You saw this coming. It has been a thought in the back of your head for the longest time ever since you opened your Bonanza booth.
You posted all the items that you wanted to sell, you tweaked every setting in your booth until it met your expectations, you setup your payment methods, and finally, you began your advertising of your booth in every place you can on the Internet, but something feels missing.
True this booth looks great the way it is but you want it to really stand out, to really show the world what you and this booth is all about. The time has come to personalize the graphics in your Bonanza booth.
Before you can even begin to redecorate your booth, you must have the right tools for the right job.
1. A great graphics program that allows you to paint, draw text, alter pictures to your taste, and allows you to save those pictures in the jpg, png, or gif image formats.
2. A 3D graphics program that allows you to make 3D objects, 3D text, alter pictures to your taste, and allows you to save those pictures in the jpg, png, or gif image formats.
For number 1, I use a very nice open source graphics package called The Gimp. Believe me, once you get your hands on this wonderful computer software, you will wonder how you got along without it.
For number 2, I would recommend another open source 3D graphics software called Blender. It has already been used to make several 3D graphics movies including "Elephants Dream" and "Big Buck Bunny"
With these two software programs, you will be able to create great looking booth banners, panel images, profile images, and more. The only limit is your imagination!
It will take some time to learn how to use the softwares but once you get the basics down, everything else will fall into place. Ideas will soon come and before you know it, you are designing your images for your booth.
The only thing you will have to be aware of is to make sure your images are the right size for each panel image, banner image, or profile image you are working on, otherwise, it will not look right once you upload them.
I have only scratched the surface. The rest is up to you to take it where you want it.
Happy Designing!!!!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Checking out Google Checkout
Well, the title pretty much says it all.
Before you can add it, you have to set up Google Checkout account at Google. After you jump through the hoops over there, you can do the rest of the set-up below.
I have been reading the forums over at Bonanza.com and pretty much everyone agrees that one should offer their customers more than one payment method so I decided to add it.
As soon as I did that, within 4 days, someone used it. It kind of shocked me on how fast it was put to use. All I then had to do was to go to Google Checkout, login, and approve the charge. You can also set it up to automatically do that for you.
It is pretty easy to set up. All you have to do is login to Bonanza, go to the sell page, change your "Payment types accepted:" settings to include Google Checkout, click "Update Booth" and a page should show up asking for your Google Merchant ID and Your Google Merchant key. That page will also show you the URL you have to copy to the "API callback URL:" on the "Integration" page at Google Checkout.
To get the merchant ID and key, you would have to login to Google Checkout in another browser tab or window, click on "My Sales" in the upper right of the page, click on "Settings" on the upper left of that page, and finally, click on "Integration" on the lower left of that page. You should now be looking at your Google Merchant ID and Key. Copy the Merchant ID and key to the Bonanza page. Copy the API Callback URL from Bonanza to Google Checkout.
Make sure the "Call Back Contents" is set to "Notification as XML" and then hit the save button on the bottom. Also hit the save button on the Bonanza page.
It took me around 15 minutes to do it all but it was worth it. If your customers see that you have more than one way to pay, they are more likely to buy from you.
Now I am sitting back and seeing how this works out. I am hoping for the better.
Until next time, happy selling!!!
Before you can add it, you have to set up Google Checkout account at Google. After you jump through the hoops over there, you can do the rest of the set-up below.
I have been reading the forums over at Bonanza.com and pretty much everyone agrees that one should offer their customers more than one payment method so I decided to add it.
As soon as I did that, within 4 days, someone used it. It kind of shocked me on how fast it was put to use. All I then had to do was to go to Google Checkout, login, and approve the charge. You can also set it up to automatically do that for you.
It is pretty easy to set up. All you have to do is login to Bonanza, go to the sell page, change your "Payment types accepted:" settings to include Google Checkout, click "Update Booth" and a page should show up asking for your Google Merchant ID and Your Google Merchant key. That page will also show you the URL you have to copy to the "API callback URL:" on the "Integration" page at Google Checkout.
To get the merchant ID and key, you would have to login to Google Checkout in another browser tab or window, click on "My Sales" in the upper right of the page, click on "Settings" on the upper left of that page, and finally, click on "Integration" on the lower left of that page. You should now be looking at your Google Merchant ID and Key. Copy the Merchant ID and key to the Bonanza page. Copy the API Callback URL from Bonanza to Google Checkout.
Make sure the "Call Back Contents" is set to "Notification as XML" and then hit the save button on the bottom. Also hit the save button on the Bonanza page.
It took me around 15 minutes to do it all but it was worth it. If your customers see that you have more than one way to pay, they are more likely to buy from you.
Now I am sitting back and seeing how this works out. I am hoping for the better.
Until next time, happy selling!!!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Read my policies or walk the plank!
When potential customers stop by your booth at Bonanza, a few questions will cross their minds while looking over your wonderful items.
Some of these questions will include:
1. What is the guarantee on your items?
2. What is your return policy?
3. Do you offer refunds or exchanges?
4. Do you offer shipping discounts if they buy multiple items from you at the same time?
Of course there will be other questions as well.
This is why you would want to set up your policy page at Bonanza. If set up properly, your customers will know what to expect with no unwanted surprises.
It is ok to throw in a freebie once in awhile.
Yes the chat feature at Bonanza is great for answering questions when they come up but after awhile you will end up repeating what you have already answered.
Give your fingers the rest they deserve and set up the policy page. Your fingers would be very happy that you did.
When you make your policy page, be sure to answer all 4 of the above questions. Explain in detail the answer to each so that there will be no misunderstandings later on.
It is also helpful to have an overview of your policies in each of your auctions also. This will help to increase trust with your customers.
Trust is a commodity that you can not do without.
That is my story and I am sticking to it.
Some of these questions will include:
1. What is the guarantee on your items?
2. What is your return policy?
3. Do you offer refunds or exchanges?
4. Do you offer shipping discounts if they buy multiple items from you at the same time?
Of course there will be other questions as well.
This is why you would want to set up your policy page at Bonanza. If set up properly, your customers will know what to expect with no unwanted surprises.
It is ok to throw in a freebie once in awhile.
Yes the chat feature at Bonanza is great for answering questions when they come up but after awhile you will end up repeating what you have already answered.
Give your fingers the rest they deserve and set up the policy page. Your fingers would be very happy that you did.
When you make your policy page, be sure to answer all 4 of the above questions. Explain in detail the answer to each so that there will be no misunderstandings later on.
It is also helpful to have an overview of your policies in each of your auctions also. This will help to increase trust with your customers.
Trust is a commodity that you can not do without.
That is my story and I am sticking to it.
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Booth, The Whole Booth, And Nothing But The Booth, So help you.
Oh yeah, setting up your booth at Bonanza is indeed that important. Most of your future customers will get their first impressions about you from the way your booth is set up.
If you have not done so already, you could log into Bonanza and change the appearance of your booth. You could even change the banner that goes across your booth. The banners at Bonanza are great but if you really want to personalize your booth, you can make one of your very own and upload it. Just make sure the banner is the same size as the original banner that you are replacing.
With a membership upgrade, you could even add panels to your booth that display pictures, your discounts, what payments you accept, etc.
I have not grown up yet to get a membership upgrade but if I be good, hopefully mommy will let daddy get one.
Bonanza already has thrown in a bunch of bells and whistles to make your booth interesting so look into those items too.
May the force be with you.
If you have not done so already, you could log into Bonanza and change the appearance of your booth. You could even change the banner that goes across your booth. The banners at Bonanza are great but if you really want to personalize your booth, you can make one of your very own and upload it. Just make sure the banner is the same size as the original banner that you are replacing.
With a membership upgrade, you could even add panels to your booth that display pictures, your discounts, what payments you accept, etc.
I have not grown up yet to get a membership upgrade but if I be good, hopefully mommy will let daddy get one.
Bonanza already has thrown in a bunch of bells and whistles to make your booth interesting so look into those items too.
May the force be with you.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Twitter...If you dare
As you add items to your ever growing Bonanza booth, you may have wondered,"Should I tweet about my booth on Twitter?" The short answer is yes but as we all know, life is not that simple.
The long answer is that you have to allow Bonanza to access your Twitter account so that it can send the tweets to it.
After you have set everything up, all you would have to do is log in (you have to be logged in to see the "Tweet It" button), goto any item in you booth, locate the tweet it button( usually near the bottom of the item listing), click on it, type something interesting about the item, and click the tweet button. Almost too easy.
Before you do that, carefully read the "Publish Item To Twitter" page at Bonanza.
As it states, you should only tweet about one item per day.
If you tweet about more than one product per day, it will be seen as spam by your followers on Twitter.
Don't make them angry. You would like them when they are angry.
The long answer is that you have to allow Bonanza to access your Twitter account so that it can send the tweets to it.
After you have set everything up, all you would have to do is log in (you have to be logged in to see the "Tweet It" button), goto any item in you booth, locate the tweet it button( usually near the bottom of the item listing), click on it, type something interesting about the item, and click the tweet button. Almost too easy.
Before you do that, carefully read the "Publish Item To Twitter" page at Bonanza.
As it states, you should only tweet about one item per day.
If you tweet about more than one product per day, it will be seen as spam by your followers on Twitter.
Don't make them angry. You would like them when they are angry.
Connecting to my customers...Lets Chat
After I imported my feedback from the mighty empire that is Ebay, I wanted to use the chat feature at Bonanza to it's full advantage.
Bonanza already has an in-house chat system that allows you to chat with anyone that enters your booth and they chat back. It is wonderful but it is useful only if you are logged into Bonanza on your computer. To really take it to the next level, you have to set it up so that it is connected to one of your instant messenger services that you use. This would allow you to receive the same messages you would get as though you are still logged into Bonanza, but it will come through your instant messenger client instead, and you would be able to chat back.
As you can see, this feature can really help you with people that have questions about what you are selling, your booth policies, etc.
To accomplish this mighty goal, all you have to do is log into Bonanza, Go to your account settings, click on the seller settings tab, and carefully follow the directions presented.
If you have set it up correctly, you should be able to receive notifications of people entering your booth, and any messages or questions they leave.
Of course, they could also send you a quick email, if you have provided your email address for Bonanza to send those emails to.
Yes, our empire is growing.
Bonanza already has an in-house chat system that allows you to chat with anyone that enters your booth and they chat back. It is wonderful but it is useful only if you are logged into Bonanza on your computer. To really take it to the next level, you have to set it up so that it is connected to one of your instant messenger services that you use. This would allow you to receive the same messages you would get as though you are still logged into Bonanza, but it will come through your instant messenger client instead, and you would be able to chat back.
As you can see, this feature can really help you with people that have questions about what you are selling, your booth policies, etc.
To accomplish this mighty goal, all you have to do is log into Bonanza, Go to your account settings, click on the seller settings tab, and carefully follow the directions presented.
If you have set it up correctly, you should be able to receive notifications of people entering your booth, and any messages or questions they leave.
Of course, they could also send you a quick email, if you have provided your email address for Bonanza to send those emails to.
Yes, our empire is growing.
Importing my feedback...Does it matter?
Well after I signed up with Bonanza, I decided to quickly import my feedback from Ebay. I wanted future customers to know that I am the real deal.
At first I was kind of worried about submitting my Ebay password and ID to the feedback importer at Bonanza but after I read the "Import your Feedback From Ebay" page, I was ok.
It took less than 5 minutes to import my feedback into my Bonanza profile. Now I just need to get more good feedback from my future customers. The only way that will happen is if I give great customer service. No problem.
So far, so good.
At first I was kind of worried about submitting my Ebay password and ID to the feedback importer at Bonanza but after I read the "Import your Feedback From Ebay" page, I was ok.
It took less than 5 minutes to import my feedback into my Bonanza profile. Now I just need to get more good feedback from my future customers. The only way that will happen is if I give great customer service. No problem.
So far, so good.
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