eCrater Expands Sevices To The UK

eCrater has launched their online selling venue in the UK, http://www.ecrater.co.uk .

A post by eCrater adminisitration in the eCrater forums (we believe authored by Dimitri) on 11-04-2010 states:

As you all probably know we recently announced that we launched a UK version of our marketplace.

http://www.ecrater.co.uk

If you would like to list your products in the new marketplace:

1) you must maintain prices on both USD and GBP
2) you must ship to United Kingdom

We encourage all US merchants to start selling in GBP as well which will bring more buyers to their stores. The main advantage is that your products will be listed in both our US and UK marketplaces. They will also be posted to both Google Product Search and Google Product Search UK. In addition all merchants will receive their own store under the ecrater.co.uk domain.

It is very easy to convert your prices to GBP. One can use the global editor to do this. Select "set UK price", choose "Price in USD" as base, choose the * operator and fill out the user value: 0.624 (1 USD = 0.624 GBP)

Please note that your prices in USD will remain unaffected, the operation merely adds prices in GBP as well.

If you want to get rid of the GBP prices then just use the global editor and select action "set UK price" and select operator "delete"

To set the shipping rates to UK please fill out the shipping matrix rates for United Kingdom. If you already use the USPS calculator you don't have to do anything because we convert the shipping rates to GBP automatically.

Please note that fixed shipping rates are not available for shipping to the UK at this time. Only the fixed rates for US-Mainland, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada will convert to GBP automatically.

There is also an option called "Enable GBP currency" in the Options menu. This will add another price field in the following pages: add products, edit product and copy product. It will also enable you to fill out the Google Checkout UK merchant ID and key in the Payment Options menu.

US and UK stores will share the same name, just the domain will be different so no need to reserve a name if you already have a store with eCRATER.

It is currently not possible to have a UK store without a US store.

If the conversion rate considerably changes, the prices can be easily updated with the global editor. However in reality this will happen rarely because USD is a stable currency.

If offline payments are accepted in the US store, these will display and be accepted in the UK store. At this time, these can't be removed from just the UK store. However these may change in future.

To sell only part of the items in the UK store, set the price in GBP for only the items that are to be sold in the UK store. This can be done in both global-editor and add product menu. If the item has a price in GBP you will see it in ecrater.co.uk. If the item does not have a price in GBP, the item will be only available in ecrater.com

If you want to accept Google Checkout in your UK store you need a bank account in GBP and then you have to sign up for Google Checkout UK. The bank account in British pound is requirement of Google Checkout.

If you want to set up Google Analytics for your UK store please fill out the "UK Google Analytics ID" in menu options. To get the UK analytics ID you need to add your UK store URL in Google Analytics first.

eCrater Hits 1 Millionth Sale

eCrater has hit it's 1 millionth sale. All of that hard work and dedication by eCrater staff and sellers has paid off.

Sales seem to be increasing and sellers are quite happy with the site. Completely free to sell on eCrater, sellers are seeing the site as a viable and profitable venue.

Figuring out just how many sales have taken place is a bit difficult as many sales may be completed off-site. For this announcement, the invoice numbers were used but they have likely cleared far more sales than one million.

Congratulations eCrater!

What Happened To Sales On eCrater?

We have always said good things about eCrater and boasted about the great sales there but something has gone awry.

Since the Google Shopping changes, our sales have fallen to nearly nothing. What is going on?

Has anyone else noticed this?

Featured Seller - Periwinkles 02-24-10

Our featured seller this week is Periwinkles. Periwinkles sells on eCrater.

Periwinkles store contains a variety of items some of which are vintage, antique, collectibles and used and some of which are brand new. Their stock includes brass, art, paintings and prints, glassware, figurines, camera, Pyrex, alarm clocks, milk glass, hobnail and much more.

Periwinkles searches attics, basements, antique and thrift stores to find just the right item for you treasure seekers. They find vintage and used items to tempt you. Periwinkles also lists brand new items for bargain hunters everywhere. They try to keep their prices as low as possible.
Metalcraft Florals #7048 which is Chrysanthemums in a brass teapot. This picture is actually molded into the third dimension so that the highlights truly stand out...the shadows are really there. This picture is 9 1/2" by 11 1/2" and the frame itself is 12" by 14". It is in very good shape but does have some discoloration on the mat.

Lenox Ming China salad plate featuring a flowering pink cherry or dogwood tree, beautiful butterflies and flowers. It has a blue design across edges, trimmed with gold. It's 8 1/4" in diameter.
This is one of Lenox's first lithographed patterns introduced in 1917.
It is marked on the back Lenox Ming. I believe it is from a snack set as there is an indented circle that would hold a teacup.
It is great shape.

Grand piano music box that is for a 50th wedding anniversary. On the lid are two bells 50th Happy Anniversary!! and musical notes. This music box is from Schmid musical collectible. It has a lever on the side to stop the music playing. It measures approximate 2 3/4" high, 3 3/4" wide and 4 1/8" deep. It is in very good shape.

Miniature tea set - All the pieces have a Asian scene. There are three figures on a bridge, a pagoda and flying birds. The teapot measures 1 3/4" tall, the creamer, sugar bowl, cups all measure 3/4" tall. The saucers measure 1 1/4" across and the platter measures 3 1/2" across. This tea set is in great shape.

Stop in at Periwinkles to see all of their fantastic treasures.

eCrater Adds Scroll Ability To Additional Item Pictures

eCrater has added a wonderful new feature that makes viewing additional item pictures in the listing really slick.

If a seller is using more than the main picture in their listing (eCrater allows up to 10 pictures per listing), the additional pictures appear next to the main picture. Each of these pictures are 75 X 75 pixels and they are clickable. Once clicked, a full size version of the picture pops up in the main picture area. If there are more than 4 pictures of the item, a scroll appears allowing the shopper to scroll through the additional mini pictures to the side of the main picture.

There is no more hoping that shoppers see the little numbers below the main picture so they know to look at all of the views the seller has to offer. This new picture feature is a great plus!

Click the picture for larger view.
eCrater just seems to be getting better and better! The little extras are not heavy on older computers or for users who may still be using dial-up interent services. This means that sellers get the extras they need to be successful and shoppers can shop without having to upgrade their computers.

We have been on eCrater for several years now and we love it! Every year we see our sales increase and their support staff is more than willing to help whenever you contact them. eCrater also has a community forum filled with a wealth of information. Did I remember to tell you that eCrater offers you an ecommerce store for FREE? Well, they sure do. Sellers keep all of the money when they make a sale but for the amount that the payment service charges. If the seller is paid with a check or money order, all of the money is theirs!

Sales Continue To Rise On eCrater

Everyday, we become more and more surprised at our sales on eCrater. Sales started out slowly at first but now, they are second only to eBay in gross sales for us.

The only promotion activity we have been invlolved in was when we initially submitted our eCrater store URL to search engines. eCrater supplies the Google Base feeds so we don't have to worry about that at all.

Once we became established at eCrater, about 6 months in, our sales were on a gradual upswing. This year, they have been pretty good and better yet, they have been steady and growing.

The best part of selling on eCrater - NO SITE FEES! Every ounce of money is ours except for whatever the payment service charges. If the buyer pays for the item by check or money order, the money is 100% ours. It doesn't get any better than that on any other selling venue!

Due to the low cost of selling on eCrater, we can offer the best deals there. It appears that buyers are catching onto this when looking at the increase in sales. Buyers want the best deal they can get and those that have shopped at eCrater know they can get the best deal at eCrater.

Let's not forget, eCrater not only provides a great shopping experience, they also treat their sellers with great respect. (The kind of respect that all business partners should have for each other.)

We love selling on eCrater and would advise everyone to give it a try. You need to be into selling for the long haul as it takes a little time to become established but once you are, you will be pleasantly surprised also.

Featured Seller 08-23-2009 Maggie The Cat - eCrater

We have a wonderful friend on eCrater who is a very dedicated seller. She is also frequently in the eCrater forums helping others. Her user name is Maggie the Cat, which is a virtual persona. Maggie has been selling on eCrater for more than 3 years and she carries a wide variety of beautiful treasures.

She first appeared on eBay in 2003 and her story appears on her website at thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat.

Maggie's eBay store, Maggie's Mall, was on-line for over 3 years. Her eBay feedback is 99.8% with well over 2000 successful transactions. You can shop her eCrater stores with confidence.

Maggie the Cat maintains 5 separate vintage shops on eCrater. Each focuses on a different aspect of their lives from chic fashion accessories to tacky souvenirs. Items range in age from antique to fairly recent pre-owned. All items are individually selected for their original high quality, current condition and uniqueness.

Prices range from a few dollars to a few hundred with most being in the very affordable range. Shipping is always fair. Combined shipping makes it even better. Many small lightweight items include shipping in the prices and combining them gives you a small to sizable rebate.

We hope that you will stop in and visit Maggie to see all of her fantastic items for yourself.

Look for vintage linens, ceramics, metalware, and other items to make your home more attractive at maggiethehousecat on eCrater.


Antique Embroidered Linen Dresser Scarf
Runner Southern Bell Bobbin Lace

Antique Linen And Lace Tablecloth
Filet Lace Open cut Work

Silverplate Serving Plate
Etched Design Marked LB

Napco China Box Pin Dishes
Hand Painted Lilies Of The Valley
Maggie's original and most popular store is solely vintage fashion accessories and jewelry: costume and sterling and it is located at thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat on eCrater.


Woven Lurex Prong Set Crystals
Evening Bag Silver Tone Excellent Vintage

Birks Sterling Silver Hinge Bangle Bracelet
Birmingham England Vintage Jewelry

Aurora Borealis & Rhinestones
On Silver Filigree Brooch Vintage

Sale Dooney & Bourke All Weather Leather
Vintage Shoulder Bag Hang Tag Serial# ll1023
All kinds of artworks, books and magazines predominate in this store along with needlework and sewing patterns - located at theartsandlettersofmaggiethecat on eCrater.


Gabrielle Ardant Original Watercolor
Place de Tertre Signed Unframed

A Shropshire Lad AE
Housman 1923 HB Untrimmed

McCall's Bride Bridesmaid's Gown
Pattern 5746 Alicyn Uncut

Chicken Little Retold & Illustrated By
Steven Kellogg Soft Cover Children Vintage
Looking for homes for hundreds of cats: books, pictures, figurines, jewelry and anything else with a cat motif Maggie has them located at maggiethecatsmeows on eCrater.


Strange But True Cats 444 Really
Weird Facts & Photos New Book

Comfort Cat By Margo Harrison Hand
Painted Cement Tabby Cat Perfect Signed

French Window By Foujita Framed
Print On Canvas Board Vintage Prints

925 Sterling Silver & Marquisite Cat
Pin Brooch Moveable Tail Cintage
This store is purely for fun. Vintage souvenirs, travel guides, jewelry and advertising items. Nothing you can't live with out but everyone needs a bit of frivolity in their lives. You will find a ton of unused souvenir tea towels located at viewfinders on eCrater.


Moscow Picture Postcard Book
From The 1950s Cold War

Plate 1939 King George VI Royal Visit
Canada US Aynsley Bone China Vintage

Cuba Souvenir Spoon Enamel Shield
Crown Tipped Ornate Stem Old

Souvenir Of Wales Bracelet Coats Of Arms
Welsh Feather Lion Enamel & Gold Vintage

eCrater - Selling On The "Moon"

In the spring of 2007, we were looking for an eBay alternative to help push our sales. This was no easy task because when you do a Google search, tons of venues come up.

We decided to snoop around several sites, lurk the forums and search products to see if there were large amounts of counterfeit items. We knew that we wanted a site to have helpful forums, as few counterfeits as possible and of course, sales.

It was a daunting task but after several days, we decided to try eCrater.com.

We decided to keep our ID from other venues, Dakota Exchange, and began to create our store. We found that can we could create our online store for free. Uploading our photos and descriptions of the things you want to sell was a snap. We were able to customize the look of your store with different color templates and fonts. There's also a feature to allow sellers who list on other venues to import listings to eCrater.com. eCrater also feeds your products to Google Base so each seller does not have to do it themeselves (that's a big headache and time saver!). Listing is free and you don't pay any fees. You are allowed to offer most payment services including Google CheckOut, checks and money orders.

We were pumped and listed several hundred items. Sales were slow at first. At one point, we thought about deleting the store but all of the sudden, we had fairly regular sales. We checked our standing in Google searches and were pleased that we were either the highest or second in most searches.

We did add our eCrater store URL to most search engines and a few places that allowed links without exchange. We didn't invest a lot of time on this but it seemed to help our sales.

eCrater is not for those that expect it to be like eBay. It is nothing like eBay. You are responsible for your own store promotion outside of Google Base. It is very much like having your own website. In fact, some sellers use eCrater as a shopping cart for their stand alone websites. If you are not in it for the long haul, then eCrater may not be right for you.

Today, we sell about half as much or maybe a little more on eCrater as we do on eBay. We have found that most of the eCrater shoppers come to the site via Google. The interesting part is that most of our higher end items sell on eCrater (and that tickles us pink because there are no fees but for the cost of the payment service) but on eBay, these same items rarely, if ever, sell.

We are glad that we chose to sell on eCrater. Starting with top notch customer service from the eCrater Team down to the ease of listing our products, eCrater provides a viable addition to our online sales efforts.

About eCrater

Dimitar is the founder and the creator of eCRATER.com, a free online store builder and marketplace.

The development of the eCRATER began in the early spring of 2004. After many hours of hard work, eCRATER.com finally went live in its beta version in the early fall of 2004. Since then, Dimitar has constantly been adding new features while also trying to keep the original "clean and simple" look.

"Cater to your sellers and buyers will come"

Dimitar believes that a good foundation for a growing marketplace is a community of happy sellers. Thus the idea of providing the stores for free.

According to Site Analytics, eCrater's search rank is 1137.

Further Site Statistics From Site Analytics:
(Click the graphics to enlarge them.)


Comparing Bonanzle, eCrater and Atomic Mall
Comparing Bonanzle, eCrater and Atomic Mall