Introduction

Welcome to the exciting world of e-commerce!

There’s a lot to learn, so I recommend setting this page as a Favorite or writing down the address so that you can reference it often.  It’s at http://members.emerchantclub.com

What is e-commerce?

According to wikipedia.org:

Electronic commerce, EC, e-commerce or ecommerce consists primarily of the distributing, buying, selling, and marketing, products over the Internet.  It can involve electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, e-marketing, online marketing, online transaction processing, and automated inventory management systems.

[Link to original article]

Now that you own and operate an eMerchantClub e-commerce Web site, you are capable of selling products over the internet.  Your Web site is capable of accepting payments through PayPal, and is able to accept credit card payments if you also have a merchant account and a gateway account (see Payment Types below for more information).

What are the pitfalls?

There are some dangers when conducting e-commerce, just as there are in regular (face-to-face) commerce.

Fraudulent purchases

The biggest pitfall you will run across is fraud.

You cannot see your shopper on the internet; you cannot view their identification, and obtain a signature.  Because of this, people may attempt to use fake payment information, or use real payment information that belongs to someone else.

When linked to a gateway account, your Web site has the capability to see through most of these fraudulent purchases.  When a purchaser uses a fake credit card number, the gateway connection can verify that it is not a valid number and reject the purchase.

When a fraudulent purchaser uses someone else’s credit card, the gateway on your Web site is able to compare personal information entered against the owner of the credit card.  If any of it does not match, your Web site will reject the purchase.

Even if you do not have a gateway account linked to your Web site, as long as you make sure that you have received appropriate payment before shipping product, you will avoid all of the fraudulent purchase pitfalls.

Fraudulent companies

Some companies may contact you and offer products or services that they are not able to provide.

Other companies may tell you that they are affiliated or associated with eMerchantClub or Specialty Merchandise Corporation, and they are not.

If a company tells you they are affiliated with us, or that we sent them to you, check our Fraud Alert page at www.smcorp.com before doing any business with them.  After signing in to the Member’s Only Web Site, click on the Fraud Alert link on the left side.  We list companies there that we recommend you do not do business with.

If the company is not on the list, and you are still unsure, call us at 877-384-4691.

If the company is offering you a product or service, and you have never heard of the company before, research them at the Better Business Bureau’s Web site, at http://www.bbb.org/

Seeing several complaints about a company is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if they do a lot of business.  What you want to look for is unresolved complaints, or a listing from the BBB that the company no longer belongs to the BBB.

Things to do

·         Write a marketing plan – learn how to market the business yourself, rather than paying another company for that service

·         Become familiar with the way your Web site works, especially how to fulfill orders

·         Change your Web site so that it matches your company profile

·         Carefully plan your steps before you spend money on marketing or advertising

Things to not do

·         Spend money on marketing or advertising before writing a clear marketing plan

·         Run promotions on your Web site without test-driving the promotion first (run a test purchase yourself to make sure you are not accidentally giving things away)

Payment Types

Your Web site is capable of accepting payment through a PayPal transfer.

If you have a merchant account, and not a gateway account, your Web site is capable of collecting a credit card number and billing information.  You can then charge the credit card manually.

If you have a merchant account and a gateway account, your Web site is capable of accepting a credit card payment real-time.

PayPal is an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the internet. It serves an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders. PayPal performs payment processing for online vendors.

To sign up for a PayPal account, go to http://www.paypal.com and sign up for either a Premier or Business account, both of which are free.  Your Web site does not accept PayPal Payments Pro.

[More information on PayPal]

A merchant account allows a business to accept credit cards.  This is also widely known as payment processing or credit card processing.  [More information on merchant accounts]

You can obtain a merchant account from your coach (if you are still in your coaching period), or from our Web sales department at 888-919-7627.

A gateway account (also known as a payment gateway) is an e-commerce service that authorizes payments for online retailers.  It is the equivalent of a physical POS (Point-of-sale) terminal located in most retail outlets.  Payment gateways encrypt sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, to ensure that information passes securely between the customer and the merchant.  [More information on gateway accounts]

·         You can obtain a gateway account from our Web sales department at 888-919-7627.

Definitions List

e-commerce

Electronic commerce, EC, e-commerce or ecommerce consists primarily of the distributing, buying, selling, and marketing, products over the Internet.  It can involve electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, e-marketing, online marketing, online transaction processing, and automated inventory management systems.  [Learn more about e-commerce]

eMerchantClub (eMC)

eMerchantClub is the division of Specialty Merchandise Corporation (SMC) which builds Web sites for SMC members.  eMC is the only company authorized to build SMC Web sites.

Hosting

A Web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that provides individuals, organizations, and users with online systems for storing any content accessible via the Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity.  [Learn more about Web hosting]

You pay a monthly fee for eMerchantClub to host your Web site – this means to make your Web site available on the internet.  This monthly fee also pays to keep your Web site connected to SMC’s inventory database, and the technical support we provide with all Web sites.

SSL – Secure Socket Layer

SSL provides endpoint authentication and communications privacy over the Internet using cryptography.  The protocols allow client/server applications to communicate in a way designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, and message forgery.

Your Web site already has shared SSL protection – you are protected under eMerchantClub’s SSL.  [Learn more about SSL]

Web site

A Web site is a collection of Web pages, typically common to a particular domain name on the World Wide Web on the Internet.  [Learn more about Web sites]

Your eMerchantClub Web site is an e-commerce tool special-built for Specialty Merchandise Corporation members.  It connects directly to SMC’s inventory database, allows you to add SMC products with a few very simple commands, and is the best tool for taking your SMC business to the Web.

Link to full glossary