Bonanzle Up 2010 – Exploding Forward

Bonanzle Up 2010 – Exploding Forward
This is the Main National Event with the Bonanzle Team, including Founder/CEO Bill Harding.

Live!

August 7th, 2010 at the Four Points Sheraton in Kansas City, MO.

Arranged is a one day line of fantastic speakers, including none other than the baby’s daddy himeself, Bill Harding and Mr. John “ColderICE” Lawson.

You do not want to miss this event. So register now!

Registration fee is $25.00 on a pre-sale basis. After July 7th, the price goes up to $35.00. You will need to purchase a registration for each person attending. Each registration purchased, means one name badge and one seat at event. The full name and Bonanzle ID you submit with purchase will be on the name badge you receive at the event.

A secured room rate of $70.00 per night at the Four Points Sheraton for our attendees is available. They have extended the rate from 3 days before till 3 days after the event! There is a live link on registration page to secure your special room rate.

Dress is Business/Business Casual

Preliminary Schedule of Events:

Friday August 6th

Tanner's Bar (inside Sheraton) 7-12pm - Meet and Greet

Saturday August 7th

8:00 - 8:30 Registration and Coffee

8:30 - 12:00 Presentations

12:00 - 1:15 Lunch

1:15 - 5:00 Presentations

7-12 Bonanzle Night Life After Hours -- Location to Be Announced

Registration:
http://www.bonanzleboardroom.com/bonanzle-up-2010/

Questions?
info@bonanzleboardroom.com

Gold prices could hit $1,500

New York -- Gold prices, which touched a new high of $1,249 an ounce Thursday, are expected to head northwards on a "medium-term basis," reaching $1,338 to $1,550 levels, according to reports from Kitco and ScotiaMocatta, the global bullion banking division of the Bank of Nova Scotia.

Analysts say that even at current levels, investors in gold have already made a profit of approximately 7.92 percent, and that investor desire for physical gold will remain strong and will support higher prices.

In India, higher gold prices might prompt a pull back in consumer jewelry demand, analysts says, but with the Hindu holy day Akshaya Tritiya right around the corner, market reports also indicate that consumers have already begun purchasing large amounts of gold. Though the holy day is not until May 16, customers have been making their bookings in order to take advantage of the current price advantage. At press time, gold was trading at just under $1,240 per ounce.

According to tradition, starting a new activity or buying valuables, including gold jewelry, on the day of Akshaya Tritiya is thought to bring individuals luck and success.

Gold prices since January have primarily remained in the $1,000 and $1,100 range, but broke the $1,200 mark in early May and continue to climb.

Source

In case you haven't noticed,
silver is trading at a pretty high price also.

Featured Seller - Vianvi: Vintage Jewelry Showcase On Ruby Lane 03-11-10

If you are into really awesome vintage jewelry, you most certainly should check out Vianvi: Vintage Jewelry Showcase on Ruby Lane. Their items are not only absolutely beautiful, many are very unique. They carry estate diamond & gemstone jewelry, rings and vintage designer costume jewelry. They offer their items exclusively on Ruby Lane. Vianvi has been a RL member since January 2008.

Vianvi is a must see store if you appreciate fantastic jewelry pieces!

Click the titles below, they connect directly to the listing.

London Blue 3.33 ct Topaz & .88 ct VS Diamond Ring in 14k- Just Appraised at $3200 USD!


Rare 5-strand Angel Skin Coral & 14k Gold Bead Necklace



1.43ct Cushion-Cut Natural Fancy Yellow Diamond Engagement Ring



Art Deco 14k Designer Bangle with Genuine Rubies, Sapphires & Cultured Pearls - Appraised at $2850 CAD!



Rare Italian-Made Exquisite Natural JADEITE
and 4ct Diamond Necklace


About Vianvi: Vintage Jewelry Showcase

(Info gathered from Vianvi's Ruby Lane profile.)

We specialize in diamond and gemstone vintage and antique jewelry: rings, necklaces, bracelets etc fashioned from 10k, 14k, 18k and higher. You'll find sapphires, rubies, emeralds in our lovely pieces, along with more unusual stones like alexandrite, yellow canary diamonds, and pad sapphires. Besides fine jewelry from CARTIER and TIFFANY, we also carry a limited range of designer costume jewelry: Sherman, Schiaparelli, Caviness, Miriam Haskell, Weiss, D&E (Juliana) along with unsigned items.

All our gold items are tested via standard acid testing, even if stamped with a karat content, and all diamond jewelry is tested via our top-of-the-line PRESIDIUM Diamond & Gemstone Tester. Appraisals are available on many of our higher end pieces.

We are a mother (Viga) & daughter (Victoria) team i.e. Vi and Vi which makes us VIANVI. We opened our shop VINTAGE JEWELRY SHOWCASE, here on RUBY LANE, back in 2008. Since then we've serviced customers worldwide and some of their praise for our items and service is listed below for you to read so you can feel comfortable shopping with us. We are now looking forward serving them again, and gaining new customers worldwide at our newly opened shop at RUBY PLAZA. Please see the direct link to ViANvi: VINTAGE & CONTEMPORARY COLLECTIBLE JEWELRY above. You'll be able to purchase new or newer items there if that's what you want, along with other items we couldn't sell in our Ruby Lane shop. We hope you'll take the time to check us out there and bookmark both shops. And if you previously had some of our items on your wish list here at Ruby Lane and don't see them there now, check our RUBY PLAZA shop. Your Wish List item might be listed there now instead

Viga is the source of our designer vintage costume jewelry (Sherman, Schiaparelli, Hagler, Haskell, Weiss etc) but both she and Victoria are focused on fine jewelry ie. diamond and gemstone rings, necklaces, pendants, brooches & bracelets. Victoria specializes in diamond & gemstone rings and also sells loose diamonds and gemstones from her personal website, BUY GENUINE GEMSTONES . (Contact Victoria for further information on her gemstones for your jewelry projects).

Both of us are always attending estate sales, auctions, antique shows and other venues in search of beautiful jewelry. We're incorrigible shoppers and can't resist lovely pieces. We're always shopping with our customers in mind and try to find items you won't find elsewhere. So count on us to offer you the unique, the unusual. Join our growing list of happy customers who always tell us we carry the most beautiful, quality items at the most realistic prices.

Viga and Victoria are both regular contributors to the RUBY LANE BLOG.

Viga also writes 2 other blogs: Vianvi: VINTAGE & CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY and for those interested in Sherman jewellery, SHERMAN VINTAGE JEWELRY Blog located at Blogger. As well, she is the webmaster of 3 information sites that are focused on jewelry and collectibles. Just search GOOGLE for DESIGNER VINTAGE JEWELRY, BUY GENUINE GEMSTONES INFO and ViAnVi: Diamond & Gemstone Jewelry and Other Collectibles

One of the best parts about buying from us is that one of us, if not both, is always around to answer emails or questions about our beautiful jewelry.

We are based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada but have been selling to customers worldwide for months now via auctions, our personal websites and out of our home. We have developed a loyal customer base because of the quality of our jewelry, our customer service, our ability to respond quickly to all inquiries and as one customer has said, our "willingness to go the extra mile" for customer satisfaction.

On our high-end items, we are willing to offer LAY-A-WAY Just contact us and ask! And though we hate to do this, any PAY PAL PAYMENTS subject to small additional fee.

If possible, we prefer and encourage our Canadian customers to use INTERAC in preference to PayPal. Please enquire if you are unfamiliar with online INTERAC.

We invite any visitors from our local area in Hamilton/Niagara to view our jewelry in person at your convenience. For those out of our immediate vicinity, we are only an email or phone call away .... but please consider time zones!
-------
Be sure to check in with Vianvi soon and often!

JCK Las Vegas June 4-7, 2010

JCK Las Vegas is committed to providing the best, most comprehensive experience for buyers and exhibitors --- setting the jewelry industry standard for quality and choice in a secure, trusted environment. It's the best place to build and sustain relationships with all of the major suppliers as well as source the largest selection of jewelry, gems, timepieces and product line launches.

Show Information

Dates, Times and Location:

JCK Las Vegas Exhibits:
Friday, June 4 – Monday, June 7, 2010

Friday, June 4 9:30am - 6:00pm
Saturday, June 5 9:30am - 6:00pm
Sunday, June 6 9:30am - 6:00pm
Monday, June 7 9:30am - 4:00pm

Sands Expo & Convention Center / The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino - Las Vegas, NV


AGTA Exhibits:
Thursday, June 3 – Monday, June 7, 2010

Thursday, June 3 10:00am - 6:00pm
Friday, June 4 9:30am - 6:00pm
Saturday, June 5 9:30am - 6:00pm
Sunday, June 6 9:30am - 6:00pm
Monday, June 7 9:30am - 4:00pm

The AGTA GemFair™ Cultured Pearl & Jewelry Pavilion is located in The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino Grand Ballroom adjacent to the Sand's Convention Center.

Click here for new buyer qualifications.

Click here for more information and to register online.

Click here if you are interested in exhibiting.

Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show 2010

Show Times
June 3 - June 5, 2010: 11 AM to 7 PM
June 6, 2010: 11 AM to 4 PM

Ticket Prices
$15 for all four days

Opens 1 Day before the JCK Show!

**Trade Only**
Valid ID and Business Card Required for Entry

Located at:
MGM Grand Pavilion
MGM Grand Las Vegas
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Click Here To Purchase Tickets Online.

Internet Retailer Names 2010 Top 10 Retailers

Internet Retailer has named the top 10 internet retailers for 2010 in their annual Top 500 Guide of the most successful internet retailers.

Number one is Amazon which reported $24.51 billion in sales in 2009, up almost 28% from the $19.17 billion sales in 2008.

Here are the Top 10 and their 2009 sales totals. Also included is the percentage of change over the previous year:

• 1. Amazon (AMZN): $24.51 billion, up almost 28%


• 2. Staples Inc (SPLS): $9.8 billion, up 27.3 percent


• 3. Dell Inc (DELL): $4.53 billion, down 6.2 percent


• 4. Apple Inc (AAPL): $4.25 billion, up 16.7 percent


• 5. Office Depot (ODP): $4.1 billion, down 14.6 percent


• 6. Wal-Mart.com (WMT): $3.5 billion, up 19.8 percent


• 7. OfficeMax (OMX): $2.78 billion, down 10 percent


• 8. Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD): $2.77 billion, up 3 percent


• 9. CDW Corp. (CDW): $2.47 billion, down 5 percent


• 10. Best Buy (BBY): $2.45 billion, up 20 percent

According to Internet Retailer, the Top 10 accounted for more than 45% of all U.S. online sales in 2009.

The Top 10 accomplished this by:

• Strong name recognition and brand awareness;


• Focusing their efforts on their most loyal customers last year;


• Offering large quantities of merchandise;


• Offering lots of discount deals and


• Providing a superior online shopping experience.

Amazon remains on the top due to their excellent customer service.

Customer Service - An Opportunity To Stand Out & Gain Repeat Business

An internet buyer enters a shop within a multi-seller venue. They see an item that catches their eye but they are unsure of the size offered so the buyer sends an email to the seller asking about the size.

It's not too long until this buyer gets a response from the seller. The buyer opens the email to read
In Part:

"The sizes are in the listing. Would you like me to put them in the titles?"

Of course the buyer is shocked at this response and wonders just what kind of seller would talk to them like that.

The buyer then writes back:

"I’m sorry that I asked about the sizes. You see I’m fairly new to the computer and at my age learning something new isn’t so easy. I didn’t realize that all I would’ve needed to do was to click on the picture of the product to see the details. It took one of my kids to point this out to me. You really must think I’m stupid but really I’m sorry."
---

In this case, the buyer was an elderly person with little computer experience and has never shopped online before. Of course the seller did not know this before they responded to the email. By keeping responses professional, this buyer would not have felt the need to explain the reason for their question.

After the email of explanation from the buyer, the seller changed their tune and acted much more civil than in their first response.

*********************************************When dealing with customers online, sellers never know who they are dealing with. It could be a youngster who is quite computer savvy, a middle aged person who knows their way around the internet fairly well or in this case, it could also be an elderly person who is learning their way around.

One thing is for sure when dealing with any customer online, the way a seller responds to an email can leave a lasting impression. Sometimes, that impression will cost the seller possible customers and sales.

Answering emails and other interactions sellers have with thier customers should never leave the buyer feeling stupid as they did in the above circumstance. The customer service a seller provides should always be courteous and professional.

Building a successful business online is hard work. You should put forth the same effort you would if you were running a brick and mortar business. To stand out from your competition and to keep buyers coming back emphasizing customer service will give you the edge. Keeping your customers happy will lead to loyal visitors of your site. Here are some things you can do to provide your customers with the best online shopping experience possible.

Tips for all online venues including multi-seller:

• Sell products that you know well. Selling products you know a lot about makes it easy to answer questions and to list the product with all pertinent information. Help your customers make educated purchases by providing as much information about each item as possible. Provide the best images of the product as possible. Picutres of various angles of the item are helpful to your customers. Include size, colors, weight and any features the item comes with to allow customers to know exactly what they will be getting when they buy something from your site.


• Provide great products at the best possible price. Some sellers believe in adding a free gift to orders. Our belief is that if you sell great products at the best possible price, your product will stand alone quite well. Added gifts may be a nice gesture but your customer may not even care for the item. Some sellers believe in constant sales promotions and coupons. We believe that if your prices are set at the best price possible, you will not need to do either. In fact, if you are not already overcharging your buyer before having a sale or offering a coupon, you would lose money. Another fact is, if you raise your prices before offering a sales promotion or coupon, you are operating against the FTC rules and guidelines. Giving every buyer the best possible price will create many repeat customers.


• Always provide what you promise and in the timeframe stated. If you promise customers something, whether it is a particular product, free shipping, fast delivery, a replacement item or whatever, make sure you do exactly that. Besides being against the FTC rules and guidelines, it also shows poor customer service if you do not do as you stated.


• Make communication easy. List your email, fax, phone numbers and any other contact information in places where shoppers will easily see them. If a "Contact" page is available to you, place your information there also.


• Establish credibility anyway you can. Many people, especially those new to buying things online, find it difficult to trust an online business. You should do everything you can to inform customers about you and your business. Provide addresses, photos, and honest customer testimonials, if available, to help build the trust of your customer base.


• Develop an informative email template. Templates can help ensure sure that all of your customers are getting essential information and the same level of service. Create basic templates that will allow you to add in individual responses to each customer as you need to. Personalize them to suit each customer and the item purchased such as, including their name, item title or other ways to further connect with the customer.


• Respond to emails and calls as soon as possible. Do not leave customers hanging or wondering what is going on. Answer inquiries as soon as possible. Create a fast and reliable system to respond to emails. Unless you have a part of your business dedicated solely to customer service, you’re going to have to figure out how to handle the emails that you get to provide your customers timely responses to their questions and orders. Create set times to check your email. Answer easier questions first rather than those that might require you to do some research, so that no one is ever left waiting too long for a response.


• Maintain a courteous, professional and caring attitude. Always be professional when dealing with your customers, but not so much that it seems that you don't care about the customer. Make sure your customers know that you genuinely care about their problems and concerns and that you want to provide them with fantastic service.


• Write emails carefully and thoughtfully. Emails make it very difficult to feel the tone and meaning behind even the simplest of statements. It can be challenging to diffuse a situation or resolve a problem with a customer. When writing emails, it’s best to stick with a polite, courteous tone. Doing so leaves little room for misinterpretation of what you are trying to say and exactly what you mean. Without seeing facial expressions, such as we do in person, it is tough to pick up on what is being said and /or the tone of the email.


• Learn how to listen well to customer needs. To find out what will satisfy your customers and make them happy, sometimes you just need to be quiet and really listen to what they are telling you. Pay attention to word choice, tone of voice and most importantly, how they feel about their experience. Use that information to make their shopping experience the best it can be.


• Always let you customers know that they are important. If you want to repeat business from your customers, communicate so that they know that they really matter to you and that their orders, no matter how large or small, are important to you. Listen to what they have to say. Be completely sincere in your appreciation of their business.


• Remember the importance of accommodating customer requests whenever possible. Try to accommodate special requests as much as you can. This can make a big difference in how buyers see you and your business.


• Always send confirmation emails. Whether automated or manual, when a customer places an order with you, always let them know that you’ve received their order and that you’re processing it. If you have an automated email sent upon receipt of an order, that should be sufficient. It is courteous to send an email when you ship the product. If you have all necessary information regarding times noted in your listings or your policies / terms of service, it is not necessary to send a notice of shipment but buyers seem to appreciate them. They like knowing the status of their purchase as much as possible. This may also help the customer to feel confident in purchasing from you.


• Keep customers updated. A big part of creating customer confidence is always letting customers know what is happening, even if there is some kind of problem that arises or if there is going to be a delay. Once again, if all of the shipping information, including timeframes is included in your terms of service, this does not need to be done by email unless there is a variance in the information provided and what is actually happening. Customers should never have to wonder about the status of their order, so send them emails, give them a call, and provide easy options if there is ever something out of ordinary happening with their order.


• Provide clear policies and terms of service. You can avoid many problems by clearly stating all of your policies, terms of service and anything else that could possibly be of concern to your customers. If a problem arises, the buyer will know what to expect from you. Doing so also protects both you and your customers.


• Ensure the security of all personal information. Many people fear that their personal information will not be secure when they place an order online. Ensuring that your site is secure can ease their fears. Let customers know about the security programs and etc. you have in place to protect their private information.


• Provide multiple payment options. Not all customers like the same payment services or options. You could lose sales because you only provide customers with one way to pay.


• AlWAYS thank your customers for their purchase in each email you send.


• Remember small touches say a lot. The little things are what customers will remember when buying from you, and they will set you apart from all of the other online retailers. For example, offer free gift wrap or send out handwritten thank you notes with each purchase.


• Try to exceed buyer expectations. Customers are pleasantly surprised when you exceede their expectations regarding customer service. It can be as simple as very fast shipping with packages arriving sooner than expected or going out of your way to produce a special order. Customers will remember the way they were treated and they will come back for more if you provide fantastic service.


• Follow up with your customers after the sale. Follow up with customers to see how they felt about their experience and make sure that problems have been resolved satisfactorily. This will open the door to communication and let your customer know that you truly care about them and appreciate their patronage.


• Try to always end sales on a high note. When a customer emails or calls you with a problem or concern, make sure the call does not end on a negative note. Try to keep communication positive by stating the things that you are doing to solve their issues instead of ending your call or email with an apology. Assure you customer that they can look forward to a good resolution.


• Always be completely honest with your customers. Never lie to your customers. Even if you feel like you are protecting your reputation, honesty really is the best policy. If you have made a mistake, be honest and upfront about the problem. Customers will appreciate the gesture and may realize that your business is trustworthy.


• Treat problems as an opportunity for your customer service skills to shine. Changing your attitude about customer compaints can be an opportunity to provide customer service at it's best. Working through issues can provide you the chance to prove to your customers what a great business you are running.


• Allow customers a choice of solutions. Sometimes you and your customer have different ideas as to what solution is best for the issues at hand. Give your customers options that may resolve the problem positively for them so they know you really care about serving their needs and resolving the issue amicably. If you ask what the customer feels is the best way to make them happy, may be the easiest way to reolve an issue.


• Never argue with your customers. Customers may not always be right, but as far as your business is concerned, they can make or break you. Do whatever it takes to fix whatever it is the customer is dissatisfied about.


• Apologizing can be the best resolve. Everyone makes a mitake from time to time. Take responsibility for any errors made by your company, even if they weren’t directly your fault. Sometimes the best way to fix a problem is simply to aplolgize. You should always apologize to customers for any errors on the part of your company. Customers appreciate a sincere apology.


• Do not try too hard and overcompensate. It is a good idea to give unhappy customers a little something extra to make sure they are satisfied but do not try too hard and overcompensate. Always remember to look professional in your dealings.


• Trust your customers, most are very honest. Most people are reluctant to complain. Trust your customers when they say they have a problem. They usually are telling the truth and are not just out to take something from you for nothing. By trusting your customers, they will likely become a loyal shopper when you help them to solve their issues.


• Don’t try to upsell to unhappy customers. Some business guides will tell you that you should use every opportunity to upsell customers. When a customer has had a negative experience with a purchase, they might be a little irritated if the same company tried to sell them something else while fixing the initial problem. Forget upselling and work on keeping your customers happy.


• Do not script customer service phone calls. If you offer phone support, do not use a script. Customers will become annoyed and it makes it difficult for them to get answers for their specific problem. Have some standard operating procedures on hand for common problems, but do not script entire conversations.


• Know when a customer needs to be sent to your competition. There are times when your business simply is not the best solution for some customers. While sending them to your competitor might cost you a sale, it can save you from having a dissatisfied customer.


• Focus on turning shoppers into customers, not sales. The long term strategy for your business should be more about building customer relationships than making individual sales. It is more difficult and takes a lot more time to attract new customers than it does to make repeat customers out of existing ones. Happy customers will be your best source of business.

Providing great customer service should be an essential part of your business.
Tips for your own website:

• Use a good, reliable hosting service. Your web host can influence customer service. Your host shoud keep your site reliable and fast loading. Be sure to go with a host that can easily handle the traffic coming to your site.


• Make your site easy to buy on. One reason people shop on the Internet is because it is easier and more convenient than driving to a regular store and waiting in line. To keep customers shopping on your site, you need to make it as easy as possible. Create your site so that buying is done with as few clicks as possible. Do not force customers to fill out needless forms just to place an order. Make your site buyer friendly so they don't give up and move on to another site.


• Assure ease of use for all customers. Before you launch your ecommerce site, make sure that it is set up to be as easy to use as possible. Allow the least computer savvy person you know to try your site and ask them to provide feedback.


• Provide a FAQ's section. There are usually some common questions that your customers will ask. Rather than making your customers ask these questions individually, create a page only for FAQ's so your customers can find the answers fast.


• Set up a live chat for customers to contact you. Chat on your site can provide easily accessible customer service. Chat allows customers to ask questions and to get information about their purchases without having to take the time to call or write and then wait for an answer.


• Prominently display a help button or link on your site. If a customer needs help, they shouldn't have to hunt all over your site to find a way to get help. Place the help button or link on every page of your site so your customers can get help at any step of their ordering process.


• Use the best shopping cart software available. Your shopping cart is the way you get paid, so get the best cart you possible can. Purchase a cart that will be easy and reliable for customers to use. It should also have a great support team to help you if a problem should arise.


• Track all orders carefully. Before you launch your ecommerce site, you should have a reliable way of tracking your orders from your storeroom all of the way to your customer. Most customers will eagerly await their arrival so they will want a way to learn when the item may arrive.


• Find the right people and assure that they are well trained. If you hire staff to provide customer service, be sure your employees will enjoy working with your customers and making their experience as good as possible. Your staff needs to be thoroughly trained and knowledgeable about your business and what you are selling. Your customer service representatives may be the only direct interaction customers have with your company. You staff should provide a positive experience for your customers.


• Create a rating system. Poviding a way for customers to rate their purchases and write reviews for other potential customers can be helpful to you and future customers. Hearing that other customers liked a product is often enough assurance for an undecided buyer to add the item to their shopping cart. Even negative feedback can help you if you use it to improve your products and / or service.


Go the extra mile for your customers. Make your business stand apart from all of the rest. Be willing to go farther to make a customer happy and perhaps create repeat business.