Greetings / Editor's Note

April delivers a bountiful harvest to Doba members—more suppliers, more Webinars, more articles… more of everything you need to increase sales and profits and manage your retail business more effectively.

Are you looking for more hot-selling products to boost your bottom line? In "Product Sourcing 101," we show you how to tap eBay's "What's Hot" page for product ideas. Want to know about how to obtain more benefits for your business? Then read our article on the benefits of having a tax ID number and how to get one.

Also in April, Doba is rolling out four new webinars along with an entirely new Premium Education service, and we're proud to announce the addition of 12 more new suppliers to the Doba family.

In this edition of the eNewsletter, we also keep you posted of upcoming events and the PeSA Spring Summit, along with offering our Ask the Expert answer to our featured question of the month, "What Do I Sell in the 'Down' Season?"

Doba's is dedicated to delivering you more suppliers, education, and value added resources throughout the year. Stay tuned in the coming months to discover the exciting new features that are currently in the works.

—Doba's Community & Education Staff

Table of Contents

• New Article: Product Sourcing 101 - Tapping eBay's "What's Hot" Page for Product Ideas
• New Article: The Benefits of Tax ID Numbers and How to Get One
• Education News - 4 New Web Seminars Planned for April
• Doba's Newest Service: Premium Education
• Did You Know? PeSA Spring Summit
• Calendar of Upcoming Events
• Supplier News - 18 New Suppliers Added to Doba.com
• April's Member Q&A: What Do I Sell in the "Down" Season?

New Article: Product Sourcing 101 - Tapping eBay's "What's Hot" Page for Product Ideas.

You may be surprised to hear that eBay offers its sellers a robust collection of free market- and product-research tools, including a Merchandising Calendar, Hot Categories Report, and eBay Marketplace Research, to name a few. Chasing the current hot-selling item is, of course, something we don't recommend, but these tools are valuable in helping you identify trends and pick your own hot-selling products. Read "Product Sourcing 101 - Tapping eBay's 'What's Hot' Page for Product Ideas" today.

eBay Stores

One of the fastest ways to build your eBay business is by opening an eBay Store. eBay Stores have a flat $0.05 to $0.10 listing fee, and you can get started today!

New Article: The Benefits of Tax ID Numbers and How to Get One.

Do you need a TIN (Tax Identification Number)? The IRS doesn't require all businesses to have a TIN (sometimes called an EIN or Employer Identification Number), but a TIN can deliver several benefits to your business, including making your retail operation look more like a bona fide business. In this article, we explain what a TIN is, describe its many potential benefits, and show you how to obtain your own TIN (it's easy). Curious? Read "The Benefits of Tax ID Numbers and How to Get One."

Education News – 4 New Web Seminars Planned for April

Tuesday, Apr 3 2007
Designing eBay Listings That Sell
When shoppers search for products on eBay, the information that ultimately drives their purchase decisions is contained primarily in listings. In this Webinar, we show you how to create listings that stand head and shoulders above the crowd.

Tuesday, Apr 10 2007
Blogging to Boost Your eBay Business
To remain competitive on eBay, you need to do much more than simply list products at low prices. To compete, you must choose a niche market, position yourself as a passionate expert or aficionado, and instill in prospective customers a sense of community and trust. Blogging is the perfect tool to achieve all of these goals and more. In this Webinar we show you how to implement a blog in your sales and marketing efforts.

Tuesday, Apr 17 2007
Leveraging the Brainpower of the eBay Community
When you move to a new neighborhood, it helps if one or two neighbors drop by to introduce themselves, point out the main attractions, and caution you to avoid anything that could get you into trouble. eBay's community serves a similar function. In this Webinar, you will discover the value of these eBay community centers in finding answers to any questions you may have and in offering a helping hand to community members in need.

Tuesday, Apr 24 2007
The Buck Stops Here - Dealing with eBay Customer Complaints
As your business grows, you will eventually meet a customer you simply cannot please. As a retail merchant, you can become proactive in avoiding customer complaints. When you must deal with disgruntled customers, knowing how to navigate the dispute process on eBay and PayPal can help you resolve issues much more efficiently and effectively. In this Webinar, you learn tips, tricks, strategies, and warnings related to keeping your customers happy.

To learn how you can participate in all four of these events for one low price, see the next item, "Doba Now Offers Subscriptions for Premium Education."

e-onlinedata

e-onlinedata is the nation's most trusted eCommerce merchant account offering a complete line of real time credit card processing solutions for internet, mail order and auction sellers. Doba members receive FREE Authorize.Net setup ($79 value) and lower Visa/MasterCard rates (2.16%)!

Doba's Newest Service: Premium Education

Success requires more than vision, ambition, and hard work. You have to know the business you're in. And when you're in online retailing, that means knowing how to:

• Research and choose products to sell
• Advertise and market effectively
• Build customer trust
• Process payments
• Fill orders
• And much more…

Our new Premium Educational offerings touch upon many of the basic and advanced techniques online retailers need to master, and are delivered by some of the industry's most seasoned professionals. From eBay University instructors, to owners and managers of successful online businesses, to Doba staff trained to help online entrepreneurs meet their business-related goals, the people who deliver Doba Premium Education have faced the same challenges you're likely to encounter and, just as important, they have discovered techniques and strategies that are proven to work.

In the past, most Doba Webinars cost $25.00 per event, but now with our new Premium plan, you pay just $24.95 per month for ALL Doba Webinars (including all of the webinars we've recorded since the first of the year). Click here to sign up or learn more about Premium Education.

Did You Know? PeSA Spring Summit

In just a few weeks, hundreds of top online retail merchants will gather in Chicago for the semi-annual Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PeSA) Summit. If one of your business goals is to become an eBay PowerSeller, we'd like to invite you to join us at this impressive educational event. Doba is joining eBay, PayPal, Amazon, Google, Yahoo, and many other companies as sponsors of the Summit and is offering Doba members like you a special, discounted rate to attend the 2-day educational event.

If you're not familiar with PeSA, that's okay. PeSA is a not-for-profit trade association that encourages the sharing of best practices, ideas, services, tools, and solutions with eBay merchants across the globe. PeSA Summits offer attendees a wealth of information in an intimate and interactive setting, or as one recent attendee put it, "Attending a PeSA Summit is one of the best things I've ever done for my business."

PeSA's Spring Summit takes place in Chicago on April 25th and 26th and is an amazing value at only $299 after $50 savings when you use Invitation Code "DOBA" during registration. Please note that this code is available only to Doba members.

Calendar of Upcoming Events

April 2007

• April 3: Doba Webinar - Designing eBay Listings That Sell
• April 10: Doba Webinar - Blogging to Boost Your eBay Business
• April 17: Doba Webinar - Leveraging the Brainpower of the eBay Community
• April 24: Doba Webinar - Dealing with eBay Customer Complaints
• April 25-26: PeSA's Spring Summit, Chicago, IL

May 2007

• May 1: Doba Webinar - Drawing Search Engine Attention to Your eBay Store and Listings
• May 10: Doba Webinar - Growing a Thriving eBay Business

June 2007

• June 14-16: eBay Live! 2007, Boston, MA

New Doba Suppliers – 18 New Suppliers Added to the Site

Doba's Marketplace team is continuing to work hard for you, contacting and integrating with suppliers who provide the products you have been asking for. The latest suppliers to be added to the Doba Product Catalog include:

• Supplier Windriver offers portable first aid equipment designed specifically for the outdoorsman. A perfect addition to a camping or emergency-supply store!
• Supplier Powder offers junior clothing, children's clothing, women's apparel, and fashion handbags along with jewelry, bed and bath products, and more.
• Supplier Snowbird sells hats, scarves, mittens, hand warmers, sweaters, vests, leather belts, and leather bags by original Indian handicrafts confined with the latest fashion. All products are made with love and respect to the environment and to the people of Asia.
• Supplier Epsilon is a prominent L.A. based fashion accessories bulk-wholesaler which has been serving many trendy celebrity-style apparel shops and department stores across U.S. For the first time, they now accept drop shipping orders at the wholesale price of $4.99 each (Retail $9.99 or more), offered exclusively for Doba's members.
• Supplier Pistachio provides gifts, gift basket, novelties, wine stoppers, bottle stoppers, candles, candle holders, diaper cakes, manicure sets, soaps, bath and spa items, jewelry, and more.
• Supplier Iota is a supplier of fashion jewelry and accessories such as: bracelets, necklaces, earrings, organizers and purses.
• Supplier Lambda is the #1 dry erase board surface available! Indoor and outdoor use. Easily wipe clean dry erase markers, regular markers, permanent markers, spray paint, glue, and tape adhesive... even if they were all made last month. Clean without ghosting! Supplier Lambda manufactures crack-free Dry erase boards for magnetic and any use.
• Supplier Rio sells the highest quality U.V. protective clothing and swimwear at the lowest prices. Supplier Rio specializes in Superman and Supergirl apparel that uses an innovative fabric to keep children cool and to protect against the harmful effects of ultra violet rays. The stylish line makes children feel cool and comfortable while having an SPF of 50+++ (the highest protection rating available against UV rays). This U.V. protective clothing ensures that children of all ages can safely enjoy the sunny outdoors.
• Supplier Beta is the manufacturer of the Weed Queen Digger, often mentioned by users as the best tool they have ever owned. Not only does it save your knees from pulling weeds, you also do not have to wear any gloves to dispose of the weeds. Pull the weeds right every time, including core removal which prevents the weed from growing back. This cored steeled product is made in the USA.
• Supplier Vail provides night visibility gear for workers, pedestrians, cyclists & school children; single or bulk orders welcome. Many safety promotional products and custom imprinting.
• Supplier Black Canyon is a 10-year old shoe company rooted in the activities of the pacific northwest. Their shoes are built for performance and comfort, for activities from golf, running, fishing, disc golf, hiking, and some of the most comfortable sandals and shoes in the market. They are innovators, with the only orthotic-capable performance sandals on the market, and all styles are designed with proper biomechanics.
• Supplier Si focuses on sourcing closeouts, overstocks, open box items and factory refurbished merchandise in the consumer electronics market. Supplier Si works tirelessly to find the highest quality products available, offering great brands at deeply discounted prices.
• Supplier Arrow Root strives to bring you the coolest, vintage T-shirts we can find. Some of their most popular T-shirt styles are their Music and Band T-shirts. Also they have a huge selection of Movie T-shirts and TV show T-shirts.
• Supplier Canyons brings life and energy to the sometimes-dull basic and casual clothing, with refreshing styles and colors. They know that if the clothes fit and feel great, your spirit throughout the day will be great and that's what we want. Canyons is all about being carefree, fun, and enjoying life through the comfort of great clothes.
• Supplier Ginseng's cases come in a variety of styles, sizes and finishes. All materials are carefully selected and are then assembled in their own factory, resulting in a product that is both attractive and functional. From small, stylish beauty cases and pro makeup cases that roll smoothly on inline skate wheels, all of their products have been designed to be the most functional and durable on the market.
• Supplier Peace has been manufacturing pillows for doctors and the comfort industry for over 20 years. They provide a high quality product that last a lifetime. All pillows are made up of the finest materials.
• Supplier Sundance is a prominent manufacturer, importer, and designer of fashion belts and accessories which has benefited from more than 55 years of industry experience and steady expansion. Sundance is constantly incorporating new products and lines in order to remain at the forefront of innovative products and services. They are excited to announce the recent launch of their new handbag line and are working on the official launch of a sunglass line in the near future! Sundance has a minimum purchase requirement of $150 dollars.
• Supplier Upsilon is a diverse supplier/manufacturer handling sports, juvenile and adult healthcare. They specialize in the unique with definitive consumer benefits and very quick service.

We'll keep on working hard for you, bringing on new suppliers to add diversity, increase inventory, and bring down prices by negotiating better deals and working directly with manufacturers.

This Month's Member Q&A: What Do I Sell in the "Down" Season?

This Month's Question: What's the best way to offset the drop in sales during slow times of the year, such as after the winter holidays or during the summer? What items sell well during these slow times?

Answer: Excellent question. Seasonal drops in sales have long been the bane of retailers, going so far as to drive some retailers out of business. The key, however, isn't necessarily to max out your sales year round, but to prepare for the down seasons so you can ride out the stormy slow months. Many sellers simply accept the drop in sales, preparing for it by socking away money during the top-selling months to float them through the summer.

But if you are able to increase sales during the down season, why wouldn't you? If your retail niche is such that you can rotate promotional items based on the time of year, then that is one of the best ways to help offset a drop in sales. For example, a camping and hiking store might want to focus on promoting light-weight backpacks, "breathable" clothing, summer survival gear, and anything else the outdoorsman might be in need of during the summer months.

Since the summer is a time consumers are focusing more on vacationing and having fun rather than spending money, you'll have to make an extra effort in promoting your store or online auctions. Take a look at the following merchandising articles for help in running seasonal promotions:

• Holiday Merchandising Quick & Easy
• Ramping up for the Holiday Retail Season

Although these articles were written with the winter holiday season in mind, the same principles apply to the summer months. Coming up in April is Earth Day and Arbor Day. May brings Mother's Day, Armed Forces Day, and Memorial Day. Father's Day happens in June, while July brings the biggest summer holiday: Independence Day. Labor Day wraps up the summer holidays in September.

And those are just official federal holidays. What other celebrations, observances, or special events are happening that are related to your product offering? The camping and hiking store can look forward to a big increase in Boy Scout camping trips during the summer. If you're a hobby store, are there any big model-rocket launch events, RC competitions, or hobby trade shows happening?

Yes, it's true that your customers' minds will be more on vacationing than shopping. But what kinds of vacations are your customers taking? Take this opportunity to remind your existing customers that you have whart they need to make their vacation even better.

The article "Making a Customer for Life" can give you some tips in that area.

If you're not already keeping in touch with your existing customers, now is the time to start. Take a look at the article, "Building Customer Loyalty with an eNewsletter."

A drop in summersales is inevitable. But with some creative marketing, you can still make it a summer to remember.

Don't forget to submit your questions to education@doba.com for your chance to win two free months of service! (Please note: If you need help right away, contact our support team at support@doba.com. You may still submit your question to the eNewsletter separately for your chance to win, but questions submitted to education@doba.com will be answered only if selected for the Ask the Expert column.)