Auctiva Commerce has announced it will waive its $9.95 monthly store fee through March 2010 to make online stores more accessible to a wider range of sellers.
Auctiva Commerce has been crediting monthly store fees back to users since the storefronts became available in January. Customers will begin incurring monthly store fees next April, but won't be billed for those fees until early May.
"Auctiva Commerce has experienced tremendous growth since we launched in January of this year," notes Chris Eckland, Auctiva Commerce's product manager. "We'd like to continue that momentum and help Auctiva sellers establish another sales channel where they can market their goods and experiment with stand alone e-commerce stores. Making Auctiva Commerce free of monthly store fees through March 2010 offers a low-risk way for our users to try it out, and decide if it is right for them and their product set."
Transaction fees will still apply for customers who sell more than $200 a month, however.
Currently more than 3,700 merchants use Auctiva Commerce to manage and maintain their off-eBay stores. The software offers buyers a complete suite of features, including integrated shipping carriers, multiple payment options, customizable storefronts, powerful marketing tools such as volume discounting and coupons, and a full complement of search engine optimization tools. More information can be found at www.auctivacommerce.com or www.auctiva.com/products/auccom.aspx.
We want to help Auctiva users succeed, whether on eBay or via another channel, such as Auctiva Commerce
Auctiva Commerce developers continuously update the software to make it easier to use and to drive more traffic to merchants' stores, Eckland notes. In fact, Auctiva Commerce recently automated Google Base feeds so they would be sent nightly to keep sellers' inventory current and bring in more buyers. And because Auctiva Commerce is a fully hosted solution, all of the updates are automatically delivered to Auctiva Commerce merchants—no action or download is required on the customer's part, Eckland adds.
And more Google Base attributes are expected to be added in the future.
Several features are in the works to better serve customers. They include introducing Google Checkout, which has already been released to a small group of users for testing. The payment gateway will be available to all Auctiva Commerce users soon.
Updates to the product import and bulk editing tools, enhancements to e-mail marketing and order e-mails, and updated Checkout flows are also being implemented.
"In the end, we want to help Auctiva users succeed, whether on eBay or via another channel, such as Auctiva Commerce," Eckland says.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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