Protect your business and your time

Each week we receive requests from resellers for quotes for high-ticket items destined for Nigeria, Ivory Coast or Ghana in Africa or Indonesia in Asia. Here at NextDay Network we receive emails from those countries on a daily basis. Price is usually not an issue. Most of the time the products will be paid for by credit card, sometimes even by check. Because we are able to block most of the IP-addresses from those countries, these “shoppers” are increasingly targeting resellers.

In the history of our company we have never had a legitimate order from those countries. There have even been attempts to pay for transactions with fraudulent cashier’s checks. Furthermore, the individuals trying to place these orders are finding new ways to try and get you and us to ship the products.

What can you do to protect your business?
Well, the easiest solution would be to just not respond to requests from those countries. However, it is not that easy, you have to know what to look for first. Here are the most common things to look for in a potentially fraudulent transaction:

1. The shopper uses a free email address, like hotmail or yahoo. If you are not sure if it is a free email account just try looking for the web site of the domain that is used. For example, if someone sends you an email from the following email address customer@domainname.com, just open a web browser and type in the following http://www.domainname.com/. If this is a free email account the web site usually has some sort of login screen and a way to set up a free account. If a real domain name is used, it is quite easy to find out where the domain name comes from: just go to http://www.geektools.com/whois.php and type in the domain name. You can quickly find out where the company is located that issued the email address.
   


2. If you know how to extract the IP-address from the email or order you have received, you can use a very nice tool to find out the geographical location of the shopper. Just type in the IP-address and in most cases it will tell you exactly where the shopper is from. Give it a try here. http://www.networldmap.com/TryIt.htm .
   


3. Shopper is unconcerned with shipping costs. Most legitimate shoppers are very sensitive to shipping costs. A "please expedite and add the extra onto my card" with no maximum or qualifying comment or question may be a tip-off: Use Caution.
   


4. Very large dollar amount order or large quantity. Thieves need to score quickly and move on since fraudulent delivery addresses have a short lifespan, at least in the USA. They will try to hit a perfect spot where the order is big enough to profit them, but small enough NOT to make merchants suspicious. Sometimes they will aim for $500+ orders, other times try to stay in the $199 range.
   


5. Ship-to address is not the same as the billing address. There are many legitimate reasons for a shopper wanting to do this, but it is a "cheat" of the AVS (Address Verification System) system if the thief has the billing address of the real cardholder. This is also one of the reasons why we always ask the customer to have the shipping address added as an alternate address.
   


6. Tell them you have their product in stock, and ask if they want an accessory to go with that, for only $200 more. Phrase this appropriately to avoid annoying legitimate shoppers. A crook, if monitoring their bogus email box at all, will say "sure!" without even a question. This should raise red flags.
   


7. Call the phone number given in the order. It may be entirely bogus, and sometimes it is even the actual number of the person whose card was stolen. If you don't get a phone number with the order, write and ask for one.
   


8. We have heard of some cases where the shopper emails you the credit card information. Unless you know the customer very well, don’t expect this to be a legitimate order. Normal shoppers would never send their Credit Card information via email.
   


9. Sophisticated thieves now also use very legitimate looking cashier’s checks. Please make sure to clear those checks with your bank and hold on to your products for at least two weeks after you have deposited the check. We have heard of several cases where the reseller had shipped products after depositing the check only to find out two weeks later that the originating bank had refused the check because it was fraudulent.
   


10. Always use common sense when you are dealing with pure Internet orders and if a deal looks too good to be true, be very careful.

Refurbished products - You get what you pay for

For at least a few months now we have been offering refurbished products on the storefront. From cell phones to servers, from TVs to networking equipment, there are usually a few hundred different types for products available. I picked up a Gateway TabletPC a few months ago for less than $800 and apart from a few scratches on the bottom, it has served me very well. To easily find refurbished products on the nextdaypc.com, just type in "refurb notebook" or "refurb phone" or similar wording, depending on what you are looking for.

I'm sure every now and then you run into a customer with a limited budget and refurbished products are a great resource to retain this customer.

But you have to make sure you explain the limitations of refurbished products before you make the sale. The majority of products does not come with the standard warranty a new product has and sometimes the documentation or software is missing. Usually the latter is not an issue if your customer knows where and how to find this. The technical support or warranty is usually handled by a third-party company that handles a variety of products and brands so you cannot expect the support you would expect from the manufacturers themselves. Check on the storefront or just call us for detailed warranty information.

So, if your customer is willing to dig for support online or ask you for paid support when needed, refurbished products are certainly an option.

Protecting your Reseller Account

When I opened my mailbox this morning I found the following question from a reseller: Why do my customers have to sign up before they can see anything on the storefront?

Every once in awhile this question seems to return along with another question I get asked: What do you do to make sure my customer places an order through my reseller account?

In general, the most important thing for us is to make sure that you feel you can rely on our services. Without you as a reseller we would not be able to sell any product so it is in our own best interest to make sure that you and your customers keep coming back.

To answer both questions, and maybe more, let me describe the paths your customer might take to get to the storefront. It all has to do with cookies and linking.

1. If your customer has never visited NextDayPC.com before and types in http://www.nextdaypc.com/ he will see a secure sign in page, where he will be asked to set up an account and to include a discount code. To try this just delete your NextDayPC.com cookie, close all browser windows, and visit http://www.nextdaypc.com. If you think that this is just what your customer might do, make sure you give them your discount code.
   


2. The most common path for your customer is probably from clicking a link on your website or in an e-mail. To get detailed instructions on how to do this, click here. As soon as that customer goes to the storefront, a cookie with your discount code is placed on the customer's machine and from then on and determines the look and feel of the site and the product pricing. This takes us to the next possible path.
   


3. Once your customer has a cookie and returns to the storefront, even if they just type in http://www.nextdaypc.com, the discount code information will be read and the pricing and layout will change on the fly. Your customer will never see this secure sign in page.

If your customer decides to delete the cookie, he returns to the first option described above, leaving him with the option to sign in or to create a new account. If he signs in because he had created an account previously , the storefront will recognize the customer, associates him with the appropriate reseller and will put another cookie on your customer's machine.

I hope this clears up the some of these questions. Feel free to comment on this post or ask me a question by clicking here.

Drive away distraction

If you’re like me and you get between 50-150 emails every single day, both personal and business, have high speed Internet access so you can watch TV and videos around the clock on your desktop, notebook and smart phone, I’m sure you’re not as productive as you used to be. I realized this after getting an e-mail alert about this article on menshealth.com.

I found it fascinating to read and it certainly changed my perspective on e-mail, instant messaging and live RSS feeds. If you recognize yourself in this the situation, I urge you to read at least the seven ways to stop distraction below.

1) Think by the week.
Most planning tools--calendars, daily planners, and to-do lists--help you be more efficient. But you're only prioritizing your crises each day. Covey's cure-all: a weekly worksheet. Organize your life on a weekly basis; this allows you to schedule time for your top priorities and the actions that prevent crises.

2) Tell people to leave you alone.
"It takes the average person 2 to 15 minutes to recover from each interruption," says time-management coach Joy Baldridge of Baldridge Seminars International. "Interruptions are the biggest time robbers and focus busters." To minimize an interruption, she recommends her "plus, plus, dash" trick. Say two nice things (the plus, plus, or ++), then dash (--) off. Example: "Hey, great to see you. I wish I could talk now. Right now isn't good, though; let's talk at 3."

3) Clear off your desk.
Is your desk a mess? I hope so. Psychologists have discovered that messy desks are a necessity in a wide variety of careers. They're also distracting. Although we're barely conscious of it, we all have the same method to our madness.
We keep a "hot" pile of papers, probably next to the phone; a "warm" pile or two toward the edges of the desk; and various "cold" piles atop the filing cabinet and every other square inch of horizontal space. These last are mostly completed projects or "just in case" materials. Their presence may ratchet up your sense of being overwhelmed. "As emotional arousal increases, focus becomes more difficult," says Nideffer. So take a rainy Saturday to stash or trash that stuff.

4) Straighten out your life.
If your output is down but your workload is the same, maybe something is bugging you. "One of the hardest things to realize is when your own emotions are slowing you down," says Jeffrey P. Kahn, M.D., a psychiatrist in New York City and president of the consulting firm WorkPsych Associates.
"Listen to what people tell you. If they ask, 'Are you okay?' it's appropriate to say, 'I'm fine,' but then ask yourself, 'Am I okay?' " If, on the other hand, you feel frazzled, but everyone admires your ability to juggle a zillion tasks, then give yourself some credit: You're multifocal. "I see that a lot, particularly among very successful people," says Dr. Kahn.

5) Respond right away.
"In high-pressure situations, people tend to rush," says Nideffer. You've done this, I'm sure--you get an e-mail or memo, and because it requires a moment of thought or the retrieval of more information, you set it aside. Later on, you come back to it (when you're even more rushed) and spend time trying to figure out where you left off.
Try not to pick up the same piece of work twice. "Read it and respond," says Dr. Kahn, "rather than put it aside and think you'll respond later."

6) Carve out time.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, break it down. Ask yourself, "What is it, exactly, that I'm not getting to, and how can I get to it?" Doctors need to return phone calls, contractors need to take care of paperwork, salesmen need to sit down and make long-term plans. They all need to carve out an hour or two for these tasks. "Protect that time," advises Dr. Kahn. "Then you don't have to worry about it while you go about your day."

7) Pick the low-hanging fruit.
In the end, your workday will inevitably be a hodgepodge--a crazy salad of big projects, short deadlines, interruptions, distractions, and surprises. Roll with it all, but make sure to do what Dr. Kahn calls "picking the low-hanging fruit--tackling the easy tasks that you can get done quickly. That helps you feel like you're on track."

Free domain name and web site from Microsoft

I was recently asked If NextDay Network uses mailing lists and if we would be able to provide assistance acquiring new customers. The same reseller asked me If I knew of a good and cost effective way to promote his services and our products.

Let's start with the acquisition of new customers.
NextDay Network does not use any mailing lists apart from the mailing list that we have built up over the past eight years that we've been in business. However, we're aware of companies that can provide you with specific customer e-mail addresses. Doing a Google search for "email mailing list" results in plenty of results on the right hand side. There are numerous companies that can help you. I do advise you to bargain as hard as you can with one of these companies. If you can, try to get a sample list of a couple of hundred e-mail addresses so you can see what the response rate is before you commit to a larger number.

That said, most successful resellers are not the resellers that are sending as much traffic as possible to us. Our most successful resellers are out in the field providing IT services to small to medium size businesses and consumers. The trusted relationship that they have makes it so that their customers don't shop around on the Internet. Although we feel our pricing is very competitive we're certainly not the cheapest source of products out there. So if you're dealing with very price sensitive customers you will probably not make that sale.

I get almost daily marketing emails from Microsoft and most of them go unused. However, they sometimes contain a little gem like this one. Microsoft gives away free web sites, including domain names for small businesses. I've not tried this myself but I'm sure they have very comprehensive tools to create a nice website. As many of our resellers have done, once you have created your site, you can link to your NextDayPC storefront and submit your domain name to search engines so it can be listed. Please use the link below to go to Microsoft's web site and sign up for the free domain name and website.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/FX101465131033.aspx

If you want additional information in regards to this subject, don't hesitate to ask here.

Give your customers $100K credit, on us

We take Purchase Order Financing to the next level. NextDay Network has an end-user financing program that allows you to offer credit terms of up to $100,000 to your customers. Together with our Financial Partner IFSC we take care of shipping, billing and collecting on your behalf. Our program offers 45 days of interest-free financing for Fortune 1000 companies, educational institutions and government agencies. Credit approval is based on the financial strength of the end user. The program is specifically designed for businesses with more than $250,000 in sales and they must be in business for more than 2 years. Individuals cannot apply for this program.

Here's how it works:

1. You send your customer to this page and make sure you add your discount code to the URL as explained here.


2. Once this form has been filled out, your customer will receive an email with two forms attached. Both forms need to be signed and faxed back to the fax number on the form.


3. After it has been faxed back, the credit verification process starts. For Government and Educational institutions the process is usually finished within 24 hours. For private companies it can take a little longer, depending on the response time of the credit references.


4. If the customer is approved we will send an email with instructions on the ordering process.


5. From then on, your customer can start placing orders using only a Purchase order number, and a full shopping cart of course.

If your company purchases products on a regular basis and you think it fits the criteria described above, don't hesitate to fill out the application yourself.

Can Skype save you money?

The sort answer to this question is a simple YES. I will explain a little more about all the great gadgets out there now to help you get the most out of Skype but first I will elaborate on the cost aspect. Since we are not using Skype here at NextDay Network I will be using my home situation as an example. If you don't know what Skype is, take it for a spin by downloading the software here. If you want to know why this is a good alternative to MSN, Google, Yahoo or AOL messenger and the good old telephone company, just click here.

Do the math
Up until January of this year I used AT&T as my long distance carrier, paying about $30.00 a month for unlimited long distance, which included all those fees, only a few of us know what they are for. In December of last year I received en email from Skype offering me a deal I had never seen before, $29,95 for a year of unlimited long distance for the US and Canada. Yes, that is per year, not per month.

My total savings: 11 x $30 = $330 / year. That's a big enough saving to me to put some effort into it.


The drawbacks
Although we have been using Skype for a good part of the year now and are very pleased with it, there are a few issues I feel you should know about before making the switch.

1. The Skype Unlimited I'm talking about is just for outgoing calls. You can get one or more SkypeIn numbers with your local, or any area code, for $30 a year. So you can link your Skype account to a number in Nevada and a number in New York, making it easy and cheaper for family or customers, without a Skype account, to reach you.



2. You need a decent amount of bandwidth to make it work. Although voip doesn't need tremendous amounts of bandwidth, you need at least a DSL or Cable Internet connection to prevent echo or lag.



3. If you have a DSL connection you will not be able to get rid of your phone line because without a phone line there is no connection. So you will still be paying the $15 a month you were paying anyway unless you had some sort of package deal. The added advantage is that you can still use your old phone number for incoming calls, and if you don't want the added functionality, you don't need to purchase a SkypeIn number.



4. Because I wanted everyone to use our new phone number I thought I could just forward my old phone number to my new SkypeIn phone number. Unfortunately the numbers Skype had available for me in this area code were not local numbers. If I had wanted to forward that number I would have had to get a long distance service which of course defeats the purpose of getting Skype Unlimited. If you decide to get a SkypeIn number and you want to forward your old number to your SkypeIn number like me, check with your phone company if the numbers Skype has available for you, are in fact local numbers.


5. If you want to be available 24/7 you need to have some sort of Skype device connected to the Internet at all times. This means that you will need to have a computer running at all times, to save energy I recommend a old notebook or a System with a VIA processor. If you have a wireless router, like me, you can use a wireless Skype phone like the Netgear SPH200D Wireless IP Phone, which also doubles as a cordless phone for your "normal" phone line NextDayPC sku # 3134256.

Skype Gadgets
Now that you are saving $300 a year, you need a few ideas on how to spend that money on some great gadgets made to work with Skype .

Use it just on your PC
If you only want to be available when you are using your PC or Notebook I suggest getting a decent headset. Expect to pay a little more for a good headset like the Plantronics USB 3-in-1 VOIP headset, our sku # 2963874. A simple $10 headset will work but the quality is poor. If you're dealing with customers you want to make sure you can hear them and they can hear you so it's well worth the extra money.

Use it with your existing cordless phone and a PC
Most of us have a cordless phone and if you don't you can usually pick one up for less than $50. What you need to use this set-up is a so-called Voip adapter. This is a small box with three connections: a USB connection to your PC, one connection to the cordless phone base end the third connection connects to your phone line. Now you can receive and make Skype calls from your cordless phone as long as your PC is on. Look at NextdayPC sku's # 2582097 , 2593590 or 3220655 .

Use it with a wireless router
If you have a wireless network set up at home, at the office, or if you are on the road and have access to wireless Internet, you can use one of these great products :

• Netgear SPH200D Wireless IP Phone, which also doubles as a cordless phone for your "normal" phone line NextDayPC sku # 3134256
• Belkin Wi-fi phone, only works with a wireless network - our sku # 2967774.
• If you have a smartphone with Windows Mobile and equipped with 802.11 connectivity you can also download the PDA version of Skype and use your phone as a Skype phone.

More than a Phone service
Besides making almost free phone calls, you can use Skype to share files, video conferencing (if you have a web cam), play games, share applications and even send money through PayPal.
If you have not tried Skype it is definitely the time to do so. Over the past few months we have noticed a change in the market towards VOIP so if you want to be able to advise your customers, there's no better time to familiarize yourself than now. If anything, you'll save some money in the process. Also check out the software that's available out there. A lot of tools are free (I like free) and are particularly wel-suited for home office or small business use.


The bottom line
Skype has defeinately saved us money and has made communication with friends and family here and overseas a lot easier and cheaper. The hardware and software available makes it a tremendous powerful tool for home and small businesses alike. As mobile internet is becoming more affordable you will soon be able to use Skype wherever you can use a cell phone, making it an even more powerful tool than it is today.


Try it
If you want talk to me about Skype, just click here. If you don't have a question for me now but want to add me to your contact list, just click here. If you want to send me a chat message now, click here.
As soon as Skype has figured out a way to put money in my bank account I will put up that link too :-)