Working on Automatic

I have such a coca cola withdrawal headache. I wonder if they have alcohol rehabs for coca cola addicts. They probably do somewhere in the world. At any rate, I just wanted to update you on a few things going on. I have been on a semi vacation this entire month. My in-laws came by and now my brother and his little family are visiting, so I haven't been able to do much online. It hasn't hampered my sales though. I can say that I am kinda sorta working on automatic. I love having an online business.

I'd love to hear from you. Comment Below or Email Me Using the Sidebar Link. Thank You. :-)

High Definition TV

Have you come into the High Definition TV age? My husband is dying to buy one of those TVs, but I keep telling him that the TV we have is fine. I just don't know why one would pay for all of that extra visually pleasing screen play when the tv they currently have is working just fine. It's just not practical!

I mean think about it, you not only have to have the HDTV, you have to get the hdmi cables, pay for either directv, cable tv or some other high definition supported programing. You would have to get high definition dvds and all of that. What about all of the old stuff? Is that stuff suddenly no good anymore? I mean, what about the VCR? I'm just not convinced it's worth it yet. On the other hand, if I think about what he wants, maybe I'll save for our anniversary and get it for him then. I know he'd be on top of the world!

I'd love to hear from you. Comment Below or Email Me Using the Sidebar Link. Thank You. :-)

Credit Card Verifications - What is Your Policy?

Before I get on this topic, I've had dieting on my mind of late and have been tempted to try diet pills. I see them advertised all the time in the store. I'm just too afraid to try them, even the so called, "natural" or "organic" diet pills. Even pills like Orovo have passed my mind. What do you think of diet pills?

OK, now back to the title of this post...Verifying credit cards are being used by their proper owners is difficult, to say the least, when you are in e-commerce. Your rarely get to compare personal identification and signatures with the credit cards submitted. However, there are certain things in place that can help. I use a credit card verification processor that makes sure the address, zip code and cvv code provided by the credit card bank holder match with what is submitted.

On the other hand, even that is sometimes not enough to protect you from fraud. You also have to make it a policy to make contact with the purchasers if their purchase is over a certain amount of money. You have to decide what is comfortable for you in the event of fraud. For example, I sell children's toys and some are quite expensive. I have decided that if the purchase is over $300, I am going to personally try to make contact with the purchaser to verify their information.

The reason this extra step is helpful to a small business is that you are able to touch base with someone. Sometimes, just that phone call will help you determine if their purchase was fraudulent or not. Some fraudsters are very savvy and will even pass this process, but every attempt to make contact is necessary. You may find that the person on the other end has no idea they made a purchase. That will save you the headache of losing the money, the product and the shipping expenses. Believe me, it's worth it.

I'd love to hear from you. Comment Below or Email Me Using the Sidebar Link. Thank You. :-)

Having a Savings Account

It has been so long since I've had a savings account that I almost don't know how to go about saving anymore. Have you noticed that about yourself. The financial adviser gurus of the world always say "pay yourself first" but in this day and age...HOW?

All my money goes towards bills, bills and more bills and then, of course, the necessary stuff like food, clothing and shelter. How are you going about saving with the economy the way it is. I can't seem to get ahead even when I'm feeling comfortable with my income. I have never thought that I'd live above my means, but lately, it seems that that is exactly what I'm doing.

Anyway, I have decided that I will start a savings account next month. I don't know how long I'll have it or how often I'll contribute, but the fact that it is there will encourage me.

I'd love to hear from you. Comment Below or Email Me Using the Sidebar Link. Thank You. :-)

Lots of Babies --- Another Baby Boom?

There are some constants in life and one of those is that there will never be a shortage of babies as long as humans enjoy procreating! That is why having an online store that sells toys is NOT a saturated business plan or a bad business decision. You can make money selling toys. I do. In fact, it is a big part of my income and it's also fun.

I have two little ones of my own and they are enchanted with what I sell, so it brings me great joy. Toys are awesome baby gifts too. Many parents don't wait until their children are the appropriate age for the toys they buy either, so don't worry if you think you're going to miss out on a certain age group.

All that being said, if you're not sure where you should direct your efforts online or don't know what you should sell, think about selling kids stuff. There are so many people that love to buy stuff for their favorite little ones.

I'd love to hear from you. Comment Below or Email Me Using the Sidebar Link. Thank You. :-)

Security Issues and Credit Card Fraud

A few months back, I had an issue with a customer who paid for her order with a stolen credit card. Since then, happily, she is in jail, but I am still out the product and the funds that I had to eat to pay back the credit card customer whose card was stolen. Well, I thought I learned then how to avoid this sort of thing in the future, but I have also learned that this happens so often that companies have actually put a line on their profit & loss statement just for these types of losses.

Credit card fraud may not cause much harm to large companies, but it is a headache and a half for small businesses. When most of your month's income is eaten by someone who just took a fancy to your website and decided to victimize you, how do you handle it?

I thought it would be a good idea to come up with a standardized policy for all credit card transactions so that less fraudsters will slip through the cracks. However, thinking about all that I have lost has made me feel down in the dumps. It's almost like someone wants to take away your livelihood. It's just not right! Makes me want to find one of those beautiful Branson lots and disappear from the world.

Anyway, I have worked on this policy, but definitely need to tweak it a bit since I almost got defrauded again. I'll try to create this policy and then post it here when I'm done.

I'd love to hear from you. Comment Below or Email Me Using the Sidebar Link. Thank You. :-)