I would love to be able to market my Auctiva Commerce Store to people who've purchased from me on eBay. Is there a way to do that without searching through countless past transactions to find e-mail addresses?
—Promotional in Provo
Urbanowicz: Your question is well timed; just this week we released this Auctiva Commerce feature. Now, you can import e-mail addresses from your Auctiva.com account into Auctiva Commerce. If you've been managing your listings with Auctiva.com, all customers that have purchased from you on eBay within the past year can be efficiently imported. Additionally, we've added two new marketing e-mail templates to announce promotions and reach out to previous customers. For more information, click here.
Can you give an update on the multi-variations feature? eBay has had this for a while, but it seems like none of the third-party tools support it. Is Auctiva still planning to add this capability?
—Seeking Variety in Vancouver
Urbanowicz: Auctiva remains committed to helping you manage your listings using eBay's new features. We have completed the initial analysis for development of the multi-variations feature and are planning to support it in 2010.
What's the purpose of the free Auctiva Store, since it's not searchable within eBay?
—Unclear in Unley
Urbanowicz: The free Auctiva Store is another opportunity for you to promote your merchandise. With nearly 50 professionally designed store templates to choose from, you can tailor how your products are displayed. You can further personalize your storefront by publishing a blog, display your custom logo and write content about your business. Moreover, using the blog feature of the Auctiva Store is a great way to capture natural search traffic for your items. You can learn more here.
For a modest fee, you can also purchase a custom domain and link it to your Auctiva Store. A catchy domain name is a great asset for online marketing, like e-mails and blogs. It also sets your business apart for offline marketing—such as on business cards, packing slips, brochures or flyers. To get a domain for your free Auctiva Store—or even for your Auctiva Commerce Store—log into Auctiva and click here.
I recently signed up with Auctiva Commerce because I heard it was free until March 2010, but I just got an e-mail telling me my store is on hold and will be cancelled if I don't provide a credit card. How is that free?
—Dumfounded in Darlington
Urbanowicz: The confusion may be surrounding the difference between Auctiva Commerce's monthly subscription fees and monthly sales fees. Only the monthly subscription fees are free until March 2010. Monthly sales fees are not waived during this promotional period. Remember, as part of Auctiva Commerce's pricing structure, if you earn less than $195 in sales per month, you will pay $0 in monthly sales fees.
I see that you've added ProPay as a checkout option for PowerSellers on the listing form. Do you plan to add support for Paymate and Moneybookers?
—Flexible in Falkirk
Urbanowicz: There are no immediate plans to integrate either Paymate or Moneybookers for Auctiva.com.
What's a seasonal gift you've sold on eBay during the holidays?
—Inquisitive in Izumi
Urbanowicz: Last holiday season, I sold some handcrafted neckties that had prints of reindeer, snowmen and brass instruments. The story was that a few years back my mother created hundreds of neckties (she is both industrious and "crafty"). While the majority were sold at craft fairs or distributed as gifts, she still had some remaining inventory. Several of her neckties had winter or Christmas themes.
Ironically, I tried creating an off-eBay store for her neckties years ago. I abandoned the attempt when I hit obstacles with secure payment methods, marketing campaigns and managing inventory. What a contrast to the simple setup and automatic handling built into Auctiva Commerce. Shameless plug: If you're interested in a niche store selling seasonal-themed neckties, click here.
You can ask Auctiva management your own questions by e-mailing "AskAuctiva" at the Auctiva dot com domain. Not all questions will be answered, but those selected will be published with responses from Auctiva's top managers in future Ask Auctiva articles. Due to the volume of mail we receive, it will not be possible to reply to you personally.
Please do not submit inquiries requiring an immediate response. If you need a technical issue resolved right away, please use the online form to file a support request and your case will be addressed by our customer support team.
For additional insight from Auctiva, visit the Auctiva Blog and follow Auctiva on Twitter.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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