Cornerstone Supply eBay Store Powered by Frooition:

Some months back we published the article below in the Trading Assistant Journal . It details the transition from a brick and mortar retail and wholesale business model to Internet Marketing.  The first step was eBay with a custom designed eBay Store by iBusinessLogic.com and powered with Frooition technology.

As many small business people know, finding the time to devote to new projects, no matter how exciting, can be a challenge in a small business environment.  Cornerstone is no different and even though the eBay environment over the last year has been somewhat fluid, Richard Carpenter and his daughter Connie have stuck with the project adding products to the store inventory in Auction-Logic.com software on a regular basis.

The dedication has paid off!

Richard advised us last week that the eBay Store has been his best marketing decision in years.  He is getting calls and inquiry’s about his Truck Mount Carpet Cleaning Machines, not just from around the State of Florida or even the United States, but from around the World!

Richard thinks his return on investment (ROI) has been very positive even when figuring in a few glitches attributed to eBay itself.  His concern has never been with accumulating feedback or obsessing about DSR’s, Richard just wants his products out there in front of as many eyes as possible.  The eBay Store we developed for him with Frooition has cost less than a weekly ad in our local newspaper and has returned 10 times the amount of leads.

Richard has now asked us to develop a new website for his company and we will be happy to oblige… More about that project in the coming months.

From the Trading Assistant Journal…

Cornerstone Commercial Supply is pleased to announce that after years of brick and mortar retail and wholesale sales of commercial carpet cleaning, janitorial and floor care supplies and equipment, that they are entering the exciting world of e-commerce as an Internet and eBay seller!

The professionals at iBusinessLogic are bringing the world of Internet marketing to an established Brick and Mortar distributor of Carpet Cleaning supplies and equipment in the Tampa Bay area.

iBusinessLogic ‘s first task has been to set up the inventory of this commercial carpet cleaning distributor in electronic format and to enter it into the AuctionLogic business class eBay management software suite. We are proceeding with this project while we complete the design of the eBay stores templates with our DesignLogic
and Frooition graphics and eBay stores certified designer teams. The eBay stores design and listing template is nearly complete but since we have all of this great product to promote, there is no reason to wait. We at All Business Auctions have begun the soft launch of this client onto eBay with a basic eBay stores design provided by eBay.

Once DesignLogic & Frooition has Cornerstone’s new eBay store design completed they can simply do a quick install of the eBay store design without changing any of the items already running on eBay. One of the great features of our AuctionLogic software suite is that once the Cornerstone branded and customized eBay listing template is ready for use, we can simply choose to change the template of any store item from within our software without ever having to re-enter item description information or details. Once the Designlogic / Frooition template is installed our client will have the ultimate flexibility available for changing and editing both live eBay listings and their own promotions within the eBay store. Featured items will be promoted / cross marketed on each and every listing with this eBay stores design and software solution.

Next on the agenda, after the eBay store is up and running and generating revenue, DesignLogic will formulate , design and implement a complete a full eCommerce website for this client. This will allow the client to direct traffic from eBay to the eCommerce website and sell his primary product which is Truck Mount Carpet Cleaning Machines.

In addition we plan on developing informational products for this client. Digitally delivered info products are a great way to get a company brand and company links into the hands of a focused and targeted audience. The informational products ideas we have for this client are extensive and we fully intend on helping Cornerstone Commercial Supply inform and educate its customer base with Commercial carpet & floor care e-books, e-reports, e-reviews on equipment and other video and audio based informational products.

We have been working for years to reach a level which would allow All Business Auctions / iBusinessLogic to create comprehensive and effective Internet marketing plans which start with the awesome power of eBay traffic generation. We believe we have found the right combination of tools, services and mentoring programs which will allow any brick and mortar business like Cornerstone to survive and thrive in the new world of Internet based marketing.

New options abound for merchants thinking about or already selling products online.

Opportunities to profit are available from eBay to Amazon and include numerous lesser known yet interesting “all in one” online sales options becoming available on an almost daily schedule. Small businesses have numerous easy display opportunities available for their products like Etsy, Bonanzle, Bidtopia, OnlineAuction, Dawdle, Overstock, Plunderhere, Ubid, ePier and many more

Setting up a diversified mix of sales channels is a long term goal of most successful Internet merchants. Selling product online through all in one options like eBay or Amazon while maintaining an eCommerce website or adding a shopping cart option to an existing website is less complicated more attractive than ever before. Many merchants who would not have considered this track in the past are now looking hard at dedicated multi-channel web development.

But What to Sell?

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Many merchants, either online or brick and mortar, already have established sources of supply for merchandise. Existing supply is a good reason for small businesses to investigate an online sales initiative.

But many people are looking for new business opportunities in an ever tightening economy, these emerging entrepreneurs may have no established source of supply for products to offer online. As a result, one of the most common questions we hear is…

“What do I sell, and where do I source product?”

This single question is the most common inquiry heard by service providers and web developers at conferences and trade shows across the country. The “small business opportunities” crowd may simply lead the customer to a drop ship source, importing company or a stale list of these sources, legitimate or not for a fee or a portion of the monthly subscription fees earned by these types of sourcing suppliers.

As a trusted advisers, web developer and Internet consultants here at iBusinessLogic.com we do not simply offer a link to a drop shipper or a wholesale list to our clients. We prefer to talk with our clients with a goal to listen to them, learn what motivates them and find the strengths of their individual or company goals.

Many entrepreneurs and small business owners have trouble recognizing the opportunities available to them. At iBusinessLogic we like to help identify the best business plan available for Internet initiatives and as a result, avoid the pain of possible missed opportunities.

Some Guidelines for finding online opportunity

• It is very difficult to succeed on the Internet by selling products no one wants.
• Successful merchants sell what people want to buy!

Sounds simple? Maybe, but more often than not these simple and obvious facts seem to elude some merchants, as a result they fail before ever really starting. Find out what people desire, what they buy, what they can not find locally (meaning wherever they live in the world – something common in your part of the world, may be a rare and desired commodity elsewhere), and give it to them. Ignoring this fundamental tenet of Internet sales will certainly cause more pain for the merchant than profit.

Let’s look at a list of some of the initial steps we perform with our clients and potential clients when there is a question concerning “What Do I Sell Online”?

1. Check Ebay’s eBay Pulse to find out what products and services are selling well on eBay.
2. Look at Amazon’s “Movers and Shakers” and the Amazon “Most Wished For” list to find products people want and products people are actually buying.
3. Use research tools like Terapeak and Wordtracker to aggrigate more information about what products are being searched for and the keywords used to find them.

Once these steps have been performed and a category of products with sufficient demand has been identified, the next step is to find a source of supply.

Locating a local wholesaler, offering products which fit within the parameters of the research already completed, is the ideal solution.

If a local wholesale source is not available, two options exist.

1. Search for a wholesale source in a nearby state or as a last resort, overseas.
2. Work from the source backwards to see if there is a demand for products available locally.

Finding a local wholesaler which offers a product or product line in high demand may be easier than first imagined. Many of these wholesale sources have established local retailer relationships but may not have explored Internet sales recently. While in the past, the word Internet or eBay were considered taboo for wholesalers, todays economy and a changing image of online sales may open doors for an enterprising entrepreneur.

What do I say when speaking with a local wholesaler?

1. Ask for buying privileges – this is easier if your already set up and established with a business identity and established credit. (Of course these steps should be performed before becoming active in any business).
2. Seeking a Non-Disclosure Agreement and/or a Joint Venture Contract is a consideration. They are both simple documents that you can find and download from the Internet. These will protect both parties but some wholesalers may not be interested in this option with an established track record from you as a merchant.
3. Determine shipping options and costs with the wholesaler. Ask about dropship programs or educate the wholesaler on this option if they are not familiar. If this option is not available, secure storage space or a shipping agent for the product.
4. Arrange for a regular update of the product list in Excel format, it is easier to add to a product line when your aware of the available inventory and costs of same.

Test the product – in limited quantities – on different sales venues. Not all products that sell on Amazon will sell on eBay and visa versa. Your selected product line may do well on a stand alone website or on another venue but if you have done the proper research and have started with products people buy, then the venue should be the last decision.

iBusinessLogic is in the news today with this interesting and fun eBay stores design powered by Frooition. Our design was chosen to be part of Internet Marketing expert Jay Berkowitz’s Ten Golden Rules of Internet Marketing keynote speech at eBay Live 2008.

We are pleased to have this honor and are happy that our new client Extreme Halloween Inc. Loves their new eBay Stores design and our AuctionLogic software suite.

Read the article on Yahoo News – just click the image to go to the article.

Nascar Fansite & eCommerce Affiliate Blog

iBusinessLogic.com and DesignLogic just put the finishing touches on a new and exciting blog/ website featuring Nascar & Sprint Cup merchandise and NASCAR news aggrigators.

FavoriteTeamwear.com provides value to its readers in the form of up to date articles in the Nascar Journal section of the site in addition to feeds from the latest news sources in the racing industry. While offering Sprint Cup and Nationwide series merchandise at low prices.

iBusinessLogic created this website with a content management system called WordPress. There are some advanced features in this design but the ease usability for both the website owner and viewer has been maximized.

With regular posts to the Nascar Journal section

of this site, iBusinessLogic is confident that the page rank and traffic for this installation will grow much faster than if the client has chosen to use a standard web design.

Content Management Systems like WordPress and Joomla are the wave of the future in web 2.0 business oriented websites. Here iBusinessLogic.com we are looking forward towards the future and are happy to help clients new and old install “easy to use and maintain” content management systems for company website installations.

WordPress is not just for personal blogging anymore!