The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

Discounts as a business model are dying. It used to be companies would have these big discount sales, but that practice is going away. On today's episode we will explain why it is dying and how we use discounts and coupons in our businesses.

Here are today's topics:

• How discounts have helped Colorit in the past.
• What discounts does to conversions.
• The J.C. Penney effect.
• The importance of "anchoring."
• Why Grant doesn't do discounts.
• How to deal with hagglers.
• When to offer a discount.
• Why you should offer a feedback opportunity.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Colorit

Cuttingboard.com

Klaviyo

Join us on Facebook and leave a like for us, we will be broadcasting our podcasts live on Facebook. Our episodes are moving to Friday. We still will be releasing our episodes for the other platforms, but Facebook users will get the episode 3 days earlier! During these live episodes you the audience will be able to interact with us!

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

On today's Ecom Crew Podcast we discuss dealing with difficult customers and also why a business owner should hire employees. We talk about what to hire for, why you should hire, and when to hire. Virtual Assistants are worth the time and money, if you have the time and money.

We also discuss how to use employees in the best optimal way. It is a major step in growing your business. If you need to hire in your business or are just starting out and wanting to get an idea of a time line, this episode is for you.

Here are today's topics:

• Dealing with issues with customer orders.
• Reasons to hire your first employees.
• Why outsourcing is different from hiring an employee.
• Why when you hire it should be for multiple tasks.
• How to keep your employees on money making tasks.
• What Mike and Grant think are the best uses for a VA or full time employee.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Colorit

Cuttingboard.com

Icewraps.com

Join us on Facebook and leave a like for us, we will be broadcasting our podcasts live on Facebook. Our episodes are moving to Friday. We still will be releasing our episodes for the other platforms, but Facebook users will get the episode 3 days earlier! During these live episodes you the audience will be able to interact with us!

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Today we are talking about the new policy change from Amazon that impacts product reviews. Amazon announced that they will no longer accept reviews from people who have received the product for free or at a discount.

For many people who sell on Amazon, the "pay to play" type model was widely used. While we think it's a good move for Amazon, we acknowledge that it will greatly impact sellers who use Amazon.

Today's topics:

• Possible ways the new policy may or may not affect those who used incentivized reviews in the past
• How this change may impact our strategies
• Our plans and new product launch strategies going forward
• Ways we plan to get reviews under the new guidelines
• What this policy change means for white label sellers and those just getting started with Amazon
• How other policies have made doing business on Amazon more difficult
• The importance of finding other methods besides Amazon to get buyers to your website

Toward the end of October we are going to be recording our podcasts live on Facebook! Be sure to follow us on Facebook and plan to watch us live.

Resources:

Ecom Crew Facebook

Ecom Crew Twitter If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

We're back for a new episode. Today we're discussing part 2 of our last topic. The last time we discussed our predictions we spoke about eCommerce in general. So today's topic is Our Predictions for eCommerce: Amazon. The subject of Amazon is so in depth that its own episode.

On today's episode we'll talk about what Amazon is facing in the next few years, and what sort of reactions a seller might see to that market.

Here are today's topics:

• The inventory issues Amazon appears to be having.
• The increase in storage fees.
• The benefits of sellers having warehouses.
• Amazon's achilles heel and how the competition is exploiting it.
• The raise of "crap reviews" and why it's becoming a problem.
• The "Groupon effect" comes to Amazon.
• Amazon's growing product expansion.
• How that expansion affects other sellers.
• Amazon's brick and mortar stores.
• The customers Amazon have a hard time reaching (or may never reach.)
• The differences between A, B, and C grade malls.
• How the mall grade affects brick and mortar availability.
• The importance of niche marketing in eCommerce.
• The challenges a newcomer will see in the future.

We don't see Amazon going away, but it will adapt to this highly competitive climate. E-Commerce is an evolving business and it is adapting with its market. These are just our opinions and observations, but maybe we will encourage you to form your own opinions and observations.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Amazon

Cuttingboard.com

Colorit

Icewraps

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

On today's episode we discuss the future of ecommerce. We talk about what we notice in the market right now. We also discuss our future plans for our businesses.

This will be a part one on this subject. Part two will focus on our predictions about business on Amazon.

The topics we discussed today:

• Why Amazon's trade deal with China will cause trouble for American manufacturers.
• The things that Mike thinks will set China back in a "take over."
• Signs that retail stores are dying.
• Automation's role in retail shopping and production.
• Will Facebook still be king of advertising?
• How PPC (pay per click) is becoming a unsavory business practice.
• Why SEO will phase out.
• Why arbitration sellers will have stricter guidelines and licensing.
• The reasons we moved away from Amazon and focused on personal selling platforms.

Our predictions for Amazon are a whole episode in itself, so tune in for part two of this topic. Our Predictions for eCommerce: Amazon.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Amazon

Color It

Cuttingboard.com

Icewraps.com

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

During today's episode we talk about the common debate e-commerce founders have: Shopify or BigCommerce. In recent developments BigCommerce has made some polarizing changes to their services. The changes have alienated theme developers and price changes have alienated users. This has caused many users to move their business to Shopify.

We discuss this shift and compare Shopify and BigCommerce. We have both had experience with both sites so our conversation is more of a pro and con list.

The questions we answer today are:

• Which site has the most capacity for products that require lots of options (ex: color choice).
• Which site is most common (thus easier to work with for others)?
• Which site makes managing orders easier.
• Which site allows the best customer follow-up process.
• Which site offers the best coupon or sale options to a customer.

Other topics we cover are:

• What happened to BigCommerce's business.
• Why Shopify is so much bigger than BigCommerce.
• Why check out conversation is a big plus for these sites.
• BigCommerce's theme changes and why it's causing problems.
• The pros of BigCommerce.
• The pros of Shopify.

We tried to keep away from bashing these sites because both sites have their uses. It all depends on what an entrepreneur needs to do on their platform. So consider this episode as a weighing of the options. Go with whatever will best fit your product.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Shopify

BigCommerce

Cuttingboard.com

Icewraps.com

Color It

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

On today's episode we are going to answer some listener questions again. Today's questions have to do with credit. You guys asked us, "How do I build business credit?" and "Why should I use credit vs. cash?"

We answer these questions today and give you some insight into how interest rates and loans work for businesses.

The points for "How do I build business credit?"

• Why it's important to have good personal credit.
• Issues that can affect a bank loan.
• Why time changes credit negotiations.
• Why you need PayPal to do business overseas.

The points for "Why should I use credit vs. cash?"

• The benefits of credit.
• Credit as a tool.
• Cash as a tool.
• How to keep money in your company, while keeping up with inventory.
• How to build credit with vendors.
• Why you should only use credit for inventory.
• What are "net terms?"

Some of the other topics we discussed today:

• How to negotiate free shipping.
• Why you should always use cash if possible.
• What is the best percentage of interest?
• When to say no to the interest.

This turned out to be a pretty deep subject today. We're glad we can offer some help or insight for you guys.

Resources:

Cuttingboard.com

Color It

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Well we are both are back from our Asia trips and we're ready to get back into the swing of the podcast. We record these episodes in batches and we're getting ready for a new one. We also plan on doing a follow up episode on "Cash is King." So keep an eye out for that.

We're simply going to be answering a listener's questions today.

We received a two part question from Ryan. He asked us "Is there a point when having too many products can hurt your store?" and followed up with "Does it make sense to remove low margin items in favor of high margin products?"

We answer both of these questions based on our experiences. If you are having a problem with these kind of issues, this episode could be useful to you.

The points of our first answer:

• Why having too many products can be a problem.
• The only reason to keep so many.
• How it makes inventory easier.
• How your sales stats can help pare down a large product list.

The points of our second answer:

• What are the customers buying?
• How 3PL makes things easier.
• How the business stats can help influence your decision.
• When to raise prices,
• When to mark-up a product.
• How to avoid being a mere peddler.
• The advantages of cultivating a brand and what that can mean for your products.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Cuttingboard.com

Colorit.com

Icewraps.com

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Well we are both back from our Asia trips and we’re ready to get back into the swing of the podcast. We record these episodes in batches and we’re getting ready for a new one. We also plan on doing a follow up episode on “Cash is King.” So keep an eye out for that.

We’re simply going to be answering a listener’s questions today.

We received a two part question from Ryan.

Hello this is Grant Chen bringing you today's episode. Today we talk with Chris McCabe of eCommerce Chris. Chris's business helps seller who have been suspended, blacklisted, or are under investigation by Amazon.

Amazon has created a complex system which is supposed to weed out the bad apples and protect the customers and reputable sellers. The problem is there are policy issues and Standard Operation Procedures that can keep a seller from using their account.

That is where Chris comes in; Chris is a former Amazon employee and has inside understanding of Amazon's process. He teaches people how to cooperate with Amazon and regain control of their accounts.

During today's episode Chris shares what he does for his clients and how you can avoid the suspensions and investigations of Amazon.

Today's points:

• What eCommerce Chris does for Amazon Sellers
• Chris's background with Amazon
• The issues Chris helps with for sellers
• Amazon's stricter policies
• Why many sellers need to change their business models
• Why a seller shouldn't rely on closeout sales and liquidations
• How to produce good supply documentation
• Chris's plans for SCOE Conference
• Common mistakes sellers make with Amazon
• The 4 main infractions
• How to be proactive with a suspension case
• How not to be passive
• How to think like an investigator
• Amazon vs. eBay
• Why Chris only hires former Amazon Sellers

Today's Resources:

eCommerce Chris

Ecom Crew

SCOE Conference

Amazon

Chris's Course

If you have any questions or anything you'd like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!