January 2008
From MediaSell
FillZ NewsletterIf you are unable to view this message, please click ( http://wiki.fillz.com/wiki/index.php/January_2008 ) here.
Get Your FillZ! January 2008
Dear FillZ Client,
Happy New Year!
I can't believe it's been a full year since we released our first FillZ Newsletter. I hope you've enjoyed the bulletins as much as I've enjoyed putting them together. If you have any suggestions about features or content you'd like to see in future newsletters, please ( mailto:news1@fillz.com?subject=Newsletter%20Suggestion ) send me an email, I'd love to hear from you!
2007: A busy year
Internet Retailer reported overall online sales for 2007 were up 19% over 2006. If you're a video game or console seller you probably saw a boom in sales over the last year, as this was the fastest growing product category of 2007 seeing an increase of 129%. Though the books, movies and music categories didn't see such voluminous growth, sales were still up 13%. All sources I read indicated that Monday, December 10th was the busiest shopping day of the year.
At FillZ, rapid growth was not the only thing keeping us busy; we spent the year rolling out great new features, adding marketplaces and most recently we launched our redesigned web site. We're very excited about what 2008 has to offer. Some of the enhancements coming your way include: Support for more domestic and international markets Half.com repricing data Improvements to Inventory Input feature
Keep your eye on your Inbox; lots of great new features and tools are on the horizon.
Would you like to be famous?
We are looking for volunteers to share their success stories with us. We know there are a lot of happy FillZ customers out there and we're hoping that you'll contact us to participate in a case study. In exchange for your story, we'll credit you the fees for any new sign up that references the web site as the main reason they joined FillZ (a minimum of $50.00). If you'd like your business to be featured, please ( mailto:aleksa@fillz.com?subject=Feature%20My%20Business%21 ) send us an email. To read past case studies, click ( http://www.fillz.com/browse/company/casestudies ) here.
Exciting Changes for New Sellers
We're very happy to announce that later this month we'll be offering our first Live Web Demonstration for new FillZ sellers. You can sit back and watch as our lovely Key Account Manager, Lee-Ann Gavin, walks you through the basics of FillZ. Stay tuned for an upcoming forum announcement with more details.
Our Account Management and Customer Support team has also been very busy over the last few weeks. We've changed the way we handle new FillZ registrants. All new sellers now receive a phone call within 48 hours to help them get started. If you haven't been contacted and have some questions about the system, ( mailto:aleksa@fillz.com?subject=Please%20Contact%20Me&body=FillZ%20Username%3A%0D%0ATelephone%3A%0D%0ABest%20Time%20to%20Call%3A%20%28don%27t%20forget%20to%20include%20your%20Time%20Zone%29 ) send us an email with your FillZ username, your phone number and the best time to reach you (please include your time zone) and we'll make sure we drop you a line.
Cheers,
Aleksa H.
Contents |
[edit] Marketplace News:
[edit] AbeBooks:
Posts 11.8% increase in sales YOY. AbeBooks reports e-commerce sales of $190 million last year, up from $170 million in 2006. They also announced that they will begin testing a new coupon program. [ ( http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=25056 ) Read more]
[edit] Alibris:
Adds delivery confirmation to order reports. Earlier this month, Alibris added a delivery confirmation field to order fulfillment files. We have not yet integrated this feature, but do plan on making the change within the next couple of weeks. To read the announcement from Alibris, click ( http://wiki.fillz.com/wiki/index.php/January_2008_Order_Confirmation ) here.
Alibris moves forum. Alibris has a new forum provider and has enhanced this tool for users. Click ( http://wiki.fillz.com/wiki/index.php/January_2008_Forum_Change ) here to read the announcement from Alibris.
[edit] Amazon:
New Chargeback FAQ. Amazon has updated their Chargeback FAQ. For more details, click ( http://www.amazonsellercommunity.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=148509&tstart=0 ) here.
Thirteen is a lucky number for Amazon. The 13th Holiday season was the busiest ever for Amazon.com. Read some interesting statistics ( http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/071226/20071226005065.html?.v=1 ) here.
[edit] Barnes & Noble:
11% increase in online holiday sales. Online sales rose to $129.4 million at BarnesandNoble.com over the 9-week holiday season, up from $116.7 million in 2006. Click ( http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=25009 ) here for the full story.
[edit] Booklovers:
The World Book Market and Booklovers.co.uk merge. ( http://worldbookmarket.com/bookmarketinfo.php ) The World Book Market and ( http://www.booklovers.co.uk/ ) Booklovers.co.uk have merged to form a single bookselling entity. Inventories from each venue will be combined. To read the announcement, click ( http://www.worldbookmarket.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2281 ) here.
[edit] eBay:
President and CEO of eBay steps down. Meg Whitman, announced she will step down on March 31, 2008. John Donahoe, current head of eBay Marketplaces, will replace Whitman. [ ( http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m01/i24/s01 ) Read more]
Changes to pricing structure. eBay will be announcing a reduction in Insertion Fees and an increase in Commission Fees for auction, fixed price and Store listings. The new fee structure will go into effect on February 20, 2008. eBay will also be discounting Final Value Fees based on Detailed Seller Ratings (US and Canadian sellers only) as of April. eBay will no longer allow fixed price listings that are less priced below $1.00. [ ( http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m01/i29/s05 ) Read more]
Sellers banned from leaving negative feedback. Sellers will no longer be permitted to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers. [ ( http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m01/i29/s06 ) Read more]
[edit] Facebook:
MyWhuffie launches "Textbook Connect". Textbook Connect is a new textbook marketplace for the Facebook platform. If you're a Facebook user and are interested in exploring a new sales channel, contact ( mailto:support@mywhuffie.com ) support@mywhuffie.com. To find out more about Textbook Connect, click ( http://www.mywhuffie.com/?cat=3 ) here.
[edit] New Features on FillZ:
Order Export Report: We added the Cost and Source fields to the order export report. Note: This feature is currently not available to sellers with ISBN consolidation enabled. Click ( http://www.fillz.com/bb/view.php?bn=fillz_annoucements&key=1198024483 ) here to read our announcement.
New Supported Marketplace: The latest supported venue is eCampus. FillZ can list inventory and retrieve orders from this market, but sellers will still need to confirm orders directly on eCampus. To read the full announcement, click ( http://www.fillz.com/bb/view.php?bn=fillz_annoucements&key=1200603064 ) here.
Amex now accepted: In addition to Visa, MasterCard and PayPal, we now accept American Express for subscription payments.
Beta-server live: Last week we started moving volunteers to our beta-test server. We'd like to thank these sellers for their support and input as we begin to roll out new trial features. These sellers will be the first to use new features and will have a direct impact on the development of new seller tools for all of you.
International Sellers. For FillZ sellers residing outside of the USA, we have added USA to the packing slip to better identify the shipping destination. Note: All packing slips, regardless of the seller's location will include the Country of Destination. We will be updating this feature to allow sellers to enable or disable if they wish.
[edit] Upcoming Features:
Edit Custom and Chrisland Marketplaces. You'll be able to modify these settings to display the actual Marketplace name in order confirmation emails and packing slips. Watch the forums for an announcement early next week!
[edit] New Seller Corner
Are you new to FillZ?
Are you wondering why you're getting swamped with reports from Amazon? Why orders you've already shipped before you signed up with FillZ are in your account?
Visit our "TOP TEN THINGS FOR NEW SELLERS TO KNOW" page to find answers to these questions and more!
Click ( http://wiki.fillz.com/wiki/index.php/Top_Ten_Things_You_Need_to_Know ) here.
[edit] Newsletter Archive
Are you new to the monthly bulletin?
Want to see our archived Digests to get more tips on how to effectively use FillZ? Click ( https://www.fillz.com/browse/support/newsletter_archives ) here.
[edit] Did You Know?
FillZ Has A Referral Program?
FillZ rewards clients who refer our business to their friends and associates. Here's how it works: A new client references your FillZ user name or store name at sign-up. You spread the word about FillZ. We credit your account in the amount that the new client pays to FillZ after the first full month of chargeable services.
It's that easy!
FillZ offers Support via Live Chat? We would like to encourage you to try using our Live Chat. The support hours have been extended to serve you from 8:00am to 4:00pm, PST, Monday to Friday (excluding holidays) For more information about our Live Support, please click ( http://wiki.fillz.com/wiki/index.php/Contact_FillZ ) here.
[edit] FAQ
What if I have to ask a buyer for extra charges on AbeBooks?
Additional order processing functions such as requesting extra charges, reducing shipping, and processing returns are not supported through FillZ.
If you would like to perform one of these tasks, please sign on to your AbeBooks account and complete them through the Members Menu.
For more information regarding this procedure, please click ( http://wiki.fillz.com/wiki/index.php/Market:AbeBooks#Order_Processing: ) here.
[edit] Review FillZ
Tell everyone what you really think about FillZ!
If you have a Facebook account, take a minute to add a comment about FillZ. Feel free to gush or bash as much as you want! Click ( http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6917679771&ref=nf ) here.
[edit] Etc.
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Send us an email at ( mailto:news1@fillz.com ) news1@fillz.com and we'll deliver the newsletter to as many email addresses as you'd like!
[edit] Get Profiled!
Would you like your business to be featured in an upcoming "FillZ Presents" article?
Send us an email at ( mailto:news1@fillz.com ) news1@fillz.com.
FillZ Newsletter Copyright © 2008 FillZ. All rights reserved.
