You've probably already searched the internet for e-commerce solutions ....
whatever they are. What you've been looking for is a simple easy way
to set up shop on the web. What you've found is a dazzling array of offers
that promise the world, storefronts that call themselves easy and then suggest
that you should have a background in computer code, storefronts that lock you
into an expensive merchant account, storefronts that make you use their
templates, leaving you little control over the look, and ....well I could go
on and on. I was in the same boat once, looking for a simple way to open up
shop on the Web.
Once you wade through all the hype, bells and whistles, and wild claims,
and find something you think you can use, you'll face one other decision:
SHOULD I BUY or LEASE?
You usually have only two choices. You can buy storefront software outright or
you can subscribe to a storefront hosting service. If you buy the storefront,
you are going to have to get it setup and operating at your own website. Your
initial cost may be anywhere from a fifty to hundreds of dollars. But that's
just for starters. You're usually left to your own devices to get it integrated
with a payment system. This can be a daunting task.
If you lease the storefront, your initial investment may be low but, you are
locked into a hosting situation that may prove untenable and expensive over
the long run. Expect also to be forced into using a set of standard
templates which will leave you with little ability to get creative with your
website.
With PeddleGold You'll Get a Professional
Strength Storefront
for a Fraction Of The Cost!
THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE
PeddleGold was developed to combine
the best features of a purchase with the best features of a lease.
You will keep all files specific to your store at your own website while
we supply the code from our servers that makes it all work. That's what we
mean when we say, "You supply the content, we provide the container."
With PeddleGold you'll never have to worry about upgrades or installing files.
We do all of that from our end. You'll always have the latest versions
automatically, seamlessly, and without added cost. You'll run the storefront
from your own website with no special server requirements so you are always
in control of the hosting situation. Some of our clients use free hosts or
use their website that's a part Internet connection service such as with
AOL or Comcast.
I'm not going to tell you that you don't need to know anything to use
PeddleGold but, if you can use a simple text editor like Notepad and know how
to FTP a file to your website, we'll show you how to e-commerce enable your
entire site with a robust storefront that supports every feature you'll
ever need.
We'll show you how to edit just four files that will completely define your
store. You'll edit your own database file of products and services, edit a
configuration file that sets the look, feel, and and certain operating
parameters for your store, optionally edit a file listing customer
preference options for your products, and finally make a simple change to
the container file itself. And if you're not comfortable editing the files
from your text editor, use our on-line configuration console.
Have a
look at our demonstration here.
Remember that I said, "...your own website"! With PeddleGold you don't have
to change a thing. Once you wrap the site in PeddleGold, you can add shopping
cart buttons anywhere.
Put an "add to cart" button next to any item. With one click a customer
can add that item to the cart and keep on shopping.
Put a "check cart" button on every page in your shop if you want. This'll let
your customer view the cart at any time.
Here's a professional touch: a "find" button that lets the customer search
your product database and bring up a select list of just the item they want.
Don't like these buttons for your website? Use your own designs, no problem!
SELECT LIST LINK Add a link with a designated
search term. One click and your customer will view a page of related items.
For instance, specify the link with 'widgets'. A page of all widgets in the
store will open where the customer can make selections to add to the cart.
This works automatically; you don't have to do any programming or building
of special pages.
GETTING PAID
Once you decide to go ahead with your Internet business, you can go direct
to our parent company, ImagineNation.com and place your subscription order.
Before you do that though, think about how you want to get paid for sales
at your store because I have a special offer that'll let you get
PeddleGold for FREE.
There is only one answer to getting paid and running a successful Internet store.
You MUST take credit cards in an orderly
and professional manner. There is no viable alternative! You
might want to use the E-ComTips button above to review several articles in
our newsletter about getting paid and taking credit cards.
Typically, this has been the most difficult and costly phase of setting up a
store on the web. Taking credit cards usually requires that you have a
merchant account from an acquiring bank. I won't go into all of the details
here but, this is not as simple as opening a checking account. It's
often a confusing, time consuming, and expensive process, replete with
hidden costs. Don't be fooled by the claims;
there is no such thing as a free merchant account. You don't have to take my word for this; check with some of the advertisers on the left. You might want to bookmark this page first.
Next you'll have to subscribe to a gateway service. This is one of the
monthly fees that many merchant account issuers don't tell you about. It
can run anywhere from $29 to $139 each month on top of any fees you have to
pay the merchant bank. I know from my own little Internet store, TynieToy.com,
that those charges would put me out of business before I even got started.
Fortunately, ImagineNation offers a better solution. You can use them
as your representative for making sales taking credit cards. This is sometimes wrongly
called a 3rd party process. ImagineNation becomes your partner in trade. They
process credit card payments at your store for you and accept the responsibility
for getting things right. You won't need a merchant account, a gateway, or
any of the other accouterments that usually go with taking credit cards.
Yes, you will still have to pay discount charges and transaction fees but,
you have to pay those even with your own merchant account. Yes, the charges
will be a little higher but, if you are just starting out and expect to sell
less than $10,000 per month, you'll find letting someone else handle your
credit card transactions a whole lot cheaper and definitely with less hassle.
One more thing. If you expect to get your
store set up and running with credit card payment anytime soon, don't even
think about getting a merchant account and setting up gateway software.
With an IAMS Account
You'll Get Trouble
Free, Professional Credit Card Processing!
IAMS is our acronym for ImagineNation Associate Merchant Services.
IAMS service is actually a lot more than just credit card processing.
It's the other half of an Internet store.
IAMS service is the back office operation for record keeping, order processing,
and an entire group of utilities designed to improve your chances of succeeding
on the web.
Want to hear something truly amazing? We rarely get support calls from clients
using our IAMS Console. We've taken what used to be a confusing array of
applications, processes, and operations requiring you to visit other websites
and put then all into one easy to use on-line console dedicated to your store.
From one location, using an intuitive set of controls, you'll manage all of
your back office operations.
Have a look at some of the major benefits you get with an IAMS account.
- An order report page with orders grouped by current and prior month
- An order detail page with everything about the order, including the credit card transaction records
- On-line, real time authorization of credit card payments with the customer never leaving your store
- A virtual terminal for conducting subsequent credit card transactions such as returns
- A printable shipping invoice with optional shipping and return labels
- A manual order entry form for placing telephone and mail orders using a credit card
- Charts and graphs measuring store activity and sales by day, month, and year
- An order tracking page so your customer can check the shipping status of their order
- Customer contact e-mail forms that automatically reference the order
The list goes on but, let me get to the point.
With the IAMS service, you get an on-line console dedicated to your store.
Each order record with the credit card transaction are kept together for
easy reference and convenience and all records are kept in a database
table dedicated to your account. You won't have to log into some third
location to check orders and you'll see immediately how your store is doing.
An IAMS account will cost you just $18/month and, for this type of service, some
of the lowest discount and transaction charges available anywhere on the web.
There are NO minimums, NO application charges, NO hidden
fees, and NO holdback reserves. Every month you'll get a check for
the full amount due.
$18 is just eight dollars more than you would pay for the PeddleGold
storefront alone. And, here's my special offer: Subscribe to the IAMS account
and we'll give you the PeddleGold storefront
to use as long as you're an IAMS merchant!
This is a turnkey offer and if you've had a chance to search around the web,
I think you'll agree, it's a pretty darn good one.
Thanks very much for letting me carry on about our products. I hope you're
as excited about opening your new web store as I am about seeing another new
business get started.
Mel Davey
ImagineNation
You can subscribe to an IAMS account direct from ImagineNation. We highly
recommend, though, that you try out the PeddleGold
storefront first to make sure it suits your needs. This won't affect our
free offer. Alternately, you can order PeddleGold
now and we'll show you how to seamlessly switch over to the IAMS account
later and discontinue your PeddleGold payments.
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