TekGems Blog

eBay Holds Its Turf Against Google: "The company's core auction business had suffered last year from sellers dumping slow-selling and patently unwanted merchandise in their eBay stores, as well as pricing some items too high for eBay's bargain-hunting audience."

eBay sellers have to pass on the cost of doing business on eBay to the buyers. We have listing fees and final value fees (FVF) for sold items. There are also fees we pay for unsold listings which creates your "sell-through rate". Overall, I think eBay is doing a good of bringing visitors to the site. Froogle is still the best ROI (no fee :) ), but eBay also provides a very good ROI. As eBay continues to charge more in fees, two things will happen:

1) Low margin and low dollar items will be marketed elsewhere (e.g. web store, no fee sites)
2) Sellers will list only items that sell and exclude non-performers from the eBay listings. More stuff people want, less crap on the site. How could that not be a good thing?

Microsoft is developing yet another online payment space Paypal is dominating and that Google Checkout is attempting to enter as well. I can see Microsoft giving away processing credits that are applicable to their software.

TechZonez. has a discussion on our PC Tower Strap. The tower strap is perfect if you're moving your computer to a LAN game, or for short trips. This item is not meant for airplane rides. For something like that, I suggest an enclosed squarish luggage bag with secure locks.

Basic Winamp Remotes Available--Been away for a while - MP3Car.com Forums

Two serial port infrared (not irDA) based remote controls. These two products have been around for several years and you have many free software for Windows and Linux that people utilize to remote control their computers. The Creative Remote is credit card sized. The Packard Bell Remote is a bit more bulky but has more buttons for those that want the extra buttons.

http://tekgems.com/Products/tg-cimr100.htm

http://tekgems.com/Products/tg-pbr.htm

Most TV remotes will work also work with these infrared (not irDA) receivers assuming the infrared signal sent from the remote is consistent and repeatable. (Some TV remotes send unrepeatable signals or cycle through multiple signals). For a list of TV Remotes already "programmed" check out LIRC

USB-to-serial adapter (for GPS) and latest Prolific drivers

Our Prolific chipset based USB to Serial adapter was reviewed on a Google Group discussion. My impression from the discussion is that Prolific is a mid-line chipset that behaves well in the latest Microsoft OS and works well under most circumstances. Huge Pine is a less expensive chipset, but quality control and/or software drivers are an issue. The FTDI chipset is apparently less problematic than Prolific according to one forum poster.

Related discussions:
http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=656652

Emergencies. Not if, but when. As many entrepreneurs are sole proprietors or partners with their significant other, a little crisis planning can make a stressful situation a little calmer.

Preparing Your eBay Business for a Crisis: "What will I do to keep my business alive in the event of an emergency?"

What will I do to keep my business alive in the event of an emergency?

An eBay Seller's Look at Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007

The QuickBooks alternative. Its nice to see that there is some eBay integration with the tool. You might be better off launching listings with TurboLister or eBay Blackthorne but use the Accounting Express (free version) to manage your financials.

360Mods › Forums › Xbox 360 Modding › DVD Firmware Hacks › Firmware Related Hardware Links

This forum thread is a roundup of hardware one can you hack the firmware of XBOX 360. Also recommends replacement DVD drives (if your current drive is defective or you want better performance) along with media recommendations that have good compatibility with the XBOX 360 drives.

There Is A Pci Sata Adapter Reported To Work - Scenyx Entertainment Community

An older thread also here about our VT6421A we currently carry and previously our VT6421L which is currently out of production.

The 100% Correct Way To Flash A Ms28 - Scenyx Entertainment Community

Buyers are using our VT6421A Serial ATA & IDE RAID PCI Card to modify their XBOX 360. The VT6421L chipset is apparently an easier chipset to work with, but VT6421A is currently widely available. Many sellers that claim to sell VT6421L may actually be selling VT6421A. Around Nov/Dec 2006 is about the last time VT6421L was available (Syba VIA-150-R for example), but even they are using VT6421A chipset now. So, if are on the hunt for VT6421L please get confirmation from the vendor before you make your purchase. We bought two from novadoom88 on eBay that claimed to be selling VT6421L but was actually selling VT6421A. No response from seller and had to go through Paypal to process a return.

FatWallet Forums - GE Omni HDTV Amplified TV Antenna $9.45 + Shipping at myvirtualzone.com: "GE Omni HDTV Digital Ready Amplified TV Antenna "

A Fatwallet forum member posted a deal about our GE Omni HDTV TV Antennae. New arrivals ship for free (within 48 states). Free shipping is offered as long as the product is considered a "new arrival". As new products continue to arrive, the product will no longer be considered a "new arrival" which makes it ineligible for free shipping.

Ship often and quickly. From my experience, buyers do not complain about shipping if s/he promptly receive their item. This means you ship ASAP using a shipping method that historically performs well. Delivery confirmation (USPS) or tracking number (UPS, FedEx, DHL) is a must. This offsets any customer service inquiries you might receive if s/he can see that the package is moving through the system. Buyers tend to only complain about shipping if s/he does receive their order within the expected delivery time. Something to the effect of: "I paid you xxx in shipping, I expected to have it by now."

eBay Strategies: ebay buyer - post3 (final for this session)

Why buyers love eBay?

* High ratings on price, selection and entertainment

Top buyer issues

* Entertainment/fun factor has worn off to some degree
o Buyers that think eBay is fun bid 2x of those that don't

* Shipping/deals
o 2/4 segments are price driven - most sensitive to this
o Most buyer attrition is due to 'too high' shipping
o Total price matters! (could have told you that in 2004 :) )
o Shipping costs kills word of mouth

* Based on buyer survey here are the top bad things:
o Item was late
o S+H too expensive
o Not as described
o Seller unresponsive

* Secondary issues:
o Never received
o Item was damaged
o Poorly packaged
o Unddeserved negative feedback
o sold as genuine, but was not

The US Postal Service is closed for Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday.
http://www.usps.com/communications/news/uspscalendar.htm

TekGems recognizes Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, but we do not observe it. Since the post office is closed, we recommend you select UPS as a shipping method if you want your packages processed on Monday. All pending shipments with US Postal Service shipping methods will ship on Tuesday, January 16th.

The other shipping carriers such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL are open for business:

UPS Holiday Schedule
FedEx Holiday Calendar
DHL Holiday Calendar

Labels: General

You may hire employees, get stick, or sell the businesses. These are all reasons why you may want to document every aspect of your business. This would entail operations (how to take orders, how to ship, etc) and technical procedures (scheduled backups, database queries, reports to run, etc).

Labels: General

Something for you security geeks. Since Paypal purchased Verisign a while back, it makes sense for them to use security hardware to virtually eliminate phishing. This goes hand-in-hand with the Virtual Debit Card feature they released as beta a week or two ago.

The official Paypal link is here:
https://www.paypal.com/eBay/securitykey

Generates a unique six-digit security code about every 30 seconds. You enter that code when you log in to your PayPal or eBay account with your regular user name and password. Then the code expires - no-one else can use it.

The full AuctionBytes story here:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m01/i10/s02



Related discussions:

Google blacklist sheds light on phishing tactics

Anyone see the new Paypal Security Key thing yet?

$5 required security fee to use paypal?

eBay/Paypal have the Key to Security

Labels: Paypal