Greetings / Editor's Note

Welcome to the October issue of the Doba Newsletter! From tips and tricks to help you prepare for the upcoming holiday merchandising season to information on new services designed to save you money on all of your wholesale purchases, this issue of the eNewsletter is packed with information that's sure to make you smile!

In Ramping up for the Holiday Retail Season, our own Stu Lisonbee shares why it's important to focus on your core offerings, while at the same time freshening up your web store's content and design. Of course, it goes without saying that there's more to holiday merchandising than just the 10 or so items in Stu's article, so keep an eye out in the coming weeks and months for more articles and training on holiday merchandising.

Also, be sure to take note of our announcements section. In Just in Time for the Holidays, you'll learn about our newest suppliers. And in our two Coming Soon announcements, you'll get a sneak peak at two new Doba-related developments... one will impact Doba.com; the other can save you four percent on all of your Doba-related wholesale purchases.

Enjoy October!

—Doba's Community & Education Staff

Ramping up for the Holiday Retail Season

by Stuart Lisonbee, Educational Specialist - Doba

For retail merchants, "'Tis the season to be jolly" translates into "'Tis the season to ramp up my marketing efforts." If you put it off till the end of October, you've already missed out on some prime holiday marketing opportunities.

In this timely article, we reveal tips and strategies to make the most of the holiday retail season.

Want to know more? Click here for the full article.

Just in Time for the Holidays: New Suppliers, More Products!

As of this week, with the addition of several new suppliers, the total number of manufacturers and distributors who are now ready, willing and able to work with you has topped 60. In addition, we plan on adding more suppliers for the approaching holiday season! Each new supplier, is handpicked by our merchandising team, adds breadth and depth to existing categories, as well as introduces new product selections previously unavailable at Doba.

Additions to our supplier list include new apparel and fashion manufacturers (Suppliers Washington, and Gannett), home furnishings and children's furniture (Suppliers Hood, Delano, Lassen, and Fairweather), children's safety (Supplier Columbia), and nutrition (Supplier Rainer).

In the weeks and months to come, new suppliers will add to our consumer electronics and computer categories, expand our automotive aftermarket product lines, and add the new category of pet supplies.

Visit all suppliers now!

Fraud Alert

Some of your so-called 'customers' may want to rip you off. Take steps now to avoid costly mistakes later. Click here to listen to our free teleseminar, Protecting Yourself From Fraud and the Scammers Who Want to Rip You Off!

Coming Soon — Doba PrePay

In our continuing effort to provide you—the small business retailer / entrepreneur—with the best possible pricing, we're pleased to announce Doba PrePay—a new payment method that saves you 4% on the wholesale price of products you source from Doba. Briefly, here's how PrePay works: By mailing us a check, cashier's check, or money order that we deposit into your 'PrePay' account, you eliminate the merchant credit card transaction fees that we pay, and in return, we pass the savings—4% on every product—on to you, the retailer. Additional information on this new cost saving program will be available before the end of October.

Coming Soon — Enhancements to Doba.com

You spoke and we listened! Many of you have commented about the usability of Doba.com, as well as the difficulties you have had in finding the right mix of products fast. Before the end of October, a new version of Doba.com will make its way on the Internet, complete with search by brand functionality, an easy to navigate product catalog, updated product spotlights, and a robust education center.

Doba's Employees Reach eBay Milestone

Late last month, 20 Doba employees passed the eBay Certified Consultant Exam—a 90 minute test that supports Doba's designation as an eBay Certified Service Provider. With an average test score of nearly 94, our employees continue to be able to assist you with understanding eBay policies, features, do's and don'ts, and best practices. With these certifications in hand, you should feel very confident that you're Doba-related eBay questions and transactions will be handled more smoothly than ever.

Tip of the Month: Find New Customers with the Alexa Toolbar

The free Alexa Toolbar has been the choice of savvy entrepreneurs and web surfers for years. The Toolbar—which provides instant access to Web Search, Related Links, Site Stats, and Contact Info for all the sites you visit—should be a critical component of your search engine marketing and competitive analysis toolbox.

Alexa also offers several tools for webmasters, including those that allow you to monitor and drive qualified traffic to the sites you manage. For more information or to download the Alexa Toolbar for free, click here or visit download.Alexa.com.