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weekly stuff - number 8
Hi and welcome to this edition of the Weekly Stuff....
We know it's been a little while since the last edition however we have good reason. We've been hard at work on the next series of site enhancements.
Before we get into telling you what they include, we want to thank everyone that took part in our recent survey. The response was overwhelming and told us exactly what you want from our site. The overall feedback from our users was fantastic with over 95 percent of users telling us they love the site, how easy it is to use, and the customer support.
Now, onto the good stuff. Below, you'll see a summary of the enhancements we have recently completed. We believe they will be instrumental in the ongoing growth of Sellmystuff and have been developed based on what our users told us they want. So take a look and if you feel the urge, send us an email telling us what a great job we've done....
Oh and by the way, apologies for the length of this update but we've got a lot to tell you....
Pay Now with Paymate - now on line.
We have completed the integration of Paymate. Most of you will know who they are what they do. Basically, they provide a safe and secure way to purchase goods on line. Sellers can now select Paymate as an accepted payment method and the Paymate logo will appear with every item they have for sale. The buyer simply clicks on the Paymate logo and completes the sale process in a couple of minutes.
To accept Paymate you must -
- be registered as a seller with Paymate
- have a postage type and cost on each item you have listed
You can now include up to 3 different postage types and costs, and you can advise buyers that you offer combined postage discounts for multiple purchases.
When a purchase is made, your item is removed from the site and placed in the new "Sold Items" folder you will find in your "My Ads" page. If you have more than 1 of the item, it remains on the site for sale and the quantity available will simply be reduced by 1.
New Prepaid Plans
Many users commented on the use of the word "Subscription" and how it might deter new sellers from joining Sellmystuff. After discussions with our PR team, and some additional market research we agreed and decided that a change was needed.
As a result, we've created the new Prepaid Plans and made it even clearer that there are no additional fees to pay, and sellers are not locked in to any type of contract.
The Prepaid Plans have remained the same apart from 2 minor changes. The $3 plan (Casual Seller Account) has been changed to a Prepaid 5 and now allows up to 5 ads to be placed at any time for just $5. The Platinum account has been renamed to the Prepaid 90 and now allows sellers to list an unlimited amount of items for just $90.
You can now pay for your Prepaid Plan up to 12 months in advance and receive a discount of up to 20 percent when you do. Great for sellers who want to know their exact cost of selling for up to 12 months in advance.
html editing now added
Due to the overwhelming demand, we have now added HTML capabilities to the description text of your items. You can now add impact to your items using a variety of fonts in a wide selection of colours with bold, underline and italics.
eBay import tool - V 2.0 now operational
The ebay import tool was no doubt a contributing factor in our success to date. Many ebay sellers looking for a real alternative, were eager to get their items on Sellmystuff however the logistics of relisting hundreds, even thousands of items made it a costly excercise many were not willing to undertake.
Our new and improved version of the import tool has many benefits over the old one. Here are just a few of the new features -
- Maintains HTML text and formatting
- Automatically inserts postage types and costs
- Imports your refund policy (will appear on Sellmsytuff in September)
If we've already imported your ebay items and you would like us to refresh them with the new additions and features, or if you are a new user and would like us to import them for you, just click here, complete the ebay import request form and we'll get the import team right onto it.
Be easier to contact - list more direct contact details
One of the most popular aspects of Sellmystuff is that buyers and sellers deal directly with each other.
Our survey told us that a majority of buyers prefer dealing directly with the seller for a number of reasons. Some of which were -
- Virtually eliminates incorrect purchases due to incorrect or lack of information
- Reduces the overall risk of being ripped off or scammed
- Does away with misconceptions about the item, it's condition and when it will be delivered
- Buyers more likely to initiate contact when seller is not anonymous and easy to contact
Our goal is to connect buyers and sellers quickly and conveniently. Sellers are encouraged to advertise their contact details to make it as simple as possible for buyers to get directly in touch about items they have listed for sale.
Sellers can now advertise the following contact details -
- Phone number - home, work & mobile
- Fax number
- Email address - NEW
- MSN- NEW
- Skype - NEW
- Website or shopping cart
It is not compulsory to advertise this information. You can choose what details are displayed with your items. To enable these contact details, once logged in all you have to do is go to the "My Contact Details" enter the information and select whether or not to advertise it. This information will then be displayed with every item you have listed on Sellmystuff.
Advertising, marketing and google
Traffic...... that all important thing that makes or breaks a website.
This is without a doubt the area we have spent the most time researching, developing and rebuilding.
SO what have we done, and what are we doing?
Simply, we have undergone a complete SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) analysis and have re-written a major part of the site to make it easier for google and other search engines to find our site, and the stuff on it.
We have already noticed a significant improvement as sellers shops and their items on Sellmsytuff are now appearing near the top of the page in google searches.
This is of course is an ongoing project and we have recruited an SEO professional to manage this area of the site.
We have launched an affiliate marketing campaign with ClixGalore. They have assisted some of Australia's (and the world's) largest companies in driving traffic to their websites.
Sellmystuff advertisements have so far been placed on countless websites across Australia, and we'll be working very closely with a management team to keep our banners and campaign fresh, and top of mind.
The response so far has been great with over 75 affiliate links already placed. This and is just the first in a series of fresh and new marketing activities planned now that we have completed the latest updates to the site.
The Sellmystuff blog
Well, the official Sellmystuff blog is now up and running. We've created the blog to give our users have a place to have their say about our site.
We encourage you to use the blog to post your comments and suggestions, and to interact with other users so we can continue to take on board what you and other users have to say.
One of the current topics is whether we should open the site up to international users. We have received a substantial number of requests from the U.S.A and Hong Kong asking if they can be permitted to sell and buy on the site. We are open to the idea however the opinion of our users will inevitably make the decision for us.
Well, that's about it for this edition of the Weekly Stuff. Again, apologies for the length of it and we hope it didn't take too long to get through it.
As always, Phill, Glenn and the entire Sellmystuff team thank you for your support and wish you the very best.
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