New changes for eBay users

Business startup rate drops to 10.1 percent in U.S.
Whiter Teeth, FREE! Receive a Teeth Whitering System on us.

It seems that almost every time I write my column, there's something new and exciting to talk about. This time, the changes are far more pedestrian, but they'll affect everyone who does business on eBay. Both good and bad changes from the U.S. Postal Service go into effect on May 14, while eBay is adding some new options you'll want to take advantage of.

International Mailing Changes
USPS is revamping its international services and raising prices. I'll give you the good news first. Many online sellers rue the day they get an international order. The different levels of mailing are confusing, and customs forms vary depending on your packages. That's all about to change.

The categories for international mail will become the same as those used for domestic mail. USPS will offer the following: Global Express Guaranteed (the most expensive option), Express Mail International (formerly Global Express), Priority Mail International (eight to 10 day service) and First-Class Mail International. Customs forms and address labels will be combined for most mailings when postage is printed electronically.

You can also now get discounts on international mailings when you print your own postage. Watch for discounts on the USPS website, PayPal postage printing and electronic postage sites like Endicia.com. Here are examples of the savings:

• 10 percent on Global Express Guaranteed
• 8 percent on Express Mail International
• 5 percent on Priority Mail International

An international flat rate will also be an option. For Express Mail International you can use the same free packaging and flat-rate options you use for domestic Express Mail. The flat-rate envelope postage is $22 for Canada and Mexico and $25 for other countries. For Priority Mail International, you can also use the same packaging you use for domestic mailings. The Priority flat-rate envelope (with a 4-pound weight limit) will be $9 for Canada and Mexico and $11 for all other countries. There's also a flat-rate box with a 20-pound weight limit that will cost $23 for Canada and Mexico and $37 for all other countries. Tracking will also finally be available on the Priority Mail International flat-rate boxes.

If you're shipping documents or lightweight merchandise up to 4 pounds, you can use the new First-Class Mail International rates at a great discount. The prices are based on weight, and you can basically send a 2-pound package anywhere in the world for $8.26 to $16.80.

Domestic Mailing Changes
Sadly, for those of us who use Priority Mail, the rates will go up. The flat-rate envelope goes from $4.05 to $4.60, and the Priority Mail flat-rate boxes will go up to $9.15. A 5-pound package in a non-flat-rate box will cost between $6.30 and $15.85 based on distance.

First-class mail is also getting a rate increase, with letters going up to 41 cents. It's still a bargain for eBay sellers to send items up to 13 ounces via first-class mail. USPS will now offer two levels of first-class mail. Letter-size envelopes begin at 41 cents an ounce, and large envelopes start at 80 cents. The rate for packages will be $1.13 for the first ounce. For each additional ounce on letters, flats and boxes, expect to pay 17 cents per ounce. Letters weighing more than 3.5 ounces will be charged the same rate as flats.

The good news is that boxes from USPS and carrier pickup will remain free. For more information on all the USPS changes, go to www.usps.com/ratecase.

Upcoming eBay Changes
eBay has rarely made changes in its feedback system--the backbone of customer confidence on the site. I like to call the enhanced system Feedback 2.0. The new system can be seen on many of the international eBay sites. Go to www.ebay.co.uk, search for an item and then click on the feedback link next to the seller's name to see how it works.

The new system divides feedback into "feedback from a buyer," "feedback from a seller" and "feedback left for others." You'll also see the addition of detailed seller ratings defined by one to five stars. Buyers can now rate sellers on various aspects, including item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges.

eBay is also now letting users link to video within auction descriptions. (You can't embed the video; just link.) Write a line similar to: "See how great this item is in action. Watch a short demonstration by clicking this link." When you upload your short video on YouTube, you receive a link that allows you to share your video. You can also link to other video sites available from Google, MySpace, Microsoft or AOL.

This is an effective way to include your own infomercial on the item. Keep in mind, though, that this type of promotion is best for your stock or very special items. Also, many buyers won't have time to view your video, so don't neglect your item description and regular photos.

Marsha Collier, a successful eBay PowerSeller, is Entrepreneur.com's "eBay" columnist as well as the author of the bestselling eBay references,eBay for Dummies and Starting an eBay Business for Dummies.

New changes for eBay users - Entrepreneur.com

Useful Healthy Tips
Direct Selling: Dreams And Reality

Long Copy, Long Copy, Long Copy

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Goal improvements

I don’t write long copy because I like long copy.

I write long copy… because that’s what works.

You start at the beginning of your sales message… cover the points your prospect needs to hear in order to make a decision… urge him toward the right decision (buy your stuff)… and close with panache.

When you can do that in a few terse sentences, or in a single brief whiz-bang video, let me know. I’ll be right on your heels with my next pitch.

After almost three decades in the front-line trenches of business — slogging through the fog and chaos of multiple technological upheavals — I’m not holding my breath, though.

Still, the nature of business requires flexibility.

And, curiously, this is NOT an age-related thing.

At both seminars, I encountered wizened old farts who were cleaning up online, totally hip to every cutting-edge burp and tweak of the Technology Beast… and I met bright young business would-be-wizards who couldn’t ossify and wall themselves up in a cave fast enough.

And vice versa, of course.

The guys, young and old, who were making it work were flexible jaguars, alert and eager to learn. The ones wandering off into the desert — young and old — were dogmatic dinosaurs, unable to change even when the case for change couldn’t be more obvious.

Two quick examples: (1) I met several too-young-to-be-considering-suicide online biz owners who were, indeed, considering some form of suicide… because the Google Slap of last summer ruined their only business plan. Without the easy traffic of unchallenged Adwords, they became depressed and sleepy and unable to adjust.

Get a grip.

(2) I also recently critiqued a direct mail letter that looked like it’d been written in the early 1970’s, fossilized, and put somewhere safe from every single change that’s happened to advertising since Jobs and Woz wandered bleary-eyed from their garage-lab, giddy with success.

I didn’t even bother getting into the copy — instead, I gave the mailer a focused little pep talk about what had transpired since the digital explosion.

The basic rule is simple and eloquent: Things change.

And most folks resist change. Yes, that super-tight polyester disco-era leisure suit in the back of your closet may yet come back into vogue… but nearly every aspect of successful advertising has moved along at a brisk clip.

The days of easy traffic online are now as quaint as the days when having a toll-free 800 number was an exotic luxury. Ancient history.

The good news: It’s actually fun to stay hip and wired into the cutting edge.

There never was a rule dictating that the adventure and excitement had to stop in your life after a certain expiration date.

The key is simply to stay loose and alert, like a jaguar. The action is still hot and heavy at the front lines, as it always has been and always shall be.

And if you need a little help finding your way through the fog and chaos of the rear ranks… well, that’s what guys like me are for.

We live in exciting times. I understand the urge to go hide under the covers… but I also know the thrill of going mano-a-mano with the great Technology Beast, and winning.

Grrr.

Stay frosty…

John Carlton, http://www.marketingrebelrant.com/

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Don't Amazon Me - How To Pick A Good Niche For A Bookstore

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Christy Coyne recently opened a second location of her Orange County children's bookstore, the First Page, and she's already working on the next chapter of what she hopes will be an ongoing business success story.

The plotline has her creating an e-commerce site by April and selling her first two franchises by September.

She'll also finalize contracts with three employees that she wants to turn into partners, which will give them ownership stakes in the growing operation.

Like many main characters in books, Coyne knew she had to buck the odds. In Coyne's saga, the goal is to create a children's bookstore that would be a profitable haven for harried moms and curious kids alike.

"I threw away all the ideas of what a bookstore should be," said the mother of two, who has sunk $500,000 into the business. The first store broke even last year.

Instead of cramming as many books as possible onto towering shelves, the First Page displays books by grade level, face out, taking up valuable sales space.

Shelves are low so parents can keep tabs on their children. Stuffed toy dragons sit next to books on knights and dragons, creating an easy gift combo.

And floors are hardwood to ensure easy cleanup in the stores, which welcome customers bearing food and drink.

It's the kind of store she dreamed of after a bad experience shopping at a large chain bookstore a few years ago. Picking through a jumbled shelf trying to find a Curious George title, Coyne turned her back on her 2-year-old, who took the opportunity to pull all the books off a nearby ledge.

There had to be a better way, Coyne thought. Her vision: "I am walking into a store with two small children and I am exhausted," said Coyne, whose kids are now 5 and 7. "I think: How lovely to have some nice, cheerful not-tired person to help me in and out of here and somebody who would think my children are charming."

With that 2002 epiphany, the story of the First Page began.

Within a year, Coyne, a lawyer by training, had opened her first store in Costa Mesa. It took far more money than she ever imagined, she said. She and her husband, a corporate attorney, took a loan against their home and Coyne sank a small inheritance into the business.

She used the money to hire the designer of the Warner Bros. retail stores to plan her shop. High-quality shelving and displays also took a chunk. And Coyne focused on buying quality books that might not be available in the national competition.

"I knew it was going to be all about the niche, figuring out what do superstores not do that I could do better," said Coyne, who opened a Newport Beach store in October.

She doesn't carry Barbie titles, for example. Or Disney books. Or even the "Goosebumps" series.

"Instead of having 15 OK books, we have four fabulous books," Coyne said. Her stores stock about 2,000 titles each.

Coyne certainly has a lot from which to choose. The children's book publishing business is a vibrant industry, turning out titles faster than in the general book market.

Children's books accounted for about 10% of all titles published in 2005, up from 7% in 1995, according to R.R. Bowker, a publishing information company.

The number of children's bookstores is also growing overall, although less vigorously. The Assn. of Booksellers for Children added 12 bookstore owners to its rolls last year for a total of 200.

Although that is off from the "golden age" of children's bookstores in the pre-superstore 1980s, it is a respectable gain, said Kristen McLean, executive director of the group.

"It is still very, very competitive," McLean said. "Booksellers are really having to exercise a lot of creativity to stay competitive."

Even then, selling books for children isn't all fun and games, industry insiders say.

Competition from large chains that offer deep discounts and online sites such as Amazon.com make it tough in a business with profit margins of 3% to 5%, experts say.

Two weeks ago, members of the Southern California Children's Booksellers Assn. held their final meeting; the group is disbanding because of declining membership.

"It's not as easy and romantic as it looks," said Alexandra Uhl, owner of A Whale of a Tale Children's Bookshoppe, a Newport Beach store that opened in 1989.

Coyne believes she's come up with a plot twist that could make it easier.

She's creating an operations manual as part of her franchise setup documents that she hopes will cover all the bumps involved in launching her stores. She's setting up an inventory control system and plans a central distribution center to serve the franchises she hopes to have.

She wants to help those with a passion for books but little business experience avoid the steep learning curve she experienced.

"I was flying blind," Coyne said. " 'Losses' is too mild a word. 'Hemorrhaging' would be a good word. We were hemorrhaging cash."

Early on, Coyne switched gears several times. She dropped her high-school section the first year. Her second store used taller shelves for the older kids' books at the back of the shop.

But most important, she added many more gift items, each pegged to a book in the store, which gave sales a boost. Toys typically have a higher markup than books. Make-a-tiara kits now sit next to princess books, for example.

"This is something bookstores are starting to figure out because what are typically called sidelines, or non-book merchandise, is becoming critically important, particularly in children's bookstores, to help them support their bottom line," McLean said.

Coyne is passionate about offering her store concept to other moms, or dads, who love books and the idea of bookselling but want to balance work and family — not the route of the typical entrepreneur.

"It needs to be a person who is looking to somehow have both," Coyne said. "Because you are not going to be making $100,0000 a year, but you can have family vacations whenever you want."

That sounds like a happy ending.

[Via LATimes.Com]

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Google Adsense Optimization Tips
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New changes for eBay users

MySpace Marketing Tips, Tricks, and Hints
My Choose Is Healthy Life

It seems that almost every time I write my column, there's something new and exciting to talk about. This time, the changes are far more pedestrian, but they'll affect everyone who does business on eBay. Both good and bad changes from the U.S. Postal Service go into effect on May 14, while eBay is adding some new options you'll want to take advantage of.

International Mailing Changes
USPS is revamping its international services and raising prices. I'll give you the good news first. Many online sellers rue the day they get an international order. The different levels of mailing are confusing, and customs forms vary depending on your packages. That's all about to change.

The categories for international mail will become the same as those used for domestic mail. USPS will offer the following: Global Express Guaranteed (the most expensive option), Express Mail International (formerly Global Express), Priority Mail International (eight to 10 day service) and First-Class Mail International. Customs forms and address labels will be combined for most mailings when postage is printed electronically.

You can also now get discounts on international mailings when you print your own postage. Watch for discounts on the USPS website, PayPal postage printing and electronic postage sites like Endicia.com. Here are examples of the savings:

• 10 percent on Global Express Guaranteed
• 8 percent on Express Mail International
• 5 percent on Priority Mail International

An international flat rate will also be an option. For Express Mail International you can use the same free packaging and flat-rate options you use for domestic Express Mail. The flat-rate envelope postage is $22 for Canada and Mexico and $25 for other countries. For Priority Mail International, you can also use the same packaging you use for domestic mailings. The Priority flat-rate envelope (with a 4-pound weight limit) will be $9 for Canada and Mexico and $11 for all other countries. There's also a flat-rate box with a 20-pound weight limit that will cost $23 for Canada and Mexico and $37 for all other countries. Tracking will also finally be available on the Priority Mail International flat-rate boxes.

If you're shipping documents or lightweight merchandise up to 4 pounds, you can use the new First-Class Mail International rates at a great discount. The prices are based on weight, and you can basically send a 2-pound package anywhere in the world for $8.26 to $16.80.

Domestic Mailing Changes
Sadly, for those of us who use Priority Mail, the rates will go up. The flat-rate envelope goes from $4.05 to $4.60, and the Priority Mail flat-rate boxes will go up to $9.15. A 5-pound package in a non-flat-rate box will cost between $6.30 and $15.85 based on distance.

First-class mail is also getting a rate increase, with letters going up to 41 cents. It's still a bargain for eBay sellers to send items up to 13 ounces via first-class mail. USPS will now offer two levels of first-class mail. Letter-size envelopes begin at 41 cents an ounce, and large envelopes start at 80 cents. The rate for packages will be $1.13 for the first ounce. For each additional ounce on letters, flats and boxes, expect to pay 17 cents per ounce. Letters weighing more than 3.5 ounces will be charged the same rate as flats.

The good news is that boxes from USPS and carrier pickup will remain free. For more information on all the USPS changes, go to www.usps.com/ratecase.

Upcoming eBay Changes
eBay has rarely made changes in its feedback system--the backbone of customer confidence on the site. I like to call the enhanced system Feedback 2.0. The new system can be seen on many of the international eBay sites. Go to www.ebay.co.uk, search for an item and then click on the feedback link next to the seller's name to see how it works.

The new system divides feedback into "feedback from a buyer," "feedback from a seller" and "feedback left for others." You'll also see the addition of detailed seller ratings defined by one to five stars. Buyers can now rate sellers on various aspects, including item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges.

eBay is also now letting users link to video within auction descriptions. (You can't embed the video; just link.) Write a line similar to: "See how great this item is in action. Watch a short demonstration by clicking this link." When you upload your short video on YouTube, you receive a link that allows you to share your video. You can also link to other video sites available from Google, MySpace, Microsoft or AOL.

This is an effective way to include your own infomercial on the item. Keep in mind, though, that this type of promotion is best for your stock or very special items. Also, many buyers won't have time to view your video, so don't neglect your item description and regular photos.

Marsha Collier, a successful eBay PowerSeller, is Entrepreneur.com's "eBay" columnist as well as the author of the bestselling eBay references,eBay for Dummies and Starting an eBay Business for Dummies.

New changes for eBay users - Entrepreneur.com

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New changes for eBay users

http://eat-healthy-every-day.blogspot.com/

It seems that almost every time I write my column, there's something new and exciting to talk about. This time, the changes are far more pedestrian, but they'll affect everyone who does business on eBay. Both good and bad changes from the U.S. Postal Service go into effect on May 14, while eBay is adding some new options you'll want to take advantage of.

International Mailing Changes
USPS is revamping its international services and raising prices. I'll give you the good news first. Many online sellers rue the day they get an international order. The different levels of mailing are confusing, and customs forms vary depending on your packages. That's all about to change.

The categories for international mail will become the same as those used for domestic mail. USPS will offer the following: Global Express Guaranteed (the most expensive option), Express Mail International (formerly Global Express), Priority Mail International (eight to 10 day service) and First-Class Mail International. Customs forms and address labels will be combined for most mailings when postage is printed electronically.

You can also now get discounts on international mailings when you print your own postage. Watch for discounts on the USPS website, PayPal postage printing and electronic postage sites like Endicia.com. Here are examples of the savings:

• 10 percent on Global Express Guaranteed
• 8 percent on Express Mail International
• 5 percent on Priority Mail International

An international flat rate will also be an option. For Express Mail International you can use the same free packaging and flat-rate options you use for domestic Express Mail. The flat-rate envelope postage is $22 for Canada and Mexico and $25 for other countries. For Priority Mail International, you can also use the same packaging you use for domestic mailings. The Priority flat-rate envelope (with a 4-pound weight limit) will be $9 for Canada and Mexico and $11 for all other countries. There's also a flat-rate box with a 20-pound weight limit that will cost $23 for Canada and Mexico and $37 for all other countries. Tracking will also finally be available on the Priority Mail International flat-rate boxes.

If you're shipping documents or lightweight merchandise up to 4 pounds, you can use the new First-Class Mail International rates at a great discount. The prices are based on weight, and you can basically send a 2-pound package anywhere in the world for $8.26 to $16.80.

Domestic Mailing Changes
Sadly, for those of us who use Priority Mail, the rates will go up. The flat-rate envelope goes from $4.05 to $4.60, and the Priority Mail flat-rate boxes will go up to $9.15. A 5-pound package in a non-flat-rate box will cost between $6.30 and $15.85 based on distance.

First-class mail is also getting a rate increase, with letters going up to 41 cents. It's still a bargain for eBay sellers to send items up to 13 ounces via first-class mail. USPS will now offer two levels of first-class mail. Letter-size envelopes begin at 41 cents an ounce, and large envelopes start at 80 cents. The rate for packages will be $1.13 for the first ounce. For each additional ounce on letters, flats and boxes, expect to pay 17 cents per ounce. Letters weighing more than 3.5 ounces will be charged the same rate as flats.

The good news is that boxes from USPS and carrier pickup will remain free. For more information on all the USPS changes, go to www.usps.com/ratecase.

Upcoming eBay Changes
eBay has rarely made changes in its feedback system--the backbone of customer confidence on the site. I like to call the enhanced system Feedback 2.0. The new system can be seen on many of the international eBay sites. Go to www.ebay.co.uk, search for an item and then click on the feedback link next to the seller's name to see how it works.

The new system divides feedback into "feedback from a buyer," "feedback from a seller" and "feedback left for others." You'll also see the addition of detailed seller ratings defined by one to five stars. Buyers can now rate sellers on various aspects, including item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges.

eBay is also now letting users link to video within auction descriptions. (You can't embed the video; just link.) Write a line similar to: "See how great this item is in action. Watch a short demonstration by clicking this link." When you upload your short video on YouTube, you receive a link that allows you to share your video. You can also link to other video sites available from Google, MySpace, Microsoft or AOL.

This is an effective way to include your own infomercial on the item. Keep in mind, though, that this type of promotion is best for your stock or very special items. Also, many buyers won't have time to view your video, so don't neglect your item description and regular photos.

Marsha Collier, a successful eBay PowerSeller, is Entrepreneur.com's "eBay" columnist as well as the author of the bestselling eBay references,eBay for Dummies and Starting an eBay Business for Dummies.

New changes for eBay users - Entrepreneur.com

Taking the Mystery Out of Mystery Shoppers
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New changes for eBay users

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It seems that almost every time I write my column, there's something new and exciting to talk about. This time, the changes are far more pedestrian, but they'll affect everyone who does business on eBay. Both good and bad changes from the U.S. Postal Service go into effect on May 14, while eBay is adding some new options you'll want to take advantage of.

International Mailing Changes
USPS is revamping its international services and raising prices. I'll give you the good news first. Many online sellers rue the day they get an international order. The different levels of mailing are confusing, and customs forms vary depending on your packages. That's all about to change.

The categories for international mail will become the same as those used for domestic mail. USPS will offer the following: Global Express Guaranteed (the most expensive option), Express Mail International (formerly Global Express), Priority Mail International (eight to 10 day service) and First-Class Mail International. Customs forms and address labels will be combined for most mailings when postage is printed electronically.

You can also now get discounts on international mailings when you print your own postage. Watch for discounts on the USPS website, PayPal postage printing and electronic postage sites like Endicia.com. Here are examples of the savings:

• 10 percent on Global Express Guaranteed
• 8 percent on Express Mail International
• 5 percent on Priority Mail International

An international flat rate will also be an option. For Express Mail International you can use the same free packaging and flat-rate options you use for domestic Express Mail. The flat-rate envelope postage is $22 for Canada and Mexico and $25 for other countries. For Priority Mail International, you can also use the same packaging you use for domestic mailings. The Priority flat-rate envelope (with a 4-pound weight limit) will be $9 for Canada and Mexico and $11 for all other countries. There's also a flat-rate box with a 20-pound weight limit that will cost $23 for Canada and Mexico and $37 for all other countries. Tracking will also finally be available on the Priority Mail International flat-rate boxes.

If you're shipping documents or lightweight merchandise up to 4 pounds, you can use the new First-Class Mail International rates at a great discount. The prices are based on weight, and you can basically send a 2-pound package anywhere in the world for $8.26 to $16.80.

Domestic Mailing Changes
Sadly, for those of us who use Priority Mail, the rates will go up. The flat-rate envelope goes from $4.05 to $4.60, and the Priority Mail flat-rate boxes will go up to $9.15. A 5-pound package in a non-flat-rate box will cost between $6.30 and $15.85 based on distance.

First-class mail is also getting a rate increase, with letters going up to 41 cents. It's still a bargain for eBay sellers to send items up to 13 ounces via first-class mail. USPS will now offer two levels of first-class mail. Letter-size envelopes begin at 41 cents an ounce, and large envelopes start at 80 cents. The rate for packages will be $1.13 for the first ounce. For each additional ounce on letters, flats and boxes, expect to pay 17 cents per ounce. Letters weighing more than 3.5 ounces will be charged the same rate as flats.

The good news is that boxes from USPS and carrier pickup will remain free. For more information on all the USPS changes, go to www.usps.com/ratecase.

Upcoming eBay Changes
eBay has rarely made changes in its feedback system--the backbone of customer confidence on the site. I like to call the enhanced system Feedback 2.0. The new system can be seen on many of the international eBay sites. Go to www.ebay.co.uk, search for an item and then click on the feedback link next to the seller's name to see how it works.

The new system divides feedback into "feedback from a buyer," "feedback from a seller" and "feedback left for others." You'll also see the addition of detailed seller ratings defined by one to five stars. Buyers can now rate sellers on various aspects, including item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges.

eBay is also now letting users link to video within auction descriptions. (You can't embed the video; just link.) Write a line similar to: "See how great this item is in action. Watch a short demonstration by clicking this link." When you upload your short video on YouTube, you receive a link that allows you to share your video. You can also link to other video sites available from Google, MySpace, Microsoft or AOL.

This is an effective way to include your own infomercial on the item. Keep in mind, though, that this type of promotion is best for your stock or very special items. Also, many buyers won't have time to view your video, so don't neglect your item description and regular photos.

Marsha Collier, a successful eBay PowerSeller, is Entrepreneur.com's "eBay" columnist as well as the author of the bestselling eBay references,eBay for Dummies and Starting an eBay Business for Dummies.

New changes for eBay users - Entrepreneur.com

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Sold on eBay, Shipped by Amazon.com

Dell program to award $30,000 to innovative small business

Your next eBay purchase could arrive at your door in a brown Amazon.com box.

Amazon.com, the online retailer, is expanding a program designed to allow independent sellers to use its network of distribution centers to store and ship their products, according to Jeffrey P. Bezos, Amazon’s founder and chief executive.

Since last fall, the program, Fulfillment by Amazon, has allowed independent sellers who list their goods on Amazon.com to use its network of more than 20 distribution centers around the world to fill orders. Now Amazon, which is based in Seattle, is opening the program to vendors who list their items elsewhere on the Web — on their own site, through Google, or even on Amazon’s e-commerce rival, eBay.

The program is part of a broader set of tools called Amazon Web Services, an effort by the e-commerce pioneer to rent out complicated parts of its infrastructure to smaller companies that might benefit from its hard-earned expertise, and who will pay for the privilege of lightening their workload.

Think of as it Amazon 2.0. Though the company’s primary business appears to be booming — it announced a 32 percent increase in revenue this week, which sent its stock soaring 40 percent in the last two days — revenues will inevitably flatten as the company matures. If it wants to keep treating investors to torrid growth, the company needs to develop other ways to make money.

Wall Street has never liked Amazon’s 10 million square feet of shipping space, far preferring eBay’s frictionless role as a meeting place for buyers and sellers. But Mr. Bezos is now doubling down on his company’s gritty infrastructure. He thinks that one day Amazon could do the dirty work of storing products and fulfilling online orders for many of the e-commerce companies on the Web.

“We have this beautiful, elegant, high-I.Q. part of our business that we have been working hard on for many years,” he said. “We’ve gotten good at it. Why not make money off it another way?”

In a conference call with Wall Street analysts on Tuesday, Mr. Bezos said that the overall Amazon Web Services initiative was growing rapidly, but was not yet profitable. Another Web services program, Amazon Simple Storage Service, or S3, allows businesses to store their data on Amazon’s own computer servers. Mr. Bezos said S3 now held 5 billion “objects,” or pieces of data, up from 800 million last July.

Fulfillment by Amazon, in development for the last three years, is one of the oldest efforts in the company’s stable of Web services. Unlike S3 and other recent initiatives, Fulfillment by Amazon involves the movement of physical goods instead of digital information.

Participants in the program, which is still in the experimental phase, can sign up on Amazon’s Web site and print out stickers that they put on their goods. They then send their products to Amazon, which stores the items commingled with its own. Amazon ultimately ships them to customers when they are ordered online (and charges the seller a variable fee based partly on the weight of the item and the shipping cost).

Sellers are effectively paying to ship their goods twice. But the program is aimed at small online retailers who have filled up the space in their basements and attics but want to avoid buying and managing their own warehouses.

It also can increase revenues: using Fulfillment by Amazon to sell on Amazon’s third-party marketplace qualifies products for the shipping discounts the company offers buyers, which typically improves sales. But the program’s biggest benefit, Amazon says, is to relieve sellers of one of the most laborious parts of their business — packaging products and getting them to customers promptly.

“This is the dirty secret of e-commerce,” said Joe Walowski, a senior product manager who manages Fulfillment by Amazon. “It’s not just bits and bytes. You have to figure out this part of it.”

The program has some enthusiastic early customers. Barry Mark, who runs Treebeard Books from his home in Palm Beach County, Fla., buys surplus books and sells them on Amazon and other sites. Since he signed up for Fulfillment by Amazon last September, he says that his sales have jumped more than 30 percent, and a third of the orders that come in are from members of Amazon Prime, the company’s premium discount shipping program.

But he says he sees the biggest benefit in the reduction of his workload, on peak days when 200 packages have to go out the door. “Usually there’s not enough hours in the week to ship everything,” he said.

Mr. Mark is so enthusiastic, he says he bought stock in Amazon after it announced the program last year.

He is also bothered by the use of brown Amazon.com boxes for the merchandise he sells on the other e-commerce sites. “My other selling sites are not going to think well of that,” he said, because it could lead to consumer confusion. “And it’s not like I can afford to anger those other sources.”

An Amazon spokesman said that the company was considering using blank boxes when it shipped products purchased on other sites.

Fulfilling orders for other companies is not a new business for Amazon. In 2004, Toys “R” Us contentiously dissolved a partnership after saying that Amazon had broken their exclusive agreement by letting other parties sell toys on the site.

Last month, the bookseller Borders parted ways with Amazon to create its own Web site and take a larger part of the revenue from online purchases. Amazon still manages the online store and order fulfillment for Target, the retail chain.

Scott Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, which makes e-commerce software, says smaller companies have the same reasons as larger players to fear partnering with Amazon on warehouse distribution. Amazon might give its own orders priority during the busy holiday season. And if packages are shipped late, the small retailer, not Amazon, would suffer in the eyes of customers.

“When you are late, the feedback from customers is immediate and negative,” he said. “Losing control of that important aspect of business is a little scary, maybe even more so for small and medium-sized businesses.”

Then there’s the unresolved question among many small retailers of whether Amazon has yet worked out the kinks in its fulfillment program.

DL Byron, the Seattle-based inventor of the Clip-n-Seal, a device that closes plastic bags, shipped several cases of products to Amazon last fall, but said the merchandise is currently lost in an Amazon facility. “To their credit, Amazon is working with us to resolve the problem and assigned us a person to talk to,” Mr. Byron said. “But somewhere in their giant warehouse sits our product, and if it’s not available to ship, it’s not available for sale and not making us money.”

Mr. Bezos and other Amazon executives stressed that the program was still in its early stages. “We will have to earn the reputation for doing this at such a high-quality way that people are willing to let us do it for them,” he said.

Even if he proves that to sellers, Wall Street may still respond with a shrug. Already many analysts who cover the company have expressed more frustration than interest in Amazon Web Services.

Expanding the fulfillment program to include non-Amazon sellers “almost suggests they are so confident with their core business that they can expend resources and management time on this,” said Safa Rashtchy, an analyst with the investment bank Piper Jaffray & Company. “But the core challenges have never been larger. To some degree this is a distraction.”

Mr. Bezos noted that in the past, new company initiatives such as selling electronics and the expansion into overseas marketplaces were viewed with similar skepticism. “We are willing to plant seeds that take time to grow,” he said.

[via nytimes.com]

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New changes for eBay users

Desperately seeking Zune

It seems that almost every time I write my column, there's something new and exciting to talk about. This time, the changes are far more pedestrian, but they'll affect everyone who does business on eBay. Both good and bad changes from the U.S. Postal Service go into effect on May 14, while eBay is adding some new options you'll want to take advantage of.

International Mailing Changes
USPS is revamping its international services and raising prices. I'll give you the good news first. Many online sellers rue the day they get an international order. The different levels of mailing are confusing, and customs forms vary depending on your packages. That's all about to change.

The categories for international mail will become the same as those used for domestic mail. USPS will offer the following: Global Express Guaranteed (the most expensive option), Express Mail International (formerly Global Express), Priority Mail International (eight to 10 day service) and First-Class Mail International. Customs forms and address labels will be combined for most mailings when postage is printed electronically.

You can also now get discounts on international mailings when you print your own postage. Watch for discounts on the USPS website, PayPal postage printing and electronic postage sites like Endicia.com. Here are examples of the savings:

• 10 percent on Global Express Guaranteed
• 8 percent on Express Mail International
• 5 percent on Priority Mail International

An international flat rate will also be an option. For Express Mail International you can use the same free packaging and flat-rate options you use for domestic Express Mail. The flat-rate envelope postage is $22 for Canada and Mexico and $25 for other countries. For Priority Mail International, you can also use the same packaging you use for domestic mailings. The Priority flat-rate envelope (with a 4-pound weight limit) will be $9 for Canada and Mexico and $11 for all other countries. There's also a flat-rate box with a 20-pound weight limit that will cost $23 for Canada and Mexico and $37 for all other countries. Tracking will also finally be available on the Priority Mail International flat-rate boxes.

If you're shipping documents or lightweight merchandise up to 4 pounds, you can use the new First-Class Mail International rates at a great discount. The prices are based on weight, and you can basically send a 2-pound package anywhere in the world for $8.26 to $16.80.

Domestic Mailing Changes
Sadly, for those of us who use Priority Mail, the rates will go up. The flat-rate envelope goes from $4.05 to $4.60, and the Priority Mail flat-rate boxes will go up to $9.15. A 5-pound package in a non-flat-rate box will cost between $6.30 and $15.85 based on distance.

First-class mail is also getting a rate increase, with letters going up to 41 cents. It's still a bargain for eBay sellers to send items up to 13 ounces via first-class mail. USPS will now offer two levels of first-class mail. Letter-size envelopes begin at 41 cents an ounce, and large envelopes start at 80 cents. The rate for packages will be $1.13 for the first ounce. For each additional ounce on letters, flats and boxes, expect to pay 17 cents per ounce. Letters weighing more than 3.5 ounces will be charged the same rate as flats.

The good news is that boxes from USPS and carrier pickup will remain free. For more information on all the USPS changes, go to www.usps.com/ratecase.

Upcoming eBay Changes
eBay has rarely made changes in its feedback system--the backbone of customer confidence on the site. I like to call the enhanced system Feedback 2.0. The new system can be seen on many of the international eBay sites. Go to www.ebay.co.uk, search for an item and then click on the feedback link next to the seller's name to see how it works.

The new system divides feedback into "feedback from a buyer," "feedback from a seller" and "feedback left for others." You'll also see the addition of detailed seller ratings defined by one to five stars. Buyers can now rate sellers on various aspects, including item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges.

eBay is also now letting users link to video within auction descriptions. (You can't embed the video; just link.) Write a line similar to: "See how great this item is in action. Watch a short demonstration by clicking this link." When you upload your short video on YouTube, you receive a link that allows you to share your video. You can also link to other video sites available from Google, MySpace, Microsoft or AOL.

This is an effective way to include your own infomercial on the item. Keep in mind, though, that this type of promotion is best for your stock or very special items. Also, many buyers won't have time to view your video, so don't neglect your item description and regular photos.

Marsha Collier, a successful eBay PowerSeller, is Entrepreneur.com's "eBay" columnist as well as the author of the bestselling eBay references,eBay for Dummies and Starting an eBay Business for Dummies.

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Newest Fad In Farming: The Internet

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Tucked away in the den of his 127-year-old farmhouse, Ed Winkle huddles over his computer. The screen's soft glow lights up his eyeglasses, reflecting messages about tractors, corn hybrids and crop insurance.

Winkle is checking the latest postings on his favorite Internet farm forum. Advice from fellow farmers around the country has enabled him to increase his corn and soybean production, better market his crops, learn how to rebuild engines and get good tires for his tractor.

Online forums, message boards and chat rooms are replacing rural coffee shops and feed mills as places for farmers to talk farming and trade tips as more of rural America goes online.

"You get the best thinkers in agriculture," Winkle said of the forums. "You're mixing such a diverse group of people — from different areas, from different backgrounds, different experiences, different ways of farming."

Fifty-one percent of U.S. farms have Internet access, according to a July 2005 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up from 48 percent in 2003. More than two-thirds of them still use dial-up access.

The popularity of online farm forums has grown as well, said Mack Strickland, an agricultural engineer at Purdue University and farm-computer expert, with some forums claiming to have as many as 30,000 registered users.

The Internet division of Farm Journal Media, www.agweb.com, says user traffic doubled between October 2005 and October 2006, with the forums on the site enjoying similar growth. Traffic on the Des Moines, Iowa-based www.agriculture.com has increased 20 percent to 25 percent over the past year, said editor John Walter. Both sites are funded by ads and free for users.

Enthusiasts say the forums have improved farm production and saved farmers precious dollars by helping them avoid costly mistakes in planting, fertilizing, equipment buys and maintenance. And forums have enabled farmers — many of them miles from their nearest neighbor — to educate each other and build community.

"We all like to talk to folks like ourselves who have the same problems," said Stan Ernst, a marketing instructor at Ohio State University's department of agricultural economics. "We have so much riding on many of our decisions economically that you've got to find people with experience."

A farmer can spend as much as $160,000 on a combine, for example. If it breaks down during a critical harvest time, that could mean the difference between a profit and a loss for some farmers.

Walter said the average visitor to www.agriculture.com spends 11 minutes at a time on the site.

"It's enough time to have a cup of coffee and a conversation and learn something," he said. "It's just rearranged who their neighbors are in a sense. You can't help but think that has changed farming to some degree."

Rural America has lagged behind the cities in Internet usage — especially broadband — because wiring the population-rich cities is more profitable and wiring the countryside more expensive due to long distances and natural barriers such as hills. In addition, rural businesses haven't needed the Internet as much to compete.

However, farmers and existing rural businesses are becoming more reliant on the Internet to be competitive, and rural communities are becoming more aggressive in seeking Internet access. They see it as a way to attract white-collar jobs, and urban dwellers who have moved to the country are demanding it.

Paul Butler, who grows corn and soybeans on 260 acres in Macon, Ill., returned to farming four years ago after 25 years in the computer business. He doubts he would have made it without the Internet and online advice from fellow farmers.

"I would have made a lot of expensive mistakes," said Butler, 39, who logs on using broadband. "Purchasing seed is a pretty complicated decision. It was nice to have 20 unbiased people that weren't selling seed that could give me an opinion on it."

Eric Neer, 24, of Davenport, Iowa, discovered farm forums from fellow students when he was in college.

Although he seldom posts a question, Neer — who works for a farm equipment manufacturer — devours the information he sees on precision farming, using the forums to shop for equipment and information about tractors and combines that are steered by computers linked to global positioning satellites.

Machinery — the universal language of farmers — is a hot topic in farm forums. So is when best to take crops to market to get the best price. Sometimes the talk veers away from pure farming.

In a recent exchange on www.newagtalk.com, a popular farm forum, an Illinois farmer complained that the starter on his pickup truck was acting up. A fellow farmer replied that the electric solenoid atop the starter was probably worn out and the contact sticking in the closed position.

"I would put a whole new starter on it," he wrote. "Fix it now before it ruins the flywheel teeth."

An Ohio farmer wondered if he should replace his fuel-oil furnace with a geothermal heating system. The idea got high marks from a farmer in Indiana who said a geothermal system leaves no smell or residue, makes less noise and leaves no hot/cold spots. Then he offered tips on insulation and heat distribution.

Farmers have to decide themselves whether the advice they get is sound. Walter said he tries to screen out the hokum, blowhards and occasional shyster. Strickland said some users give opinions not based on fact or research.

And some farmers still rely on the neighbor they know.

"You can get some good ideas from people in other states, but they're dealing with different circumstances," said Jim Meimer, who raises corn, soybeans and wheat on 900 acres.

Meimer, 28, goes online to get market data but prefers to get advice from friends and neighbors. He often sees them at the feed store and fertilizer plant when he goes into nearby Mount Gilead, Ohio, to pay bills.

Glen Feichtner, 48, who raises 300 head of cattle near New Washington, Ohio, prefers to get his tips from fellow farmers at the stockyard and grain elevator because he knows they have been successful.

"I get face-to-face interaction," he said. "I know these people. I know their story."

Winkle, 57, became a believer when a tip from an Iowa farmer prompted him to change his no-till farming technique. Winkle increased his yield by about 30 percent.

During the winter, he spends about two hours a day wading through the forums from his farm, about 40 miles northeast of Cincinnati. Since April, he has posted 1,738 messages on one forum alone.
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