Red Ink Diary

Problem Sale What Would You Do?

Henrietta — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:50:42 +0000

Here is a not uncommon sales problem, one which could be a business killer on eBay. Elsewhere, not so much, just time consuming and annoying. The problem The story begins with a ho hum normal transaction. A $10 item is sold and paid for with Google Checkout. Shipping is included in the price, item is shipped within [...]

Diversification, Duplication, Parity and Other Seller Nightmares

Henrietta — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:35:02 +0000

What are all these terms? What do they have to do with your online business? Ignoring them can have serious consequences. This article is a brief primer (def. #2) to get you started in the right direction and help you avoid the pitfalls that could put you out of business… First and most importantly, these terms [...]

Corporate Values

Henrietta — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:07:53 +0000

Two corporations contrasted. First the dog eat dog world of ex-Bain CEO John Donahoe’s eBay. I read with interest Ina Steiner’s article on eBay’s fourth quarter 2011 report in EcommerceBytes. Several points in that article should make both the micro-seller still trying to sell on eBay and the would be investor pay attention. “eBay’s growth in the [...]

The MoneyGram Scam

Henrietta — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:21:09 +0000

An old scam is making the rounds in Canada dressed in a brand new disguise, blackening the reputation of MoneyGram as it goes. The scam is aimed at the “make money from home” market, a sector rapidly increasing as unemployed or underemployed families struggle financially. It will only be a matter of time before it crosses [...]