity jumped at the chance. “It was a great opportunity for us,” said Paul Briggs, Travelocity’s Director of Customer Marketing and Loyalty. “We already had a general mobile site, but with Apple’s suggestion, we also developed one just for iPhone users. Both the general site and the iPhone site enhance customer care by offering travel-tracking functions on mobile devices.” With Apple's collaboration, Travelocity launched its iPhone-optimized site. iPhone users entering Travelocity.com are redirected to the company’s standard mobile interface, a straightforward, text-only screen, that loads quickly with minimal bandwidth. iPhone users then click from there to take advantage of an interface customized to iPhone’s 3.5” screen. Both the standard and iPhone versions remain graphically branded to Travelocity and the iPhone version also includes the company’s signature character,... Posted Feb 11 2008, 09:03 PM by Practical Ecommerce Articles