ETD: 820 E-Tailing Technical Questions; Communicating Abroad;
America's Top 300 Retail Web Sites
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Thu Sep 23 11:25:43 GMT 2004
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0820 September 23, 2004
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] E-Tailing Technical Questions
[3] Communicating Abroad
[4] America's Top 300 Retail Web Sites
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
Today we have two technical queries which I hope our gurus can answer as
they will benefit us all. Many of us want to create an anonymous FTP
server and also accept credit cards. How is it done?
For us international road warriors, we have another resource that could
prove valuable. Check it out. Now we need mobile (cell) access
globally. Anybody?
We have an update on the Top 300 sites from list member Brad Waller who
found errors with some of the listings. That's not good, especially if we
depend on stats like this. Looking forward to an answer.
My thanks to all who continuously update our greetings resources
http://etailersdigest.com/resources/greetings.htm where you can learn how
to say "Welcome", "Thank You", "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year" in
many different languages and dialects. We just updated many entries across
the board. Print out the "Welcome" and "Thank You" and hang them on your
door as visitors enter your store. It's a nice touch.
Are you getting ready for the holidays? Only 95 days until
Christmas. What are you doing this year to increase business?
Tell us about your business which will remain for posterity at
our "Members: Who Are You?"
site. http://etailersdigest.com/resources/members/index.htm And we have a
form there for you to tell us about you. As I said when I first proposed
this idea, we have "known" each other for a long time, yet we often don't
know anything about each other. So, tell us who you are and what you do.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] E-Tailing Technical Questions
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Some of our members have asked some technical questions that we need our
technical gurus to answer, as they affect all of us.
1. Anonymous FTP. How does one establish an anonymous FTP server to allow
folks to upload/download files to/from? How do you set one up without
giving them access to anything else on a site? Please reply in a
step-by-step for a dummy ;-)
2. Credit Cards:
a. What are the steps required to accept credit cards on a site?
b. How does one find banks with merchant accounts?
c. How does one find software to accept credit cards?
d. How do you establish a secure site, i.e., https?
e. Are their tools that will allow you to do this easily?
With the last issue, it sounds like it could be a special report. So, if
our technical gurus would respond we would be very appreciative.
George
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[3] Communicating Abroad
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Richard Woolnough wrote...
> I was interested in your comments regarding POP3 access while
> you were in London.
>
> We have also set up another worldwide dialup service (also at
> www.roaming.bm or www.BermudaDialup.com ) which will allow
> access from (almost) any country.
>
You globe-trotters might also want to investigate Net-Roamer
(http://www.net-roamer.com/). They have 19,000 access points in 150 countries.
Brad Waller VP, Business and Affiliate Development
Phone 310.316.7424 | Cell 310.430.8374 | Fax 310.316.7624
_________________________________________________________
Classified Ad Affiliate Program: http://EP.com/b/csp.html
Hosted Classifieds and Auctions: http://AdConnect.com
Manage & Sell Site Banner Space: http://AdJungle.com
+++ [Moderator's Comments] +++
Thanks Brad. I'll check it out for my next trip to London.
Now, does anybody in the US use a mobile (cell) telephone that they can use
in Europe or other parts of the world? If so, how does it work here in the
US as well as abroad?
I used to use AT&T which worked well in the Caribbean and Mexico, but
terribly in the U.S. I was in Florida with a colleague and he and I were
standing next to each other at a trade show when we both got cell
calls. His was fine, and I had to find a window and stand still to
hear. I switched to Verizon. However, Verizon only works in the US.
I see AT&T is now promoting GSM and 3G which means global. I know T-Mobile
also has global. However, how well do they work in the U.S.?
George
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[4] America's Top 300 Retail Web Sites
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Larry Verkeyn wrote...
> I too was surprised to see some of the retailers on that list of the top
> 300 Internet retailers. Art.com ranks 77. ....77! (you may remember we met
> when art.com was just starting, and I was a buyer for the company).
I remember them too. I got to know Bill Lederer and Rick Salvadore and a
few others from the affiliate management area. Bill was back building more
companies, but I lost touch with Rick after he moved on. Bill built the
company on sound ideas and practices and was well rewarded for his efforts.
I bought the Internet Retailer report and see some errors that I have
inquired about. I was looking at one company that I knew and noticed that
some numbers just did not make sense. So I did some math on the ones
around it and the numbers appear to be based on 2002 sales, not 2003. I
talked to my contact and their assumptions were wrong for that company, the
numbers are definitely wrong (could still be a typo), but I think some of
the assumptions are also off.
They assume industry average numbers when they don't know the answer, but
they could calculate one or the other based on the numbers they do
have. When they have revenues and gross traffic, they sometimes seem to
just copy and paste the conversion rate and average ticket instead of doing
the math (which is simple enough). They could make one assumption (either
average ticket or conversion), and then it is basic math to come up with
the other metric.
I'll update you when I hear back from their editor.
Brad Waller VP, Business and Affiliate Development
Phone 310.316.7424 | Cell 310.430.8374 | Fax 310.316.7624
_________________________________________________________
Classified Ad Affiliate Program: http://EP.com/b/csp.html
Hosted Classifieds and Auctions: http://AdConnect.com
Manage & Sell Site Banner Space: http://AdJungle.com
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