Catalyst is looming and we are getting our game plan ready to introduce attendees to Widshops eBay design a fantastic scalable solution for your international plans.

E-business is international and part of our Widshop swat team for Channeladvisor Catalyst is Mathias who speaks German and English, Larissa who speaks 4 languages and Patrick who speaks German/English. So with my new found love of asian languages we are very much the international team ready to take our customers to the next level.

Quite often we partner with Intercultural elements who have helped our UK based customers become international eBay superstars with their translation, customer service and market knowledge.

Hopefully I will see lots of you at catalyst which is almost SOLD OUT, so you need to be quick to be part of the greatest date in the e-commerce calendar!

See you soon! I will have sherbert dibdabs, haribo and chocolate at the widshops booth so it is worth popping by!

I have written a post on the WIDSHOP new section today about a new cleint that is looking exceptionally Spring like.

Makes me feel those random hail storms we keep having are a fallacy!

http://widshop.com/en/2012/04/widshop-ebay-design-is-taking-over/

On another note spring time is great to think about investing in your business. You know how much profit you made last year and how much you need to pay the taxman!

You can’t stagnate in the e-world, your competitors will leave you behind in a flash.

And while you are at it… Go Global or Go Home!

I stole this graphic from the Channeladvisor blog because I love infographics! Very US centric but it works both ways as the world wants UK stuff too!

This year though, we are introducing our Widshop eBay design service so we have a four strong team, 3 from Berlin and yours truly.

The reason we sponsor Catalyst and have done for 5 years is the very reason people GO to catalyst.

Relevancy.

The content reflects on the past success but mainly focuses on the future of e-commerce and what areas need investment for business expansion.

This year Catalyst will focus again on cross border trade as this is SUPER important and not just looking at Europe.

The east is where there is a massive amount of money and a love of UK goods. Check out http://import.buy.com – a site pushing American goods to the Japanese market.

And who owns Play.com – A Japanese company! Should you be selling to the East? Have you been watching the telly recently? Loads of programmes on the expansion of China and the east. Heck, we are asking China to bail out Europe!

I digress, where was I..oh CATALYST

This year are some great speakers talking about social commerce, search, female representation in business (you can tell I have started to go to Girl Geek stuff and networking with my fellow business women) and all kinds of things relating to being a successful e-business.

One of the great things about Catalyst is meeting like minded people with the same goals, needs and problems as you. There are a lot of opportunities to network, party and you are ALWAYS well fed at this event.

This event is about information, relevant to your on-line business and where the sector is heading.

The other great thing about Catalyst is you can speak to various third party service providers (which I am one) and discuss potential future partnerships. Having everything in house is expensive and hard to run, third party companies are essential in e-businesses.

Well, I hope to see you at Catalyst and I (Createyourtemplate) will be there with chocolates and sweets as always.

Even though widshop is designed and developed around a set frame designs can still look very different.

My first example is:

Click image to see the large version

This is a clean professional design within our standard frame and my current favourite:

Click image to see the large version

…which is the other end of the spectrum design wise but still around the same framework.

You don’t need to have ‘just three’ banners on the homepage, it can be one large image or a series of smaller banners (we don’t recommend more than 6 as they will get a bit too small)

The side navigation is driven in real time by the attributes you use to list to ebay so you never have empty results.

These are the live stores:

http://stores.ebay.de/ZENDAGO
http://stores.ebay.at/toyworld24

Included in the standard package is:

• Adaptable homepage
• Dynamic search
• Adaptable product view
• Integration of custom pages
• Category filter navigation
• Cross-selling galleries
• Full text search
• Social Bookmarks
• eBay integration

and this is a eBay certified application which is very important

More info and examples are on the website http://www.widshop.com

People always ask me the difference and eBay design makes, and a good one at that and I always say that you can make up loads of reasons why an eBay design such as this is good. But our clients see a significant uplift in sales. That is what it is all about in the end, return on investment.

Widshops with a bit of tweaking can also be used on your facebook page….but this is a secret at the moment

WIDSHOPS EBAY DESIGN

Some might say we are ‘late to market’ with now providing a solution for the SME market but we decided not to rush. We wanted to be ahead of the game and provide something that is intuitive and very ‘now’ in relation to how the world of e-commerce is progressing. We wanted to look forward with our design innovations like with our premium service eBay designs. We want you to be future proof!

Widshops is an affordable ebay design solution (set up and design around £1500) but it provides all the look and feel of a professional stream lined shopping experience. It carries a subscription cost based on number of listings (http://widshop.com/en/prices/)

The key features are:

• Fast – Your new template delivered quickly
• Easy – only the best features show up in your shop
• Economical – Sales increase, costs decrease
• Optimised – HTML template also works on iPhone and iPad
• Compatible – works with all eBay listing and sales management tools
• Professional – Project managers at your side

The best bits are:

Category and filter navigation just like on the eBay platform

We filled an important technical gap with the eBay category and filter navigation. eBay® customers are already familiar with the intuitive filter navigation. This is now available with WIDshop in your eBay® storefront as well.

WIDshop navigation sorts your items out in real time and automatically recognises in which eBay® categories, and with which items specifics they have been listed. Through this, the WIDshop generates a navigation that displays all of your eBay® categories and item specifics filters. This way, your customers can search by category and filter the results according to items specifics. Your customers will easily and comfortably be able to find the right size, colour or material! You are thereby significantly enhancing your customers’ shopping experience!

Sell more with clever cross-selling

Every eBay® customer who clicks onto one of your products is very interested in buying. You keep your customer in your shop by using clever cross-selling. For this purpose, WIDshop makes a product gallery available to you which automatically presents similar products from the same eBay® category. This way your customer sees, for example, additional t-shirts, CDs from the same music genre, more hard drives or different trainers. The WIDshop cross-selling gallery can also work with customised rules based on item specifics or keywords, if desired. We would be happy to advise you.

Reach more customers with Facebook etc.

By linking the WIDshop to Facebook and Twitter, your customers can inform their friends that they like your storefront. You benefit from this additional marketing channel, which increases the popularity of your storefront and thus, the number of your clients.

The list of search results for a positive shopping experience

The most important thing about search results is their speed. Not only have we made the WIDshop search very fast. We have also made it look appealing and incorporated a few added features for your customers, such as wish lists or the display of the item condition. The search results are compiled and loaded anew in the navigation and filters after each click. This way, your customers always have an overview and can find their way easily and quickly through storefronts, even with a larger selection of items.

Integration of custom pages

All custom pages such as the legal notice, etc., that you’ve created as personal pages in your eBay® storefront can be easily accessed through the navigation and are displayed in your storefront design. This way, the entire storefront features your corporate design.
You can also easily manage and update your custom pages in your eBay® account. Therefore, the WIDshop works like a small editing system.

Examples:

http://stores.ebay.de/Sport-Fischmann

http://stores.ebay.de/outdoorsportshop24

http://stores.ebay.at/123boerse
So feel free to quiz me or comment on our new service and watch our for the discount code worth £250 in the 2012 Tamebay Tools and Services Guide

I have had a very busy e-commerce 2011. The economy has taken a bashing but online things are still hotting up! The world is our oyster online with the expansion of social commerce and like many sellers looking out to Europe and beyond is the key to success.

This year as been the year for international expansion for my sellers and myself. Most of my eBay clients are moving into France, Germany and the USA as a minimum. Most are going much further.

To stay ahead of the game as always, I am looking into the Asian markets. Strong currency in these countries suddenly makes buying stuff from Europe side cheap and boy is it TRENDY!

While I was in Japan (business and volunteering) I saw that the union jack was EVERYWHERE on clothing, accessories in shops and on the people walking past. It was very surreal.

Language is no longer a barrier. Improvements in translation engines have made things easier.

For a year or two I have bought from Rakuten and Yahoo Auctions Japan (though a shopping service) and each time it gets a bit easier. For instance Japanese sellers are more interested in international trade, probably due to economic conditions in their own countries and better support networks.

So as my clients are expanding in to Europe, Australia and America in the next few years, I will get ready for the expansion east by building relationships, language skills, cultural/business skills and finding sensible solutions.

Oh yeah, and prepare for Widshops…oh yes….eBay design mark deux….

and a picture from my volunteering in Ishinomaki!

Fixing a shrine gate in Onasaki

Onasaki – Rebuilding houses, reflooring, clearing out garbage and putting a shrine gate back up.

Place was completely flooded – government is not restoring electricity and water.

On the way in we passed the shrine at Okawa Elementary School, the team had worked on the clearance of the area so stopped to pay resepect and see the progress – it was completely destroyed, killing 75 of 108 students and 10 of 13 teachers and staff. The teachers and students were evacuating from the school and were swept away by the tsunami while crossing a nearby river bridge.

You could see the part of the bridge ripped out by the tsunami still in the river.

Our feature boxes can be a static graphic or more snazzy with attribute drop downs or ‘pop ups’.

Lets take a look at BRANDS OUTLET:

A quick find feature box to guide buyers based on what gender they are shopping for.

Roll over popup functionality can also be added to feature boxes, UKSPORTSWAREHOUSE has a huge product matrix on the front of the eBay store with this nifty feature.

This kind of technology can be added on any feature box from static feature boxes to more dynamic up-selling sections.

Feature boxes can also be added to eBay templates to generate a ‘call to action’ so that your buyers are persuaded to browse and keep shopping with you!

TACKLEDISCOUNTS has some of these feature boxes at the base of their eBay template to keeps their buyers clicking around their shop.

This feature about carp fishing has links to the most popular categories. Dynamic searches or links to specific items can be built in here.

Along side this is a more general feature box for the all important (and eBay favourite)….clearance offers and deals!

Making sure you utilise your retail space on your store and template wisely is the right way to make the most of your eBay traffic.

Keep your customers browsing with your memorable branding on show and making sure they know exactly the range of products you offer in store.

Knowing your category personalities and purchase habits of your buyers is essential for knowing where to place these boxes.

So, at CYT we make sure we understand your business, your traffic and your customers to make sure we make the most of your design.

Each of our eBay design projects is just that, a PROJECT – carefully thought out graphical and structural design with marketing and conversion in mind. All designs are unique and we constantly develop new features to meet our client needs.

Come to Createyourtemplate for your eBay design, we make you beautiful – and we don’t mind if you pile on the pounds at Christmas, as well…that’s the idea!

We are an odd looking bunch so I doubt we would get on beautifulpeople.com even if we went on a bikini diet!

Disclaimer: Since I have worked for CYT I have lost 5lbs on purpose.

Buy For Less Online are an online retailer of toys based in the Midlands near Birmingham. Managing Director, Dan Aston, considers ChannelAdvisor to be one of his most reliable employees, stating the system easily does the work of three or four people. During peak times such as Christmas, Buy For Less Online process around 3,000 orders per day and state they would not be able to do this without ChannelAdvisor.

Buy For Less Online are an online retailer of toys based in the Midlands near Birmingham. Managing Director, Dan Aston, considers ChannelAdvisor to be one of his most reliable employees, stating the system easily does the work of three or four people. During peak times such as Christmas, Buy For Less Online process around 3,000 orders per day and state they would not be able to do this without ChannelAdvisor.

Createyourtemplate design the background, eBay shop/template and basic CA store.

March’s case study is already up!

eBay is still one of the greatest marketplaces going, for me a self confessed ebay addict – it is still part of my daily shopping routine. If I need something, I eBay for it.

I am not alone, by any means.

Where else would I be able to fuel my passion for vintage kimonos? Or find genuine geisha shiro-nuri (cosmetics) direct from Kyoto?

Being of the alternative persuasion, I get opportunities to dress up and eBay makes sure I have the right accessories and can find anything I can actually imagine.

But is my love misguided? eBay is just a vessel. Should I not love the sellers with the vision to supply me with such treats, that fight tooth and nail to make sure I can see them and buy from them wherever they might be based?

These are my favourite sellers:

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Hannari-Ya - Japanese love straight from Kyoto!

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/viperlondon – All kinds of gothic/emo/alternative attire.

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/The-Hair-and-Beauty-People – where I get my Redken from!

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Fatal-Impact – Manic panic at reasonable prices!

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Schuh-Branded-Shoes-Online – An outlet I should really try to avoid – check out their shop display bargains!

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/kimono-wholesale – Great to bid on vintage Obi.

So, love out to these sellers who help me spend my money in wonderful ways, and battle though eBay’s ever changing mind.

I would be richer without you, but would I be happier?

“My name is Liz, and I am an eBay addict – it has been over 10 years now…..”

Tell me about YOUR favourite eBay sellers! *Open for Comments*