posted on September 14, 2006 09:58:57 PM new
Does anyone here use Prostore with ebay auctions or an ebay store? Have you heard anything about the prostores?
Does anyone know the link to the Prostore community boards?
posted on September 15, 2006 04:22:26 AM new
The only comment I can make is that I haven't heard one nice thing about ProStores. They are over priced and as glitchy as eBay.
They actually use the Prostore technology to power their webstore feature. However... you're not paying the hefty Prostore prices.
Here's a cost comparison:
Valueweb: $44.95 a month if paid annually
Features: 20GB storage space
99.9% uptime guarantee (try getting that from an eBay company)
100 email mailboxes w/ 1GB storage each
webstore (powered by Prostores)
500 GB data transfer per month
Prostore: $29.95 a month PLUS .5% per transaction
Features: 5 GB storage space (1/4 less!)
No uptime guarantee
50 email mailboxes
webstore
50 GB data transfer per month (1/10 as much!)
Honestly... even Prostores highest tier (which costs $249.95 a month) doesn't really add anything extra than Valueweb's $44.95 plan. I'm using their store at my website at:
posted on September 15, 2006 08:43:10 AM new
When you sign up with Pro Stores, make sure you want it. It is next to impossible to get it off your E-bay bill, you have to just about go through George Bush to cancel it. You can't close it like you do the other stores by going to the subscriptions and closing it. You have to do it by e-mailing them only they just ignore your request and keep billing you. Then they tell you they never received your e-mail. And if you try to call them,they keep you on the phone on hold forever while you pay the long distance.
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Two men sit behind bars,one sees mud the other sees stars.
posted on September 15, 2006 01:06:26 PM new
Thanks for the replies. I need both inventory management and a store front to be used in conjunction with my ebay store, which I have enlarged.
I had planned on reworking both my front page and Me page, however, Pixiclinic is so busy, they are not taking any new clients at this time. I really want to redo select pages on my ebay store at this time, and later, have them do the pages of my new store.
eauctionmgnt - does Valueweb have an inventory system from which you can have a multiple listing of the same item to ebay auction, ebay store, and a Valueweb store?
hwahwa - they all use the feeds to google/froogle, etc.
As I have previously posted, my main efforts are capturing sales from ebay, through my ebay store. I have links from everywhere to my ebay store. If I could run a link from my dog, she would now be wired.
I now have links to my ebay store at ebay UK, Canada, and Australia. I have also added a domain name at kozersky.co.uk, which forwards to ebay.co.uk. In my item descriptions at my Vendio store and ebay, currency conversion comes from a link to ebay.uk, my shipping policy comes from a link to ebay.au, and my refund policy comes from a link to ebay.can.
By doing so, I find that traffic and sales have increased at both Vendio and ebay. I have no idea why this is happening.
I am looking forward to possible options to replacing the Vendio store in this equation. Prostores appears to be a viable option, because of the inventory option, and claimed compatibility with ebay.
Further, there is a 30% monthly savings on Prostore when both an ebay store and a Prostore are used together.
eauctionmgnt - I forgot to mention that I like your store. Did you do it all by yourself? If you did, you should be proud. Nice work.
posted on September 15, 2006 02:37:59 PM new
eauctionmgnt - where can I locate information concerning ebay sales on the Valueweb site. I have looked, to no avail.
posted on September 15, 2006 07:24:17 PM new
Kozersky,
Thanks! I did indeed do the work myself (along with the initial template provided by ValueWeb, and the suggestions from members here and other colleagues of mine). I'm glad you like it!
I didn't realize that you wanted to use the store in addition to the eBay store (I had falsely assumed you wanted to replace it). However, Valueweb may still meet your needs. Here's the link I'd suggest you look at for the info on the eBay compatability:
The webstore plan included with Valueweb's basic E-commerce plan is the plain "webstore" one. (not the webstore express, webstore pro or webstore pro plus). If you scroll down to the section on "Promoting Store Products" you'll see a bunch of the eBay features supported... including sending inventory to eBay stores and/or auctions.
You might want to call their customer service line, too. They are very helpful and could probably answer some of your questions better than I can (I'm still learning). Just call:
1-(800)934-6788
and connect to their customer service department. I hope that helps!
posted on September 20, 2006 08:21:16 AM new
kozersky,
I've been learning more about the ValueWeb system, and thought I'd share with you. First of all, I've found the ProStore Forum (which is still useful for ValueWeb users, since ValueWeb uses the ProStore system). It's at:
Secondly, I've been working at listing stuff to eBay from the ValueWeb store. You were wondering how it handles inventory... well... I'm actually pretty impressed. You can list directly to eBay or your eBay store from the Webstore. Your inventory is handled automatically by Webstore. Once you list an item to eBay, it removes the quantity you listed from your Webstore, and puts it on eBay. Anything that doesn't sell on eBay, get's automatically put back into your Webstore once the eBay listing is complete. It's a pretty nice system!
I hope that helps!
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posted on September 20, 2006 03:09:22 PM new
eauctionmgnt - thanks for the link, and additional info on Valueweb. I'm planning the move for January, after the holiday sales cycle.
I'm still undecided about which one, as Prostore has a 30% discount when used with an ebay store. This brings Prostore down to the same price as Valueweb.
My goal now is to list all my unlisted inventory on ebay as quickly as possible.
[ edited by kozersky on Sep 20, 2006 03:13 PM ]
