Ebay has long been the go-to site for sellers and bargain hunters alike, and the annual Ebay Live summit provides an opportunity for ebay enthusiasts to hobnob with fellow buyers and sellers and Ebay head honchos. Attendees spent time visiting with exhibitors and had the opportunity to discuss Ebay’s new policies with the Powers That Be themselves.

The new policies, most of which will go into effect in July, are aimed at improving the buying experience, rewarding top sellers, and keeping users from leaving the site. Let’s take a gander at the key policy updates:

• Sellers will no longer be permitted to link to any non-Ebay websites selling goods or services. Linking to Ebay owned companies like StubHub or PayPal, however, is still a-ok.

• Rather than creating multiple listings for similar items (think 10 pairs of jeans in 10 different sizes), sellers will be able to include size and color options in one listing.

For entrepreneurs searching for low-cost merchandise to resell, one of the most plentiful categories of goods is retail store returns. With the right approach, you can turn these returns into big profits.

Why do retailers liquidate returns?

Retailers are not able to put store returns back on the shelf and sell them as new. So, they return product to the vendor, dispose of it or liquidate it. Even if a vendor issues a credit for the merchandise, the company will sometimes tell the retailer to keep the goods to avoid freight and processing costs. Disposal of returned merchandise was once very common, but re-marketing of returns and other distressed inventory has become a large and growing industry. Retailers now know there is demand for store returns and try to maximize their recovery value on these goods through liquidation.

By Crystal Silvas

Earlier this week the National Retail Federation (NRF) released a statement regarding holiday sales in 2007. According to the NRF, retail industry holiday sales rose only 3 percent over 2006. That figure excludes automobile, gas, and restaurant sales. When the automotive industries, gas and restaurant industries are taken into account, that figure becomes a weak 3.2 percent. The U.S. Commerce Department showed a 0.4 percent dip in sales from November to December, seasonally adjusted.

This was a major let-down in the retail community as the NRF had originally projected a much stronger 4 percent increase in retail sales over 2006. Chief Economist Rosalind Wells of the NRF blames this slothful holiday growth on economic pressures which “caused deterioration in the sales climate at the end of the year.” This represents the slowest holiday growth since 2002, which occurred in the wake of 9/11 when our entire country was stricken with grief and full of fear and paranoia. At least the retail climate is not as dire as it appeared in 2002 when growth reached a mere 1.3 percent.

By: Chris Stephens, President
Security Plus Omni Corporation
Authorized TASER® Commercial Master Distributor
Certified TASER® Instructor #020122208121412871346C
You can reach him at chris@securityplus.ws
Or 1-800-735-1797

Do you want to know what the hottest product in personal safety and security is? Then read on. For almost 20 years Security Plus Omni Corporation has supplied our dealers, businesses, consumers, law enforcment and our fighting men and women the highest quality personal safety and security products available. With over 300 products to choose from and how long we have been at it it would not be a stretch to say we have seen a lot of products and companies come and go.

The last couple of years have seen a flood of stun guns come onto the market and pepper sprays well not much has changed there. There are security cameras and systems, personal alrms and child safety products. But the HOTTEST product coming onto the market today has got to be the new TASER® C2. That’s right you can now own and sell the same technology that law enforcement has used for years.

The Off-price Specialist Show will be held next week at the Las Vegas Hilton. This is one you won’t want to miss because this show is where buyers go first to hunt for the new fall styles that can make your Back to School Season an instant winner. The show is open to the trade only. Free admission for buyers.

The Off-Price exhibitors have quality apparel, footwear and accessories in stock for immediate and timely delivery. Need the latest in youth casual wear, including hoodies for the guys and camisole tops for the gals? Check out the Puzzles booth for casual clothes and tees for the entire family. Puzzles has been in the off-price business for 20 years and knows how to anticipate seasonal needs.

Buyers can add excitement and pizzaz to their fall lines and get a little extra mark-up on the books with big savings on the Fall lines.

The annual report put out by Shop.org and Forrester Research entitled, “The State of Online Retailing,” projects over $259 billion in 2007 ecommerce sales, an 18 percent increase over 2006.

Online Apparel Beats Computer Hardware and Software

In 2006, and for the first time, online apparel sales surpassed the sales of computer hardware and software, which was previously the best-selling category online. It was also predicted that 10 percent of all apparel sales in 2007 will take place online.

Ecommerce has come of age, and retailers are overcoming most of the barriers to online purchasing, including security concerns, return policies, and the ability to merchandise and display fashion products.

Online Retail Moving Full Speed Ahead

“As consumers flood the Web to purchase merchandise and research products, online retail is moving full speed ahead,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research senior analyst and lead author of the report. “This strong growth is an indicator that online retail is years away from reaching a point of saturation.”

By Christa Angel, Web Reporter – Forum Publishing Group

The Mido show held in Milan, Italy is the premier show for the eyewear industry. This year’s event featured at the new Rho-Pero Convention Center was both exciting and inventive as the newest fashions were displayed. Anfao in conjunction with the Foreign Trade Institute organized the first in-flight eyewear fashion show held on a chartered Eurofly jet from JFK Airport in New York. Flying over the Atlantic Ocean, over 30 journalists were treated to a lively fashion show hosted by Kristen Grove, model and MTV VJ. What better way to view next year’s collections? Colorful and trendy frames as well as funky styles were modeled, including many vintage and collectible frames.

E-retailers must focus on cultivating existing customers because they can’t count on acquiring too many new customers going forward. It’s a well-known axiom that it costs less to engage existing customers than to acquire new ones. It’s been said that the cost of acquiring new customers is three to six times that of retaining current ones. Current ecommerce research confirms this.

Estimates say U.S. retail ecommerce will reach $131 billion in 2007 (excluding travel). But retailers won’t be increasing sales by attracting new customers. Instead, online retail strategies should include:

• Cultivating existing customers
• Developing customer loyalty
• Taking customers away from your competitors
• Motivating your customers to spend more

When WalMart gets behind online commerce in a big way, you know that retail is entering a new era. This topic is covered in a new eMarketer report, “US Retail E-Commerce: Entering the Multi-Channel Era” ($695).

Industry research shows that many businesses don’t take advantage of a Thank You page upon confirming a customer action. This would be the ideal opportunity to provide more information that might lead to a future sale, besides simply saying thank you.

Your offers would depend on your web site goals and business model. For instance, wholesalers could take customers to a Thank You page after receiving a Contact Us request, presenting a relevant white paper download on dropshipping. You could display a recent press release if it’s worthy of note. You might present client testimonials, a published article, or anything that would help customers get an idea what your company is all about.

Did you know that Congress levies different tariffs on men and women’s clothing, sometimes for the same item? Clothing manufacturers have been accepting this for years. However, several manufacturers have decided to sue.

Uncle Sam slaps a 28 percent tax on men’s bathing suits but only 12 percent on women’s. When it comes to overalls, this is reversed, with the women’s wear taxed higher (14 percent tax on women’s overalls versus 9 percent on men’s).

There’s no rhyme or reason to the difference in tariffs on imports, which penalize men in some cases and women in others. Duty added to the clothing, shoes and swimwear entering our ports has been rubber stamped year after year by Congress, and the cost is passed on to consumers.

Over One-third (36 percent) of U.S. Internet users go to Wikipedia for information, according to a new nationwide poll by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. As you know, Wikipedia is the citizen-generated online encyclopedia that shows up consistently for so many search engine queries.

The survey also shows that Wikipedia is more popular among well-educated users than it is among those with a lower level of education: 50 percent of those with at least a college degree consult the site, compared to only 22 percent of those with a high school diploma. Naturally, it’s popular with students: 46 percent of users aged 18 and older who are full- or part-time students have used Wikipedia, compared to 36 percent of the general Internet population. For more details, you can read and download the study here. It’s only 7 pages.

In spring, a young dude’s fancy turns to love. However, a chick’s fancy turns to shoes. You can get shoes galore on the web, and retail consumers have a host of choices. They can even get bargains like free shipping and discounts – that’s the beauty of the web

However, when it comes to shoe wholesalers, you want to buy from trusted sources. You look for quality brands and convenient packaging. Every retailer has his or her favorite suppliers, and among these are Nafta Traders and Footwear Packs.

If you’re looking for athletic brands like Adidas, Converse, Fila, New Balance, Nike, Puma, Reebok and more, you might want to check out NaftaTraders.

Exports Around the Globe

Nafta Traders supplies distributors with hot closeout merchandise around the globe, — from Africa to South America and from Mexico to the Caribbean. Nafta specializes in hot-selling athletic footwear, as well as branded athletic apparel and accessories.

Most marketers are aware that in today’s Internet environment, consumers participate in creating the brand message. They do this by expressing themselves on the web and by purchasing the brands they can relate to. It’s your job to make your brand attractive to consumers by anticipating and fulfilling their needs.

Consumers in Control: Consumers are at the helm. They are personalizing the way they shop, interact and communicate. They are creating videos and watching the videos made by others. They listen to podcasts and record their own. They share their photos, create social networks and subscribe to RSS feeds — or create their own feeds. Not only that, they pack their media on their cellphones or moble devices.

The end result is that the information on your brand is delivered and developed outside of your company. Organizations no longer have control over their brand like they did in the days of yore.

We reported on the dollar stores hot retail sector in February. Now Dollar General, a public company, has agreed to a buyout offer from private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in an agreement that will take the discount retailer private.

Dollar General shareholders must yet approve the deal but the company’s board recommends that its shareholders vote for it. The company estimates the deal could close in Q3 this year.

While based in the Nashville suburb of Goodlettsville, Dollar General operates approximately 8,260 stores.

Kohlberg Kravis has agreed to pay $22 per share for each Dollar General share. This price represents a 31.1 percent premium over the stock’s March 9 closing price on the New York Stock Exchange.

Dollar General CEO David A. Perdue believes the transaction provides excellent value for the shareholders, representing a significant premium and cash buyout.