eBay Issued Summary Judgment In Antitrust Lawsuit

U.S. District Court, Northern District of California Judge Jeremy Fogel granted eBay's motion for summary judgment. The summary judgment dismisses a lawsuit filed by eBay users who were alleging anti-competitive practices by both eBay and PayPal.

Click here to read the PDF document.

Featured Seller - James Robinson Creations On Artfire 03-04-10

This week we have chosen James Robinson Creations on Artfire as our featured seller. We were snooping around their sutdio and found some really cool items.

About James Robinson Creations

James Robinson has been crafting arts in wood and stone for over 40 years. Creating in any medium is akin to a painter or musical artist, you get an idea then you paint it to life. Something beautiful that never existed in that form 'comes' to Life ! It then becomes your gift to the Planet, James takes alot of pride in his 'children.' James tries to use recycled materials or found lumber and logs reclaimed from Hill Country area lakes. You'll never find a twig of wood in his creations stolen from the Amazonian Rain Forests.

Here are some of the cool things you will find at James Robinson Creations:

Rustic Western Cedar Bar / Counter
Product Description:

Here we have another Bar crafted in Old West Traditions. I collected weathered cedar posts, halfed them and they were afixed to a pine frame which is visible partially from the inside opening. Red cedar boards were used for the top & edges of top counter & inside shelfs. This Bar/ Retail Counter has a feel about it that's quite unique, I swear my Cowboy ancestors are pleased.

Dimensions: 54 1/4" long, 23 1/2 wide, 42" tall, weighs @250lbs. Finished counter top with uv tung oil & satin finish sealant. Can live in or out of doors.

This Bar/Counter is available in quantities or can be built to your specs for homes, bars, or business's.

Tan Hutch Buffet Cabinet
Product Description:

This piece is available for custom orders in any color- dimensions you desire or I can duplicate the one depicted that recently sold.

As pictured it's a beige/tan version, with bead board back. I get orders for these distressed/faux finished pieces from stores,homeowners and hotels. The predominant material is pine. Stands @6 1/2' tall by @36" wide.

This piece will take 2-6 weeks for delivery in most cases. please contact me prior to purchase to calculate shipping costs based on your location since it will go by freight.

Cedar Log Candle Set Calf Rope
Product Description:

These pieces are made from cedar 'logs' affixed to varying platforms, in this case a pine square base. Each is unique and I do take custom orders from retailers although by their nature each will be one of a kind I can duplicate the design elements and 'overall' look.

Each candle set is functional although one needs to realize they are using a variable called 'fire'. I suggest only the use of votives with metal (tin) casings-commonly sold.

I burn these regularly and each flame is spaced as to not ignite any combustible neighboring wood.

Each is styled in a western theme because the west is cool and finished in polyurethane and can be placed in or out of doors -except in wind.

Each is approx. 12-15 " tall by typically a 12-14" round or rectangular base. The item pictured though is the one your purchasing today. This one includes adornments of calfrope, barb wire and horseshoe.
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There's a lot more cool stuff at James Robinson Creations. We hope you will stop in and check out all of the offerings.

Interesting Story About Revenge

I got this in my email this morning. The timing of it was unbelievable as I have been feeling lousy about the way things are going on a particular ecommerce site (favortism of a few members / weighting of most everything to the benefit of managements favorite members and etc).

This email is so funny but yet very true. I thought my readers would like to read it too.

Enjoy!


The Best Revenge

One person jokingly says she never goes to bed angry. Instead, she stays awake and plots her revenge.

As one story goes, a group of occupational soldiers hired a local boy to run errands for them. The soldiers liked to relieve stress by playing practical jokes on the young boy. They would hide his belongings, put gum in his shoes, or send him on silly errands.

The boy handled the joking quite well. He never seemed upset by it. After a while, the soldiers decided that they had bothered the child enough. They approached him to apologize and to tell him that they would no longer play any jokes on him.

The boy replied in stilted English, "You stop making joke on me, I stop spitting in your soup."

He had his revenge. But for most of us, revenge turns out to be more bitter than sweet. Unsatisfying at best. It "has no more quenching effect on emotions than salt water has on thirst," one writer says. And it's true. The desire to inflict hurt and pain remains long after one has given in to the urge to get even. Bitter emotions are more often quenched by love and understanding than by fighting back.

Over 400 years ago, the English poet George Herbert said, "Living well is the best revenge." Good advice - especially when tempted to get even.

by Steve Goodier

ClickandBuy Takes Payments On Facebook

Facebook users will be able to use a payment application called Buxter which was developed by online payment provider ClickandBuy.

Users are able register and load their Buxter E-wallet in Euros or US dollars with a limit of 50 €.

Facebook users can transfer, receive and request money from other Facebook users through Buxter free of charge. For 1.9%, with a minimum of 2 € or $3 - they can withdraw money from their ClickandBuy accounts.

Christian von Hammel-Bonten, Senior VP, Head of Product Management, ClickandBuy says: "From now on, Facebook users can not only share their status and pictures, they can also share real money in a way that is fast, easy and secure."

Charles Fraenkl, CEO, ClickandBuy says: "Buxter is the application that will see Facebook members use the platform not just as a way to stay in touch but also as a fast, easy and secure way to exchange money or buy and sell products and services."

ClickandBuy, founded in 1999, is one of the leading online payment services. The ClickandBuy Group claims to have crossed the billion euro threshold in revenue in 2009. Over 16,000 online traders use ClickandBuy’s e-payment system for their e-commerce, retail, online entertainment, and paid content & services billing, including Apple iTunes, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, Orange, msn, AOL, Meetic, Parship, Electronic Arts (EA), Codemasters, Napster, McAfee, Panda, AutoScout24, RTL, Playboy, Financial Times Deutschland, Foto.com, Deutsche Boerse Group, KPMG, Yamaha, Digital River, Redcoon, bonprix.

Postal Service Outlines 10-Year Plan to Address Declining Revenue, Volume

USPS released an announcement of their future plans today that could affect online sales.

Click here to read what Postmaster General John E. Potter said.

Click here to read what the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Fredric Rolando, said in response to the proposed plan.

Artfire - Handcrafted eCommerce Website

We have been watching several ecommerce sites for quite awhile. We have to say that we really enjoy visiting ArtFire. There are many wonderful, unique, handcrafted items and the site is easy to navigate. We feel that the site is worth sharing with our readers.

Here is info from their site:

About ArtFire

ArtFire is an e-commerce solution that connects buyers and sellers of handmade and vintage goods as well as digital arts and craft supplies. ArtFire provides sellers all the benefits of a venue while offering the customization, control and features of a personal website. Our members are free to link to their other profiles on the web, including other selling venues, because we do not believe in limiting what our members do with their studios. Add in best-in-class selling, promotional, and learning tools and you have the most powerful artist-focused site on the web.

ArtFire is pioneering a process we've termed Community Directed Development to put our company leaders and developers in direct interaction with our community of artisans. We use their feedback and open discourse to build a site in real time. By using this feedback, we can innovate quickly by building new tools and guiding the site in a direction that best serves our community's interests.

Industry-First Features

Although ArtFire is less than a year old, we have several industry-first selling tools that we offer to all of our members, both basic (free accounts) and pro.

ArtFire Rapid Cart
Rapid Cart - The ArtFire Rapid Cart is a revolutionary new way for our members to do business. Any member can use the Rapid Cart on any site that can accept Flash. This tool pushes the POS to customers, effectively creating remote-sale-capable advertising. When a member posts a Rapid Cart they are off of ArtFire. The Rapid Cart can show items for sale that the artisan has selected or pull randomly from their shop. What makes the Rapid Cart special is that the buyer never has to leave the blog/website that they were originally on. When a buyer clicks on a product in a Rapid Cart, a new pop-up item window is opened where the buyer can, without signing up for an account on ArtFire, complete the entire checkout process. All of this takes place without the buyer ever having to navigate to ArtFire. The entire process is secured using 256-bit encryption, and everything is tracked by ArtFire so that our members can run their businesses with the most accurate data possible.

Facebook Kiosk
Facebook Kiosk - The ArtFire Facebook Kiosk is a one-of-a-kind Facebook application that allows any pro ArtFire member to import their studio and sell their goods right from their Facebook profile or fan page. Once the application is linked to a member's studio there is no more work to be done, the kiosk auto updates as changes are made to a member's studio. Much like the Rapid Cart, the Facebook Kiosk allows anybody to shop and checkout without leaving Facebook. Buyers are not required to sign up for an account during the process, which allows members to market their work to their fans, friends and family while also selling on the largest social networking site online.

ArtFire Coupon Codes
Coupon Codes - While coupon codes in e-commerce are a staple of the industry, the ArtFire Coupon Code system is the first fully customizable coupon building system available to an artisan marketplace. ArtFire members can make coupon codes that apply to any item, entire orders, studio categories, or specific items. They can choose from dollar off discounts, percentage off discounts, free shipping or free gift options. Every coupon can be set for a limited run date, set to run in the future, set to limited uses, or be valid for up to a year. The coupon code system also offers the ability to issue Gift Certificates that are tracked by ArtFire and make for great gifts on holiday occasions.

Market Hub
Market Hub - The ArtFire Market Hub is a tool we provide all of our members to help build their brand online. When a member updates their Market Hub, it allows shoppers that artisan's other web presences; the Market Hub is a tool we provide so that our members can link out to their own website, blog, Etsy shop, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube Profile, Indie Public, or MySpace profile. We believe our members should have multiple profiles and selling venues so we built Market Hub as a way for our members to tie their profiles together. Market Hub improves credibility and trust for artisans and helps them to overcome one of the common obstacles to online sales-uncertainty for buyers.

Google Base Submission

Auto Google Shopping Base Feed and Currency Conversion - When a member lists a product for sale on ArtFire, we automatically feed that product to Google Base shopping; this allows our members' products to appear in searches on the popular Google Shopping search engine. ArtFire also provides auto currency conversion for international shoppers. ArtFire recognizes where each visitor is located based on IP address and converts the sales prices to local currency using current conversion rates.

Our Story

ArtFire's story starts with our founder, John Jacobs. His story is best told in his own words:

"I grew up in a family of crafters; both my mother and father ran a jewelry supply business that had our family traveling around the country to craft shows just trying to make a living. In 1999 the internet provided my parents the opportunity to move their business off the road and sell their supplies on eBay. After I got out of the military (Air Force), I started several companies, one of which was a jewelry supply company which continued my family's tradition

My wife and I started Foxyfindings.com and became triple titanium power sellers on Ebay within several years selling beads and jewelry making supplies; along the way I learned some powerful lessons about how to choose a marketplace and what can happen when a venue puts share holders first and opts for profits over service to customers.

My inspiration behind ArtFire came as I watched how my customers, independent jewelry makers, were being treated by eBay. I grew tired as I watched the arbitrary ways that eBay and other venues handled their customers, not treating them as business partners. I noticed what seemed to be a "tax" on creativity with insertion/final value fees. I thought there should be a better option, a selling venue that treated its members with respect and recognized them as business partners. I founded ArtFire because, as a seller myself, I never found a venue that understood its role was to SERVE its members."

You can meet the rest of the ArtFire team by visiting the staff page.

ArtFire went into open beta in November 2008, since then we have experienced rapid growth at a rate of 2600%, and we are still growing. Our company's core principles are based on providing the best e-commerce tools we can for our customers and supporting them with unmatched customer service.

Announcement: Introducing Credit Cards At Atomic Mall

Atomic Mall is pleased to announce the addition of direct credit card acceptance for our sellers through Authorize.net, the internet's largest and most trusted credit card processor.

Effective March 1 2010, AM Sellers may add direct acceptance of Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover to their Storefronts as a secure, cost-effective payment alternative to the sites existing electronic payment methods. Buyers instinctively look for the familiar Visa and Mastercard logos when making purchases, and having an Atomic Mall store with this payment option enabled will go a long way toward converting browsers into Buyers.

At Atomic Mall we routinely monitor cart abandonment and ask shoppers why they chose not to complete a sale. Over 80% of the time, the response is "I couldn't pay with my credit card".

It's been proven that shoppers prefer direct credit card payments over all other methods due to the recognized security and convenience which goes hand-in-hand with that pay method. For these reasons we believe this addition to Atomic Mall will prove to be an extremely powerful tool for our seller base, and should help brand AM as a modern, forward-thinking ecommerce marketplace.

With this upgrade, Atomic Mall will be one of only a handful of marketplace sites which gives 3rd-party vendors the ability to accept direct credit card payments in combination with automated checkout and inventory management. This site enhancement presents a great opportunity for sellers to take advantage of its uniqueness as a way to attract and retain buyers that might otherwise abandon their carts and go elsewhere.

• Global Acceptance
  Individuals and Businesses in over 180 Countries rely on credit card acceptance for ecommerce transactions.
  
• Multi-Currency
  Cross-border payments are easy and automatic.
  
• Browsers-to-Buyers
  Browsers to yourAtomic Mall Store are looking for an easy way to checkout and pay. Credit cards offer the ultimate in convenience.
  
• Security
  Authorize.net offers a full lineup of fraud prevention resources and tools, and Buyers appreciate the safety built in to every credit card purchase.
  
• Fee Structure
  For most merchants, Authorize.net fees are extremely competitive with alternative payment options like Paypal and Google Checkout.
  
• Trustworthy
  More merchants trust Authorize.Net than any other payment gateway to manage their payment transactions securely and reliably.

Since 1996, Authorize.Net has been a leading provider of payment gateway services, managing the submission of payment transactions to the processing networks on behalf of merchant customers. On November 1, 2007, CyberSource Corporation acquired Authorize.Net. Collectively, the companies processed approximately 1.9 billion transactions in 2008, representing $109 billion of e-commerce.

Ready to add the familiar Visa/MC logo to your listings and storefront? Explore the Authorize.net Startup Guide and your store will be "Credit Card Ready" in no time! Take advantage of this great asset to improve your sell-thrus and begin converting Browsers into Buyers!

Blogger Posts On YouTube - Scam Found On eBay

Click here to read the AuctionBytes report on this story.

Here is the YouTube video: