February 2010

We want to know what you want to know! Email education@doba.com with your suggestions of what you want to see in future issues of the Doba eNewsletter. Also, check out our new blog at DropShippingBlog.com for drop ship news, information, commentary, and community.

	Featured Article: Would You Like Fries With That? The Benefits of Cross Selling Wes Lapioli, Doba SMB Account Consultant, explains the benefit of cross selling products to your customers.
	Marketplace Spotlight: Suppliers and Product Sourcing Process Jeff Knight, Doba's Vice President of Marketplace, discusses the online retail marketplace.
	Member Q&A: More eBay Changes Coming in Spring 2010 Roger Mortensen, Doba's Customer Support Supervisor, highlights the upcoming changes eBay will make this Spring. Do you have a question you want answered? Email education@doba.com.
	Supplier Information: New Suppliers and Products from the Doba Product Catalog Expand your niche with new products and suppliers added to the Doba Product Catalog.

Featured Article: Would You Like Fries With That? The Benefits of Cross Selling

By Wes Lapioli, Account Consultant - Doba (SMB)

If you've ever stepped foot in a fast food joint, you're intimately familiar with cross selling. Think about it... who among us hasn't been asked, "Would you like fries with that?"

Recently, when it was time for my wife and I to buy a new washer and dryer, we bought into an offer from a local retailer providing credit with one year of no interest. Long story short, I'm fairly confident that if you went into the store where we made our purchase, you'll still find bits and pieces of my face, because it was cross sold off!

"You know, Wes, you still have $1,500 credit left. Have you considered insurance for your new appliances? We have a sale on plasma televisions today, as well; would you like to take a look at those while you're at it?"

If used correctly, cross selling can be a valuable revenue-generating tool for any online business. To get started, think of yourself as a consultant and not a sales person. What additional products, services, or information can you give your customer that will truly help them? The key here: Don't be pushy; be helpful instead.

Successful cross selling starts with getting to know your customer. When the sales person from my example above started talking about plasma television sets, he might as well have pulled some sushi out of his pocket and asked if I was interested in buying a tuna roll. I could tell he just wanted to make a sale.

Small businesses especially have to work hard to compete in a crowded marketplace. Buyers need to look to you as the guru of the products you sell. Recommending an relevant product or two is a great way of showing your customers you know what you're talking about. By doing so, you provide a richer experience for your customers, which ultimately increases the chances of them coming back.

In the world of drop-ship retailing, you have a wonderful advantage to group products together and cross sell without having to purchase or keep inventory on hand. If a certain combination is really taking off, then great! More revenue for you and your customers are happier. If not, all businesses have ups and downs, and you don't have a warehouse full of products you can't seem to move. Research additional products and try again. Remember, your goal is to be helpful, and if you are, your customers will sense your sincerity.

One word to keep in mind while you are looking through Doba's catalog of suppliers and products is "accessories." Does the product you are currently selling have any accessories that would make sense to offer your customers?

For example, I can't wait for spring and the BBQ season. I just found a Smokeless Indoor BBQ Grill (ID 17409 in the Doba catalog) that I really want to buy. At the same time, I'm guessing there will be other people out there who would like it, also. If I sell the grill for the listed MSRP, I could make about $10 a sale, which is a pretty good little profit margin. Taking it a step further though, I now notice that the Doba catalog provides a list of recommended related products that I might want to offer when selling the grill in question. Bingo... can you say "cross sell!".

Good luck and happy cross selling. And yes, by the way, I do want fries with that!

About the Author:

Author
Wes helps mid-size and large eCommerce retailers understand how to use and grow from with Doba's award-winning software platform. Previously, Wes worked as a search engine optimization (SEO) consultant where he built optimized Web pages for businesses, managed pay-per-click campaigns, coached clients on SEO tactics, and performed keyword research. When he's not working, Wes likes to spend time with his wife and puppy, as well as work on music-related projects that have earned him the unofficial title of "Doba's Wizard of Rock."

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Marketplace Spotlight: Suppliers and Product Sourcing Process

By Jeff Knight, Vice President of Marketplace - Doba

As retailers, sourcing is always at the foremost of your concerns. How do you decide what to sell? How should you sell the item and where should you source the item? If there is a supplier integrated onto Doba's platform, then the sourcing question is largely answered. However, what if there isn't a supplier currently on the doba platform and how does getting suppliers onto Doba's platform work? What is the process and how does Doba determine which suppliers to work with and/or prioritize who are on boarded? This month, I am going to explain Doba's supplier on-boarding and explain the role a retailer plays in many of the questions asked above.

Supplier Pipeline

Suppliers are introduced to Doba in a few different ways. Doba's category managers attend several different trade events throughout the year. At the events, we touch base with our existing suppliers, and introduce Doba to new prospects. We tend to focus on suppliers whose products have a certain dollar density (sales price versus pounds to ship), their products are shippable via commercial ground carriers, and finally suppliers who add breadth and enhance our catalog. In addition to trade events, Doba does contact suppliers who are attractive or have been referred to us.

As Doba has grown, we have seen explosive growth in the number of suppliers who contact Doba directly and apply to be a part of our platform. As I have stated in previous Marketplace Spotlights, Doba believes in an open, transparent marketplace. In other words, we believe in explaining both Doba's and our retailers' expectations up front to the supplier. In reverse, we expect the suppliers to provide transparency to their limitations and benefits. Our backend allows for rapid on boarding and our transparent philosophy is conducive to moving suppliers quickly into the marketplace.

Finally, we rely on the referrals and recommendations of our retailers. Suppliers that are on boarded after being referred by a retailer tend to be more motivated and therefore, more productive then their counterparts on boarded through other means. For retailers using the Doba platform, there is very little reason not to use Doba for the 'heavy lifting'. We are experts in aggregating and standardizing disparate data and as a retailer; you should leverage the resource as if we were your IT department. If you want to refer a supplier; simply direct them to fill out the simple application at http://smb.doba.com/suppliers . Doba will promptly send them all the information they need to get started.

Priorities

As you can guess, Doba interacts with thousands of potential manufacturers, distributors, artisans and liquidators every year but we only onboard several hundred. Why is this? There are a variety of reasons. The supplier could have limited technical resources or they do not have the ability to fulfill packages individually. A majority of suppliers who enter the pipeline but don't leave - are for this very reason.

Another common reason is that the supplier has concerns over channel. The concerns generally revolve around who is going to sell their items (e.g. protect their existing retailers), where their items are sold (e.g. eBay, website, physical stores, etc) and for how much the items will be sold for (e.g. MAP violations). All channel strategies, regardless of whether you are a retailer or supplier, have advantages, and limitations. Some strategies will work mesh well with our platform and others require a more cautious approach. Doba works with the supplier and addresses their concerns by providing a transparent marketplace and explaining our value.

The final reason suppliers remain in the pipeline comes down simply to Doba's resource allocation. Just as with the supplier, Doba has a limited number of people and resources to focus on the endless possible candidates. We, like all of you, are forced to make priority decisions based on our perceived return on investment (ROI). We look at the number of retailers who will be affected (or are requesting the supplier/category), the technical sophistication of the supplier, the strategic value of the category versus the time/personnel costs. Ideally, the demand for a supplier/category is directly proportional to the number of retailers requesting products on Doba. Largely this is the case, but there are occasions where limited resources cause delays or inability to respond your requests for products in particular category.

As I stated above, part of your strategy should be to think of Doba as your personal, in-house, supplier on-boarding IT department. One way to insure you keep costs down is to maximize efficiencies in your operations. Supplier and inventory management are among the biggest expenses to your growing business. That said, you need to take an active role in which suppliers are brought on to Doba - Doba provides your backend/catalog. Research categories and find sources. Inform both the source and Doba that you want their products and help initiate the process. The Marketplace Department is keen on feedback and we have the expertise and technology to act quickly as we see the need arise.

Doba is not interested in working with all suppliers. We do reject a fair share of suppliers who we feel will not be able to meet standards or meet expectations. I would challenge you to do the same as your evaluate sources and look a products/suppliers/categories. Suppliers can apply directly at:

http://smb.doba.com/suppliers

Finally, remember that while on boarding may seem simple and even though a supplier may be technically sophisticated; there are always other projects, complications, vacations, etc that cause delays. Plan ahead.

About the Author:

As the Vice President of Marketplace, Jeff Knight is responsible for all aspects of the merchandising strategy, supplier acquisition, and vertical category management and fulfillment operations of Doba's marketplace. Prior to Doba, Jeff was Director of Merchandising for Overstock.com where he developed the growth and management of the Computer and Home Office category. Jeff's background includes merchandising and technology leadership roles at DealDeal.com and BCI International. He earned Bachelor and Masters of Arts degrees in Communication from the University of Wyoming.

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Member Q&A: More eBay Changes Coming in Spring 2010

By Roger Mortensen, Support Supervisor - Doba

Coming up in the spring of 2010, eBay will be making some changes to their fee structure. These changes will affect retailers who list a small amount of Auction-style listings, all the way up to those selling many items on an eBay store.

For Auction-style listings, the insertion fees will be free for listings with a starting price below $1.00 (no reserve price, up to 100 listings/month), and as high as $2.00 with a starting price of $200 or more. There will be one final value Fee of 9% of the final bid, but not exceeding $50. Standard fixed price insertion fees for a non-subscriber of an eBay store will be $0.50

Products listed on a store in a store inventory format will automatically become fixed price listings, and will appear in the eBay search results with other fixed price listings. eBay will introduce new fees for its Stores:

Basic Store - $15.95/month, $0.20 Fixed Price Insertion Fees

Premium Store - $49.95/month, $0.05 Fixed Price Insertion Fees

Anchor Store - $299.95/month, $0.03 Fixed Price Insertion Fees

The final value fees for fixed price listings will also change. These fees will vary from 2-12% depending on the store package, category, and dollar amount of the Selling Price.

To get a complete overview of the new eBay fee structure please visit the following link:
http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/FeeUpdate2010.html

About the Author:

Roger is currently Customer Service Supervisor, he also is supports liaison for our marketplace team. He is a key figure in keeping communication simple between the two departments. When he is not at work, Roger can be found trail running, camping in the back-country, or at the grill making his famous steak for family and friends.

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Supplier Information: New Suppliers and Products from the Doba Product Catalog

Starting an online business is relatively easy. Making it a success takes hard work and the right mix of products. To help you achieve your business-related goals, we recently added new wholesale suppliers and manufacturer to the Doba Catalog:

Supplier Swiss - Supplier Swiss offers huge discounts on fine watch brands like Invicta, Omega, Movado and Seiko. From dress watches to casual watches to sports diver watches, Supplier Swiss has the selection priced right for you. They offer a great selection of men's watches and women's watches from some of the world's most famous designers.