iMark Interactive

We all might have an external hard drive buzzing around our computer somewhere saving critical information as a backup option. Have any of you left your drive when you needed it or dropped one and had it break? As hard drives get smaller and easier to carry, it can make it easier to lose them or drop them. Though external hard drives are great, they can become a nuisance as well.

The new wave of backups are coming from the world wide web. Many services now exist to help you backup your data with ease and the security of having an external hard drive. Online backup services allow users to install their software that will scan their computer hard drive for new files and it will automatically back them up. You get to choose which folders it scans through as well as which files it can pick. The service will overwrite the old file, so you will not have a large amount of wasted space on their servers. Most will then allow you to recover the files at your convenience if you lose them or are at another location if you need them.

The two most popular services out there are Mozy and Carbonite. Each run a subscription fee that average out to around $54 per year. This is a small chunk of change for the piece of mind that your data is safe and secure and you are able to access it anywhere you have the service’s software installed. One thing that we found out when trying both services is that Mozy has trouble with scanning files on any drive other than C. If you have important files on another drive, then you will most likely be out of luck. Now, they are aware of this issue, so they might have fixed it since we test drove the software. Carbonite gives you a choice to what drive you would like to backup, so it makes it easy for you.

As the software user, you have the option to allow the backup to scan your computer continuously to find new files and it will back them up after they have been saved. While this is convenient, it is also a large performance drainer. The software works in the background, but it takes a lot of memory usage to search through all the files on your drive, so it can become an issue. We suggest that you schedule a time to start your backups, like late at night when you are sleeping or least active on your computer. Mozy provides a way to start a backup once you are inactive on your computer for a set amount of time, such as an hour. After an hour of inactivity, it will start the backup.

So, as the need to better data backups become more and more important in personal lifestyles and business settings, online backups will continue to dominate the old external hard drive. If you have an external hard drive, you shouldn’t just get rid of it because it is nice to have a backup of your backup depending on how important your data is to you or your company. We tend to forget that technology can and will fail at some point, so creating a backup plan now will save you a lot of headache and time in the long run. Don’t wait for a failure to act, signing up with these companies is simple and easy.  We are sure to see more companies offering online backups as the industry gets larger and more people and businesses jump online to backup their data.

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We continue to get questions about chargebacks from visitors that appear to be having a very large problem with them.  We want to provide you some simple tips that may be able to assist you with reducing the amount of chargebacks against your, or at least help you fight and win the chargeback settlement.  It can be hard for small retailers to keep up with chargebacks and fight them fairly because they do not keep up with the information that they need.  Here are some tips to help your company reduce the unwelcomed chargeback.

1. Make sure your policies are stated for everyone to see throughout the checkout process on your website.  Most retailers should prominently display their Shipping, Returns, Privacy, Payment, etc. policies wherever a potential customer will be visiting during the buying process.  With these in place, it will help you in the fight when a chargeback occurs.  It makes it easy to show the credit card company that your policies where there and hard to pass by.
2. Integrate your shopping cart with a fraud detection software module.  These are becoming very popular because the third party company is able to screen your customers when they checkout to reduce the risk of getting a chargeback due to fraud.  This is the number one reason for a chargeback.  Some good services are Verifi and Avangate.
3. Place your Business Name and Phone Number on the customers statements that they get from their credit card company.  This can be done when you sign up for credit card processing services or with your existing credit card processor.  This is an easy and effective way to reduce chargebacks.  This allows the customer to call you up if you have charged their card without their knowledge, which happens in most fraud situations.  If they have a chance to call you, then you can fix the problem before a chargeback is issued.
4. Setup your credit card processor to authorize the full amount of the sale when it occurs.  It tends to be better this way because then you know that there is that amount on the card for when you have to capture it.  A good rule is to try and authorize the sale when it occurs and then capture the funds when you ship the product.  Most credit card processors allow you to either Authorize and Capture immediately, or Authorize and then capture at a later time.  If you are an online retailer, it would be smart to use the Authorize and then capture method.  This reduces your chances for immediate refunds when a fraud order somes through as well as customers that do not get their items shipped on time and they would like to cancel.  It is the cleanest, most efficient method for processing credit cards on your site.
5. One of the easiest things to do is to verify orders over a certain amount to make sure that the customer is actually the one who is purchasing the product.  This can be a very simple call to the customer for verification.  If the number is disconnected or wrong, then it should send up a red flag and you should hold the order until you can get a definite answer.  Most people committing fraud do not leave a correct number in order for them to be reached, so this is a great way to weed out the fraud.
6. A tip that we have learned is to look at the customers email address that they use to checkout with.  There have been many instances where the email address will tip you off into investigating the order a little more.  A good majority of customers actually use their name in some fashion in their email address.  People committing fraud try to mimic this, but then to put a name that doesn’t even match the customers and it always comes from a free email service like yahoo or hotmail.  These email extensions can sometimes be a automatic flag in our fraud software.
7. Many retailers have started making customers have any address that is different from the billing address be placed on the credit card.  This is an easy process for the customer to do by just calling up their bank and adding alternate addresses.  This allows you to check with the bank to see if that alternate shipping address is a real one.  You can display this during checkout to let your customers know that they need to add any different address to their credit card.
8. There is a trend in online retailing where retailers are now requiring a signature confirmation on all packages that they ship.  Signature Confirmations are a service most readily available through UPS and Fedex.  While this can frustrate some customers, it makes others very happy because they know that they will get their stuff and it will not be sitting on the front porch with the possibility of getting stolen.  If you let your customers know this ahead of time, then they can choose a work address or an address where someone is available so sign for the package.
9. Last, but not least, make sure that you keep all documentation of the order and any correspondence that you have with the customer.  Having a paper trail is the best and most effective way to fight chargebacks.  Keep the original receipt, when you charged the card, when the item was shipped, when the item was delivered, if it was signed for, the signature of the person signing for it, the address it was shipped to, any emails that the customer contacted you, and so forth.  Having all this information makes it hard for any unwarranted chargebacks to succeed.

There are many people out there that try to not pay for their purchases, or say that you never delivered the goods, or it was different than what they thought.  There are also some that are just trying to commit fraud.  You as a retailer have to protect yourself against these individuals to make sure that you don’t lose any money for no good reason.  Chargebacks are going to happen, so keep these tips in mind when you are running your business and see if you can strengthen your defenses and keep the money that you have worked hard for.

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As Black Friday approaches, many people are getting excited about the awesome deals that retailers are putting out and leaking around the internet.  These deals may seem really good, but make sure to read the fine print because it can spoil your day easily.

Most retailers offer the best deals around Black Friday, but their quantities are limited, very limited.  Most circulars and ads say something like “Minimum 5 per store” or “Ticket required for purchase”.  You might want to ask yourself why a large retail store would put a very limited amount in stores since they are serving millions of people.  Well, this has been going on for a long time and it doesn’t look like it will stop.  Most people will have to be first in lines in order to receive these great deals.

There is also a practice out there where retailers will be selling a “hot” seller, but in actuality, they are selling a stripped down version of the product that is only created for these “deals”.  An example is some of the sony and samsung televisions that have a better contrast ratio in the regular version has less in the “door buster” model.  Most of you will not notice a difference, but check out the model numbers that the retailer gives you compared to the regular version.  You might see a difference in letters at the end or numbers.  This happens often, so make sure that you are getting the real model and not the stripped down “door buster” that doesn’t have all the regular features.

Most companies that sell online as well do not show which items are on their black friday circular and do not honor the best prices while online because they cannot control the inventory online as well, so make sure you are getting what you asked for at the price that it was advertised.  It is common for a lot of online shoppers to non receive the items on time or at all because of inventory discrepancies or misinformation.  You need to keep track of your purchase to  make sure you receive it, but you still can get the dreaded out of stock email that a lot of shoppers will get this weekend.

So all-in-all, make sure that you are getting what you paid for and do not get yourself in a situation where you can get injured trying to shop for deals that will most likely not be around for long or you have to have special tickets in order to purchase.  To get tickets for a lot of these items requires you to be in line at 4am in the morning and that doesn’t guarantee you the ability to purchase the item unless you get the ticket.  We say, save yourself the time and spend it with your family because most people on Black Friday actually do not score any deals, but just a great deal of headaches.  Happy Holiday Shopping!

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If you have worked in retail for some time or have just gotten your feet wet, you know that chargebacks can be the bane of your existence.  The reason why they are so bad is because customers can chargeback on pretty much anything they want and a lot of times, the credit card companies will side with the customer.  This can be a major problem because if you provide what you are supposed to then you are out of money.  Also, there are many customers that just don’t feel like paying for the products and services that they asked for.  We are going to give you some tips on reducing your risk of losing chargebacks.

While chargebacks are inevitable when working in retail, try your hardest to make sure that each customer is taken care of.  You need to make sure that you and your company document every conversation with customers whether it be email, phone, or the old fashion letter.  Having these documents can help you in the long run with the credit card company. Your merchant processing company wants to help you fight the chargeback if it is unwarranted, so give them everything that they want or need to effectively process the chargeback.  This can include tracking information, product documentation, service documentation, your company policies, and more.

Most chargebacks in retail are due to non-deliverables whether it be you just not providing the service that you said you would or the shipping company not delivering.  Make sure that you tell your customer exactly what they will be getting and provide a checklist for them to see.  This can help.  Make sure you use a shipping company that provides accurate tracking like UPS or Fedex.  There are times when UPS or Fedex drivers deliver the package to the wrong location and that will warrant the shipping company to pay you back for the item and the shipping cost, so you might still get a chargeback, but you will get you money back in the end.

Be prepared for chargebacks, because the money for that order of product or service will taken out of your bank account until the chargeback is completely processed.  This can take a few days all the way to 60 days in the worst case.  One of the best ways to reduce chargebacks is to verify all orders that come through with a fine tooth comb.  We know that it takes time to do this, but you will reduce the amount of chargebacks greatly if you can find orders that will not pay upfront.  Also, many companies now that ship products are requiring a signature on all orders because then they have a better way of showing that their customer did indeed get the package.  This is a great method, though it can upset some customers, it will make others happy knowing that you are trying to reduce fraud and chargebacks allowing you to pass the savings on to the customer.  Remember to fight all unwarranted chargebacks hard because they can slowly destroy your company and your reputation with credit card processors.

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Everyone by now should know what Twitter is and how it works, but if you do not, then you need to check it out.  Twitter is a service that allows you to provide a status update to all of your followers to let them know what you are doing or how you are doing.  It was started for individual use so friends can send a quick update on what they are doing and so on.  Now businesses are using it to help them out with gaining more sales and helping customers.  Best Buy has one of the best twitter accounts which provides help to user questions, all in under 140 characters.  So the question we ask is…Is your company using Twitter?

We are not talking about just signing up and doing one status update, but talking about actively using Twitter.  This service is a great way to get loyal customers and keep them with sales that no one else can get unless they view your twitter page.  You can also provide simple customer service responses via your twitter page.  This is a simple service to use, so if you have not jumped on the bandwagon, we would advise that you take another look into it.  It is a great tool and best of all, it is effective.  Sign up to Join Twitter now!

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